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Summer Darkness, Utrecht, The Netherlands
10th of August 2006
Bauhaus, Chants of Malador

Finally it was time again for the darkest festival of the Netherlands, Summer Darkness. Although…. this year it might just not be so dark. Cyber gothic is more popular then before and neon colours are all around. The usual gothic dresses are staying at home this year, plastic outfits are it! The only big metal band this year is Moonspell, that was probably the darkest dressed crowd of the entire festival. With its city walks, the market, the literary readings, the Lolita event and the gothic picnic the Netherlands can be proud of this festival.


Chants of Maldoror

This band was formed in 1994, by the singer, Adolphe and David, the bass-player. They are originally from Italy. According to the website, the name Chants of Maldoror will sound familiar to most of you. The Name is inspired by “Les Chants De Maldoror”, a poem by Isidore Ducasse (1846/1870). On the pre evening of Summer Darkness, this band would be the supporting act to Bauhaus.
People were gathering quite early already, There was a long queue in front of the door, which opened too late. Then the venue quickly filled, and with a small delay the band could start.

Music 

The intro was slow and short. The first half of the set consisted of more slow songs. This first half was a set of quite electronically experimental gothic music. 5 band members, a singer, a guitar and a bass, a sampler and of course the singer, make this first half of the set, rock based slow songs, with a sort of twist to it, that makes the music fascinating and spooky at the same time. After about 3 songs their style begins to take certain shape, more rock, new wave electronical songs. The singer sings in different languages, I have heard English, and I think some Italian for sure. He sings with a certain higher voice, sometimes even a bit nasal, and doesn’t seem to need a certain rhythm to sing his lyrics. Because of that it’s hard to understand him, and to follow the songs. His voice started out a bit harsh but got better during the gig. The second half of the set is a more upbeat gothic rock set. In this half there is a more vast shape to the song, there are more compact and set together. This makes it easier to move to the songs, at the same time, the mysterious and spooky feeling of the first half if gone. Their music is intelligent, thought out very well, and the instruments and different samples are chosen very well. It can really take up to a new level.



Performance
The whole band was dressed very well. All the guys were wearing suits, either all black of with some white on it. Black and white was the only colours used. The girl was wearing almost the same outfit only in girl-version (yes, this means a corset). During the show, the girl, who was doing the keys, switched between two different keyboards, and both had different samples on them as well. She had a pretty big part in the music. The sampler stood more in the back, he also did the backing vocals and seemed to have a lot of fun on the stage, he was jumping around and every now and again it made him look very silly. The singer upfront started out very quiet but became more lose during the gig. From a distance, and because of the clothes and make up, he looks like the singer of Placebo.
The performance during the entire gig wasn’t really changing much. After a while I lost my interest because there wasn’t much to watch. The stage wasn’t decorated extra. The lights on the other hand were adjusted well to the music and contributed to the atmosphere. Especially during the slower songs, this band is more of a band to sit and listen to.

Rating
Music 7
Performance 7
Sound 8
Light 7
Total 7 (7,1)





Bauhaus

The first evening of Summer Darkness started with heroes from the past (and present still). I think this evening there was the eldest audience we will see this weekend.  

Music
The music of Bauhaus can do many different things to you. They have many different styles in their music, they can rock you, soothe you, move you. It is fun to see some of the diehard fans react to the music, singing along, loosing themselves in the music. Besides this the audience was very still (hardly any dancing). Their Bass player, drummer and main vocalist only have one instrument, but their guitarist also sings, plays his guitar with a bow and plays the saxophone. This is an instrument which we won’t be seeing any more this weekend I think. Quite an original touch to their music.



Performance
The band enters the stage in the dark, they take place at the front of the stage and just stand there, as if they are statues. An impressive entrance. Then the music starts and so do the flashing lights. Bauhaus has a very original light show. They use a lot of white and flashing lights and most of them are coming form the back. The only front light they use are occasional personal spots. Mostly for the guitarist/vocalist in the middle of the stage (Kevin Haskins) which was not the singer for he was often at the back or side of the stage. For Bauhaus their singer is not their front man.

Rating
Music 7
Performance 7
Sound 7
Light 7
Total 7

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