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Soundgarden, Dortmund, Germany
23rd November 2005
Apoptygma Berzerk and SONO

Apoptygma Berzerk and SONO – old school and new school electro together on tour. What a great combination; one that meant we had to see the show in Dortmund. Both bands just released new albums – APB are turning again into another direction with “You and me against the World” using more guitars than ever while SONO are moving further on the mainly electronic way with “Off”.


SONO

SONO supporting Apoptygma Berzerk – what a great thought! The first time I’ve seen these three guys from Hamburg was when they performed at the “Party for the Masses” (biggest Depeche Mode Party in Germany) in Hamburg on 21st May 2005. At this party they played only three songs as a promo event, but it was enough to impress me. In the meantime they had a huge success with their first single release “A New Cage” from their recent album “Off” - it has been played on the radio regularly. They have also done a remix of the new single “Umarme mich” by the German Duo “Ich + Ich”, which will be released on 2nd Dec.2005. http://www.sono.fm/



Music
It’s not easy to put Sono’s music into a certain direction. It’s a combination between electronic, dance and trance, but also with a guitar. And absolutely not so obtrusive like some techno beats. Together with the congenial voice of singer Lennart A. Salomon it gives all a somehow relaxing touch. But there are also songs like “Open the Door” when you just want to dance. Lennart is the one who is playing the guitar while the other both band members are playing the keyboards. Sometimes it sounds like he is using the guitar for a kind of scratching. Lennart, Florian and Martin are another proof that guitar and electronic elements can be used really harmonious together.



Performance
With two keyboard players (Florian and Martin) in the background, who are standing just behind their instruments, there is only one person who can perform – front man and singer Lennart. He is the one who is searching the contact to the audience, who wants to hear a reaction to their music. He is dancing, with or without guitar hanging around his neck. It spurs him on, when people are shouting or screaming. With every song the people liked their music more and I’m sure there were at least a few people who didn’t leave the hall without a new SONO CD.

Setlist
01. A New Cage
02. 2000 Guns
03. Open the Door
04. Disappeared
05. Dangerous
06. Blame
07. Whatever
08. Keep control

Rating
Music: 8
Performance: 7
Sound: 7
Light: 6
Total: 7 (7.25)




Apoptygma Berzerk

The Norwegian Electro heroes Apoptygma Berzerk are back! The last sign of them was the release of the DVD and Unicorn EP in 2004 with exclusive impressions from their concert in Hamburg/Germany. Other goodies on this release were the video clips of “Harmonizer” and documentation about APB. The EP included exclusive remixes and exclusive material. It was this year when it was time for new stuff. At first the new single “In this together” was released which was a big hit in Germany and entered the charts at once while the video clip got heavy rotation on video channel “Viva Plus”. The single was followed by the album “You and me against the World” which reached no. 18 of the German charts after the first week. Anders Odden returned after 6 years as former member of APB. He’s the one bringing the Rock´n´ Roll into the APB sound. http://www.apoptygmaberzerk.de/



Music
Apoptygma Berzerk didn’t want to wait until the fans had warmed up - they started right away with the great “Eclipse”. The mood was great and the audience freaked out at once. You got the first examples of the new rock sound of APB during the next two new songs – “You keep me from breaking apart” and “Tuning into the Frequency of your Soul” – more guitar riffs in the foreground than electronic. But also the good “old school” songs have now more power because of the use of guitars. The song “Unicorn” was played in a “heavy metal” version. I’ve never heard such a rocking version of this song before. Stephan introduced the older songs always with “old school” which was welcomed by the “old-schoolers” in the audience with huge applause. The setlist was a good mix of old and new songs, but you could see that there were quite a lot new fans because there was definitely a better mood and more people were singing along during the songs of the new album. On the other hand the audience was a great choir while singing the refrain of “Kathy’s Song” or “Non Stop Violence” (the band shouted “Non Stop” and the audience returned “Violence”). The encores were three of their best old school songs, the already mentioned “Non Stop Violence”, the wonderful “Love Never Dies – Part 1” and last but not least “Bitch”.



Performance
A big new Apoptygma Berzerk Logo was hanging in the background of the stage. A totally new kind of writing and if you don’t know what kind of music APB are playing, you could guess the main act would be a heavy metal band. On the bass drum a skull was painted on; should this warn of the new sound of APB? All guys on stage were nearly dressed in black, apart from Keyboarder Geir in blue jeans and undershirt. Singer Stephan is wearing a latex jacket which made him look so thin after a very good diet. There was always movement on stage, no one is standing still – Stephan was always walking around and had contact to the audience, wanted us to sing with him; both guitarists – Anders and Angel – are jumping and walking around as well and keyboarder Geir looked sometimes as he was dancing with his keyboard. He was also always flirting with the girls in the first row or at the seating platform being very happy when seeing their reactions. During the Song “Deep Red” the stage turned into just red light, which gave the song an extra great atmosphere. For “Kathy’s Song” Stephan was just accompanied by Geir on the keyboard while the others had left the stage and came back at the end of the song. For the last three songs of the main set “Shine On”, “Unicorn” and “Until the End of the World”, the curtain with the new logo in the background was taken off and the videos clips to each song were shown.
APB will continue their European tour in spring 2006.



Setlist
01. Eclipse
02. You keep me from breaking apart
03. Tuning into the Frequency of your Soul
04. Spiritual Reality
05. In This Together
06. Starsign
07. Deep Red
08. Mercy Kill
09. Kathy’s Song
10. Lost In Translation
11. Burning Heretic
12. Shine On
13. Unicorn
14. Until the End of the World
----------------------------------------------------
15. Non Stop Violence
16. Love Never Dies (Part 1)
17. Bitch

Rating
Music: 7
Performance: 8
Sound: 7
Light: 7
Total: 7 (7.3)




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