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_DSC1162_2.jpgKB, Malmö, Sweden
10th March 2005
Der Plan, Plastic Planet

A small feast for old school synthpop lovers as Der Plan enters the stage at KB, with a localized show. Right after the audience had been treated a warm-up show by a reunited Plastic Planet, just for the evening - or will we see more?

This concert was kind of a last minute thing for me, I didn't know if I could bring the camera with me until just before the concert. But after having confirmed that it was ok, a brisk 15 minute walk took me to a KB that was more than half empty. I can't say I was very well prepared for what I was about to see, I hadn't really "listened in" on Der Plan and it was quite a while since Plastic Planet's "A single record" made it to my CD player.
What I can say however, is that those who didn't make it to KB really missed out on a good concert evening.

 
Plastic Planet

The singer of this band does quite a good job of covering their Helsingborg (Sweden) origin, with his pronounced British accent. It fits very well with their music and I certainly prefer that to a heavy Swedish accent. It was quite a while both since their EP "A single record" was released and since they were on stage. That didn't show off much though, at least to my eyes and ears it was a pretty solid show.

Music

Their characteristic old school, happy synthpop - with a bit of ska influences, was delivered as it should. I think we got to enjoy all of the songs from their EP, but I must say I was actually a bit distracted by the performance. The sound was good, even though the simplicity of the sounds and music as a whole didn't really demand much from the system. While simple can be great, it didn't really have enough of a unique sound to please me fully. Even though it did sound pretty fresh. Whether this is due to the renaissance of old school artists in the scene, doing new stuff, or if they actually did add something new in the mix; I don't know.

Performance

With the typical "electro band stage prescence" of two guys handling keyboard/computer and a singer carrying the show, Plastic Planet doesn't deter from the norm. Performance wise the show was definitely carried by the singer. I can't begin to describe his style of dancing, but it was entertaining - that's for sure! I must however comment on the pictures, projected as a backdrop on stage. Some of them were simply brilliant enough to draw my attention away from the dancing! The lighting wasn't very cleverly used, some lights in the background and just some faint, dimmed lights in the front. Hardly even enough to light up the people on stage. Although it was a quite enjoyable show as a whole.

Rating
Music 6
Performance 7
Sound 7
Light 5
Total 6 (6.3)

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Der Plan

To be quite honest I've never given this band much of a chance. Even though they have been around since -78 and are said to rank among the style-forming groups of the "true" new German Wave. They're current with their new album "Die Verschwörung" - their first one in about 15 years - and just finished their three day mini tour of Sweden with this performance in Malmö. The show was customized for Sweden, probably in more ways than I could grasp from this performance...
http://www.derplan.com/

Music

Well... it was a live performance, but not much of the actual music was delivered live. Which was totally understandable, putting up a show like this while still playing instruments would be an impossible task. The singing was a welcome live addition to the music though. Sometimes even critical to try and convey some of the contents of the show.

Performance

I don't even know how to begin describing this show. If I clearly grasped the whole thing and understood the full message they delivered through it, I might be able to put it properly into writing. But I didn't. What I can say however that this was one of the more inspiring live performances that I have seen in a while. Very different and while it was clear that they had a message to deliver - ranging from trivial every day life things, to highly provocative political matters and always with a bit of humor - it was partly lost on me... I did however enjoy the show immensely and they are more than forgiven for exchanging instruments in favor of wings, boxes, masks and so on...

Rating

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

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KB, Malmö

Kulturbolaget (KB) http://www.kulturbolaget.se/ is more or less the default concert venue in Malmö. It's a club with a large stage in the center of the venue, on the opposite end of the entrance. To the left side of the stage there's a bar and an area with tables, chairs and sofas. On the right side there's an other bar and joining from that area there's a small restaurant called "Vinylbaren".

Food and drinks
Moderately priced and with a full selection of beverages the two bars can even offer Guinness on tap, to this reviewers great pleasure. While the two bars inside the actual venue doesn't serve much foodwise, this is more than well compensated by the excellent kitchen of Vinylbaren - you simply must try their burgers!

Stage
Roughly 10m wide and 6m deep, the stage is visible from most locations inside the venue.

Audience area

The place is big enough to host about 1000 people, and even when the place is quite full it's usually pretty easy to move through the hall to one of the bars. Or the toilets for that matter - which are located to the left from the entrance, just by the wardrobe.

Staff
A bit uneven, but usually the service is pretty good and the staff are both friendly and helpful.

Rating

Venue accomodation 8
Staff 8
Total 8

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