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Cologne – Hamburg – Berlin / Germany
2nd to 4th November 2006
Nitzer Ebb, Motor, Fixmer

NITZER EBB returning on the stages of the clubs and festivals on this planet after eleven years of complete silence was one of the most unforeseeable events of 2006, and to me one of the most joyful surprises this year. After NITZER EBB’s live return at the Wave-Gotik-Treffen in Leipzig they toured the whole world including many festival gigs and shows in far away places like Australia or South America. In early November they headed for “Route 03”, the third leg of their “Body of Work” world tour, which lead them through many countries in Europe including five shows in Germany. We grabbed the chance to attend three of the shows – Cologne, Hamburg, and Berlin – to see the three-piece package including French DJ TERENCE FIXMER and the wonderful MOTOR.


Terence Fixmer

Many people, especially from NITZER EBB’s fan base, know Terence Fixmer from his collaboration with Douglas McCarthy simply called FIXMER/MCCARTHY. So it seems to be the most natural thing TERENCE FIXMER joins NITZER EBB on tour to present some of his solo stuff as the opening act on ‘Route 03’ of the NITZER EBB world tour.

Born in Lille/France, TERENCE FIXMER has been producing his own music since 1992. His roots are definitely the EBM sound of the late 1980s but in the 1990s he soon turned towards the young and fresh Techno scene, albeit without disowning his EBM roots (like some others at that time). After a fistful of 12” singles, remixes for other Techno artists and DJ gigs all over the world, FIXMER released his first album “Muscle Machine” in 2001. The reference to old EBM days and especially NITZER EBB wasn’t only perceptible in the title but also in FIXMER’s music. With his raw, minimal and high-energy Electro FIXMER gained some popularity in the Techno and Dance scene which at the beginning of the millennium looked back at its own roots more than ever. After remixing NITZER EBB’s “Let Your Body Learn” for the label Novamute he got in contact with NE-vocalist Douglas McCarthy – the result was the mutual project FIXMER/MCCARTHY. NITZER EBB fans all over the world got excited to hear their hero on brand new records and with FIXMER/MCCARTHY even back on stage. The FIXMER/MCCARTHY album “Between the Devil” (2004) was a big success in various scenes and in 2006 TERENCE FIXMER released another solo album under his own name called “Silence Control”. http://www.terencefixmer.com/ / www.myspace.com/terencefixmer




Motor

The core of MOTOR are Parisian Dr. No aka Oliver Grasset and Bryan Black from Minneapolis/USA, who met in London and decided to work together after they pursued their musical careers on their own. Bryan Black worked for Pop star PRINCE at his Paisley Park studios, while Dr. No was keeping track of “a mission to turn drummers into drum machines” in London since 1989. At the beginning of the new century they formed together with two additional musicians the Electro-Clash project XLOVER, which spawned one album called “Pleasure & Romance” released DJ HELL’s Gigolo Records label. With the demise of the Electro-Clash hype XLOVER was buried and the former side-project MOTOR by Black and Dr. No became the main project for the duo. MOTOR was their playground for more experimental Techno music. The first very avant-gardism vinyl single “0503” was released in 2003 on Novamute, a sub-division of legendary Mute Records, which is the home of acts like GOLDFRAPP, EINSTÜRZENDE NEUBAUTEN, D.A.F., DEPECHE MODE, and NITZER EBB. MOTOR did a remix of the NITZER EBB track “Lightning Man” for Novamute, and also remixed other artists like MARILYN MANSON, CLIENT, THROBBING CHRISTLE and the DEPECHE MODE hit single “Precious”. DM fans may know MOTOR also because their 2005 single “Yak” was played every night on DEPECHE MODE’s 2005/06 world tour right before the band hit the stage! April 2006 saw the release of MOTOR’s first album called “Klunk”, a wild and dark trip through various Techno and Dance styles combined with Industrial elements. http://www.din9.com/ / www.myspace.com/motor66




Nitzer Ebb

It’s been eleven years since NITZER EBB’s last tour. In 1995 the band toured to promote their last album “Big Hit”, and after this tour a long silence followed. NITZER EBB had split up without any official announcement, and a few remarks in interviews by singer Douglas McCarthy, who in the late 1990s delivered some guest appearances for other acts like RECOIL and EMPIRION, made it look more than unlikely that he and Bon Harris will ever work again as NITZER EBB.

Up to 1995 NITZER EBB had a stunning career. Bon Harris, Douglas McCarthy and founding member David Gooday started their mutual musical project in Chelmsford, Essex, UK, in 1982 when they were literally still kids. Influenced by German pioneers of hard-edged electronic music such as DIE KRUPPS, D.A.F. and MALARIA as well as Post-Punk bands like KILLING JOKE they bought sequencers and synths to have immediate results instead of learning to play the guitar first. So it was not only the fascination with German underground Industrial what drove NITZER EBB towards electronic music but also the impatience of teenagers. The disgust with the British music scene made them chose a Teutonic sounding name for their band, although NITZER EBB has no meaning in German, or any other language for that matter.

The first musical steps resulted in the first demo tape “Basic Pain Procedure” in August 1983. Harris, McCarthy and Gooday planted their own record label called ‘Power Of Voice Communications’ and released their first 12” EP “Isn’t It Funny How Your Body Works” in 1984. Two years after their musical birth and for youngsters aged 16-17 this development was already quite an achievement! Peers who started at the same time as them might have still tried to work out how to strum the guitar at that point. ;-) Musically NITZER EBB was still clearly influenced by their heroes, and some saw them as the British equivalent to D.A.F. although NITZER EBB added a little more anger to their sequencer-driven sound. The raw voice of Douglas McCarthy was unique and a natural, a perfect addendum to the energetic sound.



The subsequent singles “Warsaw Ghetto” (1985) and “Let Your Body Learn” (1986) were sonically even harder but still very danceable, and they gained new audiences for NITZER EBB. The band had now a solid fan base and regular gigs in London, which resulted in a contract with Daniel Miller’s legendary London-based label Mute Records and the single “Murderous” as a first release on their new label. The debut album “That Total Age” followed in 1987 and made a massive impact on the Techno and Industrial underground scenes. The album is still regarded as one of the classic albums of the electronic genre and took their anger-driven minimal sound to a new level. In 1988 NITZER EBB supported their new label mates DEPECHE MODE on their “Music for the Masses” tour and thus presented their energetic live show to a mainstream audience for the first time. David Gooday left the band before the tour and was replaced by Vietnamese drummer Duc Nhan Nguyen for the tour with DEPECHE MODE. Thereafter Bon Harris and Douglas McCarthy recorded NITZER EBB’s second album as a duo. “Belief”, released in 1989, was produced by Mark ‘Flood’ Ellis and was a surprise for the fan base. The songs still had the controlled anger and minimal approach of the earlier material but sonically it was a departure from the sometimes one-dimensional sound of previous recordings. Songs like “Shame” had some sort of Pop appeal and the refined sound also allowed mid-tempo tracks like “Drive” or “For Fun” or sonic experiments like “TWA”. Still it felt 100% NITZER EBB albeit musically subtler and more varied.

NITZER EBB established the habit of redefining their music with every new album by adding new elements. The 1990 album “Showtime” incorporated Jazz and Blues elements by sampling records from the 1950s and 1960s and weaving them into their lusty and powerful sound. The single “Lightning Man” is a perfect example and standout track in their career, while the fan-favorite “Getting Closer” still had many elements from earlier NITZER EBB adding sampled guitars for the first time in the band’s history. With their releases in the year 1991 – the EP “As Is”, the Pop single “I Give to You” and the album “Ebbhead”, NITZER EBB delivered a plurality of styles that was quite a challenge for the longtime fans, to say the least. Almost anything seemed possible in the widened cosmos of NITZER EBB, and by crossing over such diverse styles as Rock, Pop, Hip Hop, Dance and Industrial the band forestalled many things that made up Alternative music in the following years. And despite the diversity everything still had NITZER EBB’s stamp on it! Perhaps this was the reason why their following stayed with them after a first shock. “Ebbhead”, by the way co-produced by DEPECHE MODE’s Alan Wilder, and the accompanying tour were a major success!



After the end of the “Ebbhead” world tour in 1992 a period of disorientation and personal struggle followed. Drummer Julian Beeston, who completed the band on stage since 1989, left the band to pursue his own musical projects. Harris and McCarthy tried several new producers and guest musicians which didn’t work out in all cases. In 1995, four years after “Ebbhead”, the album “Big Hit” was released and displayed the band in yet another metamorphosis. The electronics were still there but the album featured a lot of traditional instruments like guitars instead of just samples. “Big Hit” represented the disruption of the band and lacked many of their trademark elements. Although there were a few gems on the album, the fan base turned the back on NITZER EBB. “Big Hit” ironically ended as a big flop. The following tour was accomplished as a traditional four-piece Rock lineup. Besides vocalist Douglas McCarthy and instrumentalist Bon Harris the band was completed by Jason Payne (drums, percussion), who also delivered drums for the studio work, and John Napier (guitars, percussion). The tour went down okay but most fans came to the shows to hear the old hits, actually. After the “Big Hit” tour Douglas McCarthy and Bon Harris parted company and without any public notice NITZER EBB was no more. Well, until 2006, when the improbable and unpredictable has happened – NITZER EBB are back on stage! http://www.nitzer-ebb.de/ / www.myspace.com/nitzerebbmusic


Live-Music-Hall, Cologne, 2nd November 2006

After their mind blowing live comeback at the ‘Wave-Gotik-Treffen’ in Leipzig on 2nd of June, NITZER EBB performed a total of 40 gigs around the globe, including shows in faraway places like South America, Japan, and Australia. The last leg of the tour, the so-called “Route 03”, led NITZER EBB back to Europe with five gigs in Germany, one of their consuetudinary strongholds. For me the show in Cologne at the Live Music Hall was the first out of three shows of the “Route 03”. The Live Music Hall is a well-known concert venue of high reputation, and it’s also well-known that the shows there always start pretty early. The crew of the venue obviously loves to pack up work early, it seems. ;-) So I was surprised that the club was only half-filled when I entered it. But during TERENCE FIXMER’s gig the club got filled by and by.

Knowing his live appearances with FIXMER/MCCARTHY, I had wondered how his solo show would be like. Well, basically his desk with all the gear is at the front side of stage, instead of in the back. The first thing I noticed was that the volume was too loud and that the acoustics weren’t the best, at least at the side of the club where I was standing. Well, I guess this kind of music has to be heard at high volume, so anyway. TERENCE FIXMER’s raw, EBM-influenced Techno got people at the front going but to be honest I wasn’t too pleased. I appreciate that he creates some great sounds and sequences but the way he’s building up tension, or rather not building up, is actually not my cup of tea. The way he fades in and fades out sounds and the way he blends his tracks doesn’t appeal to me too much. Perhaps I wasn’t simply not in the right mood for FIXMER’s music, and the bad acoustics didn’t help either. After some forty minutes and tracks both from his 2001 album “Muscle Machine” as well as his latest long-play output “Silence Control”, TERENCE FIXMER left the stage, and the applause told me that quite a few people in the audience enjoyed his performance.



Next up was MOTOR. I really like their debut album “Klunk” but as I have never seen them live I wasn’t sure what to expect. The duo of Bryan Black and Dr. No was backed up for their live shows by XLOVER member and longtime collaborator Hugo Menendez on keyboards, while Dr. No delivers drums and percussion and Black plays the keyboard too. All were dressed up in white, “Clockwork Orange”-style. They had a big video screen on stage and used it as a backdrop. The videos shown were pretty weird – just as MOTOR’s music! The reaction to their show was divided – some people obviously loved it, and some others were seemingly thinking “what the hell is that?” while Bryan Black was exercising press-ups on the floor of the stage as a special dance interlude. *lol* Like during TERENCE FIXMER’s gig, the music was a bit too loud, though the sound seemed to be better now. Of Course MOTOR also played “Yuk”, the track that might every DEPECHE MODE’-Fan in the audience think “Oh, DM are next!” On a more serious note, “Yak” is indeed an excellent track that even got the skeptics nod with their heads. The funniest video was shown during “King of USA” with line “I’m black, I’m gay, I’m king of the USA”! Who said that political statements can’t be tongue-in-cheek, huh? After the track “1x1” the band suddenly left the stage although the videos were still running. After less than a minute they returned to perform two more songs. Many people thought that this was an encore but I thought that it was part of the show that they left the stage although there were still videos and, if I remember correctly, even music to be heard.



So now it was time for the big heroes! The break between MOTOR and NITZER EBB to arrange NITZER EBB’s stage equipment was relatively short. Like at their first show there was the classic, minimal NITZER EBB stage setup: Two drum kits with lots of e-pads, some effect tools and two Apple laptops. And enough space on stage for front man Douglas McCarthy! The whole place got already really crowded during MOTOR’s gig but now the club was really packed. When the lights went down the whole audience was electrified and ready to go. An intro came on – which had been added at some point during the summer tour as they didn’t use it their first shows – with a lot of military drums. And then Kourtney Klein entered the stage to much applause, then Bon Harris to even more applause, and when Douglas McCarthy appeared it was nothing more than a wild roar from the audience. Dressed in black militaristic uniforms, complete with black leather knee-high boots and black leather straps across their chests, NITZER EBB were a commanding presence.

NITZER EBB went straight into the stomper “Getting Closer”, a great choice as an opener as it features both Harris and McCarthy at the front, belting out at the audience. After this fantastic opener Douglas McCarthy welcomed the audience with a loud “F*cking good to be back!!” A sequence of big classics followed – “Let Your Body Learn”, “Shame”, and “Hearts & Minds”. At NITZER EBB concerts it was often the case that there’s a mosh pit in front of the stage and the rest of the audience is just staring. In Cologne the whole place was dancing and grooving, even in the back, which was pretty nice - compared to earlier tours, almost a peaceful atmosphere. ;-) Douglas McCarthy stalked the stage nonstop, chanting in his powerful voice. New drummer Kourtney Klein seemed to be much focused, delivering the main bulk of the drums and percussion. Bon Harris delivered additional percussion and background vocals, and he seemed to put on a more exalted show than before.



NITZER EBB played around a bit with the middle of their set since the “Body Of Work” tour. “Family Man” had been dropped, and the order of the other songs had been changed a little. “Lightning man” for example was now performed much later in the set. The show lost a bit of its momentum during the slower track from “Belief” like “For Fun” and “Captivate” but it seemed like the fans were only taking a break from dancing all the time and waiting for the next dance tunes. And strangely the sound was now much less loud than during the first two acts, so some people continued screaming “Louder! Louder!” The grand finale of NITZER EBB’s show stayed the same like at all previous shows – the classic “Control I’m here” from the “Belief” album and the EBM anthems “Murderous” and “Join In The Chant”. The atmosphere in the audience was on fire now so people got their well-deserved reward with two more tracks, “Fun to be Had” from the album “Showtime” and “I Give To You”, which had not been performed at all summer shows, so it was a nice add. All in all a great, energetic performance with a very good audience - what is not every time the case at concerts in Cologne. Some people say that Cologne people can’t party outside the carnival season. ;-) But this night proved that this is not the case.



Terence Fixmer

Motor

Nitzer Ebb

Setlist
















Setlist
Black Powder
Yak
Stuka Stunt
Junker
King of USA
Sweatbox
Flashback
1 x 1
Spazm
Din13







Setlist
Intro
Getting Closer
Let Your Body Learn
Shame
Hearts And Minds
Captivate
Godhead
Blood Money
For Fun
Lightning Man
Control, I'm Here
Murderous
Join In The Chant
---
Fun To Be Had
I Give To You

Rating
Music: 5
Performance: 4
Sound: 6
Light: 4
Total: 4.7
Rating
Music: 7
Performance: 8
Sound: 7
Light: 7
Total: 7.3
Rating
Music: 9
Performance: 9
Sound: 7
Light: 7
Total: 8.4


Markthalle, Hamburg, 3rd November 2006

The Markthalle is one of coolest concert locations in Germany – although “cool” is the wrong word as the Markthalle is infamous for a hot heat at concerts when the venue is packed, with sweat dropping from the ceiling and a serious undersupply of fresh air. But this is actually the only disadvantage as the amphitheatre-like shape of the club with a semi-circle of ascending sections is great both for a good atmosphere as well as for a great view from any point in the audience. But the first impression when you enter the Markthalle is a bit misleading as the Markthalle is in fact a complex of various rooms, clubs and concert halls, and the first thing you see when you enter the building is a huge bright foyer with a bar. At the evening when NITZER EBB played at the Markthalle there were a few youngsters sitting on (!) the small dance floor of the foyer and some New Metal was played at loud volume. Apart from a merchandising stall with NITZER EBB shirts nothing gave away that the band was supposed to play there. But when you walked straight ahead and entered the heavy, steely double door you were suddenly in the main venue of the Markthalle, packed with the typical EBM crowd with Goths, aged DEPECHE MODE fans and shorthaired guys in leather or military clothes.

Unfortunately I missed the first half of TERENCE FIXMER’s set due to other commitments. But the sound was much better than the night before in Cologne. FIXMER presented his tracks again in one go, rather like a DJ set than a live gig, and his static presence behind his desk added to this impression. Well, I guess that’s simply the way most Techno live acts are. People were dancing to his repetitive minimal sequencer patterns and actually I enjoyed TERENCE FIXMER’s gig more than the night before. Still I wished that his music was a little more effectively structured.



After a pretty short break MOTOR came on with their freaky show. Again all three were dressed in white, Bryan Black was even wearing the same “Sex Pistols” t-shirt like in Cologne – I hope he has a box full of exactly the same shirts, not that he’s wearing one sweaty shirt throughout the whole tour! ;-) The three members of MOTOR started with Dr. No and a small drum kit in the middle and Menendez and Black behind keyboards on the left and right, but they often changed their positions so that each of them played drums at some point and all three of them contributed vocals during the show. During the track “1x1” I noticed that the voice of no other than Douglas McCarthy was audible. In fact McCarthy contributed some demonic, murmuring vocals to the studio version of the track, and those vocals were used as a fly-in (that is, playback) live. But no-one in the audience seemed to notice that they were actually hearing the voice of their hero. *g* Again the band left the stage after “1x1” just to return after just a few moments to perform two more tracks. Still it felt rather like a strange show element than a proper encore to me, as music and videos continued playing while the band was off stage. Perhaps some kind of joke as MOTOR doesn’t seem to take things too serious anyway.



After MOTOR’s fun show the whole place was filled with anticipation. When the three triangular flags with the NEP logos were dropped down the excitement was rising and the reaction to NITZER EBB’s short intro showed that people were ready for an energetic show. The double package of the hits “Getting Closer” and “Let Your Body Learn” was again a great kick-off for a show that’s definitely one of the most dynamic in the whole genre of electronic music. There’s no breathing point in NITZER EBB’s show, just 70 minutes of pure energy. The bubbling, impulsive groove of 1989’s “Hearts & Minds”, clearly influenced by late 80s Acid House and borrowed from the “Mix Hypersonic” from the respective 12”, really gave me the buzz. Perfect! “Godhead” with its sampled Metal guitars was as epic and powerful as ever and was one of the few tracks from NITZER EBB’s later albums. The lion’s share of the setlist was taken from the first few albums, including a total of six songs from their second long player “Belief”, but much to my delight NITZER EBB added “Ascend” from the “Ebbhead” album to the set. EBM crowds often have some kind of bad attitude but like in Cologne the Hamburg crowd was dancing and jumping around from front to back and basically just having a good time. Not much of violent pushing and pogo-dancing, in relative terms.



NITZER EBB again ended their show with the crunchiest and most aggressive Dance hits from their first albums. After “Murderous” there was a break, and Douglas McCarthy stood at the edge of the stage in a Rock god pose with raised fist, and the whole place was cheering and screaming out – at that point people were already totally insane and carried away by NITZER EBB’s powerful and very physical performance. This little break was a great bridge to “Join in the Chant”, which finished the main set of the show. Of course the fans were yearning for more, and they got more as it was still time for “Fun to be Had” (pun intended :D )! At the end of the song McCarthy prompted to continue singing the chorus, and the whole place did until the first bars of “I Give to You” came in! Another great moment! And though the awe-inspiring “I Give to You” is a wonderful way to end a show I just wished NITZER EBB would come back for another encore. 70 minutes isn’t exactly very long for a show, on the other hand I was pretty exhausted and I wonder how McCarthy and Harris sustain such a physical, full-on energy show night after night anyway, especially as both are well into their 40s.

The night didn’t end yet as there was also an after show party for the fans upstairs at the Markthalle. It was a little disappointing that only so few people turned up but I guess that this was up to the lack of promotion for it, and that it cost extra admission for those who already have paid for the show. But later in the night Bon Harris and drummer Kourtney Klein themselves turned up after the band had their own little after show party at the backstage.



Terence Fixmer

Motor

Nitzer Ebb

Setlist
Rage
Electrostatic
Hold me
Feel the Fear
Look to me
Warm












Setlist
Black Powder
Yak
Stuka Stunt
Junker
King of USA
Sweatbox
Flashback
1 x 1
Spazm
Din13








Setlist
Intro
Getting Closer
Let Your Body Learn
Shame
Hearts And Minds
Captivate
Godhead
Blood Money
For Fun
Ascend
Lightning Man
Control, I'm Here
Murderous
Join In The Chant
---
Fun To Be Had
I Give To You

Rating
Music: 5
Performance: 5
Sound: 6
Light: 5
Total: 5.2
Rating
Music: 7
Performance: 8
Sound: 8
Light: 7
Total: 7.5
Rating
Music: 9
Performance: 9
Sound: 9
Light: 7
Total: 8.7


Columbia Club, Berlin, 4th November 2006

Straight from the after show party at the Markthalle we went to the Hamburg main train station to catch the train to Berlin at 6 o’ clock in the morning. Rock ’n’ Roll life is pretty demanding, isn’t it? After a few hours of sleep in our lodging we headed to the Columbia Club, another cool looking venue which obviously used to be a cinema. The Berlin show had been sold out for weeks so there were quite a few people looking for a spare ticket in front of the Columbia. And geeeezaz, the place was jam-packed! Unfortunately bars and bathrooms were only in the back of the club so once you were in front of the stage (if you queued up early enough) there was hardly a chance to find your way back through the masses. While the Cologne and Hamburg audiences were pretty relaxed there was some kind of tension in the air in Berlin. A stereotypical EBM crowd with a pretty violent attitude, which probably suits the aggressive sound of the headliner’s music but the other two shows proved that you can love hard, aggressive music and still show some respect for others and a friendly smile every now and then. Or in other words: The Columbia Club sucks when it’s more than sold out, especially when there a few stubborn a-holes in the crowd.

Anyway, TERENCE FIXMER started and from the beginning I noticed that the acoustics in this place were just perfect. FIXMER also got the best reaction out of the three shows I attended with many people dancing. Next to me there were even a few guys freaking totally out to the minimal Techno beats of Monsieur FIXMER, who as a matter of fact delivered his best performance and obviously was pleased and dragged along by the positive feedback. Business as usual, MOTOR was next. Though a few EBM-heads appeared not be very happy with the band’s tongue-in-cheek, maniacal performance (Jesus, they even dared to wear all white instead of black only! *g*), the sweat-inducing, uncompromising, punk-laced Techno of MOTOR came into full effect. Perhaps Berlin with its long history as one of global capitals of Techno music is simply more receptive for stuff like TERENCE FIXMER and MOTOR – well, if you neglect the few subjects who were staring like they were seeing ghosts. ;-)



Well, there was something special in the air from the start. Both support acts went down well and got even better reactions than the two nights before. People were hot to trot and just waiting for the atmosphere to explode. And it did! The fans in front of the stage were already jumping around during the instrumental intro, and when the grinding synths and first drum rolls of “Getting Closer” started there was no stop and no halt. There was a lot of pushing and slam-dancing among the die-hards at the front, but being a tall boy I had not much problems with that. One or two more touchy persons ran for cover, though. *g* The main set of NITZER EBB’s show was the same as the night before, including “Ascend” (I noticed a dropouts during the more complex rhythm parts of it but no-one, including me, cared about it). Both band and audience were absolutely on fire and even the mid-tempo songs like “Captivate” or “For Fun” didn’t loose the level of energy. The album track “Blood Money” with its excellent punishing slo-mo beat was a fan favorite and welcomed by the crowd as if it was one of NITZER EBB’s biggest hits. There was no time to breath, and the classic foursome of “Lightning man”, “Control I’m Here”, “Murderous” (again with a tension adding break afterwards), and “Join in the Chant” burned the house down. People were truly joining the chant, yelling all the lines of their old favorites together with McCarthy.



So far it had been a special night already but there was more to come. The break between the main set and the encore was slightly longer than usual, and I already began to wonder why. Kourtney Klein and Bon Harris came back on stage and took their places behind their drum kits. Kourtney showed a big grin, tested her electronic drums – and then my ears heard something unforeseeable and astonishing! “Fitness to Purpose”, a song from NITZER EBB’s debut “That Total Age” that hadn’t been performed as far back as 1988 – I couldn’t believe it! Actually the first NNITZER EBB song I have ever heard! I was totally blown away. Bon Harris tag-teamed Douglas McCarthy at the front, delivering additional vocals and adding extra energy to the performance while he returned every now and then to his drums to play some metallic percussion. To me this was sheer ecstasy – to my surprise this was the point when the audience was the calmest (if the term ‘calm’ is allowed in context with this particular show anyway ;) ). Perhaps the fans were just too exhausted after one hour of non-stop power, or they didn’t know this pretty old track anymore. I don’t know. I was just happy that I experienced another one of these special moments that make traveling around for concerts being so worth while.

After this huge surprise NITZER EBB left the stage to return for the standard finale “I Give to You”. I was hoping that they would still do “Fun to be had” but anyway, this night “I Give to You” seemed to be even more intense than before. Or I was already totally out of mind. Or both. ;-) Bon Harris, Douglas McCarthy and Kourtney Klein were clearly very happy with the show and left the stage with many “Thank you”s and “Danke schön!” Harris was the last to leave the stage, and he really looked like he didn’t want to leave. He folded his hands and bowed down several times to show his gratitude, to a continued roaring applause by everyone at the Columbia. What a night!



Terence Fixmer

Motor

Nitzer Ebb

Setlist


















Setlist
Black Powder
Yak
Stuka Stunt
Junker
King of USA
Sweatbox
Flashback
1 x 1
Spazm
Din13









Setlist
Intro
Getting Closer
Let Your Body Learn
Shame
Hearts And Minds
Captivate
Godhead
Blood Money
For Fun
Ascend
Lightning Man
Control, I'm Here
Murderous
Join In The Chant
---
Fitness To Purpose
---
I Give To You

Rating
Music: 5
Performance: 7
Sound: 9
Light: 7
Total: 6.5
Rating
Music: 7
Performance: 8
Sound: 9
Light: 8
Total: 7.8
Rating
Music: 9
Performance: 10
Sound: 9
Light: 8
Total: 9.2

The two concerts in Cologne and Hamburg were both excellent, and the Berlin gig was downright a hell of a show! Bon Harris later stated that for the band Berlin was among the top five of all shows of the whole tour. On an interesting side-note, there were quite a few celebrities spotted in the Berlin crowd, including Marco Haas aka T.RAUMSCHMIERE and Daniel Miller, legendary head of Mute Records. The “Body Of Work” world tour was a huge success, perhaps much more than the band was hoping for, and there’s a good chance that the new energy and inspiration from this tour will lead to brand new NITZER EBB studio recordings and yet another tour by the end of next year. I can only hope so! Bon Harris and Douglas McCarthy will have a meeting in early December to discuss the prospects of such events, so keep an eye on REFLECTIONS OF DARKNESS for the forthcoming exclusive NITZER EBB interview.

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