Ringlokschuppen, Bielefeld, Germany1st October 2007
Erasure & Onetwo
On the 1st October - it was Monday and it was raining (how Andy Bell detected later) - we went to Bielefeld again to enjoy ERASURE, the well-known pioneers of electronic dance music at the Ringlokschuppen which is a very nice venue for such concerts. Special guest on this tour were ONETWO.
Onetwo
ONETWO is a great collaboration of two well-known musicians, one half of ONETWO is Paul Humphreys, who was one half of acclaimed electro-pop pioneers Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), the other half of ONETWO is Claudia Brücken, who was one quarter of the cult glam-Goth electro-group PROPAGANDA, formed in Düsseldorf, Germany, the home city of KRAFTWERK, from whom they inherited many of their ideas about form, content and image. ONETWO fuse, blast and combine the epic Teutonic intentions of PROPAGANDA with the charged, atmospheric power of OMD to produce something new, sleek and adventurous. Formed in 2004, they released a 5 track EP 'Item' on there own There(there) label, amongst other outlets. 'Item' is an introduction to the sound of ONETWO which features the song 'Cloud 9', a rare writing collaboration between Claudia and DEPECHE MODE's Martin Gore whose unique guitar style also features on the track. ONETWO released 'Cloud Nine' as a single on 19th February 07 followed by their debut album entitled 'Instead' on 26th February 07. http://www.myspace.com/weareonetwo / http://www.theremusic.com/
Music
The music of ONETWO was finest atmospheric electronic music like known by OMD combined with the striking voice of Claudia, a really great collaboration. On stage ONETWO were supported by an additional keyboard player. The set ran about 40 minutes, starting with ‘The Theory of Everything’ - the opener of their one album ‘Instead’ - followed by some other songs from this album, a BILLY MACKENZIE-song ‘Club Country’ and one song from their source bands each: ‘Messages’ from OMD and ‘Duel’ from PROPAGANDA.
Performance
Only a small part of the stage was available for ONETWO, the most part of the stage was hidden behind a black curtain where already the stage design of ERASURE was built up. In the middle Claudia dominated the stage with her fascinating voice and charisma, on the right side Paul took place behind his keyboard and on the other side another keyboard player did his job. The performance was smoothly - fitting to the music, and quickly the crowd was enthralled by the wonderful music. After 40 minutes ONETWO left the stage and yet the journey was worthwhile. Unfortunately the audience couldn’t hear the parting words of Claudia and Paul because their microphones were switched off already.
Setlist
01. The Theory of Everything
02. Signals
03. Sequential
04. Messages (OMD-song)
05. Club Country (Billy Mackenzie)
06. Cloud Nine
07. Home
08. Duel (Propaganda)
Rating
Music: 9
Performance: 8
Sound: 10
Light: 7
Total: 8.6
Erasure
After the change over, ERASURE entered the stage hidden behind the black curtain. The venue was filled up meanwhile and full of expectations, the audience was waiting for the headliner.
ERASURE is an English Synth pop duo consisting of keyboardist Vince Clarke and singer Andy Bell. They entered the music scene in 1985 with their debut single ‘Who Needs Love (Like That)’ and established themselves on the British charts and became one of the most successful artists of the late 1980s and early 1990s. From 1986 to 1997, Erasure achieved twenty-four consecutive Top 20 hits in the UK. By 2007, 34 of their 40 singles have made the Top 40, with 17 climbing into the Top 10. Although most popular in their native UK, the duo has also achieved success in Europe, the US and South America. To date, Erasure has recorded worldwide album sales of over 25 million. From the start, ERASURE's success was founded upon their song writing skills. Vince Clarke's talent for writing melodic and catchy pop songs was evident from his years with DEPECHE MODE and YAZOO. As a lyricist and melodist, the singer Andy Bell added depth and character to Clarke's electronic style. The current album ‘Light at the End of the World’ was released in May 2007. http://www.erasureinfo.com/ / http://www.myspace.com/erasureofficial
Music
The show was opened by ‘Sunday Girl’ - the opener of the current album ‘Light at the End of the World’, followed by a storm of hits like ‘Blue Savannah’, ‘Drama’, ‘Chains Of Love’ or ‘Sometimes’ mixed with current songs like ‘Fly Away’, ‘Storm In A Teacup’ or ‘Glass Angel’. In the middle of the set the audience was surprised by a kind of "chill out" - instrumental which was used by the band to change the clothes backstage. After about 85 minutes the main set finished with ‘Glass Angel’ which is also the last track of the current album. Of course the crowd demanded an encore and the band came back for one more song ‘Stop!’; unfortunately it was the only encore and the show finished ultimate after this song.
Performance
The live shows of ERASURE are known for crazy outfits and fantastic stage buildings, therefore the expectations were pitched high, but after the curtain dropped, the show came up to somebody expectations. The stage was dominated by a big glittering staircase like in a TV-Show and the audience was impressed by beautiful trashy colours and show elements. In the background some large video screens were arranged which displayed imaginative sequences. On the left side of the stage Vince operated the machines cool like every time; at some songs additional he played an acoustic guitar. On the right side of the stage three juicy female background singers took their place who were in a good temper and were flirting with the crowd at the whole time. In the centre of the stage, on the stairs, upstairs and all over Andy was dancing, running and singing the whole time, dominating the show with his exalted and oratorical style, between the songs he often had spoken to the crowd in German and did some jokes.
First all people on stage were dressed in camouflage military styled outfits, later they changed their clothes: Andy and Vince changed to a kind of painter outfit - multicoloured flecked white suits; the girls changed to crazy flashing dresses in shocking pink, yellow and orange, combined with wigs in the same colour. The break to change the clothes was a funny case: after ‘Sucker for Love’ all people left the stage and the music went on with a kind of “chill-out” music while the video screens displayed some funny messages like "Are you wondering where we are?", "We are smoking backstage", "It won't take much longer", "Meanwhile move your arms like in slow motion" or "you could do as if you have got some psychedelically drugs". After it the band came back on stage and continued the show. The crowd was enthralled by the amazing show and enjoyed it to the full. During the encore ‘Stop!’ some people in the first row lifted “stop” signs in different colours. Altogether a great show which was over too fast.
Setlist
01. Sunday Girl
02. Blue Savannah
03. Drama
04. I Could Fall In Love
05. Fly Away
06. Breathe
07. Storm in a Teacup
08. Chains of Love
09. Breath of Life
10. Love to Hate You
11. Sucker for Love
--- Q Change
12. Victim
13. When a Lover Leaves
14. Ship of Fouls
15. Chorus
16. Sometimes
17. A Little Respect
18. Oh L'amour
19. Glass Angel
---
20. Stop!
Rating
Music: 9
Performance: 10
Sound: 10
Light: 10
Total: 9.6
All pictures by Daniela Vorndran (http://www.vorndranphotography.com/ / http://www.black-cat-net.de/ / www.myspace.com/vorndranphotography)
{jos_sb_discuss:17}
Comments powered by CComment