Blutengel - Berlin 2008

 
BLUTENGEL

In promotion of their latest album ‘Labyrinth’, BLUTENGEL played 4 extra shows to add to their October 2007 tour. BLUTENGEL are Chris Pohl (programming, vocals, lyrics), Constance Rudert (vocals, lyrics, visuals), Ulrike Goldmann (vocals and lyrics) and dancer Sonja. They were founded in 1998 and have released 5 albums to date. http://www.blutengel.de/
 
Music & Performance
Tonight, BLUTENGEL showed that one shouldn’t have any expectations anymore with bands that have been around for too long. Or at least in BLUTENGEL’s case, 10 years is too long. Or perhaps they just didn’t feel like making an effort out of a show when the tour is taking just 4 days. I don’t want to make any accusations, but that was exactly the impression BLUTENGEL gave that night. 


 
Even though I already know not to expect too much of the live singing qualities, and that their clichés shouldn’t be taken seriously, still it was disappointing. All of the sexy power, energy, playfulness and spectacle that I’d seen 4 years before (and a shortened version of it a bit later in Gent on a festival) was just gone. While previously all engaged as protagonists in the theatrical drama, today the singers were just sticking to their microphones. The 2 dancers and 2 masked figures ‘played out’ a bad copy of what once was spectacular and sexy. The looked tired and lazy, wore bad carnival costumes, and literally functioned as statues than dancers many times. What has happened to the over-cool and lovely energetic dancer that used to be there? Whereas Sonja retained her cuteness despite her kinky looks, at least half of her energy was gone - sucked up by the second dancer perhaps?


 
But let’s go back to the music now. The ballads were just boring; the out-of-tune singing of Constance Rudert saved me from falling asleep by mere annoyance. The moments that Chris Pohl was gone most of the audience painfully seemed to fall asleep as well. When he returned, he was enthusiastically screamed at, but even the Big Mr. Pohl didn’t succeed in getting the entire venue moving. Of course they played many songs from the new album ‘Labyrinth’ as well, and some old ones - unfortunately I can’t go into much detail because their roadie wouldn’t give me a setlist. I was happy when the concert had ended and already moved to the side so I could get away as quickly as possible after the encore. That would prove to have been a wise decision....


 
When Ulrike Goldmann came back on stage for the encore, she made a chat pause and invited someone on stage who had a special request to make - and yes, right in front of a sold-out K17 a wedding proposal was uttered! And surely the answer was positive as well - that was really the best moment of the evening, finally something actually happened! Then BLUTENGEL started to play their 3-song encore, ending with ‘Children of the Night’, which really seemed to be the last song. But after very loud screaming of the audience Chris Pohl came back on stage and asked F.O.D to come on stage too, and that they knew what he was up to.... Soon as they were on stage, Pohl explained to the audience how much he had been disturbed by the haircut of Daniel during the whole 4-day tour, and that they were going to shave it off. Daniel took it willingly and sat fully prepared for it, but as the razor touched his head they quit, it was a joke of course. Then they played the real last song, ‘Vampire Romance’, during which the dancers spit fake blood onto the audience - you have been warned! Now that would have been a real killer, BLUTENGEL ruining my un-washable and expensive outfit after such a sad show...