Zeche Carl, Essen, Germany
February 17th 2005
Diary of Dreams & Psyche
Two famous heroes of electro-goth music together on tour – both with new albums (Diary of Dreams – Nigredo; Psyche – The 11th hour) – what could be better?
We arrived quite early at the venue and first had some snack and drink at the little restaurant that belongs to the “Zeche Carl”. Pretty nice to sit there and relax a bit before the concert starts. While we were waiting and chatting with some friends, the venue filled up very quickly. Just before the door opened at 8, a big queue was standing in front of the entrance and we had to wait some time to get in. As the gates finally opened, the crowds started pouring in - quickly filling up the space just in front of the stage. A seemingly endless stream of people continued to flow in until the concert hall was totally filled. People were standing very packed while waiting for the concert to start.
Psyche
Psyche are surely the most popular Canadian electro band next to Skinny Puppy and Front Line Assembly, and influenced the scene a lot. The band is just out with the new album “The 11th hour”, which was released on the 24th of January 2005. Psyche's great, expressive live shows are a fine blend of recent hits and classics. So, we were quite curious of what we could expect… especially regarding the new album that none of us has had heard before, even though we like the band very much.
Music
Psyche were starting quite calm, but turned very soon to the faster “Misery”. Slow songs like the famous “Goodbye horses”, coalesced with faster ones like “Sanctuary” from the album “The hiding place”. Darrin´s voice was good and strong as always. Very sad that the sound wasn’t very good, due to a somewhat defect left speaker. This also influenced the later show of “Diary of Dreams”.
Performance
The audience was a bit hesitant to start with, but after a few songs both the audience and the band was getting a bit more into the concert mood. With the famous hits like the above mentioned “Goodbye horses” they sang along with Darrin. Some candles decorated the stage, and added a lot to the mood of the calmer songs. Quite bad that they weren´t lit though. The lighting was ok, but not great because it was dimmed down quite much for the support band – although there were some extra lights on the stage that gave a promising impression for the main attraction.
Rating
Music 7
Performance 6
Sound 5
Light 7
Total 6 (6.4)
Diary of Dreams
Short after the release of the album “Nigredo” the band is now out with another release: the e.p. “MenschFeind”. Whoever has seen the band performing live knows that you can expect an extraordinary concert. And it seemed that all the people being in Essen knew what would come... a pleasure for heart and soul.
The line-up at stage was Gaun:A (guitar, backing vocals), DNS (percussion), Torben Wendt (keys, backing vocals) and Adrian Hates (vocals, guitar). Some of you probably know Torben as mastermind of “Diorama”.
Music
From the first chord of the song “MenschFeind”, which was the opener for the “Diary of Dreams” set, Adrian mastered his audience with his charismatic voice. But it were to the first tones of “Chemical”, that the audience for the first time really was showing how much they enjoyed the performance - from the stage to the back of the concert hall. Synth sounds together with a strong guitar and beating drums characterize the live sound of “Diary of Dreams”. The song "Panic?" from the e.p. “Panic Manifesto”, as first song of the 2nd encore really fired up the audience even more - as it started with drum and keyboard solos. Really annoying that the sound was a bit destroyed because of that defect speaker... even more annoying since the concert was recorded for a DVD.
Performance
Right from the start it was quite obvious who was drawing most of the people to this event. And more than the rest of the band, Adrian Hates controlled the audience with his charisma. They started out with the song “MenschFind”, that was followed later in the set by hits like the previous single “Giftraum”, from the current album “Nigredo”. Add “Chemicals”, “The curse” and “Traumtänzer” from the Album “Freak Perfume”, and you know it was a good set. Not only did the extra lighting work very well, but for “Diary of Dreams” the existing lights at “Zeche Carl” were also used much better... probably also because of the DVD that was filmed on that evening. The careful set-up threw beams at and around the guitarist and singer very well, as they walked, jumped and danced around the stage. During the concert Adrian unbound his flowing hair, which made lots of the girls scream. But Adrian and Gaun:A weren’t the only ones that moved and drew attention, the energetic drummer really worked up a good sweat fast – which was especially obvious since he showed his bare chest. After the 3rd encore the band left the stage with really happy smiles... and likewise did the audience, after such an exciting show.
Rating
Music 8
Performance 9
Sound 6
Light 8
Total 8
Zeche Carl
The venue is an old coal-mine. Nowadays it is an event area for different happenings such as concerts or parties. Devided into a bigger and a smaller concert hall, an entrance area with a bar and a small restaurant it is perfect as concert venue.
Food and drinks
In the small restaurant they sell different kind of snacks and dishes, so that you can beef you up before the concerts. Drinks are sold in the whole venue for a reasonable price.
Stage
The stage in the smaller concert hall where the concert took place isn´t that big, bit fits really good for the size of the concert area.
Audience area
The concert area isn´t really big. It grasps about 400 people. Besides the lower area you have a gallery opposite the stage from where even smaller persons have a very good view to the stage.
Staff
As far as I can say the stuff was really nice and helpful and answered all questions very friendly.
Rating
Venue accomodation 7
Staff 7
Total 7
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