Live Review: 69 Eyes, The - Munich 2023

Backstage, Munich, Germany
24th March 2023
The 69 Eyes - “Gotta Rock European Tour” 2023 - Support: The Other

It’s been almost 4 years since THE 69 EYES toured in Germany, so I made sure to arrive at Backstage Munich in good time, before doors. The sundown clad the sky in shades of red, when I crossed Friedenheimer Brücke, it was a perfect setup for the crowd, all clad in Black, waiting at the entrance.

The Other

At 20:00 tonight’s support THE OTHER went on stage. The Cologne based band toured with THE 69 EYES previously, but it’s been a while since I saw the Horror Punk band live on stage. I’m always down for a good Horror Punk show and THE OTHER really played a dedicated set, many songs resembling the songs legendary MISFITS released. I guess to many in the audience the band was unknown, so interaction was rather scarce and the Goth crowd is not always down for any kind of Punk, though later tonight, Munich would prove that Munich is always ready for a certain kind of Punk music. THE OTHER did a solid job, warming up the crowd and left under a big applause.

Rating
Music: 8
Performance: 8
Light: 7
Sound: 7
Total: 7.5 / 10






The 69 Eyes

THE 69 EYES started in 1989 as a Sleaze band in Helsinki and over the years developed their very own style the Goth’n’Roll. The band is also known as “The Helsinki Vampires” among their fans and came over to Germany for the first time in 1998. Things kicked off during the early 2000s when they went on tour with PARADISE LOST and won over more and more fans. THE 69 EYES constantly toured during all these years not only in Europe but also in Australia, Japan, Russia in the USA establishing a big and very dedicated Goth’n’Roll fanbase. In 2022 the band signed with ATOMIC FIRE RECORDS and their new album ‘Death of Darkness’ will be released on April 21st 2023. www.69eyes.com / www.facebook.com/the69eyes



Music & Performance
The band was a bit on delay when they came down the stage of Backstage’s Halle around 21:15. We had no media pit tonight, so one had to hope for the best when the band started their set with classic ‘Devils’. ‘Feel Berlin’ followed suit and by now, the band had a full grip on the crowd. The first part of the set consisted mostly of classic and fan favourites and the audience rewarded the band with applause and smiles. ‘Death of Darkness’, the title track of the band’s upcoming album, was the first new song on the setlist and although it had only been released three weeks ago as a single, the fans already knew the lyrics by heart and sang along. ‘Never Say Die’ got band and crowd rocking out hard, before it was time for another song from the new album ‘Gotta Rock’ a cover of BOYCOTT’s famous song. Again, Munich’s crowed proved, that they follow the bands activities and sang along.



The opening track of 2019s tour got the Backstage cooking and sweat poured on stage and in the dancing crowd and of course you saw many “Two Horns Up” in the air. Classic ‘Wasting The Dawn’ proved that the band has refined Goth their sound over the years, while ‘Drive’, that was released as an EP in 2022, proved that the band knows how to rock their fans. Goth classic ‘Brandon Lee’ was the last song on the regular setlist, as soon as the band left the stage, Munich loudly demanded the encore. A word on the performance, before I start talking the encore. This was certainly one of the most outstanding ones I ever saw from this band. I really tried to remember if Jyrki ever got down and mixed with the crowd before, but I can’t remember such a show. The novum definitely astonished the Munich crowd, but they kept rocking with him even wilder while the band was being all smiles on stage.



But let’s talk the encore that came with kind of an early easter egg for the fans tonight. Jyrki addressed the crowd telling the “Bavarian Vampires” that it won’t be another four years ‘til the band will be back. ‘Framed in Blood’ really shook Backstage, but trust me, things would get even wilder tonigt. After Munich danced to the sound of ‘Dance D’amour’, Jyrki told us “Just in case, you didn’t know: It’s Friday night. And I wanna have my kind of Friday with you guys (…) Let’s do it like the RAMONES!” Jussi 69 started beating the shit out of his drums, until the guitars kicked in, giving us ‘I Jus Wanna Have Something to Do’. The crowd jumped and danced, raising the hands at the designated times and it was obviously, that THE 69 EYES loved to see the party in the pit. Loud cheering and applause rewarded the band for the Punk Rock sidekick.



And since there is no rest for the wicked, Jyrki addressed the crowd and told them that he had to ask “A very difficult and serious question in this serious moonlight” which was “You wanna rock?” and after asking the question again, we got the song a 69 EYES show never can end without and so, Munich rocked out to ‘Lost Boys’ one more time. To make it short: it was loud, it was sweaty, it was great and such gigs are always too short, but let’s take it for granted, that the band will be back in Munich for sure.

Setlist
01. Devils
02. Feel Berlin
03. Perfect Skin
04. The Chair
05. Cheyenna
06. Betty Blue
07. Gothic Girl
08. Death of Darkness
09. Never Say Die
10. Gotta Rock
11. Two Horns Up
12. Wasting The Dawn
13. Drive
14. Brandon Lee
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15. Framed in Blood
16. Dance D’Amour
17. I Just Wanna Have Something To Do (RAMONES cover)
18. Lost Boys

Rating
Music: 10
Performance: 10
Light: 7
Sound: 10
Total: 9.3 / 10