Progresja, Warsaw, Poland30th March 2008
Out of Line Festival: Red Emprez, DIN [A] TOD, Cephalgy, UnterArt, Spetsnaz, Hocico
Out of Line Festival took place in several cities in Germany before it finally reached Poland, still its history in the country was rather difficult - the first edition planned in November in Poznan was cancelled in mysterious circumstances (mostly due to the local organizers easiness that made some people go to the venue in vain) so if wasn't earlier than when the agency Infogoth set the new date on 30th March in Progresja that we were sure it will really take place. So far so good.
The venue was quite special, the lights were decent (but still majority of those the club really has at its disposal wasn't used) and the attendance? Well, growing - the first concerts were performed almost in a three-fourths empty club, but when it came to HOCICO it was even quite full. What was similar for all the bands was that they all looked like deadly tired (or bored to death?) at the begging and it took them two, three songs to warm up and that none of them prepared any kind of special performance (not even visualizations) - so my report will concern mostly the music they presented.
Red Emprez
Red Emprez is a Polish duo playing EBM, Electro and industrial music with a touch of ever green 80s. They mix light, smooth pads of classic analogues with a variety of noise and harsh and overdriven tones. In our actual form (two men: voc plus electronics) they've existed since June 2004. The duo is Adam (vocal ) and Mike (sound). http://www.myspace.com/redemprez
Music & Performance
The band that had to start the Festival had hard act to follow - only the first two rows were filled by people, the rest was busy with other things such us, say, socializing, so they really had to show self-confidence and endurance not to fail. RED EMPREZ is a quite experienced band now, they have released two albums and the concert in Warsaw was very much promoting their new album ‘On the leash’ (the follower of the previous, highly successful one ‘Clubgirls and poofs’). With the new release their music gained a more rapacious quality, but all the features RE is famous for: changeable vocal, melodious music and fine beat remained the same. The combination of stylish lights and deep, pounding voice created a hypnotic, drilling mixture that captured the audience's attention.
Setlist
01. The Circle (On the leash)
02. My Possession (Clubgirls and poofs)
03. Time to say Goodbye (On the leash)
04. Pussy Lover (Clubgirls and poofs)
05. Fix Me Up (On the leash)
06. Everyone's Girlfriend (On the Leash)
Rating
Music: 9
Performance: 4
Light: 6
Sound: 6
Total: 6.3
DIN [A] TOD
DIN [A] Tod was formed in 2003 by Sven and Claudia. They recorded the first demo in 2004 and started playing concerts. In 2005, the signed to Out of Line Music and released their debut single. In 2007 they released their debut album ‘The Sound of Crash’. http://www.myspace.com/dinatod / http://www.dinatod.de/
Music & Performance
It was the first show of the project in Poland and the opinions on it were mixed: some liked the frugal, balanced sound the others thought it was too static and slightly monotonous. It's hard no to say both groups were partly right: though the synthetic melodies produced by the duo could win the audiences ears they were presented in such a way that it was very hard to scope attention on them. Static, detached way of performing, lack of any contact between the artists and their audience whatsoever definitely did a lot of harm to them; it was only when Claudia took the mike over we could sense some passion and energy hidden it their output - Sven hidden behind his sunglass, stuck almost in a complete inertness was like a living image - but, well, perhaps it was supposed to look that way.
As to the music: DIN [A] TOD present a combination of catchy melodies, good beat and synth elements intertwined with phat passages - all taken together stands for quite a melodious soundscape. The band has recently released a debut album entitled: ‘The Sound of Crash’ and so most of the setlist include the songs of the release. I personally liked them playing ‘Creation Crucifixion’ most - the piece has some sort of captivating nonchalance to it and it features fine melody and rhythm - that was absolute fave!
Setlist
01. Ephedrine Logic
02. Creation Crucifixion
03. Carol's Fascination
04. Clockwork's ticking
05. Time made dogs of us
Rating
Music: 8
Performance: 5
Light: 6
Sound: 8
Total: 6.7
Cephalgy
CEPHALGY was formed in 1997, the band's line-up is Jörg Ghöler (Vocals) Ronny (Keyboard) and Chris (Keyboard). So far they have released three CDs: ‘Engel Sterben Nie’ (2004 ), ‘Finde Deinen Dämon’ (2005 ) and ‘Moment Der Stille EP’ (2006 ). http://www.myspace.com/cephalgy / http://www.cephalgy.de/
Music & Performance
Good energetic kick - that's what basically CEPHALGY show was all about - fine electro music, LEDs in glasses (yap, those glasses seem to be more and more popular and slow but steady become an object of secret desires - watch them :)). I liked the sound presented a lot - strong, a bit hoarse vocal and danceable, freely running melodies were perfect background for all kind of dance floor antics we were doing at the dance floor. The vocalist danced all over the stage and trued to get the audience involved in the show and I believe that though - as he claimed - he was “too old for this shit” he succeeded. Perhaps it was due to his desperate calls “I want to see your hands” thing :-) but I assume mostly to the invigorating rhythm the gents managed to serve us from the stage. Good, changeable strobe lights complemented the show.
Setlist
01. Der letzte Tag
02. Wer ich bin
03. Deine Tränen
04. From my Hands
05. Deine Seele
06. Gott
07. Erinnerung
08. Vater
09. Zum Abschied
10. Engel sterben nie.
Rating
Music: 7
Performance:6
Light:7
Sound:6
Total: 6.5
UnterArt
Founded in early 2004 by Thomas Stein and Grigory Feil, the tracks ‘Damn my Soul’ and ‘Kill Your Heart’ and a remix by Andy LaPlegua were already released in the same year on the bonus disc included with the Compilation ‘Industrial for the Masses Vol. 2’. The track ‘Ugly’ on ‘Machineries of Joy Vol. 3’ followed soon thereafter and ‘Just You Wait’ was released in mid 2005 on ‘Awake the Machines Vol. 5’. The band had its debut live performance in August 2005 supporting Mexican legend DULCE LIQUIDO. Shortly after that, Chris Harms joined UNTERART, effectively adding his vocal spectrum to the concept of the group: to create a balance between noise and grace. the recent album released in 2007 is called ‘Memento’. http://outofline.de/ / http://www.myspace.com/unterart
Music & Performance
The expectations directed to the band were huge - it was the second most awaited project (next to HOCICO) so no surprise some people felt a bit disappointed by what UNTERART presented. After the release of their second album ‘Memento’ the trio of Hamburg won the hearts of Polish audience hence the crowd by the bars was impatiently awaiting to see them playing live. Like I mentioned at the beginning - I don't know what the reason was - was it the relatively small number of people that came to the club or other reasons - the musicians who were appearing onstage one by one all looked like walking zombies... and so was with UNTERART - Chris Harms, famous for being a “rocking demon” ( not only with UNTERART or BIG BOY, but most of all with the glam rock formation THE PLEASURES) looked as if he was to faint in a sec... Luckily after two songs he managed to show a bit more energy (but not enthusiasm, that would be too much to require, wouldn't it?:-)) and show the audience at least a glimpse that would explain his fame... Grigory didn't fail (there were only two of them performing in Warsaw) - his guitars were decently lively and kicking.
So was the music of UNTERART - strong, ravishing melodies, electrifying electronics and wild vocal blended with sensual, sexy passages entering slowly and freely the realism of hypnotic electro rhythms. The best moment, I think, was when both, Chris and Grigory, played the music together (“hirntod”) - that was the only piece without vocal while their gig and the most smashing pimping we could dream of. The energy emanating from the stage was overpowering! General impression - the music of UNTERART is more than fine, but if we could have one wish concerning the band's next show in PL - please, show at least a wee bit of engagement, we'll surely appreciate that! :-)
Setlist
01. Memento
02. Calvary campaign
03. Pariah
04. Wasteland
05. Hirntod
06. The antagonist
07. Open end
08. Exit
09. Now or never
Rating
Music: 10
Performance: 5
Light: 8
Sound: 8
Total: 7.7
Spetsnaz
The Swedish EBM duo SPETSNAZ is known for its intensity, screaming vocals, and hard-hitting beats. They are aggressive as well as melodic, and they were at the Out of Line Festival to promote their recent album ‘Deadpan’. http://www.myspace.com/spetsnazebm. For biography go here.
Music & Performance
SPETSNAZ show was the second best at the Festival - overpowering, energetic, hard-hitting and lively. Pontus and Stefan are very good showmen who can encourage the audience to have fun with them and so they managed this time - I could see the crowds of people dancing all over the venue and cheering the band loudly. The magic and invigorating quality of the songs presented: ‘Apathy’, ‘Grand Design’, ‘On the Edge’ or ‘Plaything’ left very few indifferent. Very good show!
Rating
Music: 10
Performance: 10
Light: 8
Sound: 9
Total: 9.3
Hocico
HOCICO were formed in 1993 in Mexican by vocalist Erk Aicrag and keyboard player Racso Agroyam. They soon became extremely popular among the fans of electro music. Their most popular releases included: ‘Sangre Hirviente’, ‘Signos de Aberracion’, ‘Cursed Land’, ‘El Dia De La Ira’ and the most recent one: ‘Memorias Atras’. http://www.hocico.com/
Music & Performance
The Mexicans were like storm - tore the audience apart with their well known old pieces as well as those of the recently released album ‘Memorias Atras’. Wild applause, dancing, screaming, changeable light and smoke – all that stood for an extraordinary, smashing concert. The music of HOCICO seem to have a highly danceable quality: fine, pounding rhythm plus electrifying, drilling electronic sounds work every time getting the people off their feet and speeding their heartbeat. Erk seemed very self-confident onstage – no surprise the project is always warmly welcomed whenever they play in Poland. The pieces of the new album leave no room for any doubts - HOCICO are kicking asses as usual.
Rating
Music: 10
Performance: 10
Light: 10
Sound: 10
Total: 10
All pictures by Bartosz Sarama (www.yesternight.pl)
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