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See all the photos from
this concert here
For the fourth year running, Flag Promotions
presents Black Celebration, 'London's Premiere The Chaos Engine are now one of the UK
scene's more established bands. They've been around since '96, toured the
UK gig circuit umpteen times, supported everyone from Project Pitchfork
to Christian Death, released three albums, and headlined a stage at the
Eurorock Festival in Belgium and at C8 in Montreal. So what, then, are
they doing so far down *this* bill? They certainly have the pulling-power
to Angels And Agony may come across as a little
bland, but they're a spicy feast compared to Greenhaus, who have all the
stage presence of a cardboard box. The presence of Greenhaus so far up
the bill can be neatly explained by pointing out that one of the people
in the band is Frank, the man behind Flag Sulpher provide a sudden change of style,
sound, and pace. They're a full-on guitar band, almost as incongrous at
this event as Needleye. If you want comparisons, imagine the heavy guitars
and beats of Nine Inch Nails mashed up with the angst-ridden rock of Nirvana.
That, basically, is Sulpher's schtick. It may all be rather contrived these
days - how many rock bands have we seen over the years who give it Now we're into the upper strata of the
bill, and it's time for Sheep On Drugs. Not, however, Sheep On Drugs as
we've known and loved them in the past. Duncan, the band's original frontman,
takes a back seat these days (although we're told he's still involved in
some vague behind-the-scenes capacity). This means that Sheep On Drugs,
2002-style, is basically Lee Fraser on laptop and electronics, plus a
So, that was Black Celebration. The biggest so far, but not the best. Sure, Flag Promotions scored a coup by booking a big-name headliner, and grabbing the new version of Sheep On Drugs before anyone else. But in all honesty I'd rather see newer bands who really have something to offer, rather than endure some lacklustre performances by alleged megastar acts, who, when you analyse what they *really* do, aren't actually that mega. There's probably some sort of frightfully erudite conclusion to be drawn here, involving the concepts of quantity and quality, emperor's new clothes, all that kind of thing. But I'll leave you to fill that one in for yourself!
See all the photos from this concert here Apoptygma Berzerk: http://www.apoptygmaberzerk.de Sheep On Drugs: http://www.sheep-on-drugs.com Sulpher: http://www.sulpher.co.uk Greenhaus: http://www.greenhaus.co.uk Angels And Agony: http://www.globalxs.nl/home/m/moonland Chaos Engine: http://www.chaosengine.com Needleye: http://www.needleye.net Neurophoria: [No website] Flag Promotions: http://www.flagpromotions.com The Astoria: http://www.meanfiddler.com/version1/londonastoria/index.asp Reviewed by Uncle Nemesis: http://www.nemesis.to
11/15/02 |
Industrial/EBM/Electro
Festival', to quote the flyer. That's 'Premiere' as in 'number one in a
field of one', since no other promoter is currently putting on this kind
of event in London - but I think we can allow Flag a bit of shameless hype,
because this year's event is the biggest Black Celebration yet. It's moved
up into the 1500-capacity Astoria, one of London's principal theatre-style
rock venues. This, I suspect, is largely due to the pulling power of the
headliners, Apoptygma Berzerk, who seem to have an ever-expanding fanbase
these days. If they weren't on this bill, frankly the event would look
dangerously like yet another of Flag's 'round up the usual suspects' gigs
- and probably wouldn't pull in anything like enough people to fill the
Astoria. But what the hell. A crowd is a crowd, a result is a result. Let's
go to the show.
handle a
higher place - they're the first band today to get a real crowd down the
front. I strongly suspect the reason for their lowly billing is the simple
fact that the band are far too willing to say 'Yes!' to any deal they're
offered, without stopping to consider whether it's a *good* deal. If I
were the Chaos Engine's booking agent, I'd have given Flag Promotions a
very dusty answer if they'd offered me a crap third-up-from-the-bottom
slot like this. I'd have politely but firmly (well, maybe not toooo politely...)
held out for a higher slot - or no show! You know what they say: nice guys
finish last - or, at least, further down the bill than they deserve. Perhaps
it's time for the Chaos Engine to stop being so nice when promoters come
along with less-than-impressive offers. But regardless of their position
on the bill, the 'Engine still deliver when it comes to good old fashioned
noise and mayhem. They crash-land on stage like a hand grenade, a manic
explosion of energy, a firework going off in a confined space. There's
new stuff in the set, but for me the highlight is the older song 'Employee
Of The Year' in which Lee, the band's frontman, whips himself into a dangerous
frenzy, hollering 'IT'S JUST A FUCKING JOB!!!' with such intensity I fully
expect to see his vocal chords burst out of the side of his neck. There's
even a surreal interlude in which Mark Eris, one of the Wasp Factory label
crew, emerges on stage in the guise of a gangsta rapper, and assures
us that 'Lee Chaos is my bitch!' and that he's 'Doin' it for the kids!'
These men are, frankly, not normal. But we wouldn't have it any other way.
Promotions. Frank has been quite shamelessly booking his own band at his
own gigs for a couple of years now, and, unlike Chaos Engine, Greenhaus
mysteriously never seem to have any problems in grabbing plumb slots close
to the top of the bill. I can't help wondering if Greenhaus would've made
it this far on their own merits, because there's nothing much to look at
- just three blokes standing behind black boxes, plus a guitarist off to
the side. Meanwhile, the music, while not without a certain charm if punchy
techno instrumentals are your thing, isn't amazingly outstanding when you
compare it with the output of real techno innovators like Fluke or Dave
Clarke. On this bill, Greenhaus provide a useful opportunity to grab a
beer and visit the toilet - there's no particular reason to hang around
and watch the stage, after all - and while the music is decent enough as
a mildly groovy background sound, it never really cuts loose and lets rip.
that
fuelled-by-alienation thing? - but there's something about this kind of
stuff which hits home with a certain sector of the rock audience. And you
know what? I just bet Sulpher know that, and have deliberately tailored
their music to suit. It works, too.The crowd goes wild, and there's a crush
of people at the front, all reaching out to the band as if they're some
sort of rock 'n' roll saviours. I stand back, a little detatched from it
all, but impressed by the band's professionalism. Maybe it's because I'm
38 years old and I've seen this done so often I can more or less predict
the moves in advance, or maybe I'm just a cynical old bugger these days,
but Sulpher's music doesn't touch my soul - it just makes me think, hmmm.
Clever band. They've really got this stuff nailed down! As a dramatic finale,
at the end of the last song, the frontman hurls his guitar up and across
the stage in a high arc...it twists and tumbles under the lights, before
falling straight into the arms of a roadie, who just happens to be correctly
positioned to catch it. Now, was that spontaneous, or was it rehearsed?
Either way, it's a grand and extravagant stunt with which to finish the
set - but I'm willing to bet it was all planned. Sulpher strike me as the
kind of band who have *all* their moves mapped out. I can't say I'll ever
be a massive fan, but...clever band!
motley
assortment of friends and aquaintances whom Lee has recruited to make up
the numbers. The band's set-up tonight features Lee, centre-stage, hunched
over a table full of electro gear. Off to one side there's a guitarist
lurking in the shadows, and a girl, all red hair and red Marlboros, standing
behind a miniscule keyboard. Whether these two are on stage for any genuinely
musical reason, or whether they're just mime-artists who've been brought
in to fill up some space, is hard to tell. More interesting, perhaps, is
the band's new vocalist - it's none other than madcap techno poet Tarantella
Serpentine, who wanders around the other side of the stage, hollering and
declaiming song titles and snatches of lyric as remixed versions of the
old hits hammer out of the PA. Well, that's the set-up, but is this new
version of Sheep On Drugs any good? Hmmm. Depends. I suppose, for people
who never saw the original band, it all seems suitably groovy. But for
me, speaking as an old-skool fan of the original band, the new version
comes across as messy, unfocused, and ultimately rather lame. The genuinely
mesmerising presence of Duncan is much missed - although, just to tantalise
us, he comes out briefly to take photos of the crowd. While Tarantella
is good in his own right, he doesn't really engage with the audience, or
provide a focal point for the band - in short, he simply wanders around
too much, and I don't think he actually sings a complete song all night.
The keyboard-girl and the guitarist are kept so far back they might just
as well not be on stage, and Lee, with his table-o-gear, just doesn't do
enough to justify his centre-stage position. Sheep On Drugs used to be
genuinely fascinating performers - they'd always put on a *show*. Now,
however, the new version of the band comes across like a bunch of mates
having a slightly drunken jam session - it's all quite entertaining in
an undemanding kind of way, but it doesn't really *go* anywhere, and at
times it looks like the band are having more fun than the audience. To
be blunt, if Lee wants to make progress with this new incarnation of Sheep
On Drugs, he'd better tighten up and sharpen up, because I'm very much
afraid that This Won't Do.
And
finally....our headliners. Apoptygma Berzerk have become genuine stars
on the Continental circuit over the last few years. In their home country
of Norway, they chart higher than Eminem. Even in the UK, where the music
media is totally in the pockets of major labels and mainstream industry
players, and the underground scene is too small and marginalised to have
much impact, they've managed to achieve no-shit 'big band' status. By and
large, they've done this on the back of two club hits: 'Non-stop Violence'
and 'Love Never Dies' have been (and still are) instant floor fillers in
UK clubs, to an extent that our own bands must envy. Even the Dream Disciples,
with their towering club anthem 'Room 57', couldn't manage to knock Apoptygma
Berzerk off their pedestal as Top Club Band. However, as a live act, Apop
are less familiar. This isn't their first visit to the UK, but they're
hardly regulars on our gig circuit, and I suspect that this unfamiliarity
is half the reason the Astoria is packed tonight. Everyone wants to see
this mysterious band who've taken the clubs by storm. So, what are they
like? Oddly enough, very much like a conventional rock band. The line-up
features a drummer, guitarist, keyboard player and vocalist. The keyboard
player is clearly miming - sometimes he moves away from his keyboard altogether,
while the music still churns around him. Whenever he spots a photographer
nearby, he gurns and poses and lifts his keyboard half-off its stand for
comic effect. He's an entertainment all by himself, but he's clearly only
there for decoration. The guitarist throws shapes and makes rock 'n' roll
grimaces as he plays, in approved guitar-hero style. The drummer tub-thumps.
And Stephan Groth, the vocalist and main man, hams it up at the front like
a
good 'un, while
the fans crushed against the stage reach out to touch him. This is genuine
pop star fan-worship in action. Like so many lead vocalists these days,
Groth cannot actually sing - that's obvious enough from Apop's albums,
where he drones his way through the lyrics in a monotone. However, on the
recordings, his voice nestles amid lavish production that makes the best
of what he's got. Live, however, there's no such safety net, and to be
brutal about it, he sounds godawful on most of the material. This is a
real let-down for me, although the fans at the front clearly don't care.
Their worship of the band is so total that I suspect Groth could come out
and fart at them for an hour and they'd probably still be entranced. But
I'm not a paid-up member of the fan club, and frankly I'm not impressed.
I expected something better than this - something more than a conventional
rock band with a singer who can't sing. The club hits, I'm sure, will keep
on coming. I may even dance to 'em myself, after suitable lubrication.
But as a live band, it has to be said that Apoptygma Berzerk just don't
cut it.