Kinetik: Phase 4.Harsh Indust.Noise.15 Mai.May 15 2010
Consisting of two lively fellows smeared with makeup (somewhat reminiscent of Project Pitchfork's look), Ivardensphere kicked off the evening's festivities with an energetic, harsh set that even incorporated a tom-tom at one point. Very danceable stuff. Memmaker went next, probably earlier than they should have, considering their own high-energy performance; one of the standouts of Kinetik '09, I was very much looking forward to seeing them in a live capacity again. And while they didn't disappoint (quite the contrary: their set was fantastic), their energy (like Iszoloscope's) suffered slightly due to the lack of upright synths; regardless of how much physical energy a band puts into their set, it's kind of hard to maximize when you and your bandmates are hunched over a flat table of Macs (honestly, they looked perpetually in the "ready" state at a marathon starting line). For comparative purposes:
Memmaker Live (Kinetik '09): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQRmqi9TZJw
Memmaker Live (Kinetik '10): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Tg_XqYN2N8
Hey: do you like VNV Nation? How about VNV Nation with 1/4 of the creativity? If that's the case (and all you need is a beat to pump your fist to), you'll love Destroid (a clever name for a derivative band). Now: do you like scantily-clad, MILFy blondes with a penchant for screaming heavily political/nihilistic lyrics, Atari Teenage Riot-style? I do, and I quite liked Ambassador 21's set, though I'm still not sure what country they herald from.
Ambassador 21 Live: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QR8sJKhcj0E
Getting back to the whole Nazi fetish thing, Austrian duo Nachtmahr proved a stirring presence, riling up the crowd through the sheer energy of their performance and a keen awareness of how to synchronize music with showmanship; projected on the screens were images of WWII stock footage, accompanied by famous quotations (from the likes of Noam Chomsky and others) in German that would morph into English several seconds later. There was a raw-nerve quality to their sound that I quite enjoyed.
Nachtmahr Live: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QR8sJKhcj0E
After seeing them a total of 3 times now, I still cannot embrace the noise fiesta that is Terrorfakt. While I can appreciate the old-school, Einsturzende Neubauten-esque aspects of their live performance (sparking oil drums with circular saws; bashing shopping carts with sledgehammers), I am increasingly beginning to think that these elements (combined with a frantic montage of political/animal-cruelty outrage projected on the screens) exist merely to distract the audience from the fact that the music itself isn't all that compelling. I sat for Tactical Sekt, and couldn't make out much beneath the drowning bass and distorted vocals. Hypnoskull was absolute shit (that, not surprisingly, Lizard quite enjoyed), yet another one-man, DJ-style deal that came across as aimless, inconsistent, and unfocused in both tone and style. Even worse, he insisted on ranting to the audience at length between songs. I had never heard a song by them, but had heard so many favorable things about them, that I was somewhat curious about headliners Hocico. I lingered in the back of the packed room for a few songs, once again alternating lifting my tired feet before leaving to find food (and meeting Matt from Caustic in the process). My overall impression: Psyclon Nine goes South of the Border; nothing very distinguishing about their sound. At a point where all the noises of the night were blending together, Dive's set was quite refreshing, smoothly mixing up sounds and criss-crossing genres with grace and skill (the reduction of ersatz-hostility that marked the previous bands was also quite welcome).
Dive Live: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j38BsNTvUZE
Last up for the night were FabrikC, who essentially helped the room get up and dance near the Witching Hour. No vocals, less abrasive, a much bouncier sound.
Memmaker Live (Kinetik '09): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQRmqi9TZJw
Memmaker Live (Kinetik '10): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Tg_XqYN2N8
Hey: do you like VNV Nation? How about VNV Nation with 1/4 of the creativity? If that's the case (and all you need is a beat to pump your fist to), you'll love Destroid (a clever name for a derivative band). Now: do you like scantily-clad, MILFy blondes with a penchant for screaming heavily political/nihilistic lyrics, Atari Teenage Riot-style? I do, and I quite liked Ambassador 21's set, though I'm still not sure what country they herald from.
Ambassador 21 Live: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QR8sJKhcj0E
Getting back to the whole Nazi fetish thing, Austrian duo Nachtmahr proved a stirring presence, riling up the crowd through the sheer energy of their performance and a keen awareness of how to synchronize music with showmanship; projected on the screens were images of WWII stock footage, accompanied by famous quotations (from the likes of Noam Chomsky and others) in German that would morph into English several seconds later. There was a raw-nerve quality to their sound that I quite enjoyed.
Nachtmahr Live: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QR8sJKhcj0E
After seeing them a total of 3 times now, I still cannot embrace the noise fiesta that is Terrorfakt. While I can appreciate the old-school, Einsturzende Neubauten-esque aspects of their live performance (sparking oil drums with circular saws; bashing shopping carts with sledgehammers), I am increasingly beginning to think that these elements (combined with a frantic montage of political/animal-cruelty outrage projected on the screens) exist merely to distract the audience from the fact that the music itself isn't all that compelling. I sat for Tactical Sekt, and couldn't make out much beneath the drowning bass and distorted vocals. Hypnoskull was absolute shit (that, not surprisingly, Lizard quite enjoyed), yet another one-man, DJ-style deal that came across as aimless, inconsistent, and unfocused in both tone and style. Even worse, he insisted on ranting to the audience at length between songs. I had never heard a song by them, but had heard so many favorable things about them, that I was somewhat curious about headliners Hocico. I lingered in the back of the packed room for a few songs, once again alternating lifting my tired feet before leaving to find food (and meeting Matt from Caustic in the process). My overall impression: Psyclon Nine goes South of the Border; nothing very distinguishing about their sound. At a point where all the noises of the night were blending together, Dive's set was quite refreshing, smoothly mixing up sounds and criss-crossing genres with grace and skill (the reduction of ersatz-hostility that marked the previous bands was also quite welcome).
Dive Live: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j38BsNTvUZE
Last up for the night were FabrikC, who essentially helped the room get up and dance near the Witching Hour. No vocals, less abrasive, a much bouncier sound.