KMFDM/Trauma
Pet/AlterRed/Leechwoman
O2 Academy,
London - 18 July 2009
"25
years of the Ultra Heavy Beat!'"
An eclectic selection of
support acts tonight began with Leech Woman [photo
left] who used to be an old school metal bashing industrial outfit but
here were reconfigured into three metal guitarists and a backing track.
Much of their appeal from a decade back was either lost in borderline
comical head-banging and ROCK guitar posturing or had been replaced
with more predictable and familiar rock/metal/industrial crossover
stuff. Supposedly their last live appearance (heard that one before),
but the end of their set they clearly kept their options open. Just not
sure there are so many these days still interested. If, like me you
prefer the good ol' days, then the once similar Hydra
are still banging 'em out the best way.
AlterRed [photo right] I'd
scoped out via their MySpace page a few days before the event and given
their careful attention to the visual presentation of their alt.electro
rock I was sceptical if they'd lavished as much attention on their
music. To my surprise, and interest, they had. Online the strength and
detail of main man AlterRed's songwriting was readily apparent.
Live
there was a full, slightly Goths dressing up, stage show that meant if
you didn't want to try and focus your eyes on the frantically running
around AlterRed, then you could instead either gaze at the cute female
synth player Vix or the life-sized wind-up girly doll who stood at the
back of the stage for most of the set. If your more EMO oriented then
the pantomime psycho patient on the loose being chased by his orderly
should have kept you enthralled. In spite of all these distractions,
AlterRed proved to be worthy of closer attention, almost knocking on
IAMX's style door.
I think Trauma
Pet is a rubbish name for a band. The band themselves,
built around three guitar-wielding rock chicks, weren't quite as bad as
I expected but I did find them bland and unengaging despite their
attempts to grab you with their knicker flashing (nice but not a
substitute for a good tune) and very skinny, very tall, very blonde
lead female vocalist not wearing a great deal. The two fellers in the
band rocked away too and everyone on stage seemed to be enjoying
themselves if not quite everyone in the audience.
Originally out of Hamburg, Germany then relocated
initially to Chicago in the States, and finally settling in Seattle,
Washington, Sascha Konietzko's industrial rock collective KMFDM have been producing their
'ultra heavy beat' brand of music for a quarter of a decade. That's
impressive by any measure. The line up of the band has constantly
evolved over those years as has their sound. KMFDM are also one of the
most hard-working bands with a release averaging one every 12-18 months
and frequent tours packing in many dates (their Sturm&Drang
tour of the US in 2002 took in 31 shows in less than five weeks). Many
consider the early line-up of Konietzko, Raymond (Pig) Watts and En
Esch to be the definitive one, but despite falling outs, including a
temporary suspension of activities during 1999-2001, band members
coming, going and, occasionally, coming back again, the dedication to
quality through hard work has never wavered.
Since Konietzko has probably
played between 500-1000 gigs down those 25 years, you might suspect
that today he'd be tempted to fall back on his reputation, rest on his
laurels or, quite simply, lack the enthusiasm for playing their
numerous hits for the umpteenth time before flying to another country
the next night, and the night after that, and so on, doing the same
thing in different surroundings. If tonight's sell-out show in London
(their only UK appearance on their impressive "25th Anniversary Tour")
is a reasonable yard stick then not only is there absolutely no hint of
complacency, but this is a band currently at the top of their game, 
generating energy and
excitement in equal measure and turning out some stomping versions of
classic industrial tunes. There's a valid reason why KMFDM sit
comfortably alongside other genre heavyweights like Front 242 and Ministry who
have managed to cross over into wider audiences. Like those two others
they've been driven by a relentless commitment.
The present make up of the band may not have the
resonance (or names) of years passed, but based on their latest album Blitz
and their live capability on display tonight, then no fans need concern
themselves with such irrelevancies when the results are as good as they
are right here, right now. Live instrumentation focuses understandably
on the two guitars of Steve White and Jules Hodgson and drummer Andy
Selway who must have one of the hardest jobs in one of he
hardest working acts around. These three form a rock solid backbone to
the entire proceedings.
Lucia Cifarelli (who joined the reformed KMFDM for
the 2002 return album Attak)
shares vocal and electronics duties with Kapt'n K. Tonight they work
together in perfect harmony, well-drilled but never to the point where
the drive or spontaneity is compromised. The evening takes in each of
the band's major eras down those 25 years and even with tracks from
their latest album still sounds like a wall-to-wall greatest hits tour.
I'm deliberately not going to single out any one song as one thing
KMFDM have so expertly managed to do during two and a half decades of
blood, sweat, tears and tunes is produce a uniquely distinctive sound
and a consistently high standard. Like those two others name-checked
above, there are some bands that are absolutely must-sees when they
play live. Few have earned or truly deserve to be on such a shortlist
but KMFDM are most-certainly deserving of that honour. I hope they
continue to live long, prosper and play live. 8/10
Rob Dyer