| XTREACTOR | Willemeen-Arnhem | Jun 28, 2002 |
                 |
Here we go again. This was the fifth XTREACTOR, therefore the organisation had planned a lot of good bands during these two days. Unfortunately a few bands had to cancel (like Cultur Kültur and State Of The Union), but the replacements (Plastic and IC434) were more than OK. Surprisingly this fifth anniversary wasn’t too crowded. Maybe due to the fact that there weren’t any trains driving between Nijmegen and Arnhem, so a lot of people would have trouble coming from the south. The positive site was that there was enough room in front of the stage, at the bar and the market.
The strange opening time (18:15 hrs) of XTREACTOR on Friday made it impossible for me to see opening act BEINHAUS. If you have to work during the day it’s impossible to get there in time. I came just in time to see PLASTIC.
This German band took their chance to present their debut album “[Kunst]:Stoff”. If you consider the fact that this band started in 1999, they offered a very professional show today. The electro pop they create has his highlights when the voice of front man Matthias Ewald is teamed up by the warm, emotional voice of Tina Le Dabo. Musically the band got everything in its place. The result is melancholic (like during ‘In My Eyes’ and ‘Silent Scream’) and danceable as well (like in ‘Ever’ ‘Kreatur (Fahr Zu Hölle…)’ and ‘Cry’. The last song was an oldie and put Matthias behind the machines and the two lovely ladies dancing in front of the stage. Good show. Aslan Faction It hasn’t got the strength – yet – to compete with the masters in this genre (hello Suicide Commando), but they don’t have to be ashamed of what they produce either. Front man Anthony Mather performs confidently and the noise is mostly groovy enough to keep you on the dance floor. It’s a pity the show didn’t leave a lasting impression, because after a few days I didn’t remember much of this gig… Sfor Crime What happened in the two cages kept your attention on the stage. It wasn’t too shocking, but there was definitely something happening. People, men and women, were dancing separately and together in their cages. Although the band made an endearing impression and their music was surely pleasant to hear, the music didn’t have that special touch that would’ve made it stand out. Therefore a good show (especially when you get your audience to dance on stage with you), but not a presentation that made me run to the market. Accessory Not the music as such, but the use and presentation of both vocalists left this feeling. They were almost rapping their lyrics. It didn’t do anything more to me so the waiting for Hocico began. Hocico During their gig the room was filled with people (I asked myself where they all came from). No complaints about this show. Songs like ‘Instincts Of Perversation’ and ‘Untold Blasphemies’ from “Signos De Aberracion” said it all. Hard, heavy, extreme and danceable as hell. Compliments to the men on stage, because they should have been pretty hot in their outfit. The audience got pretty hot as well, but that was because of dancing to the right brutal sounds. This was the best way possible to end the first day. DAY 2:
Trummerwelten This German electro band was the first and only band that had a lot of technical problems. Beside that, the female and male voice weren’t convincing either. It all sounded a bit nervous and probably a bit agitated due to the problems they had. Funny was that one of the men in the back wore a gasmask. Not an uncommon thing, but he surely needed it if you consider all the smoke that was produced during this gig. Dioxyde It’s a pity that they feel the need to write some songs in which there’s room for lyrics and vocals. At that point the band seems to lose its grip on the music. It shows again that you need a very confident singer to perform this kind of music and – once again – that was the problem with DIOXYDE. Pleasant was the song ‘Love Breeds Suicide’ from Suicide Commando with the help of Johan van Roy himself. Unpleasant was the fact that his microphone didn’t do too much during most of the song. Still it was a perfect end of this gig. MSMono There were three people on stage who were making fun. This enthusiasm was transferred to the people in front of the stage. The danceable beats were reason enough to go pleasantly insane as well. When MsMoNo was about to end their gig it was time for me to go into town to find something to eat. Got a little dizzy from all the impressions in combination with an empty stomach. Therefore I missed the ambient industrial of EMPUSAE completely. Returned just in time for… IC 434 Maybe I got tired from all the electronics and therefore it’s better to give this band a second chance when I meet them elsewhere. At this point I wasn’t impressed with this... Stendal Blast Although the band surely had a prominent role for electronics as well, the gap between ‘typical’ electro fans and ‘guitar lovers’ was enormous. The band played in front of a few enthusiastic people and although the band didn’t always play great songs the band showed a pleasant humor. It was catchy enough to sing along and other people still found enough beats to go dancing. The only problem was that the guitar player could produce good riffs, but when it came to solo’s the man overestimated himself. Morgenstern The band made clear that if you got the right (confident) attitude on stage you can keep the attention of the audience as well. Great blast! Neuroticfish This was definitely the most professional band. The sound was close to perfection, there were added some extra lights and the band members knew exactly what they were doing. Front man Sacha Mario Klein proved to be a perfect performer and showed that his pleasant voice on record is easily equalled during his live performance. New single ‘Prostitute’, old single ‘WakeMeUp!’ and ‘Velocity’ made you wonder why this band hasn’t reach a bigger audience, yet. For the Netherlands the answer is easy, the radio won’t give much airplay to this kind of music (or the record companies don’t pay enough?). If this band had played Lowlands this year (next to VNV Nation and Project Pitchfork) they would surely win a lot of souls out there. Let us however not get too greedy, because we need to be grateful (?) that there is finally some attention to this kind of music on a big festival. In the end XTREACTOR proved to be a good festival, but this year it seemed a bit one-dimensional. A lot of electronic/ industrial and maybe not enough melancholic dark wave/electro pop bands. It’s a pity that some bands had been cancelled, because they might have provided more diversity. We missed a pleasant surprise this year, but fact is that XTREACTOR - still – is one of the best industrial/electro/gothic festivals in the Netherlands. No doubt about that… (Review & Pics: Beautevil ) |
                |
© Rockezine.com Jun 28, 2002, viewed 1677 times since 666
back
back