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Tinitus 2006
Perhaps it is unjust to the other acts, but when talking about this years Tinitus
Festival, that took place on October the 28 in Stockholm; it is only three bands worth mentioning. Nitzer Ebb, Front 242 and Absolute Body Control.
Compared to these icons Unter Null, Dupont and The Hacker had absolutely nothing to contribute. Even though at least The Hacker made a good effort.
The Belgium synth pioneers Absolute Body Control consists of Dirk Ivens and Eric van Wonterghem, more known from bands like The Klinik and Sonar, made their first live appearances for well over 20 years. The band dwells in the area between minimalistic electronics and pop. Perhaps leaning more towards minimalism than pop, to be honest. Live they managed to recreate the feeling of the early 80’s when the band first where active. It was a blinding flash from a time before midi cables and FM synthesis.
Front 242 had promised a set of classic tracks. And they did play a lot of old songs. Some of the hits where there Lovely Day, Welcome to Paradise, U-men and of course Headhunter. But if the classic tracks where there, something else was missing. The band didn’t seem to have fun, they where on stage, delivering the songs, but without anything that would make the concert worth remembering. Perhaps they are just getting older. Although the audience did what they could to enjoy the show, most looked a little tired and disappointed after a while.
When it comes to live acts, there is only one EBM band that truly deserves to be mentioned. Nitzer Ebb. As they already have proven around Europe earlier this year the once again shining stars of EBM are way more than a couple of aging musicians looking to squeeze the last cash out of a old name. They are a great band. And even better live act. There aren’t many bands around with such a solid back-catalogue as Nitzer Ebb, and they know how to use their material well. There isn’t a dead moment in the set. With electronic evergreens like Getting Closer, Blood Money, Join in the Chant and Control I’m Here, I don’t know how a band could make a bad concert. And with Douglas McCarthy’s incredible stage presence and authority along with Bon Harris and Kourtney Klein on drums it is close to the perfect show. At least what I’m concerned. But why does Douglas have to grab his crouch every five minutes? Maybe he is going for that Al Bundy/the cop in Village People style that seems to be really big these days? Oh well, it’s entertaining anyway. In my opinion Nitzer Ebb managed to make an even better show this night then that on the Wave Gothic Treffen earlier this year. And that was a good show.
It feels a bit pointless to bring up the negative sides of such a great night. Everybody in the audience seemed very happy and just the fact that they presented more or less the perfect line-up this year makes the festival a great event. Well at least the line-up would have been perfect 20 years ago but, lets be honest, since very little good has come out of this genre for ages, it still counts as near perfect. But they where the downsides to the evening that is worth to mention. The fact that Front 242 got their drums sent to Copenhagen caused a small delay. But that didn’t upset me too much. The organisers as well as helpful members of the audience saved the situation.
More annoying was the electrical failures when Nitzer Ebb played. Both Godhead and Join in the Chant was interrupted when all equipment on stage went out. The power got back after a few minutes both times. But it was enough to annoy the audience and, more so, the band. The guards at Müncenbryggeriet have been accused before of being overly aggressive and very keen to show people the door. After a few years of decent behaviour, they where back in normal shape this year. Not good for the overall mood of the audience. All in all a Front 242 show that soon will be forgotten, a couple other concerts that never will and a few more bands that just really didn’t have a chance. Despite some problems it was the best year in the history of the Tinitus festival so far.
/Ulf Lundblad
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Front 242
Douglas
Nitzer Ebb
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