Elsewhere on our Peek-a-Boo website site you can read Xavier Kruth's report with general information about the venue, the atmosphere, etc., as well as a number of live reviews. In this article you will only find reviews of bands undersigned witnessed. In other words: Please read both concert reports to experience the atmosphere of Amphi 2023!
Day one. I attended Synthattack's performance early in the morning with the numerous other black mob members also already present. This band from Hannover saw the light of day in 2015. I have seen them at work at WGT in 2017 and wanted to see if the band is still performing as strongly. Martin Schindler appeared, as always, with his face painted in black and white, with his keyboardist Nicole at the back of the stage, in his shadow. When we talk about Synthtattack, think about heavy beats, a combination of EBM, harsh electro and dark electro. And that is also what we got served for over 40 minutes. It was noticeable that the audience who showed up was already very awake. A rhythmically moving audience let it in, and so did I. Their set contained a surprisingly beautiful version of 'Insomnia' by Faithless. It was still very enjoyable to see Synthattack on stage again, yes, but not that surprising as when I saw them six years ago.
Then we lingered a bit to see A Life Divided start, the typical poppy goth rock that many Germans go crazy for... and I run away from. Meanwhile catching some sounds in the distance from Wesselsky, serving more of the same, while we consumed some bland German beer (you can hardly beer). To kill the time before I consciously went to see the next performance, I saw the space creatures of S.P.O.C.K start. The Swedes bring corny synthpop with a spacy undertone. Not my cup of tea, but the audience is always right, and many were enthusiastically present. There is no arguing about taste, and I saw a frenzied audience, even though the vocals sounded more out of tune than on tone. We all know that only a happy few within 'the genre' have a great singing voice, but it was a bit too much.
Then we headed to the Theater Stage, in the mid-afternoon, for a performance by the harsh electro and aggro-tech gang Centhron. The three-piece band around singer Elmar Schmidt has been kicking ass since 2002. And that would be no different in the overcrowded theater stage today. The performance started with a piece of epic classical sounding synths. The announcement of the apocalypse, and I probably won't have to say it looked like it when things really got going. Beats pumping at a hellish pace, aggressive bass-lines, Schmidt singing his throat out. I know that the genre is viewed with pity by many and that the number of fans of the genre may be somewhat smaller. I can only say that the energy, the drive and the aggression, the dirty lyrics that do not shy away from controversy, have led to a very solid show. With a fully filled Theater Stage, and a wide audience of not just 'cybergoths'. Like myself, many have already moved in to conquer a good spot for the upcoming show of Calva Y Nada. After 25 years of silence, back on stage for a best of, because a band like Calva can. You can read in the review by colleague Xavier Kruth how great that performance was!
Mandatory thing to do after Centhron had gone was to go see the EBM pioneers of Front 242. Just like colleague Xavier Kruth, I am also far from 'the number one fan'. Yes, they are absolute EBM pioneers and have musically overwhelming merits, but for me it is not the band that grabs me by the throat. You can see the full setlist on the photos somewhere on this site. I skipped Deine Lakaien and Welle:Erdball, so for me day one ended here.
Day two. The sun, despite the ominous predictions that this could become a rain-soaked edition, was still present. So we could already tick that off. We started with Qntal, a band that is more convincing when seen in a venue, I think. At least in terms of atmosphere and experience, because musically Multi-instrumentalist Michael Popp and singer Syrah (Sigrid Hausen) are absolute toppers. For me it was the first time I saw them since somewhere in 2005 in the Arena Van Vletingen in Ghent. Their classic chants have as many languages as I have fingers, combined with electro and EBM beats. Yes, it continues to work. A few classics like 'Die Finstere Nacht' and the great 'Ad Mortem Festinatus' already set the main stage ablaze.
I went down to see Whispering Sons at work on the Theater Stage. I haven't seen them live for a while and wanted to see how the mainly German audience would react to their show. At WGT, we already saw that they have gathered a very broad fan base, and that was no different at Amphi. A fully packed Theater Stage watched Fenne Kuppens and company play a great live show with such ease. I noticed again that their music sounds so much stronger live than on their records. No nonsense, no talking, just rocking. A concept that still works for me, rather than seeing bands spending more time on binding texts or (sometimes even worse) on so many visuals and effects that the music almost disappears to the background. No, these Belgian post-punks do it purely with their music, and it's rock solid. They only got 50 minutes, so the pace was appropriate but still enough for 12 songs. The Ramones finished 20 songs in that time, but we have to admit that Whispering Sons also played quite a bit in their tightly allotted time too. I remain an irrevocable fan of their first EP. In my honest opinion, they have never matched that sound again on any later release. So I secretly hoped one or two songs from Endless Party would have made the setlist. Too bad, all songs were taken from the albums Image and Several Others. But this did not endanger their great performance in any way. Highlights were 'Alone', 'Surface' and 'Waste' but then almost their entire set was bursting with fun, and love for what they do, the no-nonsense approach. It is clear that Whispering Sons now have a really broad fan base, not only consisting of the numerous Belgians present, but also fans from 30 other nationalities. Because yes, Amphi also attracts visitors from all over Mother Earth. The applause made it more than clear that the show was awesome. The only thing that would bring the performances even closer to the audience would be a little more interaction with the audience.
Yes, I also like the heavier beats from time to time, certainly since I heard Combichrist would play an old school pure electro set. Because in all honesty: since the band threw in a bunch of guitars, I'm less of a fan. I have the same feeling with Psyclon Nine. If they play out purely aggro-tech-wise, I'm also more inclined to listen than when it turns into a metal show. To be clear: I have nothing against some guitars, on the contrary. But my love with these kinds of bands is mainly the electro version, so to speak. And yes, the Norwegian Andy Laplegua (also frontman of Icon Of Coil) was accompanied only by someone behind the computers/turntables. Pure electro. The sound on the main stage was not always optimal, or at least not from where I stood. But that couldn't spoil the fun when a lot of 'hits' were played. The audience that had gathered in front of the main stage in large numbers had to endure 'Electrohead', 'Fuck That Shit', 'Get Your Body Beat' and 'Fuckmachine', among others. Next year the band is already booked to play on the Call The Ship To The Port event. Together with [X]RX. That sound like a party already!
Choosing is losing, also on Amphi. While Combichrist played, Rue Oberkampf played the Orbit Stage. We missed them but took up position in front of the stage, with just as much curiosity, to see NNHMN (Non-Human) at work. NNHMN is a Berlin-based dark electronic music duo that brings moody and floaty, but danceable minimal with some techno influences. Lee and Michal Lauberg provided a solid party. What they present is so stimulating, fascinating, varied. The vocal sound that is sometimes whispery, then mesmerizing, combined with inviting synths and drum machines. MS Rheinenergie (the party ship / Orbit stage) is a very strong ship, but I do think that it has caused some commotion on the Rhine river because the dancing crowd had the thing rocking to all sides. I think I made the right choice, as seeing Lord Of The Lost (remember: German entry for Eurosong 2023, finished last) on the main stage with their guitar-driven solid goth rock/-metal was actually no option. I've seen them live twice and twice I left after 20 minutes. Now I have saved myself another Lord of The Lost retreat and witnessed NNHMN, a band that I have loved already for a while instead.
Finally, a quite different and choice: Seeing OMD on the main stage or L'âme Immortelle on the Orbit stage, while Actors closed in the Theater Stage. Ok, OMD is big, but OMD is also so eighties, and let me be the guy who doesn't care much for that. On the other hand, they are monuments in the genre. Anyway I don't like their music as much as what L'âme Immortelle brings. So I chose to go for the Austrians. The band has been around since 1996, when Thomas Rainer and Hannes Medwenitsch joined forces. In the same year, the third band member Sonja Kraushofer was also recruited as singer for their dark-wave, but then very danceable music. The combination of Sonja's great singing voice and Thomas' rougher, unpolished vocal parts, works wel land makes the band sound diverse. From subdued ballads to heavy stompers to dark wave songs, it gives one goosebumps. They now have a very nice musical heritage and the set list was a reflection of that. 'Dem Abgrund entgegen', 'Requiem', 'Asche', the absolute classic '5 Jahre', the great 'Life Will Never Be The Same Again', 'Angst', 'es Tut Mir Leid', 'Fallen Angel' and the encore songs 'Bitterkeit' and 'Still'. For me, it was like rediscovering a band of which the CDs I own, lie somewhere at home are gathering dust. Well, this great performance has woken me up again. And yes, this is a band where a singer like Sonja has an angelic voice. Even after all these years, she sounds sharp, consistent, catchy. In the quiet intimate passages, but also when she lashes out. It was a nice end to my only second (yes, shame on me) Amphi.