KMFDM @ Underground Arts – Philadelphia, PA 10/06/17

Home - Blog - 90's band - KMFDM @ Underground Arts – Philadelphia, PA 10/06/17

Bayside returned to Philly this past week for a two night stand celebrating their music both old and new. i99Radio was on the scene to capture night one of two. For the first night, Bayside brought songs from their early years, 2004 to 2008. For many of us, it takes us back instantly to the songs of our childhood, middle and high school years, and the audience spanning Gen X to Gen Alpha came ready to rock.

Long Island, NY’s The Sleeping started the night off and brought their unique blend of post-hardcore and raw energy to the stage that really got the audience going. People thrashed around and sang along, and even a toddler hopping up on his dad’s shoulders to get a better view of frontman Doug Robinson, who climbed up to the barrier, putting his microphone up to fans to sing along with them, and eventually even crowdsurfing above their heads at one point. The band has been experiencing a revival since their reunion in 2022 and their fantastic newest album, “I Feel Like I’m Becoming a Ghost”, dropping in 2023.

Bayside then took the stage, kicking off their set with the classic track, “Montauk”, from their second self-titled album. Frontman Anthony Ranieri commented how their idea for the “Errors Tour” came about when they wanted to play 44 songs in each city, instead of just 22. He talked about how the band has so many songs that fans love from all across their career, but not enough time to play them all, so they thought, “why not just play 2 nights in every city?”

The night of classic nostalgia continued on, with the band delivering high-energy versions of much loved tracks from their third album, 2007’s “The Walking Wounded”, like “Duality”, “I and I”, and the ballad “Landing Feet First” (of which started a massive audience singalong). The band also reached far back in their discography, playing tracks from their first years as a band, like “Masterpiece”, “Guardrail” and “Kellum”, off of the first album, 2004’s “Sirens and Condolences.” The audience was audibly excited by this, as these tracks are very rarely played live. The audience cheered loudly and unleashed a constant stream of crowd-surfers to the front of stage as they ripped through these classic tracks. The “newest” songs they played for night 1 were tracks from 2008’s classic album, “Shudder”, like “Boy”, “No One Understands” and “The Ghost of St. Valentine”. Again, many of these tracks haven’t been played since the Shudder Tour in 2008 so hearing these songs was certainly a treat for the audience.

Bayside’s show at Brooklyn Bowl was a testament to how the songs we grew up with are forever engrained in our DNA, the music grows with us and becomes a part of us as we grow older, but we never forget the songs that influenced us almost two decades ago. The 1,000 people in the audience who turned up to sing every word of these songs that are almost 20 years old now proves this to be true and Bayside to be a band close to so many people’s hearts.

Photos by Dave Avidan

Dark times were rampant in 1984. It was the year of Orwell’s Big Brother, and Apple made sure they sold the paranoia with their Super Bowl XVIII commercial, depicting bleak interpretations of conformity – ringing strangely true to the red menace of communism that was threatening our individualism. AIDS had ended the era of free love, and crack cocaine took the pleasure out of casual drug use. White supremacists engaged in a gun battle with the FBI. There was a deadly tornado, a serial murderer, and a Miss America scandal. The Soviet Union boycotted the Summer Olympics as the Cold War raged on amid fears of nuclear annihilation. As a 14-year-old boy, I was scared. I was scared of big brother watching me. I was scared of a nuclear attack. I was scared of girls. I had plenty of questions and no answers. Would tensions with Russia lead to war? Would I get drafted? Would I ever get laid? It was a frightening time in my life, and I took solace in music. Today, there is no shortage of political unrest. North Korea continues its quest to join the nuclear arms race. White supremacists marched through Virginia. There are chemical weapons attacks, mass murder shootings, and severe hurricanes. Big Brother has turned from political commentary to a reality television show. And after many relationships, I am still afraid of women. There are still major issues in this world. I still have questions, and I still don’t have answers. Will tensions with North Korea lead to war? Will my boys get drafted? Will I ever get laid? Not much has changed. Not even KMFDM.

KMFDM was born as a response to political and social unrest in this world. Their art was brought forth as a stand against the period’s oppression. In 1984, the Berlin Wall stood tall, the U.S.S.R. and their communist beliefs challenged our freedom. The cold war teased the possibility of an ending with no winners. KMFDM’s music mirrored the cold expanse of the political landscape. Early in their career, their existence was born from performance art, using vacuums as instruments and throwing entrails at the audience. In the 90’s, their sound moved from musical samples to buzz saw guitars to electronics. They were champions of bringing industrial dance music into the mainstream along with their Wax Trax label mates. 33 years and 20 albums later their approach and message have not changed, except the hurling of entrails. That is a commitment. Even Bowie’s “Berlin” phase only lasted three albums.

Sascha Konietzko is our drug against war

The next stop for KMDFM on their current tour was Underground Arts in Philadelphia – a basement club, with a steampunk aesthetic, that feels like home for industrial dance music. The fan base that shuffled in were likely the same fans that shuffled in 20 years ago. These fans needed KMFDM more than ever. The war in the mosh pit was nothing compared to the unrest in the world. KMFDM was their home coming – a Gothic class reunion of sorts and everyone was still dressed the way they did when they were in school. There is something comforting in that sort of solidarity.

The crowd was to ready to engage after Nivek Ogre’s assault on their senses. His band, ohGr, roughed up their boyish good looks in favor of scary masks, scarier face paint, and disturbing chants of “Smells like shit.” Their offensive had left everyone in the right state of mind for what was to come. When KMFDM took the stage and launched into “D.I.Y.,” the crowd exploded. Dark-colored, flashing lights, perpetual drumbeats, and buzz saw guitars ripped through the venue cutting a swath of fresh sweat and dance moves.

Lucia Cifarelli sings her heart out at Underground Arts

The set was peppered with material from a thirty-year career – all of which flowed together as if it were from an album released today. There were no discernible differences when the songs shifted from older material like “A Drug Against War” and “War World III,” to newer offerings like “Freak Flag” and “Hell Yeah.” Relentless with their aural assault and surge of visual excess, KMFDM empowered the crowd with an infusion of energy and a message of change. We only knew KMFDM at this moment. We checked our political concerns at the door and were being injected with the cure for all that is wrong with the world. Music and KMFDM were our drugs against war. For a moment, I forgot what year it was.

After the show, a friend and I discussed our experience over a slice of pizza. This show was no different than a show we may have attended together thirty years ago. Teenage Fran was at peace. My friend said her 18-year-old self would have been jubilant. I said my 18-year-old self would have been in the pit. She countered that her 18-year-old self would have taken their lyrics to heart. There were no talks of war or politics. Just music and pizza. Much like 30 years ago. Even the soundtrack was the same.

2
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x