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MDFMK |
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MDFMK's debut album firmly established them as leaders in a new, techno/industrial assault on rock music, and with this show at the Glass House, they embark on their first live tour, hoping to further cement that position. The Glass House is a rather plain, medium sized club/venue, with a capacity of perhaps 700. Security was very friendly, however I don't think I can remember as complete a physical search at any show I've ever been to, although they didn't have a metal detector (other than their hands, of course...). I was immediately put into a good mood, however, by the t-shirt prices. After seeing The Cure selling t-shirts for as high as $40 at Irvine Medows three days previous, it was a very refreshing treat to see every shirt MDFMK was selling, from long sleeve t-shirts to baby dolls, in 3 different colors, for only $20. I hope the lower price results in a lot of t-shirt sales for them--any band that is willing to reduce their personal profit margin and make shirts more affordable for their fans wins points with me! While Tim Skold and Sasha Konietzko. have toured previously together as members of industrial band KMFDM, this is obviously new territory for them as well as the listeners. Gone were the industrial triggered poles and pipes of yore, the drum kit, guitar amplifiers, no PA monitors on stage, nothing.. The stage consisted of two huge racks filled with samplers and keyboards, another rack filled with 2 Apple PowerMac G4 computers each running digital audio sequencers on LCD monitors, a single keyboard, a sampler station in the middle of the stage, and a guitar corner in the middle. Oh, and a 10 foot tall terminator-like one eyed guitar playing robot near the large projection screen... With all the synthesizers and digital equipment involved, one would almost expect a completely automated show, but the band managed to actually pull off a "live" gig with all this electronics. Lucia Cifarelli, behind her sampler/mixer platform, seemed like she had some amount of control over the sound. Sasha could trigger sequenced and sampled phrases on the fly, and came up with some engaging "remixes" of songs. Tim was playing guitar synthesizer, and himself controlled a number of the electronics and effects along with crushing metallic guitar lines. Some of the show was definitely automated, but enough of it was not that you were definitely left with a sense that what you were getting was live, had room for unique changes and flurishes, and was performed, not canned. Of course, with everything being so cutting edge--and this being the first show of the tour--problems were inevitable. The more complex the plumbing, the more likely it is to clog the drain as they say. For the first song--a new or unreleased song called "Amerikan Way," Sasha came out and started playing keyboards and twiddling knobs on rack-mounted synthesizers, Lucia slinked across the stage, they held the mics up to their mouths...and nothing. Only some of the sequenced audio backup vocals on the choruses came through. Sasha took this in stride, but Lucia was visibly distraught. Skold came out for the second song, the debut album opener "Now," and he too seemed a bit apprehensive. They performed well, but for the first half of the show, they were constantly trying to get the vocal sound right, and did not seem at ease. By the second half of the show, the sonic difficulties were mostly under control, and the band seemed much more animated. Speaking of animated, however, the robot was having some serious problems. It was supposed to be moving and animated, and it was about half the time...the rest of the time, a team was playing with it, trying to get it to move properly. Can't win 'em all, I guess. The music was excellent, and the audience was incredibly enthusiastic, singing along, bouncing (in a energized, yet relatively respectful way), and being extremely generous with applause--enough to help thaw the obviously nervous band, preoccupied with sound problems. They played all the songs from the MDFMK album, along with the spectacular exclusive track on the Heavy Metal 2k soundtrack, "Missing Time," expertly. Sasha was obviously enjoying being in charge of the sonic tone of the show, playing up knob twisting and sample triggering for all it's worth. Lucia's screams were even more piercing live than on the album. In the later half of the performance, Skold even loosened up enough to break out of his "robot guitar player" act and sport some bonafide "rock star" moves, even going so far as playing his guitar synth on his knees, with his teeth during another new/unreleased song, "Action/Reaction." They ended their main set with crowd pleasing, ultra-adrenalized versions of their singles "Torpedoes," "Rabble Rouser," and "Witch Hunt." For their encore, MDFMK did rousing, charged versions of two of the best songs from KMFDM's last album; Adios--The title track, and the highlight of that album, "D.I.Y"--complete with changing the lines "KMFDM is back for more" and "KMFDM will never stop" to "KMFDM is no more" and "MDFMK will never stop." The crowd was so giving, and the band so amped, that they even returned for an unscheduled, one song second encore, and played "Anarchy"--the first Sasha K./Tim Skold composition from the "symbols" KMFDM album, and the crowd went absolutely wild. The song was punchy as hell, and made all the more endearing by Skold's laughter and jokes as he flubbed a few lines toward the beginning. Being that this is the first show, they can be forgiven for the almost "tentative" feeling and anxiety they put out, but one of the problems with not having extra musicians, drummers, and the like on stage is that when everyone is more or less tied to their "station" there isn't all that much activity on stage. Sasha would come up front and rouse the crowd with some fist waving shout-alongs, and Lucia would slink across the stage, sometimes robotically, sometimes with the most feline, sultry moves. Skold was alternately the cool, techno rock star, and the guitar hero. But when the electronics were doing most of the playing, it seemed the energy stopped. There were a couple of moments where everything was automated, and the three members sort of stood there, enjoying the music, but not really doing anything at all. Perhaps this is where the visuals should have taken over, but the malfunctioning robot was actually not very interesting at all, and the projection screen just had shots of a video camera that was strobing audience shots, robot shots, etc. and was also not that interesting. Let's hope that as they work out the technical problems, they also find more of a way to keep the performance energy going. Overall, MDFMK are off to a powerful start. As they grow more comfortable playing these songs live, I anticipate the shows getting better and better. Being that this 500-person show at the Glass House was just the kickoff, and they will be playing the 1500-capacity Palace in Hollywood towards the end of their tour next month, I am excited enough from what I saw to look forward to the next show and see how they have progressed. For more MDFMK info, check their website at www.mdfmk.net . |