Nitzer Ebb/je$us loves amerika - Classic Grand, 17th Feb '10

Having never seen any live gigs at the venue, I was a little humbled by the pre-performance soundtrack provided in the form of Royksopp's "Sombre Detune", and Depeche Mode's "Lillian", putting me in good spirit for the evening's event. The first group, je$us loves amerika (no capitalisation), made their way to the stage for their incredibly brief 30-minute set. Much in the same elk of the Nitzer Ebb live experience, the group is comprised of three members: our two typically mohawked keyboardists and the Public Enemy t-shirt toting late thirty-something, nervously marching the stage to wear off the stage-fright and bellowing into the microphone. Sadly only generating a marginal amount of headbopping activity from the audience with their set, JLA initially explode with a thunderous opening tune but timorously advance through their very EBM-influenced catalogue. With some of the tunes apparently being debuted for the first time at the gig and the inhouse lighting team paying just as much attention to their performance as the headliner, this extra effort was perhaps a bit of a flat practice considering how unknown the group were. Their set as a whole was apologetically lame, excusing the last two tracks of the set of course: the very Prodigy-influenced neck-break "Breathe" and a ferocious cover of NWA's "Fuck tha Police". In a welcome surprise as the group walked off, they threw a number of flashdiscs into the audience to enjoy after the show containing two mp3 files, one of which is thankfully a studio recording of "Breathe". With a free download of their first album on last.fm, I will be on the look out for futher updates on this local darkwave band.

Twenty minutes later, and out come the veterans: Vaughan Bon Harris, founding member and synth/drum explorer; new member Jason Payne on drums; and of course the famed suited up, hair slicked, aviator-sporting Douglas McCarthy. Launching into new track "Promises" after a short intro, the Agent Smith-like costume is a frighteningly impressive vehicle for his industrial growling. After a well-received cheer from the crowd, they unleash the screamed chants and squelching pads of "Let Your Body Learn" (arguably their most famous release in America due to its inclusion on the GTA IV soundtrack). One of many memorable anthems from their never-bettered first album That Total Age, it might have been seen as an odd decision to play such a showy tune so early on but it definitely made an impression on the crowd, putting them into such a stormy mindset that even when one malcontent killjoy thought it would be a nice idea to throw an entire cup of beer at McCarthy at point blank range didn't halt the tunes. Continuing undeterred, McCarthy's headbanging and violenting gyrating limbs at his age is a dramatically absorbing sight.

In support of their new album "Industrial Complex", there were understandable moments in the playlist were the audience oscillated between familiarity and naievity in the face of new material. Having a listen or two of the new release on Spotify previously, I entered the night's entertainment with a vague idea of what to expect from their first new material in 15 years - hardly a radical departure from their now-legendary EBM grandfather status, their new material sees them explore the usual synth-line assaults with the exception of one strangely slow-paced track "I Am Undone", sung and performed in vains spiritually similar to what VNV Nation might do. The track strangely works in the context of the album, but placed slap-bang in the middle of the event sandwiched between big bites of aggression was perhaps a brief setback in the overall mood, before the second half's delightful collection of barbaric triumphs.

Showcasing an effervescent stream of hammering hit after hit, the appearance of "Violent Playground", "Control I'm Here", the inevitable "Murderous" and the penetrating capacity of new tracks "Down on Your Knees" and "Payroll" was a potent klaxon to get the groupees moshing. Meeting up unexpectedly with a few mates, the event's transfer from being merely just a spectacle into a hefty dance session was complete. Happy enough to give the crowd two whole encores of even more new material thanks to the uniform chanting and shouts to the closing "Join in the Chant" (considered the local Death Disco clubnight's anthem), Nitzer Ebb show us that in spite of their wavering efforts in the mid-90s, they can surely return to studio and bite something hard. There's a reason that the industrial community and even the Ibizan beat scene and artists as varied as Erol Alkan, Feadz, Billy Corgan, AFI, Trent Reznor and Alan Wilder are still raving about them.
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To download je$us loves amerika's "Advanced Burial Technology" for free from last.fm:
http://www.last.fm/music/Je%24us+Loves+Amerika/Advanced+Burial+Technology

Nitzer Ebb's "Let Your Body Learn" on their San Francisco date of the Industrial Complex tour: