29 April 2024

10,11,12,13-06-2011 Wave Gotik Treffen

Location: Leipzig (Germany)
By: Nina Mende

It is the time of the year again when all gothic and medieval fans as well as punks and other creatures of the night head to the world’s biggest festival of their kind: the Wave Gothic Treffen in Leipzig, Germany.

Friday:
Due to severe traffic it took me almost twice as long as usually (7 hours instead of not even 4) to get there, so I missed a few bands. It is impossible to see all bands anyway since the festival is spread out throughout the entire city of Leipzig. So you have to take your picks and if it is a popular act, make sure to be there early before they put the get in on hold due to security reasons.

Anyway, since I was that late, I missed half of the Gothminister show and could not take pictures anymore. They played at Agra, one of the biggest venues at the festival, and it was packed.On each side of the stage you could see huge evil looking puppets which were moving. The light was dim or red with a whole lot of fog. Every once in a while the darkness was disturbed by some fire. Everyone in the band was wearing black, just like the audience. Gothminister talked quite a bit to the audience. The fans thanked them by cheering out loud and singing along to the songs as well as moving along to it. Gothminister played old and new songs. From what I have seen it was an amazing and powerful show.

Now I went down to Werk II, not far from Agra, to see She’s All That. The German electro rockers came on with their masks as usual, but this time they left the lights out. Or rather: They used dark light instead. At least their wigs were glowing in the dark light as well as some wrinkles of their masks which they painted with the fluorescent color. After the first song they used the regular lights as well though and took off the wigs. She’s All That rocked around on stage and played their thriving electro rock music. The people in the audience were dancing along a whole lot and cheered out loud after each song. The singer talked a lot with the audience in between the songs and shared some Becks beer with them. Their show lasted 50 minutes.
Back to Agra to see the Swedish electro band Covenant. Good thing I came early. The venue was so crowed that they had to put the let-in on hold. Covenant used super bright lights that it slightly reminded me of A-HA or some of these huge bands that have the back of the stage lit up instead of hanging their backdrop their. Covenant also used fog. After a super long intro the singer finally entered the stage and sang to the dancing and screaming audience. The singer moved and danced around on stage a whole lot, the other two band members rocked out behind their synths and keys. In between the songs the singer talked a whole lot to the audience, telling them about the songs or other stuff. The audience replied by cheering out even louder. It was such a brilliant show spreading a positive and relaxing vibe. Simply amazing. Covenant played for a little over an hour. What a brilliant first day of this amazing festival.

Saturday:

The second day of this amazing festival has dawned and lots of good bands to offer. As usual it was a tough decision to pick the bands for the day. I started out at Halle 15, a venue in the old convention center of Leipzig. 4:15 pm seemed quite early for the first band considering that the parties last till 6am or 9 am. So no wonder the venue was still quite empty as Eyes Shut Tight entered the stage. The German goth rockers didn’t care and played as if the venue was packed. They were painted with black paint and wore black. Looking evil they fit right into this gothic festival. Some people knew their songs and sang along, more were moving along to the thriving music of the guys. After every other song the singer talked to the audience, thanking them and animating them to rock even more. There were plastic dolls and body parts spread out all over the stage, covered in the same paint the guys had on. For a song two topless dancers came dancing on stage. All the sudden more and more people started cheering and focused all of their attention on the stage. The keyboarder threw one of the plastic body parts into the drums and almost smashed them later as they left the stage. Their show lasted for about 40 minutes. They definitely closed with more fans in the audience than they had been starting out today. Very nice.
After a short change over a Finnish metal band called Barren Earth entered the stage. Their music was fast and powerful. The drummer backed up the vocals of the singer. They talked a little to the audience that was growing slowly. They didn’t look or sound too gothic but rather reminded of some classic rock – or metal, respectively. The audience watched Barren Earth’s performance closely. Their show lasted for about 40 minutes as well. The guitar and bass player moved around quite a lot, posing with their instruments while playing them passionately. Barren Earth put up a nice show on this Saturday afternoon.
Now I went over to Agra to see the German industrial band Faderhead. At first the venue was not too crowded but it was filling up fast. Three out of the four guys of the band had mohawks, two in black one in blond. Three of the guys had their Macbooks set up on a table, rocking out while creating the thriving and catchy sounds. The singer was running up and down the stage, shouting and singing to the audience. Never standing still. So was the guy with the black mohawk, he kept running around too, sometimes even singing along. But the other two were not just standing on their Mac books either. Faderhead got your muscles twitch and the music somehow forced you to move along. Everyone in the venue was dancing and shouting along to the music. Simply amazing. They put up such a thriving show, brilliant. Faderhead played for about 40 minutes before they made room for the next one.
Which was Feindflug. Three cages were set up in the front of the stage for the drummers and the synthesizer, the keyboarder was in the back. Without vocals they just drummed. Like the electro version of Stomp. Strobe lights and a lot of fog made it hard to see some times. Throughout the show there was a drummer boy walking around and a guitar player rocking along to the drum beats of the guys. They were all wearing military clothes, the guitar player even wore a gas mask. The venue was packed by now. Even though the guys in the front could not move around too much, it was still amazing to watch them all play and you didn’t know where to put your focus on watching. Their show lasted for about 40 minutes as well.
On I went, over to Werk II. This venue was packed already. No wonder: Some great bands were playing there. The one I was seeing as I arrived was Cinema Strange. It’s been a while since I saw them last and they have changed a whole lot since then. As in looks I mean. The singer had long hair plaited in braids, shaved legs and wore heels, the bass player had long hair with undercuts looking stunning, as usual. The style of their music has not changed a bit though, and the show was entertaining as usual. Cinema Strange had a couple friends sitting on stage throughout the show, Frank of Frank the Baptist joined the band on stage later on too. Psychadelic punk music or something like it, I think the band name Cinema Strange still describes their style of music best: There is a whole lot for the eye and the music is amazing yet strange. Incomparable to say the least! Too bad you don’t get to see them too often. Anyway, In between the songs the singer was either talking to the audience – the one sitting on stage as well as the one off stage – or sang little songs that everyone knew from movies and such to whomever. Simply amazing. Describing their show would take many pages, so I just suggest you check them out yourself. Their show at WGT was simply amazing and breathtaking. No wonder the venue was packed and get-in was put on hold! Such an amazing band.
But that was not enough! Closing for the night was The Damned. As opening show for their 35 year anniversary tour! The brits still looked amazing, still after 35 years of making music together. The guitar player wore a black and white striped shirt with “Zombie” written straight across the chest in red, along with a red hat and white shades he rocked the stage. The singer wore a doctors outfit. The lights were bright and the entire room of the stage had to be used up, so they were constantly moving around. There was no need to animate the audience to go along, they already did. Dancing and singing along, cheering out loud and screaming for more in between the songs. The band was loved by their audience and they sent the love right back at them through their brilliant music. Catchy tunes got you to dance along easily. Bright lights lit the band perfectly so you could see every inch of movement and set the mood for a wonderful closing of the second day of this amazing festival. It was a big party with The Damned on the stage. Far off the depressing and sad music the gothic cliche is trying to tell you, The Damned rocked the house and everyone was happily rocking along. 35 years of The Damned and it seemed like they have not aged a bit. They seemed to not get tired at all throughout their almost 90 minutes lasting show. Simply amazing. You should definitely try catching them live on their 35 years anniversary tour. What a wonderful closing for this Saturday of WGT.

Sunday:

The third day of WGT I spent at Felsenkeller and Felsenkeller only. Seeing all bands playing there from first to last. The first band started at 5pm and it was still a little empty. The German band Terrill were still rocking strong already. Dressed as a monk, undertaker and zombie their outfits supported their horrorpunk music they were playing. The audience was not that big yet, but the ones that were there and were coming throughout their performance definitely enjoyed the show of Terrill. The dim light created a certain graveyard and gravedigger atmosphere, a perfect match with their music. For one song the entire band left the stage and the singer covered “Scream” by the Misfits, playing guitar and singing it before the band came back on stage to join him for the last song. A great opening for this day at Felsenkeller.
The people had been pouting in throughout Terrill. Mostly because they wanted to see Zombina and the Skeletones. By the time they entered the stage the venue was packed. All totally excited to see the band. The cheering was immense as they entered the stage. The female fronted horrorpunk / psychobilly band rocked from the first second of entering the stage until the last second when they left the stage. The audience was with them at all times, dancing and singing along big time. There was a strong connection between audience and band. Zombina and the Skeletones talked to their audience throughout the show and thanked them as well. The thriving music definitely got every single soul in the venue to move along. Simply brilliant.
Unfortunately almost everybody left after Zombina and the Skeletones were done playing and didn’t stay for Devils Whorehouse / Death Wolf. So in front of an almost empty audience room Devils Whorehouse /Death Wolf performed their fast and thriving metal music. They talked only little to the audience but there were not many people to talk to anyway. Only a few people were head banging along to the music. Of course didn’t Devils Whorehouse / Death Wolf fit in along with the other bands playing at Felsenkeller today but they were still good. Later throughout their show people came pouring in again.
Now that the venue was filling up again it was time for Rezurex to enter the stage. Tonight was the last date of their European tour. It had been an amazing tour and this was going to be an amazing last show of the tour. The singer’s hair was glowing in the dark light. The guys were constantly moving around on stage, you hard a hard time keeping an eye on all of them. The audience was dancing along, singing and clapping, cheering out loud after each song. The band thanked the audience after each song and kept going with playing old and new songs, even a few brand new songs off their latest album “Dance With The Dead”. Rezurex is always a great band to see live because they are always so passionate on stage. You can tell they are totally loving what they are doing. Simply amazing.
Up next was Demented Are Go. A legend in psychobilly and punk. With their faces painted to look like zombies they rocked around on stage and performed in front of the packed audience room. Everyone could sing along, people moshed and danced along, screaming, shouting and singing along. Simply amazing. Audience and band were one. The stand up bass player kept doing funky stuff with his bass: either he played it up side down, laying down or the guitar player was standing on it. The singer talked quite a bit to the audience, announcing each song before playing and thanking the fans for being there. Everyone was having a blast and no one – literally no one was standing still while Demented Are Go rocked the stage and the house. Simply amazing. Too bad they did not get to play longer, but there was still one last band to go.
Balzac was the closing band for the night. During changeover the venue had emptied but right before Balzac hit the stage, it was packed again. With strobe light an fog Balzac blasted out right away, rocking out and kicking ass on stage. The fast music got the audience going along. The guys on stage all wore skeleton suits and were totally in their element. Balzac was so passionate about playing they hardly looked up and into the audience while playing the songs. The guys never stood still either and kept moving around on stage. And so did everybody off stage in the audience room as well. A powerful closing at Felsenkeller for the third day of this amazing festival. One last day to come.

Monday:

Last day of Wave Gothic Treffen had dawned and for me that meant spending the entire day at Werk II where one amazing band after the other would be playing, ending with Misfits. One band had already finished as I arrived at Werk II. But Zombiesuckers from Sweden were just getting ready to enter the stage. It was not even 5pm yet and the venue was still empty but filling up. Heavy face paint, each band member as a different character plus two roadies in costumes filming were taking over the stage just in time. Whirling around on stage and trying to flirt with the audience in between the songs, the Swedes pulled of a very entertaining show. One of the filming roadies stripped down to nothing underneath his butcher apron. The girls loved it, of course. The audience was watching the band closely while rocking along to the catchy horror tunes.
By now the venue had become totally crowded. No wonder. Bloodsucking Zombies From Outer Space were up next. The Austrian band with the singing and standing drummer was a must see on many people’s list. Werk II was packed and the cheering was immense as the band entered the stage. A little bit reminded they of the horror and psychobilly version of Die Ärzte. Always up for a joke they put up a brilliant show. Not only were the songs absolutely catchy and made you move along instantly, but also did the band perform super professional and relaxed. It seemed that nothing in the world could stress them. No wonder with such an amazing audience and such an overwhelming feedback. Bloodsucking Zombies From Outerspace rocked Werk II. They are definitely worth seeing and you missed out on a whole lot if you missed them.
The venue was emptying fast after Bloodzucking Zombies From Outer Space finished. Either people went for a smoke or headed off to another venue, food or whatever. Anyway, as the next band Three Flanders from Germany entered the stage for their first WGT performance ever, the venue was half empty. But that was still ok, because the main part of the venue was still crowded and the cheering of the audience after each song was still strong. Three Flanders played typical pychobilly music with an upright bass. The singer had half of his face covered with skin and blood coming off his face, very zombie like. It almost felt like Halloween being in this venue today. Good, because that is my favorite holiday anyway. Three Flanders put up a great first performance at a festival like this.
Now it was time for one of my personal highlights of this festival: Nim Vind from Canada. It had been a while since I’ve seen them last and I was stoked to hear some new stuff which they presented tonight. Three guys could not quite fill the stage but the sound of the music did fill the by now packed again venue. I was not only totally stoked to see them again but also speechless that they keep getting better and it’s not like they have ever been bad. The sound was clear and big, the music very catchy and people were dancing along. Nim Vind played one song after another, not talking a whole lot in between the songs but letting the music and brilliant melodies in each song talk instead. Many people could sing along to some songs, especially some of the older ones. They even clapped along. Amazing. I can’t wait to see Nim Vind again when they hit the road along with Filter and Julien-K.
After some melody and non-zombie awesomeness it was time for some horror punk again. And who would be better to bring that back than The Other from Germany? With a whole lot of stage props like candles, banners, a microphone stand with skulls and so on the stage was already packed even without the band on it. The cheering was loud as they entered the stage. The fog and dim light created a somewhat graveyard like feeling, the songs did the rest. The people sang and moved along, having a great time watching The Other performing old and new tracks. Even though The Other is a German band they still talked English in between the songs since they had a quite international audience. People and band were having a good time and it could only get better.

Getting better also meant getting closer to the end. It was already time for the headliner of the night and probably the festival highlight for quite many people as well: Misfits were about to rock the stage. People were freaking out as Misfits entered the stage. everyone knew each and every single word of the songs. Misfits did not talk a whole lot but rather sped through the songs. Impressive like only Misfits can be everyone was stoked about seeing them here on stage at Wave Gothic Treffen. They definitely are a legend. People sang, danced and moshed along. The cheering was immense after each song and everyone had a brilliant time. Misfits played for a little over an hour and then it was all done. What an amazing closing for an amazing 25th Wave Gothic Treffen. See you all next year.

More photo’s of this event can be found at roseofthedevilsgarden.com