17-02-2009 Apoptygma Berzerk

Supports: The Anix; Venue: Kuz, Mainz (Germany)
By: Nina Mende

Seriously, I don’t know how I survived about a year without seeing them or listening to any of their music. Luckily this period is over and I’m back on track, so to speak.
Anyway let me start in the beginning. After returning from Helsinki I went straight to another show, headliner was Apoptygma Berzerk, a gorgeous Norwegian band and definitely one of the best. The opening act was The Anix from Hollywood/California like they introduced themselves later on stage.

The KUZ in Mainz was quite crowded but it wasn’t sold out and getting from A to B still was possible as well. As I arrived The Anix started right away. The Anix is a young band from Los Angeles playing alternative rock with electronic elements. I have never heard of the before, but I was surprised by their performance. The show was amazingly energetic, powerful and thriving and the music was great as well. The light was flashy and red most of the time, but it fit perfectly well to the music. The keyboarder was going along so hard he almost banged his head on the instrument. The singer also played guitar and somehow reminded me of the singer of 30 Seconds To Mars, not only by his looks. The audience like The Anix as well and cheered a lot to them. Unfortunately didn’t the band get to play for too long, only about half an hour, but I hoped to see them again soon. The Anix is an amazing young band from LA. Check them out, definitely!

Up next was Apoptygma Berzerk. On tour with the new album “Rocket Science” they started with “Weight of the World” as intro. The cheering was loud as one after another of the band entered the stage. Many ravers were in the audience and several Goths, so it was quite interesting to see the different dance styles during the sometimes more electronic sometimes more rock songs of Apoptygma. Stephan (singer) was heating up the crowd, got them to shout and sing along, clap and jump and simply got them to do everything he wanted. Behind Fredrik (drummer) there were screens showing pictures, lights and videos. Their performance lasted for more than an hour. Energetic and powerful as I have always seen these guys they rocked through the entire time. Many songs they played were from the latest album, but they also played older songs like “Lost in Translation” or “Unicorn”. For “Bizarre Love Triangle” Geir (keyboarder) and Stephan were the only ones on stage to perform this gorgeous ballad. It was a wonderful show and it could have lasted all night long, but festival seasom is coming up and I am sure we will see them there again.

Here is what they played: WEIGHT OF THE WORLD APOLLO ECLIPSE UNICORN MERCY KILL LOST IN TRANSLATION IN THIS TOGETHER SHADOW DEEP RED YOU KEEP ME FROM BREAKING APART LOVE NEVER DIES UNTIL THE END BIZARRE LOVE TRIANGLE BUTTERFLY DEFECT KATHY’S SONG SHINE ON STARSIGN

Links:
The Anix MySpace
The Anix MySpace
Apoptygma Berzerk MySpace
Apoptygma Berzerk Official