Nemesis To Go - Live: Drop Dead Festival 2007

Drop Dead Festival 2007
Rock Café, Prague
Day 4: Sunday November 4 2007

Bands in order of appearance:
The Last Days Of Jesus
Mona Mur
Andi Sex Gang

The last day of Drop Dead Prague winds down with a minimalist three-band gig (although the DJs continue into the early hours for the diehard party-heads). But we're here for the show, so let's welcome those friendly weirdos The Last Days of Jesus. Based as they are just down the road in Bratislava, this must count as almost a local gig for the band.

At any rate, the Last Days noise machine rattles through a set of oddly-angled avant-rock, complete with vocalist Mary O's entertaining repertoire of bug-eyed expressions and extravagant gesticulations. As I've noted on previous occasions when I've seen this band, I get the impression that The Last Days of Jesus are moving somewhat away from their position as zany jokers in the deathrock pack, and towards a more cerebral - or at least more serious - take on left-field rock.

It might seem a little odd to use words like 'cerebral' about a band fronted by a face-painted whackjob like Mary O, but if you consider The Last Days Of Jesus as part of the eastern European carnival tradition - an area they occupy at least as comfortably as the American-inspired deathrock scene - then maybe it's not such a big leap after all. It'll be interesting to see how the band develops from here.

You could say that Mona Mur is here representing German new wave (or do they just say 'wave'? I can never remember). With a career that stretches back to the 80s, and a history of collaborations with artists as diverse as members of Einstürzende Neubauten, the Stranglers, and Yello, you could even argue that Mona Mur has positioned herself on the principal intersection of the new wave autobahn.

Tonight she's collaborating with ex-KMFDM man En Esch, on guitar. We're in the minimal zone again, and while the performance has an air of cool restraint throughout, there's also a distinct feeling of seething passions just under the surface. Mona Mur gives us a performance of Brechtian torch songs and slow-burning cabaret-influenced chansons, meticulously delivered with a chilled composure that at once establishes a distance between performer and audience, even as it entices you in. It's theatre, and yet it's still unequivocally rooted in the stripped and clipped stylings of 80s new wave. Mona herself maintains a controlled and impassive aura - aside from those moments when she's joking with En Esch, who I suspect, if left to himself, would probably slap cranked-up guitar over everything. The amiable tension between the two performers - the supercool vocalist and her rock guitarist, straining at the leash to amp it all up - adds another neat bit of tension to the proceedings. The audience is held, rapt and attentive, from first song to last.

The differences between the Sex Gang Children and Andi Sex Gang as a solo artist might be somewhat academic these days - it's the same bunch of musicians, a slightly different repertoire of songs, Andi himself wears a different hat. But as a headline artist to top off the entire event, to put on Andi Sex Gang a full-on grande finale show, you probably couldn't do better.

There are no red velvet curtains in the Rock Café. No gilded furniture, no sweeping staircase down which the stars of the night can make an entrance. It's just not that sort of club. But somehow the trappings of an old-world cabaret lounge are conjured from thin air, as Andi and his musicians, keeping it low key and almost-acoustic, tempt the crowd with a swoon and a croon through the Sex Gang songbook.

''Odin Bites Me' and 'Saraband' have the essential blend of decadence and doom, while 'Die Traube' is possibly the nearest thing Andi Sex Gang has to a theme song, with its 'Here I stand, i can do no other' valedictory feel. 'Sebastiane', in normal guise a full-on rocker, is delivered here almost as a lament, the song rearranged for an acoustic guitar and a rueful, regretful vocal. It says much for the songs, and indeed the overall quality of the performance, that the audience is hooked from the start and remains hooked throughout - no mean feat, given that this crowd of punks and deathrockers might be assumed to want a rock 'n' roll rampage right from the get-go.

As the set progresses, the intensity is racked up, until the performance does indeed get suitably stoked as a bit of the old punk rock rocket fuel is brought to the party. 'Shout And Scream' rattles mightily, and a full-band reprise of 'Sebastiane' crashes in with enough force to blow out the windows...if the Rock Cafe had windows.

Despite many shouts from the crowd for 'Barbarossa', that particular song fails to appear - the drummer has broken his foot, and can't manage the fancy footwork on the kick drum which the song requires, or something - but 'Shout And Scream' punks it up in fine style, and as a genuinely dramatic climax Andi plunges into the crowd and sings 'Les Amants D'un Jour' with melodramatic relish from the middle of the mosh.

It's a great way to wrap up the festival, and a neat demonstration that doing the un-obvious thing frequently pays off. As what you might call 'standard' deathrock - all those Batcave-inspired bands, the mohawk 'n' fishnet massive - becomes its own sub-genre, with all the limitations that implies, the future will belong to those who dare to be different.

If the Drop Dead Festival continues to cast its net wide, and capture all manner of creative creatures from the world of left-field, post-punk-and-beyond music, it'll succeed and grow, even if it turns into a somewhat different beast in the process. I think, in a way, Drop Dead needs to de-Americanise itself as part of all this, which might seem an odd thing to say about an event which now takes place in Europe.

But as I've remarked, the festival's obsessive devotion to old British bands is a typically American trait, while the apparent policy of keeping the door closed to new British bands is illogical and counter-productive. That is something that needs to change, if only because there's a lot of good stuff coming out of the post-post-punk zone in the UK right now. It makes sense to check it out, and no sense to ignore it. And, assuming Drop Dead stays within the European Union, nobody will even need work permits. But whatever happens, one thing is for sure. The future is definitely going to be different, but it could also be rather good.

Essential links:

The Last Days Of Jesus: Website | Myspace
Mona Mur: Website | Myspace
Andi Sex Gang: Website | Myspace

Drop Dead Festival: Website | Myspace

For more photos from the Drop Dead Festival, find the bands by name here.


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Drop Dead Festival 2007 Rock Café, Prague Day 4: Sunday November 4 2007 Bands in order of appearance: The Last Days Of Jesus Mona Mur Andi Sex Gang The last day of Drop Dead Prague winds down with a minimalist three-band gig (although the DJs continue into the early hours for the diehard party-heads). But we're here for the show, so let's welcome those friendly weirdos The Last Days of Jesus. Based as they are just down the road in Bratislava, this must count as almost a local gig for the band. At any rate, the Last Days noise machine rattles through a set of oddly-angled avant-rock, complete with vocalist Mary O's entertaining repertoire of bug-eyed expressions and extravagant gesticulations. As I've noted on previous occasions when I've seen this band, I get the impression that The Last Days of Jesus are moving somewhat away from their position as zany jokers in the deathrock pack, and towards a more cerebral - or at least more serious - take on left-field rock. It might seem a little odd to use words like 'cerebral' about a band fronted by a face-painted whackjob like Mary O, but if you consider The Last Days Of Jesus as part of the eastern European carnival tradition - an area they occupy at least as comfortably as the American-inspired deathrock scene - then maybe it's not such a big leap after all. It'll be interesting to see how the band develops from here. You could say that Mona Mur is here representing German new wave (or do they just say 'wave'? I can never remember). With a career that stretches back to the 80s, and a history of collaborations with artists as diverse as members of Einstürzende Neubauten, the Stranglers, and Yello, you could even argue that Mona Mur has positioned herself on the principal intersection of the new wave autobahn. Tonight she's collaborating with ex-KMFDM man En Esch, on guitar. We're in the minimal zone again, and while the performance has an air of cool restraint throughout, there's also a distinct feeling of seething passions just under the surface. Mona Mur gives us a performance of Brechtian torch songs and slow-burning cabaret-influenced chansons, meticulously delivered with a chilled composure that at once establishes a distance between performer and audience, even as it entices you in. It's theatre, and yet it's still unequivocally rooted in the stripped and clipped stylings of 80s new wave. Mona herself maintains a controlled and impassive aura - aside from those moments when she's joking with En Esch, who I suspect, if left to himself, would probably slap cranked-up guitar over everything. The amiable tension between the two performers - the supercool vocalist and her rock guitarist, straining at the leash to amp it all up - adds another neat bit of tension to the proceedings. The audience is held, rapt and attentive, from first song to last. The differences between the Sex Gang Children and Andi Sex Gang as a solo artist might be somewhat academic these days - it's the same bunch of musicians, a slightly different repertoire of songs, Andi himself wears a different hat. But as a headline artist to top off the entire event, to put on a full-on grande finale show, you probably couldn't do better. There are no red velvet curtains in the Rock Café. No gilded furniture, no sweeping staircase down which the stars of the night can make an entrance. It's just not that sort of club. But somehow the trappings of an old-world cabaret lounge are conjured from thin air, as Andi and his musicians, keeping it low key and almost-acoustic, tempt the crowd with a swoon and a croon through the Sex Gang songbook. ''Odin Bites Me' and 'Saraband' have the essential blend of decadence and doom, while 'Die Traube' is possibly the nearest thing Andi Sex Gang has to a theme song, with its 'Here I stand, i can do no other' valedictory feel. 'Sebastiane', in normal guise a full-on rocker, is delivered here almost as a lament, the song rearranged for an acoustic guitar and a rueful, regretful vocal. It says much for the songs, and indeed the overall quality of the performance, that the audience is hooked from the start and remains hooked throughout - no mean feat, given that this crowd of punks and deathrockers might be assumed to want a rock 'n' roll rampage right from the get-go. As the set progresses, the intensity is racked up, until the performance does indeed get suitably stoked as a bit of the old punk rock rocket fuel is brought to the party. 'Shout And Scream' rattles mightily, and a full-band reprise of 'Sebastiane' crashes in with enough force to blow out the windows...if the Rock Cafe had windows. Despite many shouts from the crowd for 'Barbarossa', that particular song fails to appear - the drummer has broken his foot, and can't manage the fancy footwork on the kick drum which the song requires, or something - but 'Shout And Scream' punks it up in fine style, and as a genuinely dramatic climax Andi plunges into the crowd and sings 'Les Amants D'un Jour' with melodramatic relish from the middle of the mosh. It's a great way to wrap up the festival, and a neat demonstration that doing the un-obvious thing frequently pays off. As what you might call 'standard' deathrock - all those Batcave-inspired bands, the mohawk 'n' fishnet massive - becomes its own sub-genre, with all the limitations that implies, the future will belong to those who dare to be different. If the Drop Dead Festival continues to cast its net wide, and capture all manner of creative creatures from the world of left-field, post-punk-and-beyond music, it'll succeed and grow, even if it turns into a somewhat different beast in the process. I think, in a way, Drop Dead needs to de-Americanise itself as part of all this, which might seem an odd thing to say about an event which now takes place in Europe. But as I've remarked, the festival's obsessive devotion to old British bands is a typically American trait, while the apparent policy of keeping the door closed to new British bands is illogical and counter-productive. That is something that needs to change, if only because there's a lot of good stuff coming out of the post-post-punk zone in the UK right now. It makes sense to check it out, and no sense to ignore it. And, assuming Drop Dead stays within the European Union, nobody will even need work permits. But whatever happens, one thing is for sure. The future is definitely going to be different, but it could also be rather good. Essential links: The Last Days Of Jesus: Website \| Myspace Mona Mur: Website \| Myspace Andi Sex Gang: Website \| Myspace Drop Dead Festival: Website \| Myspace For more photos from the Drop Dead Festival, find the bands by name here.
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Back to top	Page credits: Review, photos and construction by Uncle Nemesis. Nemesis logo by Antony Johnston, Red N version by Mark Rimmell.