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Amphi Festival 2014


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This year’s editio turned out to be even more exceptional than any of us could expect. Firstly Amphi Festival celebrated its 10th birthday – 16 000 fans came to Tanzbrunnen in Cologne to enjoy this fact and the unique line-up. Also special gadgets and souvenirs such as t-shirts, postcards and badges were expected. There were two surprises: opposite the main stage there is small, let’s call it, island which every year was occupied by clothes stalls, this time the shops were located somewhere else and this piece of land became a great place to sit and have a great view of the stage. We got to know the second surprise after coming back home, namely that it was the last event in this location. It doesn’t change anything in having fun at festival but it’s something interesting to know. We need to wait for some time to see what the new place is going to be like.

Call Ships to Port 2
The second edition of the  MS RheinEnergie party was as popular as the debut one. This year the organizers prepared also something special to close the event but we took part in the opening act, Call Ships to Port 2. According to the schedule the ship started its journey. Before the main point of the evening we had a good chance to sightsee and enjoy wonderful views. When the people started to move around impatiently we decided to go down where already on the stage Agonize had their warm-up, instead of Suicide Commando who had to cancel their concert.

During this concert I came to conclusion that Chris L. without his bloody background seems to be a little sad. Of course the music was great, the audience was enchanted by the sounds of "Bis das Blut gefriert". The second star of the evening was Project Pitchfork. This year’s editio of Amphi was special for the fans of this band since they could see them live twice. That’s why the concert on the ship was unusual - " The Early Years". Specially chosen songs from the first albums including: "Lam-'Bras", "Alpha Omega " and at the end "Blood-Line (Never)". The concert as a whole was positive especially taking into consideration the small stage and the feeling of being so close to the band.

Saturday

The pleasure of opening the jubilee edition of Amphi was Niven to Belgian Project The Juggernauts. The duet is working on their debut album. During the concert they did their best to make this inauguration unforgettable. The first performer on the second festival stage in Staatenhaus was German Phosgore. They are more and more popular in clubs. They had 40 minutes and they used every second of them giving the audience hard, dynamic set so that nobody could stand still. Meanwhile on the main stage She Past Away. I saw them a week before at Castle Party and I was enchanted. Only the sound system was a little disappointing, one vocal was somehow lost. After that the line up became so intense that it was impossible to see the concerts on both stages from the beginning to the end, that’s why we had to choose one over the other or run and jump like a rabbit. I was trying to be in two places at the same time not to miss a lot. The richness of the genres didn’t let me get bored.

Starting from Centhron, classic set from Clan of Xymox, rock note from Lord of the Lost I got to musically totally different Zeromancer and Corvus Corax. Both bands were full of energy and had a great contact with the audience singing their favourite songs. In terms of the performance, however, wearing leather and playing various different instruments, medieval Corvus Corax cannot be compared to anyone. And we still have two musical bombs ahead of us. Aesthetic Perfection on the small stage and Hocico on the main one. During both concerts again I started to think what is wrong with our German neighbours so that they cannot be a little bit more enthusiastic while gathering in front of the stage. Some of the bands such as Erk managed to move them just a bit, though it was Polish group of electro fans who were showing their enthusiasm openly. Anyway, everybody enjoys what they like and how they like. Similarly to WGT the guys from Hocico invited El Mariachi to start and to finish their concert and played as the last one "Tequila" couldn’t have been exchanged into anything else.

The next concert in Staatenhous was a little bit tiring for me, despite all additional attractions such as dancers with bondage show and water guns. Thomas Rainer aka Nachtmahr is totally not my cup of tea. Maybe without vocal would be more interesting? Anyway, the audience seemed to enjoy and wanted more "Boom Boom Boom".
While the main stage was occupied by Blutengel who gathered quite a lot of fans – that’s why not so many people were left in Staatenhouse after Nachtmahr’s concert, I was waiting for the veteran of electronic scene Dirk Ivens. For over an hour the audience was taken into another reality, characteristic masks and coats of The Klinik emphasised severe, dynamic and emotional creativity of the artists. Because of releasing "The Klinik - Box (1984-1991)" the set list included mosty the classic tracks of the band such as "Murder", "Hours and Hours" or "Moving Hands".

The last band on the main stage that Day was Front 242, whose concert was cut short because of some technical problems. But it wasn’t the problem for the audience to cheer them up. They did their best but fighting with some faults took most of the concert time (over 30 min) so after nine songs they said goodbye.
We came back to the small stage where the fans of synth pop had been already waiting. German Comouflage is better and better. Before they appeared the instrumental version of "The Great Commandment" was played and after that here they are. Applause, singing and magical atmosphere – that’s how the concert looked like, and the special guest was Peter Heppner.
The last concert of the evening was played by Project Pitchfork. They started with hits from the very beginning, "Pitch-Black" and "IO" as a warm-up. They used their double appearance in maximum. And that’s the all of the day, time to go to sleep.

Sunday

It’s time to open the second day! And for the start the concert of Torul. Amazing vocal, that’s why despite being so early, there crowds gathering in front of the stage. The setlist included all hits plus one new song. It’s a pity that the concert lasted only half an hour. The small stage also had a great start – Noisuf-X, perfect for those who needed warm up. The following two concerts were dedicated to fans of guitar sounds. Unzucht on the main stage make the audience move with their most famous songs Unzucht"’, "Kleine geile Nonne" or the cover "Entre dos tierras". In Staatenhaus it was heavier because of Maerzfeld. The next artist changed the direction towards electronic experiments with some inspirations from the 80’s. Duet Klangstabil influences the imagination and strong, primitive emotions. Along with Boris singing the listener is taken to the world of elementary values which is emphasised by every single sound and stage simplicity. "Pay with friendship" was the main catchword of the koncert. Unfortunately there was no time for the encore.

After coming out of the hall I decided to enjoy somethin different for a moment. The first direction was the main shopping strip, so crazy shopping area. Also I could admire the creativity of the festical fans in terms of their outfits. Apparently the Goths don’t exist only in black. It was also possible to meet your favourite artists out there. I talked for a moment to Daniel from Aesthetic Perfection, who was tired after the show but fascinated with festival where as he said he could drink beer and talk without hurry. Looking for some nice stuff I came back to Staatenhous, where also were some shopping stalls with vinyls among the others. At the end of the hall there was a place of meeting with artists. At that moment the guys from Apotygma Berzek were signing their albums and taking photos with fans. After a while I felt a little hungry so we decided to go to eat something and the choice was quite impressive. I even found fruit salad. The next place to visit was a beach, beautifully arranged area with deckchairs and separate bar. Meanwhile on the main stage Stephen Groth (Apoptygma Berzerk) was singing so the Beach was almost empty. Listening to "Kathy's Song (Come Lie Next To Me) " I was enjoying this romantic atmosphere and watching clouds. 

The last performance of the main stage belonged to festiwal headliner Eisbrecher. From the very beginning to the very end they did their best to satisfy the audience who was amazed. Songs sung together and amazing power, the concert was perfect to close the festival. But... it was not the end yet. The honour to close the event lied in the hands of Lacrimosa, Tilo Wolff and Anne Nurmi as usually didn’t disappoint their fans. I left the hall after first two song tired after running in the heat. And this is it. Aren’t you surprised how fast the time passes, even though you wait for it for the whole year? But if you wait it means it’s worth so it’s time to start counting days and waiting for the eleventh edition of Amphi Festival!

 
Author:
Translator: morrigan
Add date: 2014-09-25 / Live reports


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