As it usually happens at the beginning of September, the summer heat wave had already gone, but NCN 2011 greeted us warmly and sunny.

Last year’s 6th edition of Nocturnal Culture Night was inaugurated by Den.C.T.Bug. The charismatic singer welcomed everybody in few languages (including Polish). The audience was small, because not everyone managed to arrive yet, but gentlemen played a decent concert and enlivened the crowd.

The goth rock project Golden Apes was first to perform on the big stage. An interesting offer for those who are into guitar sounds. Although the crowd didn’t swarm under the stage, relatively big audience filled the amphitheater.

Gothminister heated up the guitar atmosphere with their spectacular show, which according to the lyrics of ‘Dusk Till Down’ took place at sunset. The band performed their best compositions, together with the cult ‘Devil’ and ‘Liar’ from the newest album



The audience definitely enjoyed the performance of [:SITD:]. However, I must admit that the band was warming up for a longer while and the concert reached the right temperature around the middle. To fans’ delight, at the end [:SITD:] played their huge hit ‘Snuff Mashinery’.



Similarly as during the M’era Luna, Tyske Ludder played a really good concert. As they say: the right time, the right place and the right band. The audience went crazy, same as the German dark electro trio.



There’s no need to introduce Kirilian Camera. The expectations proved to be correct and we witnessed an 1,5-hour concert of the highest standard. A few encores and numerous storms of applause in response to their performance came as no surprise. If you haven’t seen it, you’ve got something to regret.



The last to perform on Friday was the legendary Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio. The Swedish apocalyptic folk specialists presented the majority of their well-known compositions during the one hour set. The concert is worth recommending.

Saturday
The second day started lazily and calmly. The small stage concerts began with [Soon], but in my opinion, their performance was rather mediocre.



On the big stage, we could see the performance of the avant-garde Oberer Totpunkt. The concert was very interesting and it probably would have been even more exciting, if it had happened at night. The performance with a ‘living doll’ was cool.



The next scheduled performer was the German alternative electro representative Obscenity Trial, but the concert was cancelled at the last moment.
Following the synthpop track, the next performer was X-Divide. We watched with curiosity as the band was thoughtfully trying to keep everyone entertained. Judging by the invigorated fans, the audience appreciated the band’s efforts.



Shiv-r turned out all right. However, as it usually happens in case of such bands, it would have been better if they’d played in the evening. It doesn’t change the fact that they performed correctly and defended their work.



In order to change the atmosphere a little, we wanted to see the dark folk project Elane. Unfortunately, after the band played their first song, power supply went off. After technicians’ futile efforts to beat the bad fortune, the band decided to improvise and play one song a cappella. It turned out great and the audience rewarded them with a thunderous applause. All the more it was a pity that they didn’t play longer.



The silence began, caused by the power supply breakdown. It seemed that the concerts of Psyche and Sensory Gate will be cancelled, but after 1,5 h the power returned and concerts proceeded at full speed. It stirred up a little confusion in the schedule, because everyone was trying to make up for the lost time. Eventually, it worked out!



After the mediocre performance of Psyche – the band who has already had their heyday, we could watch the last year’s debutants – Sensory Gate. They came off well, you could see that the band didn’t waste their time since the last festival and that they were working on the material and technique.

Fans of good, old gothic rock must have been delighted with Merciful Nuns. It was a high level, noteworthy concert.



The concert of Klangstabil gathered a huge audience and made people dance to the sounds flowing from the stage. The performance was awesome.



Absolute Body Control were correct, but to me they lacked a certain spark. It was too monotonous.



32Crash attracted Front242 fans and put them to test, as the technical check dragged on and apparently the lighting technician must have taken a nap, because the concert started in a complete darkness. Eventually, the audience got what they came for – a powerful, successful performance.



Atrocity fulfilled sexist dreams of every male festival participant. The main attraction of the concert were two hot, scantly clad girls dancing on stage. Add heavy sounds and vocals plus a bunch of hits and covers of Das Ich and … Depeche Mode (?) and we have a recipe for a fantastic concert. I only got the impression that Liv Kristine disappeared somewhere in this turmoil, which is a pity, because her delicate vocals matched the diabolic voice of Alexander Krull perfectly.



To calm down a little after a crazy and full of surprises day, we hear a nice, old school project In My Rosary. Guitars, saxophone and a mass of atmospheric music is a great way to end the key day of the festival. After the concert, those who still didn’t have enough went to dance to the set, which takes place on the small stage. Check it!



Sunday
Hot Sunday started with the massive metal power of Eyes Shut Tight.
Blind Passengers, one of the best known industrial/metal bands in Germany, gave an interesting performance – the concert started among the audience and subsequently artists came back on stage. Cosmic decorations and lively, pulsing music made a good impression.

The Korean Ji-in Cho, singer of the German band Krypteria, proved that subtle, high-pitched female vocals suits gothic metal perfectly. It was an almost classic, meticulously arranged performance.



Persephone gave a great concert. The power of her voice and the depth of instruments were so massive that the band could well have managed to play without sound amplification. Persephone has doubtlessly shown her creative capabilities and potential.



The solo project of Sven Louis Manke from Terminal Choice – Staubkind won the viewers’ sympathy with their indisputable hit ‘Endlos", after which the explosive rock impulses and dynamic tension didn’t slow down giving us an absolutely satisfying performance.



VNV Nation blew up the stage and the audience, one of the best epic concerts you could have possibly seen. Few thousand people gathered on the audience got carried away by the almost 2-hour long performance and euphoria reached the boiling point. It was something amazing. A perfect crowning of the 3-day festival.



Nocturnal Culture Night with its formula and interesting line-up has become one of the most appreciated and attractive festivals. Those of you who have already taken part in Nocturnal Culture Night, would definitely came back, whereas those who are still wondering have the opportunity to experience the festival with us once again the next year.