No more secrets: I'm in
the process of relocating to Berlin. While I've been mostly focused
on finding a job at present, this was a concert I couldn't pass up. I
was also amused that the venue is named after the third album from
Ideal,
the classic Berlin-based Neue Deutsche Welle band. It's conveniently
but unexpectedly located underneath the above-ground subway station
Schlesisches Tor, although there is hardly any signage to alert
passersby of its presence.
Artist: ChameleonsVox
Venue: Bi Nuu
Location: Berlin,
Germany
Date: 10 May 2017
Opening Act: Frank the
Baptist
Setlist:
01. Swamp Thing
01. Swamp Thing
02. A Person Isn't Safe
Anywhere These Days
03. Monkeyland
04. Dali's Picture
05. Looking Inwardly
06. Thursday's Child
07. Caution
08. Soul in Isolation
[including teases of The Doors' "The End", David Bowie's
"Be My Wife", and The Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby"]
09. In Answer →
10. I'll Remember
11. Singing Rule
Britannia (While the Walls Close In) [including teases of The Clash's
"White Riot", Joy Division's "Transmission", and
something else I couldn't quite discern]
12. Denims and Curls
First encore:
13. Second Skin
14. Nostalgia
Second encore:
15. In Shreds
[including a tease of The Beatles' "Please Please Me"]
16. Don't Fall [with
guest vocalist]
Opening band Frank
the Baptist has been based in Berlin for a decade despite their
roots in San Diego. I was curious to about what they might offer, but
was quickly disappointed by their fairly generic hard rock sound and
weird carnival sideshow aesthetic. Some songs started out with a
promising atmosphere, but inevitably were quickly quashed by heavy
aggro guitars. There were occasional hints of gothic rock that in
their best moments reminded me of second-rate Sisters of Mercy, but
those moments were rare. Frank sang with strength, but he only had
one tone, and his words were hard to understand. I was amazed they
were allowed to play for a full hour.
At first, I wasn't
quite sure what to expect with ChameleonsVox. Since original
Chameleons
drummer John Lever died earlier this year, and guitarists Reg
Smithies and Dave Fielding have seemed unwilling to participate in
further reunions, this project only features bassist/vocalist Mark
Burgess from the original band. When he formed ChameleonsVox in 2009,
Lever was on drums and regular collaborator Yves Altana joined on
guitar. Their obvious intention was to resurrect old Chameleons
songs, although in 2013, they released the M + D = 1(8)
EP, featuring three new compositions along with a cover of "Across
the Universe". Lever had left around that time and is not
credited on the EP.
The
current lineup features Altana on drums, Chris Oliver (who also
played on the previous EP) on guitar, and Neil Dwerryhouse on guitar.
This lineup has just recorded and released a new EP, Where
in the World, continuing the
Chameleons tradition of reissuing and repackaging the same songs in a
million different versions and collections by featuring re-recordings
of four of the more obscure original-era Chameleons songs. (Oddly,
"Ever After" isn't on the physical 12" vinyl, but is
included
with the digital download.) The press release claims the original
versions were demos, which is a bit hard to believe since all of them
except "Dali's Picture" were never described as such until
now.
"Denims
and Curls" and "Free for All" are new versions of
tracks from the amazing Tony Fletcher Walked on Water
EP, originally recorded in 1987 while the band was breaking up and
finally released in 1990. This same EP was included in the Dreams in Celluloid compilation
released in 2013. That compilation also included "Dali's
Picture", a demo from circa 1981, first released on a
compilation of the same name in 1993. "Ever After" was
originally a bonus track on some editions of Strange Times (1986). As one would
hope, the production values of the new recordings are markedly
superior. Mark's voice is as strong as ever and the musicianship is
just as solid. The admittedly dated-sounding drums from the Tony
Fletcher EP are gone, but so are
most of the keyboards. The new arrangements are mostly very similar,
although "Denims and Curls" and "Ever After"
feature extended outros. The EP makes for a great listen, although
"Dali's Picture" sticks out a bit for
being older and less ethereal
than the others, and one can't help but wonder how necessary this
project was.
Upon
consideration of the new EP,
the live show largely followed
suit. The setlist exclusively featured songs from the original era of
the Chameleons with nothing from their early 2000s reunion nor the
previous M + D = 1(8)
EP. That being said, they do
a terrific job keeping the old songs alive. Since the beginning,
Burgess has always including improvised segments in some of the
songs, which he usually uses for teasing lyrics of other songs, often
to reinforce the intended political sentiments. "Soul
in Isolation", for example, included lines such as, "Lost
in a Facebook wilderness of pain / And all our leaders are insane".
Most of the arrangements haven't changed much since the beginning,
except that "Denims and Curls" featured the same extended
outro as the version on the EP, and several songs, such as
"Nostalgia", featured more wordless vocal parts during
instrumental sections.
Although I wouldn't
complain if they played some newer songs, they played almost all of
my personal favorites (except "Tears"). They balanced their
spacey side with their rawer edge. The irony of playing their first
b-side "Nostalgia" was not at all lost on me. We were even
graced with a second encore featuring two of their punkier songs,
which really got the crowd going and closed the evening on a strong,
energized note. The closing number, "Don't Fall", featured
a guest vocalist whose name I didn't catch. He mostly sang in unison
with Burgess, so he didn't particularly add much, but it was still
cool to see the two vocalists play off each other.
The
band played the songs tightly outside of a few minor flubs. I don't
know if it is a testament to the skill of Burgess and his bandmates
that they can summon the familiar sounds so effortlessly or if that
implies that the original band is simpler to replicate than I'd
expected. Certainly the sounds they made in the 80s were innovative
for their time, but I imagine the wealth of effects pedals available
today make reproduction easier than ever. Whatever the case may be,
their transcendent, astral splendor still captivates me as much as it
did the first time I heard the original recordings over a decade ago.
It also makes me wonder if they were a precursor to shoegazing bands
like Ride
and Slowdive.
[ChameleonsVox with guest singer.]
Scores:
Frank the Baptist: D+
ChameleonsVox: A-
Where in the World
EP: B+
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