Concert at the Absolute/Shanghai
2007-09-15
The following report from Shanghai was kindly sent per email to me from Timo. At
this point I would like to thank Timo once again for his trouble and for sending me
the photos.
Hello Niere!
Just lately there have been a few rumours that Napalm Death would play in
Shanghai. I am living here for six months and I must of course look into the
matter. While searching for the exact time and place I came upon your website.
Very cool - even though I couldn't find any information about the concert.
Ultimately I found what I was looking for in another place.
The concert took place on the 15th September at 3 pm (!) in the techno club (!)
"Absolute" in Shanghai. It was insanely good and the Chinese fans freaked out.
They told me repeatedly that this was the first time that a band of this genre had
appeared in China. Considering the political situation in China their appearance
was a sensation. I should mention here that the band The Exploited also
wanted to appear here in the same week but at the last moment were refused by the
Chinese authorities. During the show Barney repeately said that he was very proud
to be the pioneer. :-)
Unfortunately I can't give you a set list because I don't know the songs well
enough. Therefore I have sent you a few photos. I have seen Napalm Death in
Germany and France but the concert in Shanghai was really something special. The
sound was perfect, and after the concert the band signed autographs and stood for
photos for a good half an hour. That was really decent of them. However, it was
only 5:30 pm and it wasn't time for bed! This concert was a highlight for many, not
only the Chinese fans.
There were about 350 people in the hall and the concert lasted about 1˝ hrs. There
was no opening band. The native fans were mostly very young and about 20 years of
age. Some of them even knew the texts. After the concert I spoke with a few of them.
They said that they were never allowed to experience such a concert and were full of
hope to see other bands in the future which up till now were forbidden by the
Chinese authorities.
Although the price of the tickets was comparatively high for Chinese standards (about € 20,-) they all assured me that the show was worth saving up for. I suspect that the tickets were therefore so expensive because the concert was held in a trendy techno club and the owners fixed the prices at their own standards. How nice that not only foreigners like myself went there!
In any case I remembered your website and thought that it is certainly not a mistake to send you a few photos. They are at your disposal do what you like with. :-)
Best wishes from Shanghai,
Timo
"Nazi Punks Fuck Off!"
Concert on Underground/Cologne
2006-11-09
I waited a long time for this day. Actually I wanted to order my ticket via
internet. I intended to scan it and show it here as a graphic. But the extra
advance sale fee deterred me.
It was clear to me that no tickets would be handed out to us at the box office in the Underground in Cologne, but as usual some chap would give us a stamp on our hands. If you don't want to pay any extra fee then you have to wash your hand.
Instead of showing a ticket at this point I show some pictures which I made with my digital camera. These are not the usual live photos which can be seen in other publications. I played around a bit with the exposure.
I knew that Born From Pain would be the first group to play at this evening but I had read somewhere in the internet that another group would start the evening off. I wondered who it would be.
The small hall of the Underground was in a pleasant dim light when I arrived at
about 7:45 pm. A few people were still preparing the stage. Some eager fans were
already buying T-shirts and CD's. There was nobody in front of the stage yet.
In the Underground the radio mixer and the colour organ is always found on
the other side of the hall opposite the stage within a distance of eight to ten
meters. Standing next to the radio mixer were three barstools, one of which was
already occupied by a fan. To kill the time before the show started I sat next to
the fan and we started talking.
The first group consisted of five young lads from England I believe whose name I couldn't understand. The music of this combo was quite goey but the guitarists played too many unnecessary melodies and solos. The singer shouted respectably into the microphone but in the end it didn't really impress me. When the bass guitarist started to sing properly it didn't go together very well with the shouting of the front man, and in my eyes (and ears) this group was done for. Not that he didn't reach the right notes, he sang properly, but why I ask myself. The strumming of the lead guitarist sounded like a much practised amateur. One has to say that they all played technically very well considering that they were only in their early twenties, but they played completely without any feeling. Sometimes they reminded me of Caliban. Luckily the show was over after half an hour.
After the obligatory change of the stage Born From Pain came on the stage
and played some kind of metalcore. The band came from Holland, and they could speak
German. Now and again before a song they gave a few introductory words, and their
attitude made a good impression. The singer was very likeable. Sometimes his
shrieking sounded like a squeaky pig. Very amusing. These guys were a few years
older than their predecessors, and you could hear it in their music as well as in
the contents of their texts. All in all it was a successful gig which lasted just
over half an hour.
A bit later after Born From Pain were gone Danny Herrera appeared behind the drums and started the soundcheck. Close by I caught sight of Mitch Harris with his guitar. And look there, Shane Embury with his outrageous hairstyle with a small tonsure came on the stage. Mitch and Shane were soon ready with their tuning up, but the eardrums of Mr. Herrera still had to be adjusted. After the tomtoms, the snare and the other stuff had been checked the doublebasses teared through the loudspeakers. The spectators were immediately enthusiastic. Just by tuning up this man gave more from his drums than the previous two bands put together. The soundcheck was over quickly.
Shortly before 10 pm "Weltschmerz" could be heard as introduction out of the
loudspeakers, and Napalm Death opened the "battle" with "Sink Fast … Let Go"
from their new album "Smear Campaign". After the first title Barney introduced the
band in perfect German with the words "Hallo, wir sind Napalm Death aus
Birmingham." This was very unusual from these Brits. During the performance Barney
spoke a few more sentences in German.
At first they introduced their new album. They played a few fast explosive
numbers. Today the sound was absolutely terrific. In comparsion to my last
Napalm Death concert last year in Trier I didn't for one second have the
feeling that the second guitar from Jesse was missing. Mitch played his guitar
incredibly. After they had played a few titles from "Smear Campaign" "Breed To
Breathe" was fitted in. Last year I had the feeling during this title that Jesse
was missing which wasn't the case any more. From their first LP they played of
course "Scum", "Siege Of Power" and "Life?". After they had finished "Life?", the
two seconds of "You Suffer" were quickly belted out. They were straight away
identified as a separate song and applauded appropiately. Barney realized
enthusiastically that he was performing in front of a very attentive audience.
At a rough guess they played half of the titles from their new album. From their
last album they played "The Code Is Red … Long Live The Code", and as an extra
bonus they played of course the Dead Kennedys song "Nazipunks Fuck Off".
The result was once again that I was sweating like a pig. I had such a good time
and enjoyed myself like I never do with any other band.
After the gig Mitch, Barney and Shane shook hands with a few fans in front of the stage. During the performance from Napalm Death the place was really crowded, and therefore it was ideal for stage diving which was accordingly taken advantage of. This concert was again a real treat.
Finally, when all but Mitch had left the stage the crowd started to leave the place. Because the crowd moved so slowly I decided to wait a few minutes to observe if something was still happening on the stage. While Mitch was taking down his amplifier a few fans went up onto the stage to ask him for his autograph.
After the autograph hunters had disappeared I went up to Mitch and asked him how he
was getting on with his project Meathook Seed and if in future there would
be a new album. He told me that at the moment he was working on a project with the
singer from Meathook Seed which was more in the direction of electronic
music. He said to me that I probably woudn't like this music because it was
completely different from Napalm Death. However, a few songs from this
project could be downloaded from the internet. During our conversation I told him
that I was the owner of the domain napalm-death.com, and I asked him if he would
sign my guest book. He then told me that a few years ago Napalm Death wanted
to secure this domain but it was already assigned to somebody. He then asked me if
it would be possible to obtain this domain. Unfortunately I had to disappoint him.
As he heard that I always try hard to update the tour dates and that many fans
visit my website he was quite satisfied, and this domain wasn't so important to him
any more. He even seemed to be very happy and shook my hand at least four times as
he was going. He also promised to send me an email. I can't wait to see that! Last
year Shane also promised to send me an email ... I'm still waiting.
I can only say that Mitch is a very nice bloke and it was a pleasure meeting
him.
See you next year.
The following photos were kindly put to my disposal by Dietmar H.
Dietmar was also in the Underground, and as he was closer to the stage he was able
to take these snapshots.
- Thanks a lot to Dietmar!
© Niere
Concert on Exhaus/Trier
2005-06-17
It took me almost two hours to get to the concert - but it was worth it.
Originally the staging of this event was advertised as "The Ultimate Summer Blast Open Air Concert". When I arrived at Ex-House the open-air-stage was empty. I then realized that it would not be an entertaining evening outside. A few years ago I saw Bolt Thrower in Ex-House, and therefore I had a small idea what to expect. The stage at Ex-House is a small basement vault, where there is absolutely no fresh air.
Napalm Death were the main group of this evening, but there were another six bands playing at this concert. I wanted to see Behemoth from Poland, but unfortunately they cancelled at short notice.
When I entered the basement Diecast from America were playing a song that I had been listening to a few moments before in my car. After they had played four songs, I had had enough for the time being. It was extremely hot in the basement, and I had actually come to see Napalm Death, so I went outside to get some air. By the way: the other bands were Most Precious Blood, Dew Scented, Maroon, Walls Of Jericho, Caliban and the already mentioned Diecast.
After I had been standing outside for a few minutes I noticed a guy who was sitting on a window sill on the first floor of the building. He was watching the goings-on down below. When I looked closer there was no mistaking that it was Danny Herrera. I then looked with increasing interest towards the window on the 1st floor. After a while I saw in the background the unmistakable hairstyle of Shane Embury. Then I realized that I was backstage with Napalm Death.
I then decided that I would organize regular updates of Napalm Death´s tours. So I went inside where I found written on a door "Backstage - Napalm Death Members only". Without hesitating I knocked twice on the door but got no response. I opened the door and saw three roadies and Shane Embury sitting at the table. I explained to him that I was the webmaster of the homepage www.napalm-death.com and I asked him if he could give me the dates of their next tour. Suspicious at first but then very friendly Shane answered my questions. He also gave me his email-address so that I could remind him of my request in case he forgets. He said that he would speak with the webmaster to keep me up-to-date with the latest tour programme. At the end of our conversation we shook hands and I went happily back into the crowds.
There was a band playing which I didn't recognize. They played the typical "sawing"-sound which nowadays is played by hundreds of Metal groups. This band wasn't worth standing in the extreme heat for more than two songs.
When I went back into the steaming crowds Walls Of Jericho were grunting. The lead singer (a woman) was really in action and squealed hysterically into the microphone. After I had heard the third song I was sweating like a pig. It was unbearably hot, and they weren't worth dehydrating for, so I went outside for a breath of fresh air.
The last band before Napalm Death were Caliban. They were the only band this evening that I listened to from beginning to end. They were o.k. but I had heard better. Their sound was too much in the direction of Heavy Metal, and the speed at which they played didn't really satisfy me, but the lead singer's outfit was interesting. It reminded me of a New Wave band out of the eighties.
Then at last at 11:15 p.m. the four men from Napalm Death came onto the stage and played their songs a bit faster than usual. Once again Napalm Death were terrific and their sound unsurpassable even though Mitch's guitar was overmodulated and the amps had two technical blackouts. Mitch screamed into the microphone as he had never done before, Marc was in his usual superior style, Shane's bass guitar was colossal, and Danny was like an animal. For me it was the first time to see Napalm Death performing as a quartet. At the beginning I thought I missed the second guitar, but ultimately this concert of Napalm Death was as brilliant and powerful as all the gigs I have seen in the past years. Not only the fans but the musicians were fighting with the extreme heat, and that was probably the reason why they only gave two encores. After one and a half hours Napalm Death finished their gig but not before they had sung a few songs from their new album "The Code Is Red … " and a selection from their previous albums.
Because of the terrible heat this gig was only bearable when one was half-naked, and I stood all this heat and sweating with a contented grin on my face only because the band was first class.
© Niere
At The Prime Club/Cologne
1999-10-19
At this time my last Napalm Death concert was nine years ago and took place at the Cityhall Mülheim in Cologne. Obituary and Dismember were the two other bands who played at this evening.
After a long run to Cologne and fourty minutes of standing in the rush hour traffic I finally stood in front of the stage. Some unknown guys were still playing their last three or four songs and then started to take away their equipment. For me it was the best they could do.
After these guys played Konkhra which has been completely unknown to me at that time. The sound has been ok, but only nice "B.C. Rich - guitars" don´t make a band good enough to play as an opener for Napalm Death and don´t let the crowd shout for more songs. So they quit without any need for playing extra songs after playing for 45 minutes.
Finally the english kings of Grindcore entered the stage. The moment they started their gig, the fans (including myself) went into ecstasies. Also the sound was absolutely great and all about Konkhra was forgotten. Two songs later my clothes were soaked.
Napalm Death played a very great collection of songs from their first days to the at this time last release "words from the exit wound". In between they played cool cover versions like "nazipunks fuck off" (Dead Kennedys), a Death-song and a song of Raw Power "politicians". But the best cover version I´ve heard for years was "insinerator" of Slaughter one of my favourite bands. That was sooo great, and I thought that nobody would have remembered that genious band. Particularly since some poser band desecrated the name Slaughter.
At this gig the stage divers got their money´s worth. For a time there were more legs than arms in the air, and the security team had no chance to interrupt this funny amusement. So after some time they stopped their tryings to cancel the stage diving, and the people had just fun.
After this gig I´m more fascinated by Napalm Death than ever. The musicians were absolutely likeable. They didn´t try to seem like bestial incarnations of something like a lot of other bands. The perfect sound must have brought Konkhra into depression, but in fact it is really hard to open the stage for such a great band.
© Niere
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