Tonight Einstürzende Neubauten play a one off U.K gig as part of the extensive ‘Alles Wieder Offen’ tour, to promote the new album of the same name. This gig is unique for me due to the fact it is the first gig I have ever been to alone. As I went downstairs into the standing area of The Forum it was apparent that I was not the only lonely person. Maybe all Neubauten fans are social rejects, maybe it is simply due to the ‘acquired taste’ listener ship, I sat, and sipped an over priced Carlsberg and prayed it was the latter.

It was interesting to note the types of people who were there, most German, as one might suspect, the bodies of the die-hards suffocated in Neubauten merchandise, with arms full of stuff they had just bought from the merchandising stand. Ageing, slightly gothic fashion disaster types, all long hair with those horrendous heavy platform boots, you can buy in sweaty Camden shops, usually covered in flames, and finally, skinny sickly pale boys, dressed in black with immaculately slicked Kraftwerk hair styles.

The first support tonight is a one man experiment into the boundaries of I.D.M, Otto Von Schirach; Taking to the stage, sporting an all too revealing super-hero outfit, his half an hour set went from schizophrenic cacophony, to a dance filled cover of ‘I’m Too Sexy.’ I took great pleasure in watching the reactions of the security guards. At times Von Schirach sounded like a man gargling nails, but the beat lead backing, and dark sense of humour made it a good start to an experimental evening. As Otto Von Schirach flew off to save the sonically invalid, there was time to compose out thoughts for the second and final support for tonight; ‘White’ from Beijing.

One man, one woman, an unassuming couple of monochrome Chinese people who go onto create some beautifully sophisticated alternative industrial music with nods to Throbbing Gristle, with twinges of the great Kosmonautentraum. The female vocals a stand-out aspect. At this point one of the security guards is keen to point out that:
“That bloke is playing a kettle.”

There is always one isn’t there? It seems I can’t watch a band these days without being stood next to a smart-alec that seems to know it all, chatting throughout the entirety of each set, usually the people that make sure they stand really awkwardly near you, so you at the very least have an elbow in your back, or maybe a knee to the leg. I’m looking at you brown faux-leather jacket man. Maybe I’m just getting old, but rudeness at gigs gets on my tits. White slink off the stage and the crowd begins to gather density, with a few last minute adjustments to equipment by a gaggle of high haired roadies the crowd synchronizes in a hush of anticipation. As I am stood slightly to the side, I catch a glimpse of Blixa Bargeld composing himself behind the curtain, the band come onto stage as one and after a few introductive words, instantly kick into action.

Neubauten have been experimenting with sound since 1980, in a Berlin divided by the wall, bands such as Neubauten reacted to the society around them through ‘avant-garde’ sounds and experimenting with whatever was available to them. Neubautens home-made instruments have become legendary, played mostly by N.U Unruh, a surviving founder member. Looking at the Neubauten line-up is like looking at a who’s who of eighties Berlin, Alexander Haacke takes up the bass and ukulele, he joined the band when he was just fifteen years old after releasing the single ‘Hiroshima’ under the guise of Alexander Von Borsig. As a fan of Neue Deutsche Welle music, and avant-garde Berlin experimentalism of the same era this really was quite special.

The set lasted for well over two hours, but it felt like it flashed by in fifteen minutes. The crowd behind me singing along to the German lyrics, and a particularly enthusiastic gob shite screaming at every possible occasion: “Sing Haus Der Luege!” Blixa just retorted in his English speaking German accent “Yes, I think you might have mentioned it already.” Needless to say, they did not perform Haus Der Luege.

It seems that Einstürzende Neubauten have got tamer in the wake of this album, but it has been going that way for a while now. When you listen to an album such as Kollaps and compare it to the new release of Alles Wieder Offen, there are screamingly noticeable changes.

Neubauten have got more tuneful, you can actually sing along to some of the songs; some in English others in the father-tongue, gone are the days of pure white noise industrialism. This is not necessarily a bad thing, Neubauten have held onto the accolade of constant genius, and the fanatic enthusiasm of the assembled crowd is worthy testament to this.

Too watch Neubauten is to experience something unique. The home made instruments, mentioned earlier are awe inspiring. Blixa holding a drill with a 12” record attached to it, and amplifying the scratchy, grating noise with a disposable cup. Unruh plays anything to a tensed steel coil, to polystyrene on steel, and a trough like shower of metal ingots. Musical, industrial, folk artifact inventiveness at its very best.
Neubauten haven’t always been so reserved however.

In 1984 Neubauten played the I.C.A here in the city, with a desire to drill through the stage, through the foundations of the building all the way to Buckingham palace, on stage with the band were Frank Tovey (Fad Gadget), Genesis P. Orridge (Throbbing Gristle), and after much drilling and destruction with chainsaws the room filled with smoke and petrol, milk bottles were thrown into a cement mixer, smashed and were hurled by the machines momentum into the crowd. With a set of just twenty one minutes, the power was pulled by the organizers, and a riot broke out in the crowd, who continued to smash things.

With tender greats such as ‘Sabrina’ and ‘Nagorny Karabach’ being performed this evening, with such passion and devotion it is easy to see why Neubauten have such a growing following here, even though they are singing, mostly in German. As the set wound down, and one of the two encores had been and gone, the members of the band played a game. Blixa introduced the interjection:

“There are two conditions for playing this game. Firstly, the city we are playing in must have a subway system, or as you affectionately know it ‘tube.’ Secondly, we must like the audience, and they have to be good, needless to say, you’ve been good.”

The game consisted of a tote bag, with Neubauten Toltec logo, and in which were little cards, all with different instructions. Each member took three cards and had to play an instrument in a certain way, or sing a certain thing, there were six hundred cards in the bag. Once the band had selected their cards, they made an on the spot composition, never to be repeated, as the cards are later to be destroyed. The results were rather special indeed, the band have recorded the gig, but you’d be lucky to get a copy of the double live album, as it was a limited edition sold only on the night.

After the second encore, Neubauten took their cheers and claps and disappeared (although not through the floor) with a memorable gig left behind them. If you ever get a chance to see the band perform, grab it with both hands.

Review by Matt Retallick
www.neubauten.org