The eighties are back that’s a fact nobody can deny, for some it’s the return of Baltimora but others seek it a bit deeper cos whatever the bloody radiostations let you believe, the 80’s were the most important decade in music.
That’s an idea which has come to mind to the New Wave Club Class*X-organisation in Belgium and so they organised a doubleconcert by two very important bands, A Split Second and Front 242.
Everybody’s agreeing that they have the songs, the sole question that’s been left on everybody’s lips : can they convince a public in 2010 and even more…are they any good?
A Split Second were extremely important historical wise as when a dj played their EP “Flesh” at 33rpm instead of the required 45rpm, it might have been a quote in musichistory but it ended up in the creation of a new genre : New Beat.
Apart from some nice songs, A Split Second never meant anything and that was visable yesterday. An useless set that was only an excuse to play their three well known songs (‘Rigor Mortis’, ‘On Command’ and of course ‘Flesh’).
Bad sound, a guitarist playing the guitar while there wasn’t a guitar heard anyway and a lowdown for singer Marc Ickx who used all the clichés from a rock’n roll-act and that ended up in hem being one of the most idiot stageacts I saw in years. An hour wasted from my precious time…
So up to Front 242. Front 242 have a strange history, perhaps they are the most influential Belgian band ever but for them there was just a decade too much as everything that’s been built up got lost in the 90’s because of weak albums, useless remixes and stageperformances that were less than a shadow of what they once were.
19 years after the creation, Front 242 have to prove themselves again as being that extremely important act. Regarding the critics they did some months ago at the Sinner’s Day Festival but for me this was the first time I saw them since …well since a long time.
Anyway, from the very first second 242 appeared on stage, you forgot that once there was A Split Second.
The crowd got wild, the moshpit grew by the minute and Patrick Codenys and his mates saw that it would be a very easy task to convince the audience.
It was a riskfree set as apart from 2 or 3 relative unknown songs, all the big hits got played with some very nice surprises…”Kampfbereit” (never thought I would see that song being performed again!) and “U-Men”.
Highlights were a rather breathtaking version from “Quite unusual”, a superb version from “Commando remix” in where the Bowie-connection (Sense of doubt) became clear, the as always brilliant “Take 1”, “In rhythmus bleiben”, “Tyranny for you”…it all ended too soon.
It’s clear that you don’t have to expect anything groundbreaking from them, but this concert definitely was the proof that they belong to the greatest….
Wrong count : Front 242 started 29 years ago, not 19.
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