Every band have their right for a comeback and with Belgian electronic pioneers The Neon Judgement, it’s no different. Not that they ever have been away but their gigs were quite rare last years and today the Vooruit-venue in Ghent welcomed them back.
Organised by New Wave Club Class*X, I think they must be quite disappointed with the number of people that showed up as the venue wasn’t even half sold out. Shame, this duo deserves to stand in front of a public as large as one from Front 242 (so a bigger venue and a bigger audience).
For those who don’t know The Neon Judgement, here’s the story.
They were formed in the early 80’s by Dirk Davo and TB Frank who were inspired by the guitardriven electronic sounds from Suicide.
Their early recordings like “Factory Walk” or “Nion Nion” could have been the best tracks Cabaret Voltaire never made. Every young Belgian has surely danced to classic tracks like “Fashion Party” or “TV Treated”. Around the late 80’s the band got totally lost with even the release of country-inspired albums. But today these sins are forgotten and for another time this duo can prove that they belong to the cream of the crop from the Belgian musicscene.
The band must look as old as their public cos every where you look around you see bald men with beer bellies (I am such a person myself, mind you) who wanna relive the atmosphere of the 80’s.
The band knows that and it’s only now and then that a recent song slips through the set cos this is a very safe setlist, but it’s what the public wants.
Despite being pioneers Frank and Dirk aren’t still what you call stage-animals, Frank tries to act like Peter Hook and each song seems to be done with a fag while Dirk is hiding himself safely behind his synths.
The public wasn’t that wild but the appreciation was certainly there. While you could hear the jukebox of the 80’s, a screen showed us all what went wrong the recent times from 9/11 to Marc Dutroux, the Belgian serial killer.
Almost every song was a highlight itself, especially the hits and superb versions from “Nion Nion” and some excellent versions from greater hits like “Awful Day”, “Chinese Black” and the best version from “Miss Brown” I ever heard.
It’s like I said to a mate at the end of the gig, it’s old wine but it still taste good….
well this 41 years old bald beer belly liked it a lot !!! Indeed shame that it was only a little crowd , it was a little venue , it reminded me of the 80's , same music , same atmosphere , cheap tickets , and yes our bellies are big and we still shave our heads , some are old bald ones but hey we still dance on good music , and neon is one of the best !
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