by LE Francis
Going out to this show was an incredibly long time coming.
I started listening to KMFDM in high school. I had a lot of online friends at the time & they were all into the band (& Schwein, MDFMK, Drill, PIG). The first album I listened to was Nihil but Attak was just about to drop & I was immediately pulled into the massive back catalog of the band.
KMFDM is one of the few bands that I still love about as much as I did in the old days. & part of that is the nature of the band — ever experimenting, remixing, & paying homage to their classic tracks while pushing the edges of what they can do & what they want to sound like. It’s that they still collab with Raymond Watts (PIG) who has one of the most recognizable & iconic voices in industrial music. It’s that they’ve stayed true to their original ideals, they are still vociferously leftist & unapologetically unhinged.
But despite my longtime love of their music, of following their new releases closely, & occasionally getting in arguments with my conservative family over their merch — “What is ‘deny your ideals’ supposed to mean, Lindsay?” — I just hadn’t had a chance to go out to a show.
& damn, was it a show. They sold out The Crocodile, & the room was packed. I’ve been to a couple of uncomfortably full shows there but this was the first time I felt like I had to fight to get to the bathroom.
Sour Tongue
Don’t get me wrong, this band was really good at what they did but this set just wasn’t for me.
Their entire presentation was very of the era that I got into KMFDM — the early 2000’s. & their live sound was definitely reminiscent of a band of that era, like Deftones meets Garbage.
Their recorded catalog is pretty limited but has a bit more flexibility in sound than what was presented live — which of course reflects differences in production & perhaps the natural exploration of a young band.
The vocalist has a spectacularly tough voice that reminds me of two of my all time favorite vocalists of Ryann Donnelly of Schoolyard Heroes & the late Mia Zapata of The Gits.
Overall, I’d definitely give this band another listen. Especially in a few years. I just get the feeling based on what I see online that they’re very new. & as someone who is part of a very new band that hasn’t really established a solid sound yet, I get it.
KMFDM
The thing with KMFDM — I really need like a three hour set, which is ridiculous of me.
The setlist leaned newer & while I really like a lot of their new stuff, I’ve realized that I always glom onto the deep cuts of their releases.
PARADISE was a great album & “Oh My Goth” was one of my faves out the gate & it was cool to see it live, but I would have loved to hear “Automaton” or “PIGGY” & of course “Binge Boil & Blow” which isn’t really going to happen without Watts on the road with them.
They played some of older songs, but nothing from Attak which is maybe my album. But realistically how could they play even a good sampling of their massive catalog without a massive set?
They were touring on Let Go so let me look at at that.
They played six songs from Let Go — Let Go, Airhead, Touch, Push!, Turn the Light On, & When the Bell Tolls. My favorite is probably “Touch.” KMFDM is really brilliant in their versatility & they hop genres in a really subtle way & “Touch” is almost a standard pop song that would play on the radio in the late ’80s or early ’90s but it has this really updated rhythmic profile that comes from the electronic experimentation. & Lucia Cifarelli’s vocals really make the song — she has an incredibly powerful voice that she subdues with these breathy, ethereal interludes. The dynamic in her voice between belt & the sweet near-whisper style has an incredibly powerful effect pulling everything together in a very subtle way.
Though I have to admit that “Push!” is definitely the most instrumentally interesting song. I don’t know if I love the bassline or the guitar work more, & they couldn’t be more different in tone. As someone who has gone to too many Megadeth concerts, the guitar feels almost as if it’s pulled out of a classic thrash album while the bass/keyboard rhythm is incredibly funky. On top of it all are several very rough-edged vocal runs from both vocalists. I have to say the effect on Cifarelli’s voice both live & in studio are so well suited, there’s a devastating sharpness to her part where there’s a harsh blunt edge to Konietzko.
But lyrically “Turn the Light On” wins.
Overall, I would say that this show was everything I thought it would be. This is a band that I’ve listened to for decades. They are versatile, talented artists who have consistently experimented & put out interesting work even if it wasn’t really my thing in the moment. & they have survived & thrived because they aren’t a one note act. They’ll drop an incredibly emotional love song right next to a sample-filled political manifesto, a poppy dance anthem right next to something unmistakably metal.
& that’s the fun part. You’ll be in a venue full of all of these tough-looking goth dudes who will absolutely lose their shit over a song like “Touch” or “Naive.” It’s a great time & my only regret was that it took me so long to get out to a show.
Verses on Verses is a biweekly music column from the perspective of a poet. Inquiries can be directed to LE Francis, lefrancis@sagecigarettes.com.
LE Francis (she/her) is the managing editor of Sage Cigarettes Magazine; a columnist & staff artist for Cream Scene Carnival Magazine; co-host & staff editor of A Ghost in the Magazine & The Annegirls Podcast; & the author of THIS SPELL OF SONG & STAR available through Bottlecap Press. She is a writer, musician, & visual artist living in the rainshadow of the Washington Cascades. Find her online at nocturnical.com.
