When Sascha Konietzko first coined the lyric "KMFDM, Doin' It Again" in 1993, who could foretell the significance of that statement in the years to come? Disbanding a mere six years later and then reforming two years after that, KMFDM is a group that has defied convention and awed audiences for a full quarter-of-a-century; this is no small feat for any musical operation. The band has undergone countless changes in its lineup and style, as well as adapting to the changes in the music industry and the sociopolitical climate from which it draws much of its inspiration, all the while staying relevant to the underground music scene it helped define. While KMFDM's output has been rather prolific with reissues of the back catalog, the band took a much needed break from its remarkably rigorous tour schedule after the Hau Ruck Zuck tour in 2006, foregoing any live performances for the 2007 release of Tohuvabohu. The band members went their separate ways for a time, with Konietzko and vocalist Lucia Cifarelli relocating to Germany, guitarist Jules Hodgson and drummer Any Selway joining Seattle rock band The Spittin' Cobras, while guitarist Steve White joined machine rock legend 16volt. However, if history has taught us anything, it's that the band is true to its word - "KMFDM will never stop!"

In 2009, KMFDM released not one but two albums of new material: the first, an off-kilter and experimental collaboration with former member Tim Skold, simply titled Skold vs. KMFDM; the second, a brand new bona fide full-length KMFDM album, the band's 16th, released but a month before the 25th anniversary, Blitz. After three years away from touring and with so momentous an occasion to celebrate, the time had come for KMFDM to start "Doin' It Again." Playing a series of shows and festivals in Europe during the summer, the purveyors of the Ultra-Heavy Beat have now returned to our shores to deliver a powerful onslaught of industrial rock and electronic madness the likes of which only they can produce. First stop: the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC - one of our nation's capital's most active and renowned musical venues, and one that KMFDM have played several times in the past.

Just as KMFDM began with the song on the 2002 Strum & Drang tour (coincidentally, that tour then also following a three-year hiatus), so does the first show of the 2009 Kein Mitleid tour begin with "D.I.Y.," a song that could not be more appropriate with its lyrics of "Anti-Anti in the U.S.S.A." and ultimately, "KMFDM will never stop!" Right from the onset, the crowd was set to full throttle with the moshpit already a raging frenzy of slamdancers and headbangers. Like any seasoned band with so extensive a discography as this, KMFDM presented the audience with a wonderfully varied set list, as such old favorites as "Son of a Gun" and "Megalomaniac" were performed alongside newer hits like "Attak/Reload." Of course, as Blitz was released earlier in the year and stateside audiences never had the opportunity to hear material from Tohuvabohu live, KMFDM had to bring in songs from those albums to keep things fresh and interesting. Tracks like "Looking for Strange" and "Bait and Switch" brought in the dance floor energy with their pulsating bass lines and catchy melodies while "Free Your Hate," "Davai," and "Saft und Kraft" brought the brutality with thunderous percussion and guttural guitars. Oh, but let's not forget that it wouldn't be a proper KMFDM show without classics like "Light" and "A Drug Against War," the latter song ending famously with the sample, "That's not enough," leaving the audience to chant the phrase to entice the band's return to the stage for an encore. This writer admits to having lost a significant amount of lung capacity and enduring several bruises in the moshpit as I joined in the various chants of "K-M-F-D-M" and "That's not enough!" Then came the introductory acoustic guitar and banjo of "WWIII," the song ending with Konietzko declaring proudly of former president George W. Bush, "May he roast in hell." Appropriately enough, the first encore ended with "Adios" before leaving the crowd to once again bellow and scream its adulation until KMFDM finally took to the stage one last time, Konietzko taking a shot from a bottle of what appeared to be vodka in salute to the fans that have enabled the band to continue for 25 years. The final treat of the evening... arguably the band's biggest hit, the song that famously sampled Slayer and has perhaps has seen more versions released than any other KMFDM song... "Godlike." Suffice to say, when the lights finally came up and the looping feedback subsided, one would be hard pressed to find a disappointed soul in the crowd.

Some have criticized the later incarnation of the band for lacking the same dynamic as the rotating lineup in the days of old; it can certainly be argued that more than a decade ago, it was far more entertaining and awe-inspiring to see people like Tim Skold, Nivek Ogre, Chris Connelly, and Nina Hagen arrive onstage half-expectedly than the current configuration of a standard unchanging five-piece so common to the average rock or metal band. However, this would discount the energy and passion so clearly exhibited by these five musicians. To listen to Selway behind the drumkit, pounding out those aggressive and deceptively complex rhythms, especially when complementing that famous breakbeat in "Son of a Gun," this writer finds it near-impossible to imagine how any show without him or a drummer of his caliber could have been nearly as exciting to hear. The interplay between Hodgson and White on the guitars is a formula that has served them well since their beginnings in PIG, both of them trading off and slashing out some of the heaviest riffs and the most blistering solos anybody outside of straightforward heavy metal will ever hear. At the center were Konietzko and Cifarelli, both providing vocals, both behind their own respective keyboard racks, both engaging the audience with all the fervor and iconoclastic grandeur one loves to see from his or her favorite rock star. As Lucia took center stage on "Looking for Strange" and "Bait and Switch," it's difficult to feel a shred of doubt as to her skills as a performer as she not only sings exceptionally well but is captivating to watch, singing as much with her body motions as with her voice. But let's not forget who is really running the show here; Sascha "Käpt'n K" Konietzko stood as mighty as ever, his eyes hidden behind those trademark aviator sunglasses, clad in his now standard army-style uniform. While in the past, KMFDM has always alternated between English and German, with "Davai" in the set list, Konietzko added Russian to the mix, making for a truly worldly feel to the music.

One of the highlights of the show was unquestionably "Potz Blitz;" with the introductory noise building up before the sound cleared, leaving Cifarelli to belt out the song title alone, the laughter and perhaps confusion from the audience made for an amusing moment. Smiling, she then said, "It's my birthday, and I'll fuck off if I want," at which point Hodgson began playing "Happy birthday" on guitar as the audience began to sing in celebration of her. Besides the fact that it was a rather touching display of the high regard the fans and KMFDM hold for each other, it was also a great example of a band at the top of its game. It's still not entirely clear to this writer whether the drop in sound was intentional to allow Cifarelli a moment to engage the audience and indulge in her birthday, or if it was an actual mistake during which the band resorted to humor and genuine audience interaction to cover it up. Either way, credit must be given to the band for its ability to be entertaining in any given situation.

Over the past several years as KMFDM has enjoyed a fruitful association with Metropolis Records, the band has also developed some productive relationships, particularly with label mates Combichrist and now Angelspit, with both artists contributing to the Brimboriumremix record in 2007. As Combichrist toured with the band on the Hau Ruck Zuck tour, now it's Angelspit's turn, touring the United States after two years. In the previous live incarnation, two live keyboardists were present, leaving vocalists DestroyX and ZooG free entertain the audience with their dramatic interplay of caustic lyrical venom, complement by scathing, scratching synth textures the likes of which most power noise artists wouldn't dare touch. This time around, the vocalists were left to their own devices, as ZooG carried a pair of MIDI modules in the guise of oversized video game controllers, his dramatic spikes dangling above his head like a cybernetic porcupine, while DestroyX's aggressive delivery belied the intense sexuality of both band members' vinyl-laden attire. Performing a variety of songs from the band's three full-length albums, Angelspit is an act whose music has already been widely revered as some of the harshest yet catchiest in the modern electronic scene. While the two are not without stage presence and certainly give their absolute best to provide the crowd with a visual spectacle, complete with multi-colored fluorescent lights and an impressive synth rack featuring an usual lighting design, all elements that play off of Angelspit's fetishistic medical image, this writer could not help but feel that it would've been a far more impressive visual feast had there been at least one other instrumentalist on the stage. Perhaps a live drummer or even an additional keyboardist to play off of ZooG's MIDI manipulations, but even a single other entity onstage might have provided a tad more to the sights if not the sounds. At one point, it even crossed this writer's mind to enhance the erotic undertones of the band's image by having a pair of bodies tied to the X-shaped lighting rigs on the opposite sides of the stage. Be that as it may, this is not to discount or downplay DestroyX's and ZooG's live energy; if nothing else, Angelspit gave its all to be a worthy appetizer for main course KMFDM were to offer.

There is a belief that the outcome of the first show - or at least the first several shows - of a tour will determine how well it goes. If the performance at the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC on Wednesday, September 23, 2009 is any indication, than KMFDM's 25th Anniversary Kein Mitleid tour is bound to go down in the band's history as a great success. With a fine opening act in Angelspit, a group that has a decidedly bright future ahead of it, and a quarter-of-a-century's worth of experience, great music, and adoring fans to back the band up, KMFDM proves that they are second-to-none when it comes to ripping the system and performing live. Those of you reading this with plans to attend any one or more of the shows on the tour are most assuredly in for a fantastic and riveting (no pun intended) time, but I have to say on a personal note that it was an absolute and unmatchable joy to experience the beginning of something so special as KMFDM's 25th Anniversary tour!

KMFDM, Washington, D.C., September 23, 2009

Angelspit, Washington, D.C., September 23, 2009

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