Most visitors to San Francisco have heard the quote often misattributed to Mark Twain, "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco." And while it's true that summer temperatures in the city by the bay are often disappointing, to say the least, what visitors don't know is that the autumn is often sublime. Thursday, October 15, 2009 was one of these surprisingly mild nights that hosted KMFDM, Angelspit, and Legion Within at the historic Regency Ballroom.

The show began on schedule with the first of two opening bands, Seattle's Legion Within. The music was what you would expect from the goth rock quintet: distorted guitars, a strong beat, but not outstanding. Singer William Wilson (named after the Poe short story?) primped and postured across the stage in his loosely-fitting corset, his voice not as strong or deep live as it is when recorded. The additional band members did not move much, perhaps feeling cramped despite what appeared to be a good-sized stage. The crowd had not yet filled in; groups formed throughout the room - a few jeans and t-shirt types over there, old-school leather-clad biker types near the large fans in the back, heavily made up hardcore industrial fans wrapped in leather, vinyl, corsets, platform boots, and mesh pressed to the front. The room lacked air circulation, but it was not yet intolerable. To get any amount of noise from the small audience, Wilson invoked the names Sascha, Lucia, and KMFDM. They were met with scattered cheers and applause.

After a quick set change, Australia's Anglespit took the stage. The lighting stayed low with little to illuminate the two musicians that make up the band. In the center of the stage was a tower that held the computer equipment and a lighted cross (like a European pharmacy sign as opposed to a Christian crucifix) and on either side of the duo were large X's made of what appeared to be large fluorescent light tubes. Festooned with a very tall, spiky Mohawk, ZooG fiddled with knobs on the computer unit, looking very much like a cyberpunk Dr. Who attempting to control the Tardis. When the beat began, he and his beautiful companion DestroyX spat their lyrics at the growing crowd. The music was great and included all the elements that make industrial great. However, the spoken word quality of the duo's vocals made deciphering the lyrics a bit of a challenge. Some of the audience even commented that it was like a weird form of industrial hip-hop. Fortunately, the visuals were engaging, the rhythm was strong, and the music was imaginative enough that the vocals didn't really matter.

By the time KMFDM descended the winding staircase from the greenroom to the stage, the Regency Ballroom was a pot-smoke filled sauna. A few of the men in the crowd had removed their shirts, exposing their skinny, sweat-slicked torsos. More people pressed nearer the fans. The lights strobed across the stage as the music throbbed, and not many feet were able to stay still. After 25 years in the business, Sascha and company had much material to choose from, pulling out old favorites and blending them seamlessly with newer songs. Lucia's voice danced through the melodies, making it seem so easy to jump from one end of the scale to the other while her black and silver-clad body illustrated every note. Sascha's voice was perfect, growling and howling as needed. It is incredible to hear that the band sounded just as good, if not better, as it did after hours of studio engineering - that takes a talent that no autotuner could ever hope to duplicate. In a nutshell, the show was amazing. Despite the oppressive heat and complete contact high, the crowd chanted "K... M... F... D... M!" and was awarded with two encores. Sadly, neither one included "Juke Joint Jezebel."

After the show, Sascha Konietzko stood alone in the small kitchen just off the greenroom. His ever present sunglasses removed, he looked very little like the industrial icon we all know, yet much younger than his 48 years. It was nearly midnight and KMFDM's next show was scheduled only 16 hours later and almost 400 miles away. He lit a cigarette. "San Francisco reminds me of Amsterdam in some ways," he smiled. "All of the smoke, you know." Yes, the marijuana had been flowing quite liberally all night. "I think they put it in the water here, to keep people mellow." Ah, the ol' tongue-in-cheek sense of humor KMFDM had exhibited for a quarter-of-a-century in full swing.

KMFDM, San Francisco, CA, October 15, 2009

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