Even The Notwist couldn't avoid Corona.
The most recent album by the internationally renowned independent rock band, "Vertigo Days", was released in January 2021, the associated tour could only be partially realized.
The performance of the Weilheimers in the now well-attended Schlachthof Wiesbaden was the prelude to another block of concerts, and the presence of the band shows after a few minutes that they really want to play.
As usual, the six musicians come onto the stage relaxed and start with a very calm song without big gestures.
Of course, The Notwist can rely on their audience, which, like them, prefers to concentrate on the music and has little in mind with gimmicky poses.
Within a short time, "Into Love/Stars" creates an intimate atmosphere thanks to Markus Acher's relatively toneless, melancholic vocals, economical, floating arrangement and dark light.
After a while the mood changes, a beat sets in, rhythmic patterns take over the lead instead of Acher's voice.
The track comes from the current album and, like there, the band seamlessly transitions live to the much faster "Exit Strategy To Myself".
Initially built on a keyboard motif,
A carpet of sound that encourages you to "take off".
With "Kong" the band takes a detour into the past, followed by "Pick Up The Phone" from the now twenty-year-old successful album "Neon Golden".
More titles follow in the course of the evening, "This Room" with its distinctive dub bass line, "One With The Freaks" and "Pilot" are enthusiastically welcomed by the audience and some sing along.
Some of these songs, including "Gravity" from the courageous and opulent album "The Devil, You & Me", make structural differences to younger productions obvious.
In addition to Acher's characteristic melodies and powerful dynamic changes, the trademarks of that time also included Andi Haberl's shifted breakbeats and Martin Gretschmann's fiddly electronic sprinkling, with which he set individual contrasts as co-composer until around 2008.
Almost half of the live repertoire consists of pieces from "Vertigo Days", the program structure and the intensity of the musicians never let the suspense break.
In the precise dramaturgy, tempi and volume change, Max Score oscillates from keyboard to guitar, Cico Beck from electronics to keyboard and metallic percussion.
Haberl stirs and whirls over his drums, even evoking memories of Afrobeats at the beginning of "Into The Ice Age", on the other hand practicing minimalist straightforwardness on electronic pads.
Samples and loops created ad hoc condense the soundscape, which is sometimes transparent, sometimes tightly knit, sometimes encouraging “takeoff”, which Karl Ivar Refseth completes with rhythmic patterns or the shimmering sounds of the vibraphone.
Some details of the studio production, such as the bass clarinet and trumpet lighting up, are omitted on stage.
Instead, the sextet celebrates the hypnotic, dance-inspiring energy of repetitive passages that are lengthened with relish and approach a techno aesthetic in “Ship”.
Acher offers an interlude of a completely different kind in “Object 11”, for which he wears a huge sousaphone.
By emphasizing acoustic instruments, including a melodica, the piece sets a subtle accent in the direction of traditions.
Including encores, The Notwist are on stage for almost two hours and inspire their audience.
The definitive end marks Acher's "O-4" and, like so much else with The Notwist, breaks the usual rules of the pop business: only intoned by Refseth at first, it is a particularly delicate ending.