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written by Marko Jakob
translated by Judith Reumont

On their “Alive In New Light” tour, IAMX visited Berlin and offered a show of the highest order with a mix of old songs and the tracks from the new album. IAMX is the solo project of Chris Corner, formerly known by the British band SNEAKER PIMPS. IAMX was founded in 2004 and has released eight albums so far. The current album, ‘Alive In New Light’, was released in February 2018.

Chris Corner lived in Berlin for many years, where he found the inspiration for his very own music. Berlin is also mentioned in texts of his songs. The live performances of IAMX are known for theatrical performances, unusual stage outfits and sometimes also body painting. In addition, the concerts are often accompanied by spectacular video projections. The strong visual element of the project can also be admired in numerous video clips. An IAMX concert is more than just music. The Berliners took this opportunity and provided for a sold-out boiler house.

Due to problems with the admissions, the concert began 30 minutes later than originally planned. The Berlin Kesselhaus was filled up right back to the entrance, and there was also a packed crowd up on the gallery. The crowd was mixed – Goths, “normal-looking” people, and also some Chris Corner lookalikes were among the audience. With no support band the show began immediately with IAMX. At the beginning, Chris Corner was using two microphones simultaneously, which looked a bit strange, but also fitting with his cool style. The second song – my favourite song from the current album – was ‘Break the Chain’, and was so good it was hard to focus on taking pictures. The colourful mix of hits from the old albums framed beautifully the great new songs. Did anyone actually see his face tonight? For the most part, Corner and his three colleagues were barely recognizable, as the light on the stage was extremely sparse. This was a shame, as the interesting costumes and accessories of the band were therefore not visible to many in the audience. Chris repeatedly held a mirror in his hand, wielding it like a warrior’s shield, and diverting the glare of the spotlight into the audience.

The song ‘Stardust’ was met with huge applause and cheers. ‘North Star’ began with cool beats. The changing of red lights, white illuminated spotlights and absolute darkness began – changing the stage again and again in time to rhythmic clapping throughout the club. The band was obviously having fun on stage, and the delighted audience got exactly what they expected. At the end of ‘Spit It Out’ Chris was flailing his body manically in front of the drums and the two female keyboardists, in their hot pants and fishnet stockings, were also going berserk. The band was now in ecstasy and completely lost in their music. Those on stage had a better view of the audience than the other way round – “I can see you beautiful fuckers” said Corner playfully to the Berlin audience. As a comfort for the fact that one could see so little, at least the sound was breathtakingly clear and mostly the songs sounded better than on the albums. There was also a visual background, with a video wall on stage.

After receiving a truly great reception, the band returned to the stage after just two minutes and played four more songs. Unfortunately the concert was over after only 90 minutes. An unusually early time for a concert to end, but anyone with work early the next morning would probably have been quite happy!

Setlist IAMX
01. Alive In New Light
02. Break The Chain
03. I Come With Knives
04. Happiness
05. Stalker
06. Stardust
07. Exit
08. North Star
09. Body Politics
10. No Maker Made Me
11. Spit It Out
12. Your Joy Is My Low
13. The Alternative
14. Kiss + Swallow
15. The Power and the Glory
16. This Will Make You Love Again