Plage Noire Festival 27.04.2018

Plage Noire Festival 27.04.2018 Weißenhäuser Strand Day 1

written by Marko Jakob
translated by Judith Reumont

After a long break the Plage Noire festival once again takes place! Finally again, there is a place in the festival calendar for Plage Noire. It was last held in 2009 and this year it was bigger and more professional than ever before. It took place in the holiday park Weißenhäuser Strand.

Besides watching the bands, festival visitors also had the time for great nature walks and to enjoy a holiday atmosphere. The weather was pleasant during both days, not too warm and not too cold. The concerts, however, took place indoors. Usually for such large events, a huge tent is built on the Weißenhäuser Strand, which easily holds 4,000 people. The smaller stages of the festival serve about 800 or 250. The audience was offered a very special mix of Electro, Dark Rock, Alternative and Gothic Rock. The German band ASP and VNV NATION from Ireland appeared as headliners. A highlight was also the performance of LORD OF THE LOST who always delivers a grandiose show. With many bands that have a large fan base and a festival site that is so close to the beach, the visitors were offered an atmosphere and ambiance that made this weekend memorable.

The good organization of the festival was already noticeable even in the parking area. The queues and waiting times at the entrance site were okay. A few hours before the beginning of the festival there was still a lot of work ahead for the crew, who was still working hard in the outdoor area. But just in time for the beginning of the festival, everything was ready. The area was manageable and the individual venues were all within a distance of two to three minutes. The grounds and the interiors were beautifully decorated for the occasion.

Chrom

At 5pm, the melodic Electro formation CHROM opened the festival at the “Salle de fete” stage. It is not always the best luck for a band to have to open a festival. But the “Salle de Fete”, in which the first concert of the Plage Noire 2018 took place, was already very well filled and the fans did not need long to warm up. From the beginning, there was movement from the audience – this was not difficult for this band, after all, most of their songs have “earworm” guarantee! Rich beats and basses invited the fans to dance. A very successful festival opening!

Setlist
01. Walked The Line
02. Morbid Mind
03. In My World
04. Heavenly
05. Regret & Testify
06. Memories
07. Slave
08. Losing Myself
09. Loneliness
10. Visions
11. Staring At The Sun
12. The Start Of Something New

Ost+Front

The Berlin based band OST+FRONT was the first band on the main stage, called “Le Chapiteau”. This festival is one of many that the band will play this year to present their current album, ‘Adrenalin’. The band started their show with the opener and title track of the new album. This was an interesting and entertaining show, like actually being at a headliner OST+FRONT concert. The band has a high recognition value due to their distinctive outfits and the partially provocative lyrics. Musically, the band has matured extremely well in the 10 years of its existence and is well known from their visits to the stages of the country. Alongside the hard guitar riffs, there are even some songs with sing-along parts, such as ‘Sternenkinder’ or ‘Bitte Schlag Mich’. An absolutely entertaining appearance rising the wish to own the new album.

Setlist
01 Adrenalin
2. Fiesta De Sexo
03. Afrika
04. Feuerwasser
05. Liebeslied
06. USA
07. Anders
08. Fleisch
09. 10 Jahre Ost+Front
10. Denkelied
11. Freundschaft
12. Arm & Reich
13. Sonne, Mond Und Sterne
14. Sternenkinder
15. Bruderherz
16. Gang Bang
17. Ich Liebe Es
18. 911
19. Mensch
20. Heavy Metal
21. Bitte Schlag Mich

Noisuf-X

Next was the EBM/ Industrial project NOISUF-X. Their last album, ‘Banzai’, is already almost a year old. Last year, NOISUF-X played the Wave Gotik Treffen, this year they are still touring with upcoming concerts in Sweden and Finland. The “Salle de Fete” had plenty of onlookers as NOISUF-X entered the stage. Beautiful lighting effects and a clear sound filled the club in this early evening spot. Fans of this band had long been standing in the best places in the front. A great concert ensued, and of course the well-known hits from the bands 10-year history were not missing in the set. ‘Hit me hard’, ‘Jezebel’, ‘The Typical Fuck You song’ made the hall boiling.

Setlist
01. Big Bang
02. Warning
03. Count To 7
04. Banzai
05. The Typical Fuck You Song
06. Son Of A Bitch
07. Satisfaction
08. Jezebel
09. I Am Watching You
10. Robots, Destroy Him !
11. Hit Me Hard
12. Klick Klick
13. I Kick Your Fucking Teeth In
14. Shut Up
15. Fuck It

apRon

Circus music with German texts – welcome to APRON from Munich. Their website describes their music somewhere between “ERSTE ALLGEMEINE VERUNSICHERUNG and SYSTEM OF A DOWN”. They are known for their energetic live shows and brought their current album, ‘Auf dem Ponyhof’, to the Baltic Sea. APRON opened the festival at “La Rotonde”, a really nice and cosy club with a very special atmosphere. It was relatively dark and the audience was very close to the action as there was no barrier in front of the stage. The microphone stand by singer Till was striking and featured the pink head of a pony. This was a really entertaining and atmospheric concert in which the band communicated a lot with the audience. An unusual band with extraordinary music that set off the rest of the festival!

Setlist
01. Vorhang Auf
02. GFLT
03. Mensch Aus Glas
04. In Cerebrum Cacatur
05. Wenn Der Damm Bricht
06. Leinen Los
07. Das Krokodil
08. Mr. Punch
09. Zirkus
10. Taktstock
11. Hangman

Megaherz

MEGAHERZ has been a fixed piece in the Gothic Rock scene for about 20 years. They have just finished the first part of their “Komet” tour through Switzerland, Austria and Germany. The second part will continue in the autumn. Second band in the big tent was MEGAHERZ. It was not quite crowded, but the vibe was still quite good. The band with their strikingly painted faces had made it look quite easy to cast their spell over the audience with their catchy German-language Gothic Rock / Metal. Although there have been changes in the line-up of the band over the years, they appear as a perfectly cohesive band. Among others, they played the songs ‘Glorreiche Zeiten’ and ‘Jagdzeit’. The fans jumped and hopped tirelessly. As a change of pace, there was the beautiful ballad ‘Von Oben’ from the current album. All in all, it was a great concert that certainly convinced many to go the autumn concerts.

Setlist
01. Vorhang Auf
02. Jordan
03. Roter Mond
04. Zombieland
05. Horrorclown
06. Komet
07. Tiefenrausch
08. Von Oben
09. 5.März
10. Glas Und Tränen
11. Glorreiche Zeiten
12. Scherben Bringen Glück
13. Gott Sein
14. Nicht In Meinem Namen
15. Nicht Genug
16. Miststück
17. Jagdzeit
18. Für Immer
19. Himmelsstürmer

Solar Fake

Just recently announced is the release of the next album by SOLAR FAKE and will be celebrated at the 31st August 2018 in Oberhausen with an extra-long concert. But Sven and André had a new piece to present already at the Plage Noire. The “Salle de Fete” had reached the limit of its capacity due to the appearance of SOLAR FAKE, but that was to be expected as their fan base has now become huge throughout Europe. The atmosphere in the hall was overwhelming from the beginning and the band seemed also impressed by the mood. The stage had the perfect size for them and offered the band enough space to let off steam. Sven and André have recently welcomed “offspring”, as the singer described the drummer Jens, who has supported the band live since Christmas 2017 at least at the concerts within Germany. This addition makes their live music even better than it was before. The club, now filled with approximately 800 people, almost boiled over with enthusiasm. It was a great gig that made one want to buy the upcoming album. The song ‘The Pain that Kills You Too’ gave a little taste of what is to come.

Setlist
01. Not What I Wanted
02. No Apologies
03. Under Control
04. Here I Stand
05. All The Things You Say
06. I Don’t Want You In Here
07. I Hate You More Than My Life
08. Reset To Default
09. Until It’s Over
10. More Than This
11. Parasites
12. The Pain That Kills You Too
13. Papillon
14. My Spaces
15. Where Are You
16. Observer

Mono Inc.

Welcome to the ever-tireless MONO INC. as they go from album to album and tour to tour. Recently the dates for the autumn tour were announced. Tickets should be gotten quick as the popularity of this band keeps growing and growing. The “Le Chapiteau” was also really full for the first time. MONO INC. began their performance with the title track of the last album, ‘Together Till the end’. Martin entered the stage with his well-known red jacket, but also this time he had the big box of costumes and changed clothes into some different outfits during the concert. The singer was then filmed briefly for their well-known “Mono Inc. TV”. Unfortunately, this may be one of the last recordings of this kind, as the European General Data Protection Ordinance will enter into force at the end of May, and such recordings in Germany will then be probably banned. There followed hit on hit, like for example the beautiful ‘Boatman’. Another highlight of the concert was the performance of the singer Major whose voice sang two titles, including the cover of BLACK’s ‘Wonderful Life’. After that, the program continued with the classics ‘Gothic Queen’ and ‘Voices of Doom’. Of course, there was also the almost legendary drum solo in-between. Finally, the band sang the Gothic hymn ‘Children of the Dark’ together with their fans.

Setlist
01. Together Till The End
02. The Banks Of Eden
03. Arabia
04. This Is The Day
05. Get Some Sleep
06. Boatman
07. Heile, Heile Segen
08. Revenge
09. Potter’s Field
10. Wonderful Life (Black Cover)
11. Symphony Of Pain
12. Gothic Queen
13. After The War (Garry Moore Cover)
14. Drum Battle
15. Voices Of Doom
16. Children Of The Dark

Zeromancer

For several years there has been no new album from the Norwegian Synth rockers ZEROMANCER. It is therefore all the more pleasing to be able at least to experience them live again. After the Plage Noire festival fans will have another chance at Wave Gotik Treffen 2018. For this gig the stage was really dark and gloomy as opposed to the bands before. The Norwegian band was wrapped in great dark light and the sound of the music was almost perfect. The hall was again almost full and the fans enjoyed the band playing live unleashed. Among other songs, the set included the hits of the past days, such as ‘Clone Your Lover’, ‘Sinners International’ and ‘Dr. Online’. The cool mix of electronics and guitar riffs was the perfect and worthy conclusion of the first day at the “Salle de Fete” and the fans were totally thrilled.

Setlist
01. Intro
02. V
03. Auf Wiedersehen Boy
04. Chome Bitch
05. Opelwerk
06. Clone Your Lover
07. Sinners International
08. Mercenary
09. The Pygmalion Effect
10. Something For The Pain
11. The Hate Alphabet
12. Neo Geisha
13. Cupola
14. Fade To Black
15. Dr. Online
16. Ammonite
17. Photographic

ASP

The exceptional band ASP was visiting the Weißenhäuser Strand. In the past this band has enjoyed some success in the top 10 of the mainstream charts. In October 2018 they will pull you back through the clubs of the country for their “Zaubererbruder – Der Krabat Liederzyklus” Tour. ASP entered the stage bedecked with hoods and lanterns. The tent was now completely full for the headliner of the first festival day. Singer Alexander said how very pleased he was to see so many beautiful people. A clear sound and a great light show went through the whole concert. The audience was completely captivated and not only in the song ‘Meister’ which was tenderly sung from the first to the last row. The band had taken a break from their time off especially for the Plage Noir. This special concert, which lasted until well after midnight, contained the band’s famous hits, such as ‘Und Wir Tanzten’, ‘Ich Will Brennen’ and ‘Wechselbalg’.

Setlist:
01. Mondscheinsirenade
02. Duett (Minnelied der Incubi)
03. Eisige Wirklichkeit
04. 20000 Meilen
05. Werben
06. Astoria Verfallen
07. Bernsteinmeerengel
08. Wechselbalg
09. Die Untiefen
10. Schwarzes Blut
11. Satan
12. Torpedos
13. Und Wir Tanzten
14. Ich Will Brennen