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Darkwave.ro Fest 3 (PROJECT PITCHFORK, RABIA SORDA and TENEK live in Cage Club, on January 29, organized by VIVA MUSIC with CLICKNET ROMTELECOM as main partner) came and went with a blast. The only local festival devoted to dark, electro, aggrotech and industrial music in Romania offered for its third edition a generous display of art for art’s sake and genuine musical feeling. Cage Club, unfortunately on its last active day, closed late in the night with a unique fest that welded together different fandoms into a unique, tumultuous crowd.

By 09:00 pm, the official doors open time, people started crowding the club’s venue. Electroheads, Goths dressed up to the nines and even the club’s regular rock scene flowed in and enjoyed DJ LUCA EW’s opening set that mimetized topnotch the evolving’s crowd feelings and will to dance. COVENANT, MIND.IN.A.BOX, but also AND ONE, FADERHEAD and APOPTYGMA BERZERK produced sonic atmosphere and opened the appetite of the audience from Romania, Germany, Great Britain,  Finland – to name just a few of the countries that visited VIVA MUSIC’s fest.

At the same time, Cage Club’s friendly and attentive staff was surprising newcomers with prizes from under their counter: T-shirts, postcards, pins and posters were given to the early visitors of our fest. The atmosphere was already that of an extended family: everywhere you could see people greeting each other and hugging, vividly discussing their expectations of the shows of the night.

TENEK

Their expectations were not to be let down once TENEK’s show punctually started at a 10:00 sharp, with the first electric sounds of GEOFF PINCKNEY’s synth and PETER STEER’s guitar. Their scintillating set, that brought TENEK connoisseurs and novices together, gave a definite electro feeling to the beginning of the fest, with special performances of tracks such as “Losing Something” or “Higher Ground”. TENEK’s well-studied combination of electro and synth pop kept the audience captive and immersed everyone in an atmosphere of dedicated musicianship with a twist (and a charming British accent). While the band’s show was on, people were slowly but surely getting into the night’s groove and got to know better a very communicative and empathetic band. A convincing “No Time for Fighting”, an inspiring moment for the audience, concluded their show.

Tenek at Darkwave.ro fest 3 photo gallery: [mudslide:picasa,0,vivamusicro,5568476473108757921,400,center]   TENEK setlist January 29, 2011 at DARKWAVE.RO Fest, Cage Club

Losing Something

Higher Ground

If I Should Fall

Loose Connection

Synchronise

On the Wire

Submission

I Don’t Cry

Blinded By You

No Time for Fighting

 

On January 30, the next day, TENEK was played on Bucuresti Radio (www.bucurestifm.ro). TENEK attracted the attention of other radio hosts as well, so starting the week of January 31, 2011, TENEK are played on national Romanian radio! Well done, TENEK, welcome to Romanian air!

RABIA SORDA

After a short DJ interlude from LUCA EW, which included LAIBACH but also a HOCICO warm-up, RABIA SORDA started their fulgurating show, creating a vibrating audience and securing its fidelity. In sudden gasps of air, and abrupt frail and aggressive sequences, RABIA SORDA’s was brusque, picturesque and serendipitous just as life: a whirlwind of well-concerted instrument and vocal exercise, RABIA SORDA managed to keep the audience with its ears pricked up for geared-up renditions of the band’s most known tracks, such as “Radio Paranoia”, “Heart-Eating Crows” or “Out of Control”, thus offering the audience the chance to get their sonic overdose, to quote a well-known track from the band. While any RABIA SORDA show is an unorthodox mix of noise and chaos being disciplined into their corners by vocal excellence, everyone could tell what fun ERK AICRAG and his band mates were having in Bucharest, since the show they offered to their audience (by then a swarming club) was a memorable one, with a well in shape band of whom we expect only the best in the future.

Rabia Sorda at Darkwave.ro fest 3 photo gallery:

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RABIA SORDA setlist January 29, 2011 at DARKWAVE.RO Fest, Cage Club

This is The End

Out of Control

Get Your Overdose

Radio Paranoia

Misery

Eye M the Blacksheep

Save Me from My Curse

Breaking Through

Heart Eating Crows

Walking on Nails

Money Talks

Encore:

The Shape of Name

LUCA EW’s longer set from before PROJECT PITCHFORK roused the audience with ICON OF COIL, MUSCLE AND HATE, and VNV NATION, igniting spirits to resonate with the forthcoming PROJECT PITCHFORK unchained performance.

LUCA EW at Darkwave.ro fest 3 photo gallery:

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PROJECT PITCHFORK

With PROJECT PTICHFORK on stage, the titillated crowd that had before witnessed outstanding performances from TENEK and RABIA SORDA was at a much heightened consensus, that of committing to quality music and having the time of their life. If words fail to describe a regular PROJECT PITCHFORK show, then they need to do a better job than that, since PROJECT PITCHFORK gave the show of their life in Bucharest, with a unique blend of the past and the present: so smoothly did PROJECT PITCHFORK navigate between their two-score year history, showing the deployment of a great tour de force that coincides, at some level, with the history of music itself from the early 1990’s to the late 2000’s. The enduring effect of PETER SPILLES’ voice added on top of the PROJECT PITCHFORK’s instrumental squad kept the audience liberating itself into dance moves, screams of joy and communing over the band’s attention-getting setlist, all the way from “Timekiller” to “Dividing Line”, and all the way again from “Stacked Visions” to “I Live Your Dream” and the amazing jewels, “Endless Infinity, “God Wrote”, “Carnival” and “Fear”. An once-in-a-lifetime experience, PROJECT PITCHFORK’s concert did away with the remaining skeptics and got themselves a numerous followership.

Project Pitchfork at Darkwave.ro fest 3 photo gallery: [mudslide:picasa,0,vivamusicro,5568477969983066353,400,center] PROJECT PITCHFORK setlist January 29, 2011 at DARKWAVE.RO Fest, Cage Club Conjure Stacked Visions Timekiller God Wrote En Garde Endless Infinitiy Requiem Beholder Human Crossing Carnival Dividing Line Carrion Mine (Beast of Prey) I Live Your Dream Steelrose Existence Fear

Encore:

Continuum

Rescue

The fest did not end before late in the night (or, should we say, early morning), after a dancefloor frenzy offered by LUCA EW’s closing set, which included beside his setlist requests from the unleashed audience of the club’s floor. NOISUF-X, NACHTMAHR and ROTERSAND vied with HOCICO or SANTA HATES YOU, since LUCA EW has done a great job of putting into perspective the festival bands’ side-, or original projects.

The party went on until dawn! Photo gallery:

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PROJECT PITCHFORK LIVE AT DARKWAVE.RO FEST III: video #1, video #2

RABIA SORDA LIVE AT DARKWAVE.RO FEST III: video #1 TENEK LIVE AT DARKWAVE.RO FEST III: video #1, video #2 All videos courtesy of Adrian Rolland/Bloodbath.ro

VIVA MUSIC takes this opportunity to thank their sponsors, partners, visitors and vows to offer unforgettable concerts and fests in the future as well. Stay tuned for VIVA MUSIC’s NIN Tribute on February 12 (details here), COMBICHRIST concert on March 01 (details here) and more events to be announced soon.

Read Metalfan.ro‘s extensive review of the event (in Romanian) here.