13.06.2015 Deine Lakaien

Blackfield Festival

Amphitheater Gelsenkirchen (Germany)

(Pentax K-5 with Tamron SP AF 17-50mm 2.8 XR Di II LD Asp IF and Sigma AF 50-150mm 2.8 EX DC APO HSM II)

From one veteran (Mesh) to the next. Deine Lakaien can even look back on a 30-year history and offered something from every album that evening. For the musical mastermind Ernst Horn and the incredibly distinctive voice of Alexander Veljanov, it was their debut at the Blackfield Festival. They were supported on stage by drummer Slobodan Kajkut and guitarist Goran Trajkoski.
The beginning with the song “Colour-Ize” from the 1986 album “Deine Lakaien” was truly brilliant and continued along this path through their history. It wasn't until the second half of the set that they played something from the current album “Chrystal Palace” with songs like “Nevermore'”or “Farewell”. Overall, the set had a rather calm and melancholic mood, and the sonorous short comments and announcements contributed to this. The music is characterized by Dark Wave and Avantgarde. This was also reflected in the audience. It had become very crowded, yet people listened to the works reverently rather than engaging in exuberant gestures, singing, and dancing. Musically, it was truly the best that was offered at this festival, and time flew by as the performance slowly wound down with 'Love Me To The End' from the 1991 album “Dark Star”.
For me, it was my first personal live encounter with Deine Lakaien, whom I had only known from CDs. But it was very impressive. Veljanov has a really special charisma, although I have to say that he doesn't offer much vocal variation. It can get a bit monotonous over time. However, this should definitely not be misunderstood because it was still a performance that will remain in memory for a long time.