One month after releasing Let Go, German industrial band KMFDM set out on a US tour with a stop at The Rave in Milwaukee, WI.
When walking into The Rave/Eagles Club, the history of the venue is apparent. The entryway walls are lined with stunning photos of bands and artists who have played there over the years. The venue is a historical building located at the edge of the Marquette University campus. The seven-story venue was opened in 1927 and now houses eight independent venue spaces. The space is stunning and has ample room for multiple performances at once.
The opener for the night was the Chicago-based industrial band, Cyanotic. They were formed in 2002 and have toured the country and UK with notable bands over the years. Their performance made it obvious that they knew the scene well and fit right at home with the audience.
Their touring members include David Kultgen working on visuals, Connor Eck on synthesizer, Brad Houston on guitar, and Jesse Hunt on the standing drum kit, and they are fronted by founding member Sean Payne on vocals. They played a 45-minute set that was well-received as the crowd was moving and enjoying the entire setlist.
After a brief intermission, it was time for the headliner, KMFDM. Hailing from Hamburg, Germany, the four-person act was as legendary as one might expect from a band on the 40th-anniversary tour; that is not to say that they were not just as lively and energetic as you would hope a hard-hitting industrial band would be. They also just released their 22nd studio album, Let Go, in February 2024.
Their current lineup is Sascha “Käpt’n K” Konietzko, Lucia Cifarelli, Andy Selway, and Andee Blacksugar. When they started the night with “All 4 1” from their 2022 album Hyëna, the crowd was pumped up and encouraged for the setlist to come. They then played the title track from Let Go followed by “Freak Flag” from their 2017 album Hell Yeah. There was not a lot of talking, just hard heavy-hitting songs that kept the crowd moving well.
As the set continued, they performed a solid variety of songs from their 2020s era albums including “Hyëna” and “Airhead.” The first of the earlier era songs was next with “Tohuvabohu” from the album of the same name. They circled back to a song from the 2019 album Paradise, “Oh My Goth.” They kept the album variety high with a time-warp to 1990’s Naïve, playing the title track from that album.
They kept the pace going seamlessly transitioning back to “Touch” from their latest album, followed by “Go to Hell” from Naïve, before taking it back to the newest album with “Push!.” They kept the back-and-forth going with a solid mix of songs from an assortment of albums from the 2000s. The last song of the main set was a nice throwback to “A Drug Against War” from the 1993 album Angst.
After a little time, they came back out for a five-song encore. It started with the song “No God Here” from Lucia Cifarelli’s upcoming album which she is running a Kickstarter campaign for. She was joined on stage by a violinist as she sang. Next, everyone came back out to play “Megalomaniac” from the 1997 album, referred to as Symbols.
They performed one last song from Let Go, “When the Bell Tolls” before the crowd went wild for “Godlike,” clearly a fan favorite. To close out the night, they encouraged the crowd to have fun with the last song, “Paradise.” There was a long outro and they expressed their gratitude for all of the fan’s support throughout the show. Their performance was spectacular and should not be missed if they are in your area, and it is worth the drive if it is not.
CYANOTIC
THE RAVE
