Adrenalin from Cologne really chose a name that didn't fit their music. The
boys really tried to make a lot of noise, but it wasn't that convincing. Especially the singer was
totally exhausted after the first song and had problems breathing.Emergenza is a newcomer band contest and the international finals take place every year at the Taubertal Festival in Rothenburg, Germany. 26 bands from 11 countries (Germany, England, Switzerland, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Sweden, Spain, Denmark, Austria, Canada) qualified for the final round. They all had 25 minutes playing time during the alterations on the Taubertal main stage. Of course, it wasn't possible for me to follow all acts, but here's my impression about the bands I saw.
Adrenalin from Cologne really chose a name that didn't fit their music. The
boys really tried to make a lot of noise, but it wasn't that convincing. Especially the singer was
totally exhausted after the first song and had problems breathing.
Paris was last year's winner of the Emergenza contest, but after the first song played by Klem, it was obvious that they wouldn't defend the title. The band consisted of four musicians and one DJ, oops, now I would get a corrXion by Short[k]ut, there were of course five musicians on stage playing a kind of crossover. It was a pity that many of the present bands were copying Rage Against The Machine or Clawfinger. I really thought that this style could meanwhile be classified as out of date, but these bands still don't disappear.
It has already become a bad habit that Milan is presented by lousy bands. Revoc On didn't make an exception. They could neither play their instruments nor sing. Somehow they reminded me of Yuzu from Luxembourg.
The first more promising band I saw were No Radical Change from Firenze. The four members were disguised like Mudvayne and so they sounded. Very good after the first song, very nice after the second one, average after the third one and boring for the rest of the set. They guys had some good ideas, but they still need time to develop.
The Madrid winner was called Crave and they sounded like Die Happy and not like Guano Apes because the singer had nice tits.
A very lucky loooser were Nervous Nellie from Sweden. They scored only
second in the Swedish contest, but one member of the winner band Dechas had a car accident a week
before the festival and so Sweden was represented by winner number two. Nervous Nellie couldn't
convince me at all, they are nearly a one to one copy of Clawfinger, another band from Sweden.
On Saturday at 11 am, Inertia from Rome had to play in front of only 10 spectators. They didn't take any risks, played uninspired, moderate pop songs with female vocals and were quite boring.
Of course I didn't want to miss Inborn from Luxembourg. They had a least 30 spectators, including the musicians' parents, brothers and sisters. Inborn weren't better or worse than during the Luxemburgish preselections. The teenies are acting very self-confidently on stage, but they still have to improve considering song writing and technical skills.
A first real highlight to me were La Suite Mosquito from Barcelona. They
mixed up nu metal elements with very brutal electronic beats. I was surprised how two such different
music styles could fit together. The live presentation by the two singers and the bass player was
absolutely professional.
Berlin won the Emergenza final in 2000, but the H.I.M. clones Elikan Dew showed already after a few notes that the title wouldn't come back to the German capital. They were all good musicians, but the show was boring and risk free.
My personal winner were Slave To The Squarewave from Toronto. During the first (instrumental) song, the singer's head was covered by a carton box which was quite scary. The musical presentation was fabulous. This band reminds me a lot of Devo, but the music contains more disco elements and the stage show was very theatrical. You really saw that they lived the music they played. The only disappointing fact was that the guitar player who seemed to be quite stoned didn't fit into the groove of the live show. Several hundred people were watching one of the best Emergenza shows I've ever seen.
The last band I saw were Dead By Chocolate from Bologna. The music was nearly as good as the band name. The Italians played quite good old-fashioned emo core that can be compared to D-Fact from Luxembourg.
Concerning the results, I have to admit that I missed the honour of the winners because it took place one hour earlier than planned. I just know that Inborn were the 16th among 26 bands, a respectable result for a real newcomer. Muff from Hannover were 5th, Dead By Chocolate from Bologna were 4th, No Radical Change from Firenze were 2nd and the winners were Nervous Nellie from Sweden.
I definitely can't understand the jury's choice. The winner is playing a kind of music that has already been out of date for several years. Maybe they plan to call this contest Retrogenza. The Toronto band was better than anyone else of the bands that played at the Taubertal Festival. I just wonder if the Emergenza organisers prefer a European winner. The winning band will play several gigs in Europe and maybe it's too expensive to take a band from Canada.
I regret that people are showing nearly no interest in the Emergenza contest. The bands which had to play at noon were playing in front of more or less 20 spectators. Even when Nervous Nellie played a second gig after the jury's decision, there weren't many people curious enough to check out the Emergenza winner 2003. Being an Emergenza winner is just good for your reputation and for nothing else. The last three winners (2000: Nada Brama, 2001: Willowtree, 2002: Mushy) didn't make a breakthrough. The Emil Bulls (winner 1999) will never advance further than opening big festivals.
But I don't care and I'm already looking forward for the edition 2005 when Luxembourg will next take part in this event.