Translated by @manicswitch (Thanks Ira!). Editing and proofreading by @pfurs.
Then Fad Gadget - alias Frank Tovey. Standing at his side were Robert Gotobed (Ex-Wire)/Drums, a bassist, and Daniel Miller (The Normal, Mute Records Boss)/Electronics.
The music was his label's known blend. Electropop: sometimes straight, sometimes playful - with a bit of black humor. Everything went great - only Robert Gotobed struggled to catch up sometimes. Highlights include - unsurprisingly - his singles "Ricky's Hand", "Fireside Favorites", and the new "Make Room".
But even while everything sounded nice, I lost major interest after a third of the performance. His music was too conventional, edgeless, and with not enough surprises for my tastes.
Now, Fad Gadget doesn't see himself as just a plain musician, but as a performer as well. And it was very impressive to see what he was capable of.
He banged on his equipment with a plastic pipe hard enough to get the room to shake. One time he hung himself from the pipes on the ceiling, only to let himself fall all of a sudden. The ending highlight was a tense duel between his head and a rhythm machine. One could almost think he acted in some kind of performance mania - if it weren't for the calculated placement of a break in the middle to gauge the audience's reactions as he told us later on.
And a majority of the audience, especially the audience at the front, was very pleased with what they saw. While they danced, people in the back were less impressed and used the time to talk.
I was under the impression that the stage spectacle was compensating for the missing surprises and intensity in the music. Fad Gadget's actions somehow stood oddly unrelated to the music.
Here the underlying problem of all e-poppers, from Orchestral Manoeuvres to Human League, once more became obvious: Producing pop with synthesizers is nothing new anymore. Once you're acquainted with those sounds, you'll find yourself asking why conventional music, only by the addition of electronic instruments, should be considered unique.
We were able to talk to Fad Gadget after the concert. We then immediately asked him if his music had a lot of potential. "I can’t really say. It's something that'll show in the future - if it couldn't evolve, I would immediately stop with that approach." He doesn't see himself reliant on musical activity. After all, he has a performance art degree and being a mime behind him. "Today music is the medium for me to realize my ideas. Rock'n'roll, out of all other art forms, is interesting to me because of its spontaneity. I like the exciting and raw feel and the direct contact to the audience. Everything you do has immediate feedback."
And what was that with the break: "I always do that to test the audience!" But that's something very risky to do: "Well, yeah. I haven't been attacked for it yet. But something unexpected can always happen and that's kind of the point of me doing it."
Suicide isn't his favorite group at the moment for no reason. Just like them, Fad Gadget doesn't just care about the music, but about conveying a concept as well. "I first think of an idea, a concept. Right now, I convey this best through music. But I can imagine myself one day stop doing music - without losing my ideas. Because then, I would still be able to see other means where I would be able to express myself."
