mind.in.a.box show-review:

mind.in.a.box - show-review for magazine 'Reflections of Darkness',
by:'Sebastian Huhn'
 
Link: Reflections of Darkness
 
German Unification Day, a time to celebrate in peace and humility... or with lots of electronic music at a concert in Oberhausen! FRONT LINE ASSEMBLY would play their only show in North Rhine Westphalia on that day and so the decision which kind of celebration it should be was not a tough one to make.

Music & Performance
For the gig of MIND.IN.A.BOX the attendance count had raised: Not as many people as in Berlin, where I first saw them playing in June, attended the show but still a good bunch. Soon the stage got bathed in dark colours and the musicians took their places to start with the slow-building 'Remember', a track intended to be on the still nameless next album. I suggest you take that one as the opener there as well since I could hardly imagine a better one. Stefan Poiss still keeps it with little movement, instead impresses with a flawless vocal performance full of urgency, while all around him the band gets caught inside the web of rhythms. To 'Amnesia', he sat down again on his stool and it looked like he was playing the vocal melody simultaneously to singing.

'Stalkers' was the moment for the audience to participate with clapping and dancing along to what has grown to a real rocking piece in its live incarnation. The following 'Certainty' as well as 'Light and Dark' were sound-wise connected with each other through a fluent transition and were like one big song, covering a wide range of moods and influences here. A highlight came up now with 'Whatever Mattered', being a calm song full of vivid sonic imagery and a fabulous vocal delivery. Closing the set was a shift into the 'Second Reality' and a return to stage after the band had already left. I missed 'Fear' this time around, but still it was a well-rounded affair and proof that MIAB belong on stage.

SETLIST:
01. Remember
02. Amnesia
03. Stalkers
04. Certainty
05. Light and Dark
06. Whatever Mattered
07. Second Reality

RATING:
Music: 9
Performance: 9
Sound: 8
Light: 8
Total: 8.7 / 10