Throbbing Gristle

Kunsthofschule,
Frankfurt, West Germany, 10 November 1980

Genesis at Frankfurt Station

Genesis at Frankfurt Station,
11 November 1980

Throbbing Gristle - Live In Frankfurt

The Neoclassic "Stadel" was the scene of the only TG concert in FRG. Before and after the concert, the members of the group were staying in front of the stage and could be approached by anyone who wished to talk to them. Chris Carter was friendly as in London, talked about the completely new arranged and reduced PA. Cables, switches, gear, boxes, which I had never seen before. They had brought along 12 cassettes with noises, sounds and programmed rhythms, which can be used depending on situation and atmosphere. For TG set a high value on playing differently every gig depending on the situation with the audience. Their former method of producing special sounds which directly influence the body (circulation, heartbeat, metabolism, well-being) has been dropped. People don't feel sick systematically. I was very shy towards Genesis, couldn't behave as if everything was clear to me. Gen was already fed up with the tour after two gigs in Berlin: breakfast was bad, the German technicians stupid and besides, TG had demonstrated in Berlin, how easily the Germans collapse. "Berlin was poor, many collapsed. We showed them!"
Promoter in Frankfurt was Walter Baumann's Shvantz magazine, but when in the film "After Cease to Exist" a prick was cut off I couldn't laugh at this occurrence any more, but I felt uneasy. (Note: the German word for prick is "Schwanz"; Walter Baumann's magazine is called "Shvantz". This is pronounced the same way as "Schwanz"). Despite the whole package of machines the concert was not cold and boring at all. Genesis, bassist and singer, screamed, sang and shrieked at the top of his voice, as loud as he could.
Moving permanently, hitting with the microphone on his head now and then, he roared out his lyrics. No comparison could be made to the difficult, inhibited speaker I had become acquainted with. I was fascinated, the concert started with much tension and energy. The wall of sound was crystal-clear, hard, loud and aggressive. But someone poured his wine bottle on Chris Carter's instruments. Chris became sour, because someone had destroyed his beloved machines, pulled out all the plugs, packed up his gear and the gig was finished for him. The other three had also lost all desire. As a trio they played a short song called "Discipline" and then it was over. The gristle had stopped throbbing.

Spex, 15 December 1980. (Original article in German)

The bottle of wine...

The bottle of wine...

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