By: Chris Stead
A hush falls across the crowd and the screens set at the back of the stage light up white. Little cheers go up here and there as the crew make the last preparations to the stage. VNV Nation makes a regular pass through Southern California on any given tour. The last time, however, that VNV Nation played in Los Angeles, they played at Das Bunker, the legendary industrial club, which celebrated its tenth year in late 2006 and there were many people that weren’t able to make it.
This time is different. The Wiltern Theatre is packed and it was a clear choice for the group to play as the crowd very much warranted it.The last lights go down and the band walks out and takes position on the stage, the music starts and the crowd is so loud that they almost drown the sound of the music altogether. VNV Nation starts their set with an older, familiar song. The crowd goes wild.
Before the show Ronan had a few words to say about their music, their fans, the tour, Das Bunker and life. With a new album out, there is talk of the evolution from old to new, and from one sound to another. As opposed to the major change that Apoptygma Berzerk underwent from Harmonizer to their newest release, VNV Nation has changed by maintaining a good musical poker face. Although there is clearly definition when considering previous albums and Judgement, Ronan tells us that “something that has always been a constant on VNV albums is the variety.”
Variety for certain. As the concert raged on, the crowd was whipped to a rabid lather. VNV changed up the pace in their set just in time to give the crowd a little cooling off before diving into another fast paced VNV signature song. The whole concert was a strongly cohesive piece, but it was clear to the experienced listener that there are distinct differences between songs from different albums. “Evolution is a natural thing,” Ronan tells us and moreover, “when someone asked me ‘why did you change styles?’ I said ‘no, I didn’t. My life changed.’”
If Ronan’s life has changed it was definitely for the better. He sat in his chair, easy and comfortably. This is a man that has travelled a long way and found himself at home in the world. Understandably as Judgement has been better received than any album since Empires. Ronan expressed that he is not only surprised by how well received the album has been, but also the size of the crowds. Understandably so, as the crowd that night was impossibly large. It was like half of LA decided to turn out to say hi to the boys. It was fantastic.
Speaking of Ronan being a man of the world, a few years back, he found himself living in Hamburg. Now, anyone in the states knows that Germany is legendary for its underground scene. This being true, Hamburg seems to come off as being th epicentre for this shockwave. Ronan glows about the town the people and how happy he is to be there. He says that “it is a very alternative city,” and that it is a very “tolerant and very open-minded town.” He then went on to describe a scene where he and the guys from Imperative Reaction hit the streets and a couple of bars, first being a punk bar. At this point the guys from IR were immediately impressed with how genuine everyone is in Hamburg with regard to their particular subculture. They all get along and just want to enjoy what they are into.
At the start of this article, we mentioned that VNV Nation played a show at Das Bunker proper. This was a beautiful mess if there ever was one. Ronan told us that there was a call made to the Fire Marshall regarding the capacity of the room and the number of tickets sold. Unfortunately the caller lied about the capacity as well as the people. This is the mess. The beauty to be found was in the band. Ronan said that he would not allow people to go away without seeing VNV Nation play. He told us “if something threatended the ability for people to see us … then there is nothing we won’t do.” Meaning in no uncertain terms that they will go to great lengths to ensure that their fans get what they came for. Ronan also said “this is how important our fans are for us.”
As the night closed and VNV Nation finishes their second encore, the crowd begins to sound tired, as if battle worn. Ronan and Mark had one last surprise in mind for the crowd. All other members of the band and crew headed of the stage and Ronan hopped onto one of the two keyboards while Mark took the other. For the final song of the evening they played an instrumental piece from Futureperfect. As the song finished and Ronan and Mark were heading away toward the side of the stage, you could see that they had enjoyed the concert as much as the crowd did. It brings to mind something that Ronan had said about the tour and how they were enjoying it: “I don’t ever want this to be a job.”
Check out VNV Nation at:
The VNV Nation Official Website
