half the produkt, all the fun

i kinda regret not buying a shirt on wednesday…

…but lemme explain that.

nitzer ebb will forever be tied to depeche mode for me. the first musical show i ever went to was depeche mode and o.m.d. back in 1988, but before either band played a note they played the debut from nitzer ebb, that total age, through the stage monitors to test them and i was close enough that i could hear it but had no idea what it was. i rushed the stage, asked a roadie, and bought the cassette (1988) the next day.

i still think it’s their most solid album.

there were no pics of the band inside it, but apparently it was four guys. by the time belief (their second) came out it was down to two – and instrumentalist and a vocalist, and so it stayed for years. like from the 1989 to 2019 kinda years.

then the other two came back around.

i saw them the first time when they opened for depeche mode in 1990 at the starplex amphitheater in dallas, tx (it’s been renamed several times since but it still standing in fair park). it was one of a few shows i’ve seen there, and it was great! the band was just a twosome at that point but honestly they didn’t need anymore to pull of their clangy aggressive sound.

fast forward almost thirty years and i hear an announcement on dark wave (sirius radio show) that nitzer ebb were touring again AND kicking off said tour in austin! so, needless to say, i was there and had a great time…and they were back to a foursome!

then, ‘rona.

i heard about a 2021 show and before i knew it the date was upon us. i pinged an old club friend (brian) and he was down to go so we bought tickets. within twenty-four hours i saw a post that was from the day BEFORE we bought our tickets announcing that ‘due to health concerns’ douglas (vocalist) would no longer be on the tour but the instrumentalist had taken over. as i consider a large part of their sound to be douglas’ voice, i almost cancelled BUT i was already in for $30 and hadn’t seen brian since well before ‘rona kicked in so i went mainly to hang out with him, and was pleasantly surprisded how well the remaining two (no mention of where the third non-douglas guy went) pulled off the show!

i told brian i wasn’t buying a shirt since we only saw half the band, but in hindsight i kinda wish i had – they pulled off a great show, and the venue was small enought i was able to shake their hands and tell them so afterwards (don’t know if that means shit to them but it’s the thought that counts).

i guess now i’ll just keep an eye on their social media feed to see if they sell off the leftovers – if so, i’m down. there was a lot of fun to be had!