Review of VNV Nation at Club Nokia

There is an odd phenomenon in the goth / electronica scene: EVERYONE KNOWS EACH OTHER! So when I entered Club Nokia to see VNV Nation last week, it became quite similar to that of a family get-together. People you know, drinks, and good music. Only thing missing was some burgers and in-laws. Or maybe both were in the VIP section. DOH!

To suggest VNV Nation is having a good time in their career would be an understatement. They are quickly becoming a common name in America, and already have an astronomically large fan-base in Europe and the rest of the wordl. Plus, the mere fact that they also released a new studio album (“Of Faith, Power and Glory”) and a live DVD & Remix CD also counts to the assumption that VNV is quickly becoming a household name in the music scene.

Taking the stage just a split second after 10PM, vocalist Ronan Harris proclaims “I warn you, if I fuck up the words tonight, [it’s because] these are new songs!” right before jumping into the new track “Sentinel” (which could quite possibly be the bands best written song EVER). This being their tour kick off show, being their guinea pig of sorts was rather exciting. Ronan made it clear that we were the test audience for new material, and that went over just fine with us.

One thing Ronan definitely made clear was that the light show kinks had not been fully worked out yet. He paused in between songs requesting that their light-tech try to lower the spot lights, and make things more ambient and atmospheric. Probably around an hour and a half into the set is when Ronan was finally pleased with the light settings. While I didn’t notice any missed lyrics or technical glitches, it was admirable that the band were trying their hardest to make sure we got the full VNV experience.

Lights and lyrics aside, one of the biggest drawbacks to this show was actually not that of the band, but rather the audience. I’m a firm believer that shows are only as good as their crowd, and it seemed as if the majority of people in attendance were content with standing still. A fist pump here, and cheer there, sure. But dancing was almost nonexistent. However, when I saw VNV open for Tiger Army at the Grove of Anaheim a few months back, it was an entirely different story; endless dancing, cheering, jumping and crowd-surfing. Maybe the show at Club Nokia wasn’t sponsored by Redbull?

After burning through songs such as “Chrome,” “Tomorrow Never Comes,” Honour” and “Perpetual” to name a few, the band turned off all lights and sounds and announced an after party following the end of their set. According to the band, attendees could stick around after the show and have drinks with the masterminds themselves. While sticking around for an extra hour or two sounded great, I had to bail abruptly instead. Gothfail. This kind of intimate interaction with fans is what makes me VNV such a golden coin to have in Los Angeles every once in a while.  Ronan spoke of the band coming back to Los Angeles around November, and if this occurs, I highly suggest taking the time to  put on some eye-liner, buy a new black outfit, and get some boots that are comfortable enough to dance in. Well worth the investment.

VNV Nation Tour Dates

• Jul 7 2009   Turner Hall Ballroom  – Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• Jul 8 2009   Station 4  – St.Paul, Minnesota
• Jul 10 2009  House Of Blues  – Chicago, Illinois
• Jul 11 2009  St. Andrews Hall  – Detroit, Michigan
• Jul 12 2009  Peabody’s Down Under  – Cleveland, Ohio
• Jul 14 2009  Phoenix Concert Theatre  – Toronto, Ontario
• Jul 15 2009  Le National  – Montreal, Quebec
• Jul 16 2009  Webster Underground  – Hartford, Connecticut
• Jul 17 2009  Paradise Rock Club  – Boston, Massachusetts
• Jul 18 2009  Nokia Theatre  – New York, New York
• Jul 19 2009  Theatre Of Living Arts  – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Jul 21 2009  9:30 Club  – Washington, Washington DC
• Jul 23 2009  The Masquerade  – Atlanta, Georgia
• Jul 24 2009  The Ritz Theatre  – Tampa, Florida
• Jul 25 2009  Culture Room  – Ft.Lauderdale, Florida
• Jul 27 2009  Granada Theatre  – Dallas, Texas
• Jul 28 2009  White Rabbit  – San Antonio, Texas
• Jul 30 2009  Marquee Theatre  – Tempe, Arizona
• Sep 1 2009   Forbraendigen  – Kopenhagen
• Sep 2 2009   Mau Club  – Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
• Sep 6 2009   Lucerna Music Bar  – Prag
• Sep 7 2009   Dom Omladine  – Belgrade
• Sep 8 2009   Boogaloo Club  – Zagreb
• Sep 9 2009   Szene  – Wien
• Sep 11 2009  Blackout  – Roma
• Sep 12 2009  Fabrik  – Turino
• Sep 15 2009  LKA Longhorn  – Stuttgart
• Sep 17 2009  La Locomotive  – Paris
• Sep 18 2009  KuFa  – Krefeld
• Sep 19 2009  Gewerkschaftshaus  – Erfurt
• Sep 20 2009  Backstage Werk  – München
• Sep 23 2009  Batschkapp  – Frankfurt
• Sep 25 2009  Postbahnhof  – Berlin
• Sep 26 2009  Factory  – Magdeburg
• Sep 27 2009  FZW  – Dortmund
• Sep 29 2009  Capitol  – Hannover
• Sep 30 2009  Strasse E  – Dresden
• Oct 1 2009     Docks  – Hamburg
• Oct 3 2009     Bergwerk 4  – Hagerbach/ Flums

Photo courtesy  of: Chloé Lisbeth