Beginning life as a trio and ending as a four piece with a sole original member, Cabaret Voltaire’s arc through the fringes of electronic music has been a fascinating ride. Taking cues from pioneers such as Kraftwerk and Throbbing Gristle, the art-damaged trio put the capital letters of DIY in extra-large font as they brought their creative ideas to life.
Though they formed in 1973, record labels were slow to move on from the guitar-based rock music of that decade and it wasn’t until Rough Trade released their debut recording Extended Play that the group first poked their nose into the scene. Stephen Mallinder is the sole member left, though Chris Watson has participated in select UK-based dates and will be performing with the group when they close it down later next month in the birthing spot of Sheffield, where it all began. (Sadly, Richard Kirk passed away five years ago.)
As befitting a farewell tour, Mallinder (joined by Ben “Benge” Edwards on electronic drums, Eric Ramsden on guitar and keyboards, and opener Tara Busch from I Speak Machine on samples and keyboard) took a long and broad look back at the nearly 50 years of compiled work, stretching from “The Set Up” off that debut recording through “Easy Life” which appeared on 1990’s Groovy, Laidback and Nasty.
The terse, unrelenting electric drums of Edwards and the monotone, detached vocals of Mallinder as he moved between playing keyboards or bass guitar dealt a hypnotic spell. This was dance music but inscrutable, though that didn’t stop a few attendees from rising and bopping along. Performing in front of a screen that mixed morphing images superimposed against a live camera feed of the stage, the band mostly kept their head down and got to work.
They started the encore with probably their best known song, 1979’s “Nag Nag Nag,” a minimal driving rhythm with distorted guitar lines howling around the edges. They never did reach the commercial heights of fellow Sheffield natives and contemporaries The Human League but they never went for the brass ring of friendly dance songs either. Either way, they clearly made their mark and it was a pleasure to see this last victory lap.
Before Busch clocked in for her second shift, she got things going with an arresting opening set. Along on the stage with just a mic and a bank of samplers, she paced around the stage, a video backdrop of her in various scenes complementing the songs perfectly. A strong voice and a clear vision goes a long way to make an impression, which she managed easily.
