Some shows are like a blow to the face; they hit you when you least expect it. Some are like an unfulfilled promise: you expect to have a blast but you feel like you've crash-landed at a party that's over before it even began. But there are also those gigs that are like a road with a destination: you know where you wanna go but it is actually the journey that counts and keeps you energized. Melotron is in the last category. And it's a good thing, too because you begin the evening with the idea that you're going to see a good show and when it actually is, you have every reason to leave in high spirits. You get what you bargained for.

The trio, Andy Kruger, Edgar Slatnow and Kay Hilderbrandt, have just taken a break from the studio where they are working on their still-unnamed, half complete, upcoming album. This however did not stop them from leaking new songs from the material they're working on and the people who filled the venue on that night were the first to hear some it.

Dressed in a red shirt, black sweater and trousers, with Dave Gahan-esque hip-shakes and swirls, Kruger was in top form. He was joined by Slatnow and Hildebrandt, who both sported white outfits that gave them a futuristic look. But when you play a style that's categorized as "future-pop," you can easily get away with it.

Flaunting his talents in front of a house of receptive attendees, Kruger did not fail to showcase the band's older material. They started with "Das Hertz," a song off their last album Propaganda, but other standouts followed later into the show. "Come on, shake your hips!" shouted Kruger over and over. He scolded the attendance repeatedly whenever they appeared to get lazy and took to the stage with a set of older songs such as the galvanizing "Bruder" (Brother) and "Wohin" (Whereto) to the mind-blowing "Der Anfang" (The Beginning).

No special props or effects were necessary, just the stage, the band and the pure and simple music that throbbed in your ears. But if you were hoping to experience the atmosphere of the 80s clubs from a time when the synthesizer was king, this was it. With thick smoke that you could cut with a knife, the thrill of experimentation floated in the air
was accompanied by organic music.

"Now you wake up! Now we wanna leave and you wake up! You're crazy, totally crazy!" said Kruger to the attendees who started to shout for encores when the band was preparing to exit the stage. The trio capped the evening with three more encores and then withdrew after a show that lasted an hour.

*Photos courtesy of Viva Music, photographer Diana Margarit