On Stage: UNDER A BLACK FLAG

April 20, 2024, Cologne, MS RheinEnergie

Cast off!
In cold and wet April weather, we headed to the banks of the Rhine near Cologne Cathedral at the best time for breakfast. Once again, a one-day festival took place that has become extremely popular: Unter Schwarzer Flagge. For the electro edition, the organizers invited top-class artists such as Blutengel, Solar Fake, Solitary Experiments and Alienare. Several hundred black scene people were already meandering in front of the MS RheinEnergie, waiting patiently to be let in. Thanks to the well-organized team, all 1,370 ticket holders found their way onto the sold-out event ship within a very short time. A wide selection of food and drinks left nothing to be desired at the joyful meeting of the black scene. Punctually at 12:00 noon it was time to cast off! The MS RheinEnergie was already on its way to Königswinter.

Alienare with a time machine?
Soon after, the first-class stage program got underway. At the very front, numerous fans were wearing neon green ties – the colorful trademark of the first band. The northern lights of Alienare made short work of the lively landlubbers. Singer Tim Green and keyboarder Timo danced carefree to the opener “Diamonds”. “We are delighted to be able to open this cruise. Who of you has never been to an Alienare-concert? Then I have to add that this is a participatory concert – even at 1 pm.” A number of hands shot up at Tim’s announcement. The frontman enthusiastically spun around to his synthpop gems and kept jumping to the front of the stage to get as close to his fans as possible. “We’re celebrating ten years this year Alienare. Some people from back then are still around. We’ve brought you a time machine. Let’s see where we’ll end up.” A medley by the band took us back to various musical stages of their ever-engaging career.

“We are a North German band – and we were practically born on a ship. The following track is called ‘Move’. The lyrics in the chorus are North German today. We sing ‘Moin’!” No sooner said than done. Again and again, the committed voices in front of the stage united to the stomping beat and shouted “Moin.” The singer also invited his audience to swing their arms back and forth and simply have a good time to songs such as “Everything Will Be Alright” and “The Color of My Soul”. There was no holding back during the song “Mission Abort”! Tim was drawn down to his fans. He spontaneously had some of them sing fragments of lyrics into the microphone before mingling with the crowd completely. “#Neon” even had technoid sequences in store for the partying fans. But the brilliant finale left its mark. Emotionally scarred, Tim took in the never-ending cheers. “You can see from my face that this goes deep. Thank you for every second. We really enjoyed it.”

Solar Fake with world premiere
As Solar Fake were headlining alongside Blutengel, these two acts were given 90 minutes of playing time. And the trio was fired up for this gig. Their new album “Don’t Push This Button” is finished and the release date of May 24, 2024 is gradually approaching. Countless shirts of the band could be seen in the audience. Full of energy, the boys started their set with the heated single “Sick of You”. The audience immediately got moving and set the ship bouncing. “Have a wonderful day. Nice to have you here. We’re delighted to be here – the first time at Unter Schwarzer Flagge. Sven Friedrich announced a world premiere: “We’re now playing a song that, to be honest, we only rehearsed briefly earlier. It will be the second single. We’ve never played it before and I’d be surprised if anyone knew it from anywhere. The song is called ‘Not so Important’.” The melodic synthpop track with a guaranteed catchy tune immediately sparked the audience. The newcomer was greeted with clapping and cheering from the fans.

When “This Pretty Life” came on, people next to me were happy: “That’s my favorite song!” While André Feller was working his ass off on the keys, Sven was also constantly on the move. During the songs, he kept jumping around the stage. His joy was clear to see. As soon as he laughed, his eyes lit up. “Thank you very, very much. This is really amazing and at this time of day – phenomenal! Of course, nobody can leave, that’s obvious.” “I Don’t Want You in Here” even gave me goosebumps – Sven passionately sang the pain-filled lyrics before his voice sounded deep and warm. “The next piece is over ten years old. Maybe two, three or four people know it.” This was followed by “More Than This” and the audience cheered again. Even in the gallery, the fans rose from their seats and danced along eagerly. The first single from the new album “This Generation Ends” was also very well received by the audience. “Not What I Wanted” released further reserves of energy. The crowd joined in euphorically: “This is nightmare, but it’s my life.” With “Ghosts Again”, the boys presented their cover version of the popular Depeche Mode single. In the Solar Fake style, the song was able to shine in its own way. This was followed by enthusiastic applause. Before the three musicians left the stage waving, “Observer” transformed any pent-up anger into positive energy. The loud request for further encores was granted. Detached and liberated, Solar Fake followed up with their cover version of the Editors classic “Papillon”. Happy shouts of “Woohoo” were not lacking. “To avoid getting too sweaty in the cold, it’s getting a little quieter now: Just Leave It”.

Intermezzo: food, dragon castle and a good mood
In the meantime, the MS RheinEnergie has docked in Königswinter. A shore excursion was then planned for the body feast. The Rhine pirates conquered the small town in no time at all and brought the restaurateurs a strong increase in sales. Some of them even made their way to the Drachenburg Castle on a historic cog railroad. Strengthened and in a great mood, we were ready for round two. Back on board, some visitors stocked up on new merchandise and before the stage program continued, it was time to cast off again! A panoramic drive worth seeing took us right past the legendary Drachenfels and the magnificent castle.

Solitary Experiments (not) out of breath
Solitary Experiments are celebrating their 30th anniversary on stage this year. So at 8 p.m., the jubilarians entered the venue in their red shirts and black ties. The quintet was greeted with applause to their opener “Brace Yourself”. The boys presented their poppy electro set in the best of moods and once again the large dance floor in front of the stage was eagerly used. Their driving single “Crash & Burn” lifted the already fabulous mood of the fans. Dennis Schober used the entire stage area and visibly enjoyed being at the front. A finely crafted light show set the perfect scene for the musicians.

The two drummers Frank Glassl and Sebastian Gauff alias Seppo also fired up the audience. It was all too easy to watch the two of them fiddling around or egging each other on in between. Songwriter Michael Thielemann was beaming behind his keys, while he also supported Dennis vocally on some songs. Danceable songs such as “Immortal” and “Wonderland” demanded a lot from the dedicated singer. “If you’ve been doing this for thirty years, you can imagine that we’re no longer 24. You run out of breath sometimes. So let’s play something slow.” “Epiphany” allowed the pulse to relax temporarily. The audience also lent a helping hand with the dreamy chorus: “Turn the light on for the showdown, give me something pure in heart. Bring the night on before our time’s gone, show me how to leave a mark.” Of course, hits such as “Delight” and “Stars” were not to be missed. “We would like to say that this is the first time we have played on a ship. Are you fans of ours too?” The crowd acknowledged the fronter’s question with vigorous approval. With the stomping track “Discipline”, Solitary Experiments increased the tempo once again. “Are you ready for a highlight yet? We thought, if we’re going to play a festival, let’s try something. We have a very, very long friendship. And this is a premiere.” “Snuff Machinery” by [:SITD:] followed surprisingly in the spherical version by Solitary Experiments. “Every Now and Then” rounded off the boys’ performance perfectly. There really was nothing left to be desired here.

Blutengel focused on the essentials
Gradually, the long day could be felt in the legs. However, a break in a seated position was out of the question. Throughout the journey, supposedly free seats were reserved with jackets or kept free for friends. What the heck, we still managed the last changeover break. At 21:30, Blutengel rang in the grand finale anyway. Christian Lampe’s drum kit was framed by Plexiglas – the anticipation of crystal-clear drum sound grew immediately. Starting with the track “Black”, the musicians entered the stage. Tom Stöwer started bouncing on his guitar and keyboardist Lukas Schaaf was also motivated to the tips of his hair – he was really up for it. When the vocals of mastermind Chris Pohl and Ulrike Goldmann began, however, it became clear that the sound had not yet been mixed perfectly. The singer’s voice in particular was barely audible.

Chris Pohl began by welcoming the euphoric audience: “It’s great that you’re still here, thank you. We are Blutengel. You’ve already seen so many great bands. I hope you still have a bit of energy left for us.” The first rows addressed the sound problem in the form of heckling. The frontman then asked the technician to look into the matter. But even the song “Darkness Awaits Us” could not be enjoyed properly. The calls for the vocals to be turned up did not stop. Chris took it with humor. “Tell me, what was going on?” – “You can’t hear Uli singing” – “Well, she doesn’t sing at all. I’m quiet too? That’s so bad, everyone on this ship is seasick. We’ll see if we can do better on the next song. And you have to support us.” “Into the Void” sounded much better. Gradually, we recovered from the initial irritation. But there was still one question on my mind: where were the well-known dancers who used to accompany the concerts of Blutengel regularly lent an erotic and playful touch? I’m telling you. They just didn’t happen! And so it was possible to focus entirely on the pure music and the band’s performance without any distractions. “Lucifer” was really rocking. Blutengel were the only band to use an LED screen. The accompanying projections created the ideal atmosphere on stage. To the track “Luficer”, Chris stood in flames on the moving images. With glowing eyes, he held the symbol with the crucified Jesus in his hand. The duo sang the well-known lyrics to the dark sounds: “She’s in love with the devil… She’s burning down her past. She starts a new life, to hell with Jesus Christ.” At the end, two raised middle fingers appeared on the screen.

“The next song is from the last album. We’ll just play it now without comment!” “Fliegen” was again much more synth-heavy and the fans moved gracefully around in front of the stage. When Ulrike left the stage temporarily, Chris announced “a bit of a sweaty one”. “Kein Mensch” also got Chris moving lively. “You’re standing here, dancing and clapping. Respect for keeping it up.” In the meantime, the frontman left the microphone to his singer alone. “How did you find it? Was it good? Now the old man is back.” He encouraged the audience to work together again and asked them to clap and jump. But Chris also shone with his joy of movement. “Now comes the time when we actually go to the back and wait to see if you want another encore. We’ll cut the whole thing short. Can you still do it? For the last song, you have to go full throttle again.” To “You Walk Away”, the band and fans gave their all once again. “You guys are great. I’m in love with you all.” “Seelenschmerz” brought back memories of days long gone. And then the last song of this phenomenal event, “Reich mir die Hand” (Give me your hand), was actually played. Arms went up one last time and at 11pm we celebrated the final moments with clapping. In the meantime, the MS RheinEnergie has docked again at the Cologne landing stage.

Finish
That was the electro edition of Unter Schwarzer Flagge. What a party! We would like to thank you once again for the fantastic organization. We felt very comfortable on the ship at all times. A feeling of confinement, as we know it from some concerts, did not even arise here, even though the event was sold out. On May 17, 2025, the ship sails into the Rhine again for the black scene people. The next edition of Unter schwarzer Flagge is all about industrial rock, dark rock and NDH. Then Combichrist, Megaherz, Nachtblut and Soulbound will give us an unforgettable day. But until then, we’ll let these cherished impressions sink in and say ahoy – see you next year!

Text: Nadine Kloppert
Photos: Dietmar Grabs

Take a look at the extensive gallery here:

Setlist ALIENARE:
“Diamonds” – “Something Like This” – “Perception” – “Never Too Late” – “Time Machine” (medley with “Providence”, “Tremor”, “My Shadow”, “My Deepest Soul”) – “Another Pain” – “Everything Will Be Alright” – “The Colour of My Soul” – “Wrong” – ,,Move” – ,,Mission Abort” – ,,Freedom” – ,,#Neon” – ,,Emerald”

Setlist SOLAR FAKE:
“Sick of You” – “Under Control” – “Reset to Default” – “Not so Important” – “I Despise You” – “This Pretty Life” – “All the Things You Say” – “I Don’t Want You in Here” – “More Than This” – “This Generation Ends” – “Es geht dich nichts an” – “Not What I Wanted” – “It’s Who You Are” – “The Pain That Kill You Too” – “Ghosts Again” (Depeche Mode cover) – “Observer” — “Papillon” (Editors cover) – “Just Leave It”

Setlist SOLITARY EXPERIMENTS:
“Brace Yourself” – “Crash & Burn” – “Heart of Stone” – “Immortal” – “Wonderland” – “Epiphany” – “Delight” – “Stars” – “Discipline” – “Self-Fulfilling Prophecy” – “Snuff Machinery ([:SITD:] Cover)” – “Every Now and Then”

Setlist BLUTENGEL:
“Black” (incl. intro) – “Darkness Awaits Us” – “Into the Void” – “Lucifer” – “Flying” – “Kein Mensch” – “Dein Gott” – “Engelsblut” – “We Belong to the Night” – “Black Roses” – “Lebe deinen Traum” – “The War Between Us” – “Bloody Pleasures” – “Tief” – “King of Blood” – “Alles” — “You Walk Away” – “Soul Pain” – “Reach out your hand”