Mono & Nikitaman ADD

Review: Mono & Nikitaman in Traunstein, Germany 12/25/2011

12/31/2011 by Valentin Zill / Björn Fehrensen

Mono & Nikitaman @ Club Metropolitain in Traunstein, Germany 12/25/2011


Deep down in the south-east of Bavaria, Germany, the limited number of reggae fans celebrates Christmas each year in their own way, with an almost traditional reggae party at Club Metropolitain (the first of its kind took place in 1992 at the Strandcasino Chieming at Lake Chiemsee). German-Austrian dancehall singers Mono & Nikitaman are regular visitors there, and always well-received. Their last visit in Club Metro was three years ago on the same event - just hours after they left the stage in 2008, the club literally burned down. When entering the stage this year, Mono & Nik announced that burning down the house was their aim again - and they delivered, this time only figuratively, though.

The two Dancehall punks have a large fan base here. At the local annual Chiemsee Reggae Summer, a festival that attracts a solid 25,000 visitors each year, the two got headliner slots the last four years - consecutively! After a large festival tour last summer, they are now on a club tour, named "Unter Freunden" (“Amongst Friends”).

After a long intro - presenting the last opportunity for the sound engineer to try to get the best from the club‘s unsatisfying acoustics and rather lame PA - Mono and Nikitaman took to the very small stage, warmly welcomed by a packed club eager to escape the holiday‘s dullness.

The first three songs were presented to the audience in a very swift tempo, letting the spark jump over immediately and, more surprisingly, get the overeaten crowd dancing in no time. Time to freak out! Just the first accords of Außer Kontrolle (“Out of control”), and the massive was entirely hooked. Christmas is said to be a time of reflection, but who said one could not contemplate while dancing? By the time Stell Dir Vor Es Ist Krieg (“Imagine a war was going on”) was played, the sweat had begun to drop from the ceiling. With an audience singing along louder than the PA could do, sound problems did not matter that much. The incredibly tiny stage furthered the intimate ambiance in Club Metro. After 90 minutes of singing, toasting and crazy jumping, the Chiemsee massive still did not get enough. Slightly surreal in the dark club was So Lang Die Sonne Scheint (“As long as the sun shines”), the last tune of the show.

Those still eager to party had the chance to meet Mono some time later for autographs and pictures.

Conclusion of this evening: the Metropolitain with its pretty mixed audience in terms of musical taste could need a few more dancehall afficionados, but in any case Mono & Nikitaman‘s audience is broader than that. With its unsatisfying acoustics and its small stage, Club Metro is better suited for sound system shows. But who cares about that with an ever-delivering group like Mono & Nik? Undisputedly top-ranking among the German dancehall artists, the couple is still on tour in Austria, Germany and Switzerland. Check them out!