Hannah Walker
Copy Editor
“Wir lieben Madsen (We love Madsen)!” shrieked the audience at the Melrose Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Melrose, Mass. Germany’s most popular indie rock band kicked off their U.S. tour on Friday, Oct. 14 part of their five-week tour through the U.S.
The tour, organized by the Goethe-Institut, a German cultural outreach program, has a three-part mission for a more modern image of Germany.
The four member ensemble has been nominated for Best Live Act in Germany, propelling the up-and-coming band into the spotlight with its blend of pop, rock, and punk music.
[singlepic id=565 w=320 h=240 float=right]
Three brothers and one bassist make up the core of the band, but for the performance on Friday, and for the duration of their U.S. tour, the band was accompanied by an extra percussionist/pianist.
Sebastian, the lead singer, Johannes, the lead guitarist, and Sascha, the drummer, have been in the music business since the 1990s, with two previous bands, Alice’s Guns and Hoerstuatz.
Niko Maurer, the bassist, joined on after the establishment of Madsen. Since the formation of their current band, the group has released four albums with several songs landing on the German top-10 hits chart.
Madsen is known in Germany as an anti-fascist and anti-racist band, with band members often sporting t-shirts with the slogan, “Nazis Raus” (Nazis Get Out). A group of KSC students who are currently enrolled in German classes attended, led by Professor Alison Pantesco.
Students from both German 101 and German 201 left KSC on Friday morning at 7:30 a.m. to catch the school bus they would take to Melrose. The concert was scheduled to start at 10:30 a.m.
The audience at Melrose was made up of primarily middle and high school students who were either students at Melrose or who had been bused in from all over Mass. and N.H.
The sold-out show featured many of the band’s most popular songs, including indie-rock style songs “Die Perfektion” (Perfection) and “Vielleicht” (Maybe), and a more hard-metal song “Panik.”
As the band began to play, the audience bounced and danced in their seats, with a few students taking the next step and attempting to start a dance area at the base of the stage, this was soon ended by staff members.
According to KSC junior Mary Vogt, a graphic design major, “The concert was a fun and exciting way to celebrate the German language.” Madsen’s tour will continue with stops in cities across the U.S., ending in Denver on Nov. 18.
Hannah Walker can be contacted at hwalker1@ksc.mailcruiser.com