Einstürzende Neubauten at Parody Hall in KC, MO on June 2, 1986 – Photography

A collection of Einstürzende Neubauten photos that I shot at Parody Hall in KC, MO June 2, 1986 on their Halber Mensch tour. Man, but they were good!

Several of my workmates from Exile Records and I drove up from Lawrence, KS to Kansas City, MO for this show. It was a 21-and-older event but I was only 16 at the time (and trust me, I looked it), so I was sweating this fact the whole way. My friend Rob Klotz had loaned me an old ID for the night but we didn’t really look THAT much alike, so basically if things didn’t work out I’d be spending the night alone in the van while Neubauten performed for my friends behind closed doors only a few feet away.

Parody Hall was packed and as we made our way forward I saw that Duncan, the guy who had booked and promoted the show, was working the door. This was a huge break — he knew the score and quickly breezed us in after a super-cursory glance at my bogus ID (it’s a safe bet that Duncan probably did a fair amount of breezing that night; I later heard pretty much the same story from my pal Coby Ellison). Once inside I found a shadowy spot off to the side of the stage so I could set up camp for the duration. I had optimistically taken along my crummy little Albinar 35mm camera in hopes of getting some shots, but since I REALLY didn’t want to get tossed out you’ll see that most of them are from the same general area.

After not-too-long-of-a-wait while various roadie-type dudes scurried around adjusting the mics and scraps of metal that filled the stage, the lights dimmed and smoke poured out of a few fog machines. The band emerged and, after a bit of prolonged bit of child-pose style kneeling on the floor, charged into their set proper. I know that a video (static and one-camera from what I can recall) of the show was shot but I sadly don’t have a copy any more, otherwise I’d link to it here. Still I did find the song listing from a Neubauten gig only 9 days later in Detroit, MI, and the KC set was similar if not identical.

1. Armenia
2. Zeichnungen des Patienten O.T.
3. MoDiMiDoFrSaSo
4. Negativ Nein
5. Sehnsucht
6. Zerstörte Zelle
7. Yü-Gung (Fütter mein Ego)
8. Abfackeln!
9. Sand (Lee Hazlewood/ Nancy Sinatra cover)

It might be worth noting that this was actually Einstürzende Neubauten’s second Kansas City area show. They had played a year or so earlier with Jim Thirlwell/ Foetus on the bill, but there was an injury on stage (one of the guys in the band sliced himself somehow) and the gig was drastically cut short as a result.

The set this night was completely full-length, but it also came with at least a tiny bit of its own drama: the band had borrowed an amp from Dave Olds of the Sin City Disciples but Marc Chung got pissed off during the performance and kicked the thing before stomping off. Olds went up to check on his assaulted amp and was menaced off stage by the rest of the band in a minor bit of confrontation (a giant monitor stack almost toppled down onto the spot where I was standing as a result) that I wish I had gotten a few snaps of.

Ah well! No harm done in the end and a great night all around. I hope you enjoy the shots, and thanks again for that fake ID, Mr. Klotz!

Blixa Bargeld – Lead Vocals, Guitars
Mark Chung – Bass, Vocals
Alexander Hacke – Guitar, Vocals
N.U. Unruh – Percussion, Vocals
F.M. Einheit – Percussion, Vocals