Cabaret Voltaire at The Academy, Dublin: molten lava, noise and 50 years of sonic rebellion

Words: Connie Duffy

Photos: Cormac Figgis - @themasterswitch

It was, quite simply, one of the most enjoyable and unique gigs I have experienced in a very long time - and it was certainly worth the 300-mile-plus round trip to Dublin from Donegal on a Wednesday night. Cabaret Voltaire brought their extraordinary 50th-anniversary and final UK and Irish tour to The Academy on Middle Abbey Street, and from the moment the sounds began, it was clear this was never going to be an ordinary gig.

Formed in Sheffield in 1973, Cabaret Voltaire initially consisted of Stephen Mallinder, Richard H. Kirk and Chris Watson. The band took its name from the Cabaret Voltaire nightclub in Zürich, the centre of the early Dada movement, and that spirit of experimentation, provocation and unpredictability remained very much alive in Dublin.
This was a celebration of 50 years since the band's live debut in 1975, with original members Stephen Mallinder and Chris Watson at the heart of the performance. They were ably assisted on the night by Eric Random and Oliver Harrup – or was it Benge? With Cabaret Voltaire, perhaps not knowing exactly what was happening was part of the fun.

The noise was spectacular. At times it felt like molten lava - unpredictable, red hot, powerful and seemingly just going places. The Academy itself became part of the instrument, with frequencies bouncing and shifting around the venue as natural and unnatural sounds were blended into an extraordinary musical soundscape. It was less a case of simply listening to the music and more of being immersed in it. There was an extraordinary sense of space and movement to the performance. Sounds appeared, collided, disappeared and returned in completely different forms. It was experimental music, certainly, but it was also strangely physical and deeply immersive. And while the music was rooted in work that stretched back decades, it never felt like a museum piece. That was perhaps the most remarkable thing about the night.

The live set had been built from scratch while remaining faithful to the original tracks. The material had been painstakingly reconstructed using the original technology and processes employed to create the music in the first place. Yet there was still that vital Cabaret Voltaire ingredient - the unpredictable, the unexpected and the new.
Chance met causality. The band's work had always challenged convention and questioned the world around it, and those ideas still felt remarkably relevant. In a time of social turmoil and political manipulation, the sounds, words, images and films of Cabaret Voltaire continued to challenge the status quo and provoke thought. That made Wednesday night's performance feel like far more than a nostalgia trip. It was a reminder of why this music mattered in the first place, and why it still mattered. Mallinder and Watson remained committed to the enduring vision of Cabaret Voltaire, taking the audience on a journey across the arc of their formidable output, from the band's early experiments through to the electronic soundscapes that have influenced generations of musicians. And then there was the set list.

As far as I could make out, it included 24/24, Why Kill Time (When You Can Kill Yourself), Tinsley Viaduct – the Chris Watson piece – Seconds Too Late, Crackdown, Kino, Spies in the Wires, Just Fascination, Yashar, Sex, Money, Freaks, Easy Life and Do Right.
Then came the encore.
Nag Nag Nag and I Want You.
And, of course, Sensoria.
Hearing those sounds live was a genuine privilege. Cabaret Voltaire's legacy is a unique one, and witnessing original members recreate and reinvent that legacy in such a visceral way was something to savour.There was no attempt to make the music comfortable or predictable. Quite the opposite. It rattled the senses, challenged the ears and occasionally seemed to shake the very foundations of The Academy. And it was brilliant. By the time the final sounds faded, I was left with the slightly strange feeling that I had experienced something that was both 50 years old and completely new.
It was an honour to hear this unique band. The sounds are still rattling around in my head today – and, judging by the way they lodged themselves in there, they probably will be for days to come.
Some gigs you enjoy.
Some gigs you remember.
And some, like this one, you are simply glad you made the effort to experience.
The 300-mile-plus round trip on a Wednesday night was absolutely worth it.

Cabaret Voltaire

Spring Cleaning – Sin É