Skunk Anansie – 8th February 2016 (Paradiso – Amsterdam)

On a cold and rainy February night in Amsterdam, few things can take you from laziness off the couch.. Although without a doubt, one of them could be enjoy the live show from one of the bands with more strength and personality of 90, the British Skunk Anansie, who came to the room Paradiso in Amsterdam to present their new LP Anarchytecture.

The band responsible for opening the night were also British Bones, led by the imposing voice of Rosie and the strength of Carmen Vandenberg on the guitar. Their post punk full od protest lyrics fused with electronic beats somewhat repetitive was a surprise for a something cold and empty room, that was toning as the show progressed and also vibrated coinciding with the final moment of the concert in the energetic “Girls Can’t Play Guitar“.

After a brief stop thas was used by the people to fill in the room might demonstrating the “sold out” that was announced for weeks, male members of the band took the stage under the strains of “Tear the Place Up“, while moments later Skin joined the band as a cyclone, with movements more typical of a gymnastic exercise than a concert that revolutionized atmosphere. That energetic start, in which the singer dare to do crowd surfing on “That Sinking Feeling” (Who would say that she is 48 years old!) was based on the marked rhythms on the bass of Cass and lasted until the sixth song of the setlist, when they chose to sang “Death to the Lovers“, the first single of their new album.

From here on, the show went on a roller coaster with highs, such as the spectacular “Twisted (Everyday Hurts)” and highly differentiated downs, due basically to the persistence of Skin to stay behind the guitar, that play down impetus to their proposal, leaving a light version on songs like “Bullets” or “My Ugly Boy“. Luckily one hit with the quality of “Weak“, able to remind us of our adolescence in the 90s, solves everything and hook again the audience to the show, while serving as perfect prelude for the new single “Love Someone Else“, that blends the essences of the band with new electronic sounds reminiscent of proposals such as the Canadian Metric. Unfortunately for us, the concert continued with its irregularity, leaving some high quality themes as “I Can Dream” ahead expendable songs, even with sound problems, such as “Beauty Is Your Curse” or “I Will Break You“.

However, the final moments of the show recovered the starting energy, first with the incredible “Charlie Big Potato” in which the band demonstrated a powerful sound thanks to Mark Richardson‘s drums, and then with a few memorable encores. “100 Ways to Be a Good Girl” and “Hedonism” served for personal glory of Skin, demonstrating its chameleon-like ability to modulate her voice in a few seconds, while the final apotheosis of the concert with “Little Baby Swastikkka“, where whole room jumped together under imaginary baton of Skin turned into a mistress of ceremonies, was the icing on a less sweet cake than it seemed at first, but that also were capable to put a smile in our face in such a grey day and leave us with the desire to enjoy a show of the British more focused on their rock side. Maybe, will it be possible this summer in a festival?