If you had walked past the Highline Ballroom on April 24th 2009 you would have been shocked to see around 250 teenage girls all waiting in a queue. No the Jonas brothers were not giving away free goodies Cinema Bizarre a Berlin based glam pop band performed in what was one of their first American shows.
Starting around 7:15 the doors to the ballroom opened and the staff was really friendly and the crowd was pumped. As the temperature in the room went up so did the excitement, and as the temperature hit around 85 and the clock hit 8:15 the first opening band started their set. From Amsterdam the band EveNI first played Feel It and finished up 4 songs later with Wake Up. Completing their performance announcing they would be giving away free CD's made the audience very happy and excited for the last opening band before Cinema Bizarre, The After Midnight Project.
When the final opening band entered the stage after 15 minutes of setting up their equipment the audience was way more pumped, and shortly after they started their set the audience forgot they were there for another band. With their strong rock infused sound they were able to get the entire room full of people jumping in unison to a song they had never even heard. As they announced their last song Take Me Home the audience reaction was amazing. The applause nearly doubled as we all realized that Cinema Bizarre's was closer than ever.
So finally after all was said and done at 9:13 the show really started, and after almost 3 hours of waiting the excitement and anticipation was truly palpable as the D.J. started the intro music that lead to the entering of the band. Walking out on stage Strify launched into the most charismatic version of She Waits for Me that cannot be compared to any other recording. Once the audience was settled and the first set of songs was finished he talked to the audience about his love of New York like we were his friends backstage rather than their fans. Once his first "speech" was over the band performed their signature Forever or Never which brought the volume of the crowd to a deafening uniform scream as Strify grabbed and grinded both Kiro and Yu.
All was running smoothly as the band smoothly transitioned from Dysfunctional Family to their unpublished song Crashing and Burning. Once their set seemed complete the other members of the band all disappeared from the stage as Strify wanted to play a game with the audience. Slowly one by one Strify described the members of the band and as their names were called they all reappeared wearing slightly less clothing than prior. Much to the delight of the audience Yu finally entered the stage wearing no shirt and the band quickly started up their last set of songs that included Lovesongs they Kill Me.
Making the audience more than happy Strify once again proclaimed his love for New York City and thanked the audience for their awesome cheering etc. With their totally different sound and look they were able to transform a group of screaming people into one unison group of fans that will surely be purchasing the next time they come to town. With their charismatic front man Strify leading the show with witty transitions and the rest of the band following as professionally as veteran musicians would the concert was enjoyable from beginning to end. The entire concert truly was a show that will certainly not be forgotten amongst every Cinema Bizarre fan that was in attendance.
EvenI's official MySpace Page http://www.myspace.com/evenimusic
After Midnight Project's ofcl. MySpace http://www.myspace.com/aftermidnightproject
Cinema Bizarre’s ofcl MySpace http://www.myspace.com/cinemabizarre
