KMFDM Brings 40th Anniversary Tour to Buffalo

KMFDM has been a major force in the techno-industrial scene for four decades now, since their debut back in 1984. Through it all, Sascha Konietzko has been bringing the "ultra heavy beats" to the masses over twenty-three studio albums.

On this tour, the band has chosen to bring a different set list to the stage each night, selecting roughly twenty songs from a forty-song repertoire, which will culminate in a pair of shows in Chicago on October 31st and November 1st. After this show, I truly wish I could spend some time on the road and catch a few more dates on this tour!

J. Strauss of Morlock's is providing support for seven dates on the KMFDM tour.

The show was opened up by Morlock's from Sweden, an appropriate act to get the crowd warmed up with a thirty-minute set of heavy beats. This act was comprised of their vocalist (and founding member) J. Strauss, along with twin guitars and a bass. I was completely unfamiliar with these guys, and they performed in almost complete darkness, but I must say, upon returning home I immediately looked them up on Spotify to hear some of their studio work and it's quite good.

KMFDM took the stage at 9:15pm and opened up with a pair of classics from 1994's 'Angst' featuring "Sucks" and "Light" before performing the title track from 2022's 'Hyena.' The audio and visual assault was in full effect and the Town Ballroom was enthusiastically pumping their fists as the band continued to roll through a barrage of songs.

KMFDM's Sascha Konietzko (Käpt'n K) in Buffalo, NY

The stage was set with twin structures up front, one on either side. Sascha was set up on stage left with his mixer in place, while Lucia was positioned on the other side to balance out the look. Meanwhile, guitarist Andee Blacksugar alternated between one side of the stage and the other. Rounding out the lineup is Andy Selway on the drums. The current lineup has been in place since Andee Blacksugar's addition back in 2017.

The show hit an absolute fever pitch about a third of the way through, when they broke into "A Drug Against War" as the crowd worked into a frenzy and crowd surfers were evident. It's wild to see the number of young people that showed up to see KMFDM. This is a trend I've been seeing at shows lately, where legacy acts are playing to increasingly younger crowds. I really can't say for sure how this is happening, but I love to see it! Once the opening notes of "Megalomaniac" began, the crowd again went crazy. I'm really not sure if it was just my own experience, but the stretch of time from '93's 'Angst' through '97's 'Symbols' felt like KMFDM was every bit the household name as Nine Inch Nails were at the time. Seeing and hearing these songs again brings me right back.

Later in the show, Sascha and Lucia's daughter, Annabella, joined the band on stage to perform additional vocals on an awesome rendition of "Professional Killer" to begin a six-song encore, which also included "Juke Joint Jezebel," one of the bands biggest hits, thanks in large part due to the inclusion in 1995's 'Mortal Kombat' movie soundtrack.

The show ended with a performance of "Paradise," which completed on a seemingly endless loop as the band exited the stage.

KMFDM's Lucia Cifarelli in Buffalo

Another notable observation of the night was the incredibly long merchandise lines. I walked in the venue shortly after doors opened up and the line was wrapped around the room for merchandise sales, as fans were lined up to buy their KMFDM shirts, cd's or other swag. For those interested, there are a number of awesome classic album t-shirts available for sale, as well as a t-shirt and hoodie design with the "40 Years" art, as shown in the poster at the bottom of this review. I was determined to grab one of the 'Angst' t-shirts, as this was the album that hooked me so many years ago. That 'Symbols' album shirt and the '40 Years' shirts were also strong contenders! Regardless, get to the merch stand early, because demand is high!

It's hard to believe this band has been at it for forty years now, and it's even harder for me to believe that I was introduced to KMFDM in high school, back in roughly 1995 or 1996, but a good chuck of their catalog has been a part of my personal CD collection ever since and I've been dying to catch them live for decades.

Sure, it took me a while, but KMFDM are now 2 for 2, with exceptional performances on both of their last two visits to Buffalo. There's no doubt I'll be there again the next time they come through town, too!

Earlier in the day, I was fortunate enough to sit down with Sascha, Andee and Andy for a brief interview where we had a wide-ranging discussion around the current tour, KMFDM's 40-year legacy, the songwriting process and how Gen Z discovers and listens to new music. Look for the full video of that interview to be posted in this space in the coming days.