On February 2nd, 2024, the Tekkno World 2024 Tour arrived in Berlin. German fun metalcore band ELECTRIC CALLBOY, along with American rock metal band NOTHING MORE and Japanese alternative project SiM, stormed the home arena, Velodrom.
The arena was sold out, with about 12,000 people attending. Berlin was the first city on the tour, and its residents stood in major queues outside, preparing for the evening. The opening act was SiM (SILENCE IZ MINE) from Japan. Their music is a mix, ranging from metal to punk to ska and even pushing into reggae. All band members were energetic and dynamic, and feeling good in front of a full arena, reminiscent of PAPA ROACH. They performed mostly songs from their album “Playdead,” and although their performance was short, it was blasting and warmed up the crowd nicely.
NOTHING MORE is a band from Texas that had a 180° mood switch. Their music can be described as hard rock with progressive elements and powerful vocals. The band’s lead vocalist, Jonny Hawkins, had a very Jim Morrison vibe to him; roaming the stage only wearing his pants, displaying a stunning physique and delivering some serious emotional singing. They had a setlist consisting of 15 songs and performed the majority from the album “The Stories We Tell Ourselves.” By the end of the set, Jonny Hawkins jumped into the crowd with a drum and drummed the final notes, epically throwing the drumsticks into the crowd and closing the show.
ELECTRIC CALLBOY was what everybody was waiting for. It was their home arena, so naturally, people were all in – wearing neon glowing clothes, tracksuits, and other colorful attire. The intro started with a literal bang from the confetti guns and the opening song “Tekkno Train.” Nico Sallach and Kevin Ratajczak‘s voices belted over the packed arena. The next three songs were absolute madness, with people screaming, dancing, moshing, and crowd surfing every couple of minutes, not to mention the insane production, featuring fire cannons, confetti, huge LED screens, and a masterful light show. All band members were having the time of their lives, jumping around and delivering some aggressive yet fun riffs. The setlist had an impressive roster of banging hits like “Hypa Hypa,” “MC Thunder II,” “Spaceman,” older songs like “Castrop X Spandau,” and some covers like the acoustic “I Want It That Way” by BACKSTREET BOYS or “Sandstorm” by DARUDE. They had two encores prepared with “Pump It” and “Mindreader,” and the closing song “We Got The Moves.”
The production was top-notch: the light show and LED production, the friendly and helpful staff, the organizers, and of course, the bands that brought everything they had to give us an emotional and fun roller-coaster of an evening.
SiM
Nothing More
Electric Callboy
Photos by Alexandra Aim
