Front 242 just completed their final tour ever in the United States this weekend with a pair of shows at the Metro. These shows followed an entire week of really great events around the city celebrating their 40+ year career and was designed to give them the sendoff that such a hugely influential and groundbreaking band truly deserved. These shows sold out months in advance as fans spanning multiple generations squeezed into the Metro to say goodbye while dancing their asses off one last time.
First up was Kontravoid. This was a one man show where the guy would basically hit play on his laptop and sing over the prerecorded music. He wore a mask while performing and would dance around the stage being illuminated by a strobe light. The music was very hard edged industrial dance that was heavy on the low end. The music was quite enjoyable, but the singer was awfully hard to see as you’d only catch very brief glimpses of him under the flashing strobes.
The feeling of electricity in the air was palpable as the lights went out and Front 242 was ready to take the stage. The place was totally packed to the ceiling and everyone was beyond excited to see these legends take the stage. Music started and the video screen was displaying images of the three main band members,Jean-Luc De Meyer, Patrick Codenys, and Richard 23 walking towards the audience. When the images reached the front of the screen, the band emerged on stage and opened the set with “W.Y.H.I.W.Y.G”. Jean-Luc and Richard 23 were center stage, Patrick was on the right behind his keyboard and electronics, and percussionist Tim Kroker was on the left of the stage. Richard and Jean-Luc immediately got to dancing and rarely held still the entire evening. The sound was incredible and the energy level was at an all-time high right from the start both from the band and the audience. The song was a great opener with its building intro, leading into the singalong “they’re coming down”. The stage was a sea of flashing lights, mainly aimed at the audience, and the video screen was well utilized at key moments in a variety of songs adding to the audio visual spectacle. Fans wasted no time in getting right to dancing their asses off and the whole thing was really spine tingling.
The band received a massive roar of applause when the song ended and they went right into “Moldavia” and “Body To Body”. The amount of energy the band has, specifically the amount of dancing that Richard and Jean-Luc do is downright amazing, especially when you consider the fact that they guys are well into their 60s! They have twice the energy as many people half their age! The visuals would change and so would the lighting during every song, but the one constant was that Front 242 may never have sounded better on stage as they did this night in their entire 40+ year career as a touring band. It was clear that for their big sendoff, they want to leave a lasting memory so their fans will always think back to just how amazing they were.
The setlist was a Front 242 hit factory, touching on the most popular eras of the band and even a new song, “Hide and Seek” was thrown into the mix. Longtime fans had plenty to sink their teeth into as the band doled out favorites like “Don’t Crash”, “Commando Mix”, “Tragedy For You”, “Take One”, “Masterhit”, and more. Each song sounded as good or better than the last, and their high-energy performance was flawless from start to finish. After about 70 mins of only stopped to briefly talk to the crowd and remind Chicago how important this city was to their career, and how Wax Trax in particular was the reason they became known in the United States, the band ended their main set with “Welcome to Paradise”, one of their two most beloved hits. The crowd was singing along to the trademark samples and vocals through the entire song, including the entire place singing the “No Sex Until Marriage” line,
The band quickly returned for a great two-song encore featuring “Happiness (More Angels), and “Headhunter”, the latter which worked the crowd up into a dancing frenzy (actual dancing, not that moshing bullshit). When the band gave a heartfelt thank you before leaving the stage, a scan of the audience revealed that some people were actually in tears saying goodbye. The venue then went dark, and a retrospective video package started playing along with “Work 242” and the band came out in masks and stood in front of the screen. It was a fitting finale and really was the finishing touches on the farewell aspect of this pair of shows. I’m actually tearing up a little writing this!
For their second to last show here ever, Front 242 really upped their game. Thankfully there was one more night ahead to soak it all in one last time before having to say goodbye for ever. This was something really special.
