In The Loop Magazine Cabaret Voltaire Bring The Experimental Dada Machine To Life One Last Time At Metro Chicago

Cabaret Voltaire Bring The Experimental Dada Machine To Life One Last Time At Metro Chicago

Sep 16, 2026 admin_bitlc Features, Music News, Reviews 0

By Harrison Kristoff

Some bands play a final tour, quietly making the rounds to popular hot spots. Cabaret Voltaire sounds like they’re shutting down the power grid.

The legendary Sheffield industrial/electronic pioneers hit the Metro Tuesday night for the first of two Chicago shows and the first night of what is being billed as their final tour. After Chicago, there are only four more U.S. stops before they call it a night, for good. At least in the U.S.

At the center of the machine was Stephen Mallinder, the band’s only original member on the road, handling bass, keyboards and vocals. Eric Ramsden supplied guitars and keyboards, Ben Edwards hammered the live electronic drums, and opening act Tara Busch of I Speak Machine joined the band onstage for keyboards, samples and vocals. She was a perfect fit and nice addition for this live lineup.

This isn’t the Cabaret Voltaire lineup that originally crawled out of Sheffield in the early ’70s. Sadly, Richard H. Kirk passed in 2021, and original member Chris Watson was unable to tour because traveling has become difficult for him. But Mallinder is still carrying the flag and Tuesday night, he carried it high.

Cabaret Voltaire helped build the blueprint for industrial, EBM, electronic and post-punk music before most of those genres even had names. Their fingerprints are all over the underground. Countless artists have cited them as a major influence like Ministry, Depeche Mode, New Order & Skinny Puppy to name a few. And their willingness to smash electronics, tape loops, noise and rhythm together helped change what a band could actually be.

Chicago even has some history with them. The Acid Horse collaboration brought Mallinder and Kirk together with Chicago’s own Al Jourgensen, Paul Barker and Chris Connelly from the Ministry orbit. It was a perfect collision of Sheffield electronics and Chicago industrial insanity.

And the historic Metro proved to be the perfect room for the sonic reunion. Ever since the club upgraded their house sound system during the pandemic, the sounds coming out now are massive. The mix was dead-on, the electronics were crisp and nasty, and Mallinder’s bass and synth low end didn’t just come through the speakers, it rumbled through the floor. Edwards’ electronic percussion locked everything into a mechanical pulse while Ramsden’s guitars added some human grime to the machinery.

The set opened with “24/24” and rolled through “Thank You America,” “Just Fascination,” “Yashar” and “Do Right” before the band took a break.

Then came the payoff. For the encore, Cabaret Voltaire dug into the songs that helped put their name on the industrial map. “Nag Nag Nag.” “I Want You.” “Sensoria.” Three songs. Three detonations.

By the time “Sensoria” hit, the Metro was exactly where it needed to be inside the machine, surrounded by pounding bass, electronic pulses and the ghosts of four decades of underground music. The stage band surrounding acting as a background player visual framing the electronics into a vintage box to house it all.

Cabaret Voltaire may be approaching the end of the road, but Tuesday night didn’t feel like a funeral. It felt like a final transmission and Chicago fans got the signal loud and clear.