Wolfsheim is part of a music movement coming largely out of Germany and Scandinavia that d.j. Krys Rader (DJ Tone Deaf) of Columbia, SC, has termed "synthdustrial" – a combination of synthpop beats and electronics with the darker, harder sensibility of the gothic-industrial sound.

The group consists of vocalist Peter Heppner and Markus Reinhardt, who orchestrates the songs’ programming. Together, they have created some of the most intelligent modern dance music with their introspective lyrics and atmospheric effects, compositions that take the listener through a sine wave of emotions, building and transitioning smoothly through styles before ultimately cycling back.

For a band who has achieved such widespread success in Europe since their inception in 1987, and has received this year’s Echo (German National Music Award) nomination for best national band, Wolfsheim, like their contemporaries VNV Nation and Apoptygma Berzerk, have still received relatively little exposure in the U.S.

Thanks to Metropolis Records, however, who took it upon themselves to re-release the group’s 1998 album Spectators in 1999, as well as put out their most recent offering, Casting Shadows (2003), accessibility to Wolfsheim’s sound is growing in America.

The one-and-a-half hour set took place on the top ("Heaven") level of the Masquerade, a rustic, almost Medieval environment of stone wall and rough wooden infrastructure; with an audience of about 200, the show took on an intimate air.

The stage, positioned at the far end or the room, was decorated with pyramidal and tall, boxy structures fashioned of a light material to reflect the glowing violet and green stage lights.

Considering that this is Wolfsheim’s first U.S. tour, the duo took the stage humbly, without much overt excitement, and positioned themselves at the right corner of the stage. Heppner, dressed casually in blue jeans, a plain white t-shirt, and a dark, zippered sweater stood before a podium with an open binder of notes in front of him, while Reinhardt stood to the side to operate the keyboard and laptop. At the very back of the stage, computer-generated abstract imagery spun around a circular projection plane.

>From the beginning, Heppner seemed anxious or unhappy about the technicalities of the set. As the first echoing vocals of "Underneath the Veil" from Casting Shadows emerged from the speakers, followed by ringing piano riffs, all delivered exactly like the record version, he glanced continually at Reinhardt, who was alternately playing the keyboard and tweaking the laptop, as though seeking confirmation that the music sounded disagreeable. Standing in place a little awkwardly, he swayed his body slightly, leaning forward to sing into the podium’s microphone. He missed a line of lyrics as he shook his head in exasperation, smiling ironically.

The same pattern continued through the more ambient "Wundervoll," "And I . . .," and the gentle love song "Care For You," all also off Casting Shadows, with Heppner actually exiting the stage several times. Aside from a couple instances when the melody, beats, and vocals missed a step in time, the sound was actually quite clear; the glitches went almost entirely unnoticed by the audience, full of worshipful evidence.

At the point at which Heppner seemed ready to throw the towel in the basket, some tension dissipated with the arrival of a live drummer and guitarist to perform "Heroin, She Said," one of the more popular songs from Spectators. With the reinforcement of the acoustic instrumentation, adding a new feel to the song, which is originally all electronic, Heppner seemed to relax and move more deeply into the song, telling a familiar story of drug addiction as the audience sang along.

The drummer and guitarist remained on stage for most of the show’s duration, adding layers of organic sound to Reinhardt’s synthesized sounds and programmed beats; Wolfsheim’s sound is complex enough that the additions did not compromise the electronic renditions of the songs, but rather explored further possibilities within them.

Amidst covering the gamut of tracks on Casting Shadows, including the tense, psychologically masochistic "Find You’re Gone," the slow-grooving "Kein Zurück," which actually features acoustic guitar on the album, and "I Won’t Believe," which moved from smooth, calm electronica into an all-out rock song, connected by a beat segment that gives a nod to old-school hip-hop, the group also revisited some older material from Spectators, such as the sensual "Künstliche Welten" and "Blind." Delving even further back, they covered their first big single from 1991, "The Sparrows and the Nightingales,"a contemplative piece with a more classic goth sound, soaring keyboards and straightforward beats.

The undeniable climax of the show, however, was the last song of the second and last encore. Heppner introduced it slyly as "the one song we never play at our concerts in Germany," which translated as the one song that has above and beyond achieved success in the U.S. clubs – "Once in a Lifetime," a song about confronting one’s spirituality amidst the chaos of loss, from Spectators.

Throughout the entire concert, it felt almost surreal to be in front a band playing live whose music you heard only publicly regularly on the dance floor. As Heppner began, "It’s getting dark . . . too soon . . . a threatening silence . . ." amidst screams from the audience, the energy in the room was as raw as a throbbing dance floor. As he peaked with the chorus, "Calm down my heart . . . don’t beat so fast . . . / don’t be afraid just once in a lifetime," it was clear that more than a few hearts in the crowd were overworking in adulation of a memorable performance.