Nice review Markus. It's been a while since the last time I went to a concert with my mother. I'll probabky try to catch up during the holidays.
OK, my turn now. If you read the shout box yesterday, you already know what am I going to talk about:
T H E R I O N!
First things first. I must reckon that I was very sckeptical before last night show. All the problems the guys have had during the tour, the tickets not selling well, Christopher saying in the official page that this will be the last tour in North America, etc, etc. So, I went there just to see what's up.... and the first thing I saw was a small crowd... half the size than the crowd from the last Therion show back in 2005.
The first band that played last night was a local group called M.A.G. They play a very technical and progressive, almost jazzy, stuff. I don't know if I can call that "stuff" metal, but it is indeed good music. So, if you like good music, you might like this band (as I did last night).
Then came the Americans from Aesma Daeva (or something like that). It was not my cup of tea, but the people seemed to like their music. I guess that if you like bands like Nightwish, Leave's eyes or any other group built around an almost operatic female voice you might want to check them out... you will probably like them.
After a couple of beers and nice conversation with two guys around me, the lights went out at 9:25 pm, and Der Mitternachtslowe kicked off the show. By the end of this song I was already blown away. My God! what a set up have the guys put up on stage! It's far more dynamic than before, more fluid and more easy to enjoy. Snowy is a beast on stage and Thomas does a fantastic job. And the girls!
... yes, the girls add that little spice to make this show worth seeing again, and again, and again.
The set-list was virually the same that is turning around in the official forum. My personal highlights were Deggial and Wine of Aluqah played back to back, Son of the Staves of time, and the drum solo followed by Muslpeheim, Rise of Sodom and Gomorrah and Ginnungagap. The solo was fantastic, and on its own, it payed half the price of the ticket. Peter is just great... and then when Snowy and Thomas joined him with a drum each
... man, that made my night.
Then after two encores and a woderful cover (Thor the Powerhead as usual), I tried to catch up the guys on the backstage. However I could only talk to Thomas and had to leave early (I almost missed the last bus to go back home). Thomas is a very nice guy, by the way. We talk for five-ten minutes and he seemed very pleased with the show and with the crowd in general. He did not hide that everybody and was dead tired and looking forward to go back home after touring the whole American continent (from Argentina to Canada). Too bad I couldn't have my Gothic Kabblah bocklet signed by the other band members
... but hey! I had a very good show (so far, the best of the year) even if the odds didn't look well at the beginning of the evening. So, needless to say that today, I'm a happy man.
Next stop: Ensiferum ... in ten days
NTSMS has gone Budapest! 