Magnum / Saga – FZW, Dortmund; May 8th, 2014
My initial reaction to seeing the tour announcement was: “Magnum? They still exist?” I remembered I had liked them a lot somewhere in the mid-90ies, but had not paid any attention to them since and was surprised to find out they were still around. I could also remember hearing about Saga before, but had no idea what kind of music they made. Either way, I thought it could be interesting and applied for a photopass. Luckily I received one too. 🙂
It was a double headline tour so I didn’t know who would play first until I got there. Both bands have been around since the 70ies so many of the fans were my age and older. People in their twenties and even thirties were hard to find. Everyone was relaxed, many standing around chatting with drinks in their hands. It felt much like a community event rather than a regular concert. 🙂
Magnum was the first band of the night. I was wondering what they would play and if I’d know any of the songs, since I had not listened to their new material. They started playing and the sound was immediately familiar. Sure, I didn’t know the songs, but generally it was just what I remembered from the 90ies: larger than life music, rocking riffs, big melodies, powerful singing – the perfect music to rock out to. The lyrics often are far from happy or positive, but makes it all very enjoyable still. It is often so catchy, that it’s just fun to listen to. 🙂
Watching the band was fun as well. After so many years on staged they have still got it – they know how to perform and entertain, engage and audience and make a show. Especially Magnum’s singer had much fun getting in touch with the audience and posing for the photographers. Each on of them posed though and they were on the move a lot too. I was happy that after the first three songs I could set the camera aside and just enjoy the concert. I liked the new songs I heard, but was quite happy when they played some of the familiar old ones as well, especially my favorite ‘Les morts dansants’. To my surprise I remembered the words and was able to sing along with the people in the first few rows.
The ended the concert with ‘Vigilante’ and ‘Kingdom of Madness’, two songs I also remembered and like. They said goodbye but came back for one encore. Happily I recognized ‘Sacred Hour’, one song I had been hoping to hear that night. With this one they left us after about 90 minutes. So far it had been an enjoyable concert. 🙂
Setlist
Live ’till you die
Black skies
Freedom day
Dance of the black tattoo
Blood red laughter
Unwritten sacrifice
How far Jerusalem
Les morts dansants
Falling for the big plan
All England’s eyes
Vigilante
Kingdom of madness
Encore:
Sacred hour
During the break I chatted with a fellow photographer who, like me, had come there to see Magnum mainly. Unlike me, he’d been following their career for a long time and told me a few things about the new albums.
Saga started their concert at 10:00 pm and were greeted happily by their fans. Their music was more complex than Magnum’s and more difficult to get into, but I enjoyed it just as well. I was surprised that I didn’t recognize any of the songs. I had figured I might have heard some of their music on the radio back in the day, but apparently I had not. So there was no singing along for me, just taking everything in.
It wasn’t really the type of music I would listen to at home, but it was cool to see it live. The band played fabulously and impressed me not only with intricate melodies, but also with switching between instruments quite a lot. Quite often they had three keyboards in use, one of them played by the singer and one played by the bassist. Apparently they choose songs from their entire career, including one that will only be released on the upcoming album. My favorite was the one instrumental they play, but everything else was good too. I especially liked it that the singer asked for requests, pretended to write them down on the inside of his hand and even played one or two of them. It was a good concert overall and I was happy I’d been there.
Setlist
Don’t be late
You’re not alone
On the loose
Anywher you wanna go
Too much to lose
Drum solo
Too much to lose
Corkentellis (instrumental)
It doesn’t matter
Ice nice
The perfectionist
Humble stance
Tired World
Scratching the Surface
Careful where you step
Encore:
Wind him up