Anneke van Giersbergen & Árstíðir – Junushoff, Wageningen; March 8th, 2016

It had been exactly a week since the first concert of the ‘Verloren Verleden’ tour and my last one. I was excited about hearing these beautiful songs again and curious as to how they might have evolved over the past few concerts. So much in fact, that I could not wait until Friday as previously planned, but just had to go to the Netherlands again on a Tuesday afternoon to see one more concert. 😀 It was well worth the trip.

Once I realized that Wageningen is near Arnhem and thus easy to reach, it didn’t take long for me to book the trip. It all happened right after I returned from den Bosch. I even scored a front row ticket, if all the way to the right (and not my usual spot on the left). Thus, I had a great view of Karl and Guillaume that night. 🙂

Walking in I had noticed several people carrying presents and two guys wearing “Happy Birthday Anneke” T-Shirts so it wasn’t hard to guess that it was a special day. Someone placed a bottle of liquor and a box of chocolates on stage in front of her microphone too. 🙂 Now we only needed to wait until the lights went down and the band walked out in the dark.

First, the spotlight was only on Karl as he started playing ‘Solveig’s Song’, then Guillaume was added, followed by Daníel and Gunnar, then Anneke, who started singing and last Ragnar. It was rather nice, focusing everyone’s attention on wherever the spotlight was. This first song gave us a taste of what the whole evening would be: beautiful music, performed by six amazing musicians where each one of them got moments to shine, but with all of them playing and singing together the whole became more than the sum of its parts. Before I even had a chance to fully digest the first song, they continued with a killer version of Anathema’s ‘Everwake’ that sent shivers down my spine.

For ‘Het Dorp’ she told us a long story about the origins of the song. I’m not entirely sure I understood it correctly, but I believe she said it was the village her husband’s grandma lived in. It was lovely. 🙂 Soon we got another Icelandic lesson too and while some of the words had stayed the same as during the first concert, others changed. This caused a lot of laughter once again and people did their best to repeat everything. In-between so many serious songs this fits perfectly well to brighten the mood.

Eventually, Anneke took note of the presents in front of her and thanked the people who brought them. The audience shouted hoorays and birthday wishes for her. Then, before singing ‘Þér ég unni’, the guys sang Happy Birthday in Icelandic. <3 Much to soon Anneke walked on stage to let Árstíðir sing ‘Shades’ together and then had the stage to herself for a while to sing ‘Circles’. Quite unexpectedly, that song brought me close to tears. :’)

For one song introduction, she talked about all the music she listened to in her youth and no matter what she mentioned, one of the guys played a few notes or chords something. For “Rolling Stones” Ragnar played ‘Satisfaction’ on the piano, for “Beatles” it was ‘Here comes the sun’ played by Daníel on guitar. “Prince” and Gunnar and Karl tried ‘Kiss’ and for “Queen” it was Ragnar again with ‘The Show must go on”. Anneke concluded that “They can play anything” and with their diverse musical backgrounds she is right too. 🙂

While the setlist stayed the same since the first time around, many little details had changed. Everyone seemed more laid back and less nervous about the performance, looking comfortable in their respective spots. Of course the jokes and stories had changed a little, but also the playing and singing has kicked up a notch. It was already amazing the first time around and got better since, most notably the backing vocals. ‘When I am laid in earth’ gave me goose-bumps once again and ‘Lost in you’ worked much better this time. I loved all the other songs too and did not want them to stop. Sadly, they did and after ‘Pavane’ it was over. With a deep sigh and a happy smile on my face I walked out.

Some people waited to congratulate Anneke and give her birthday presents, others to get autographs. I had nice long conversations with Ragnar and Karl, not only about my impressions of the show, but a few others things as well. Eventually they had to pack up and I needed to catch a bus. It was a wonderful evening, I can hardly wait for Friday to come.

Setlist (out of order)

Solveig’s Song
Everwake
Russian Lullaby
Het Dorp
A Simple Song
Þér ég unni
Shades
Circles
Four years
When I am laid in earth
Londonderry Air (Danny Boy)
Lost in you
one of Anneke’s songs
Bist Du bei mir

Heyr, Himna Smiður
Pavane

Verloren, Verleden tour: 2 concerts down, 10 to go. Next stop: Tilburg