Árstíðir / Anneke van Giersbergen / Pain of Salvation – Boerderij, Zoetermeer; April 20th 2013
Right now, I am truly struggling to find words describing what I have witnessed last night. It’s not that I can’t recall the events of the evening, quite the contrary – whenever I close my eyes, I’m right back there, smiling. Yet while the images are clear as day, the emotions are all over the place: Happiness, joy even; pride certainly; love, lots of it; a hint of sadness here and there – this is only what’s on the surface. What lies underneath is more complex than that, borders on indescribable. What prevails overall is the knowledge that I have been part of something special, a once in a lifetime event that brought memories to last forever, magically unfolding right before my eyes. Yes, I know it sounds cheesy and all. I also realize that not everyone in the audience might have understood the importance of this night for the people involved, but I do and that made it all the more wonderful.
“So what happened?” you may ask. Last night I heard music that moved me to the core, floated through me, took me to far away places and healed my soul. Much more importantly though, last night I witnessed a dream coming true for a friend and that, above all, made my night. To help keeping the memories, I did my best to capture it all on film, uhm SD card, so he will have something to look back and smile at later.
Imagine going on tour with your favorite band, not only as a fan, but as a musician, playing support for them, sharing the stage for a few songs every night. That alone must be a huge honor for any fan and surely a source of happiness. No imagine your favorite band’s guitarist having an appointment with his other band for one night of the tour and you are the one being asked to replace him. Are you smiling yet? I was from the moment I realized the connection between hearing Pain of Salvation would have a different guitarist in Zoetermeer and Ragnar telling me in Weert that “tomorrow night is going to be special, you’re gonna know why”. Of course I didn’t figure it out until about an hour before the show, when lots of the previous night’s conversations suddenly started making sense. Yeah, I’m slow sometimes. 😉
Let me backtrack a little bit though and start at the beginning: On the train to Zoetermeer I sat next to a woman who had also been to the concert in Weert so the day started with a nice conversation. I arrived early with enough time to check out the venue, rest a bit and get some food. Met the group from Solingen at the venue and luckily they agreed to save me a place. As we entered the venue I had to wait, because there was no list for photo passes at the door yet. I waited with L. from Brazil who was also on the guestlist, but we became separated on the way in. Once inside there was enough time to get drinks and get my camera ready before the show started.
This time around, Daniel G. pointed out L. during his introduction, saying that she, from her Brazilian point of view thought the London crowd was lame while they were “Rocking like fuck” and he dared us to be better than that. Once he had welcomed Árstíðir to the stage Ragnar joked that the chair he was in was quite comfortable and he might get stuck there. If I needed any confirmation I had it then. 🙂
The guys were back to a slightly longer setlist, adding ‘Við dagsins hnig’ to the mix. It made me happy to get a song I had not heard on this tour yet, but I would have been content with the short setlist as well. They were just brillant that night – every song was perfect. Occasionally I rested my camera to just listen and not disturb the peace too much. The rest of the audience listened attentively too, clapping and cheering after each song!
As every night the sound was crips and clear, just right for the delicate music they make. From time to time I closed my eyes and listened with all of my being. They sang and played beautifully, never missing a note. It never ceases to amaze me how good these guys are. Once again I wondered how six people who not only play their instruments well but are also great singers just happened to meet. In the end it doesn’t really matter how it happened, just that it did. They’ve certainly made my life a lot brighter with their music.
It’s evident they love what they are doing and when they are on stage it often feels as if they were playing only for themselves, so completely concentrated and lost in the music they are. I watched and occasionally shared a smile with one of them, but mostly just admired their skills. Each one of them is very much in tune with his chosen instrument, yet what makes them such a great band is that they are so in tune with each other. They form a unit where each member responds to the others, sometimes giving them room to shine, sometimes claiming the spotlight, but always one with the flow. Subtle (or not so subtle signals) are mostly used to determine who will announce the next song. When they play, the instinctively know their place in the melodic puzzle that forms a beautiful picture made of sounds. <3
The rest of the audience seemed to agree with my assessment and cheered loudly when their set ended with ‘Shades’ and ‘Tárin’. In fact I am sure if they had been allowed an encore they would have come out again. 🙂
Setlist
Road Salt (Pain of Salvation cover)
Á Meðan Jörðin sefur
Heiðin
Við dagsins hnig
Ljoð í Sand
Everwake (Anathema cover)
þér Ég Unni
Nú Gleymist Ég
Shades / Tárin
Anneke stepped back on stage, filling the void Árstíðir had created there. She did so with just her guitar and her voice, no band needed. She said a few words before each song and her smile was absolutely contagious. With that and her clear, beautiful voice ringing out she won the audience over in no time. She made us laugh too, mentioning we could come to the merchandise stand and tell her our life stories (or just buy a CD). 😉
Anneke was back to a slightly longer set as well, playing Dolly Parton’s ‘Jolene’. She asked us to sing along and pretty much everyone complied. It worked quite well and sounded nice too. All her songs were well received, no matter if she sang them on her own, supported by Árstíðir or with a little help from the audience. With U2’s ‘Drowning Man’ she ended her set and she too could have played an encore if there had been time.
Setlist
My Electricity (The Gathering song)
4 Years
Yalin
Time after TIme (Cindy Lauper cover)
Beautiful One
Locked away (The Gathering song)
Jolene (Dolly Parton cover)
Circles
Drowning Man (U2 cover)
The break seemed to take forever, the minutes stretching out into infinity – like they always do when you are waiting for something. Finally Daniel G. was back on stage, telling us that their guitarist Roger was playing with Tiamat that night and Ragnar would replace him. The doorbell rang and Ragnar walked in, looking slightly nervous. Daniel G. picked him up at the door and they chatted for a little bit before they sat down. I tried to catch his eye to send an encouraging smile his way, but it took a while before he looked at me. I had no doubts he could pull this off, but was probably about as nervous as he was in the beginning. I was right though, there was no need to worry. ‘Falling Home’ was as good as it gets, the audience was really supportive and somewhere between ‘Diffidentia’ and ‘Linoleum’ I saw the anxiety vanish. For the rest of the night I watched Ragnar alternate between total concentration, getting lost in the moment and a look that could only be read as “ I can’t believe this is really happening to me” – pure joy.
That night I loved every single song and even managed singing along to a few. The music moved me like it never had before and for me this one was the best concert of the tour. I could hardly imagine the last one being able to top it. There was so much positive energy flowing between the crowd and the band, there was singing along and even some dancing going on. The band gave all they had and the audience thanked them. This is as good as it gets.
Anneke was back for a cover of Kris Kristofferson’s ‘Help me make it through the night’. She and Daniel G. comfortably sat on the sofa while the stage tech brought wine and lit a few candles for them. As kitsch as this song may be, it was really beautiful and ended with Daniel G. and Anneke hugging.
During ‘Holy Diver’ Ragnar took a seat on the sofa and looked quite relaxed there with his feet resting on the table. He stayed there for the next few songs. For ‘Disco Queen’ Daniel G. started jumping up and down and at least some of the audience jumped with him. He surely liked that. About ‘Second Love’ he explained he would not write it the same way nowadays but this was how he felt then. I love the song anyway. Yes, I am a sucker for ballads, even if they involve pain being “larger than the universe.”
The first encore ‘Dust in the Wind’ was another highlight, Daniel G.’s singing beautifully underlined by the cello and violin. Before ‘Chain Sling’ Daniel G. asked us all to dance. It was a burst of energy from everyone on stage leading to the grand finale. After ‘1979’ and the final bows, they all left the stage, but the audience would just not shut up. We kept on clapping and shouting for so long that Daniel G., Gustaf, D2 and Leo came out again for one last song. Many people were yelling suggestions like ‘Sisters’ or ‘Hallelujah’, but they ended up playing ‘No Way’. Such a treat to get this one extra song. 😀
Setlist
Falling Home
Diffidentia
Linoleum
Mrs. Modern Mother Mary
Ashes
Help Me Make It Through The Night (Kris Kristofferson cover)
To the Shoreline
Holy Diver (Dio cover)
Stress
Disco Queen
Second Love
Spitfall
Iter Impius
The Perfect Element
Encore
Dust in the Wind (Kansas cover)
Chain Sling
1979
Encore 2
No Way
Outside at the merchandise stand I had a chat with Linda while waiting for the guys. They showed up eventually, but Ragnar was not there so I walked back inside and found him deep in conversation with several people congratulating him. I did not want to interrupt, so I waited my turn. Once he had a moment I hugged him and told him he’d done well. He was all giddy-happy, floating a few feet above ground. Rightfully so! Many more people walked up to him and told him it was great. I mostly just listened, letting him enjoy the moments in the spotlight.
We talked some more about the whole experience (it was all really short notice and he only had two days to practice), before I went and chatted with the others. Ended up having a drink with Hallgrímur, Daníel and L., who knew them from the London concert. When it was time to leave, I hugged everyone and wished them a a good night.
L. and I left together and since she didn’t have a place to stay I offered her one of the beds in my room. We chatted for a while, but I was too wound up to sleep long after L. had gone to bed, editing pictures until 4 a.m. The next morning we said goodbye and after breakfast I went on the long journey towards Essen.
On tour with Árstíðir / Pain of Salvation / Anneke van Giersbergen – 6 gigs down, 1 to go. Next stop: Essen