Pain of Salvation – Kantine, Cologne; April 13th, 2017
It had been four years since I’d last seen Pain of Salvation live and that whole tour had been an acoustic set up, so I really did not have much of an idea what to expect. After some planning and re-planning I found myself at front row center in Cologne, equally curious and excited about the concert ahead. It was fun for sure, a night of powerful music with a responsive audience and a relaxed band. I enjoyed the show, head-banged, even managed to sing along a few times and in the end left happy that I had been there.
When I think of Pain of Salvation, two things are on my mind: Memories of an amazing acoustic tour with Anneke van Giersbergen and Árstíðir fours ears ago and the fact that they are my friend R.’s favorite band. I bought several albums after the tour, dearly love a few of them and had wanted to see them on a regular tour ever since. Missed a chance two years ago, wasn’t gonna miss it again. The new album ‘In the passing Light of Day’ is amazing so I picked a good tour to see them. 🙂
Got there way too early, since their final gig 2013 in Essen had been packed, and spend one hour waiting alone. Was rewarded with a spot at front row center and had a nice chat with the woman next to me who had seen them in Hamburg a few days ago. Wondered if I was going to recognize any of the songs, because it had been a while since I’d last listened to any album and I had not heard the current one often enough. Also wondered if any of them might remember me, but did not expect that after four years. After all, it’s not like I’m following them. 😉
Support act Pot Noir kicked off the show around 8. I liked them, they put a lot of energy into their songs and what I could hear, sounded good. Unfortunately the mix wasn’t that great at the front and where I stood I mostly heard the drums. Of course, the old row of best sound near the mixing desk applies. The lights were not great either so I was kinda glad I had not brought my big camera. The small one would have to do to capture a few impressions. Either way, the band’s music fit in well with Pain of Salvation and they got the audience going. They did not talk much, just played. Only for the last song they told us that their bassist had recently passed away and this was his favorite song. They had a picture of him standing on the stage. It was a solid set and passed the time nicely. Job well done.
Changing of the stage was quick and it made me smile to see the stage tech was still the same as four years ago. Around 9:15 the started playing. Immediately I realized that I didn’t know their songs well enough. I did recognize a few, but could not remember much of the lyrics and therefore not figure out much of what Daniel was singing. I might have to learn to stand further back for bands whose music I don’t know so well. I liked it anyway though and I loved watching them play. Gustav and Leo looked pretty much the same, Daniel had longer hair, D2 had lighter hair and Ragnar had not been there at all last time I saw them. They didn’t stand still much so I saw a lot of flying hair during the course of the evening.
The setlist was only twelve songs long, but considering how long each song is it was perfectly fine – they filled about two hours with it. Exactly half of the songs were from the current album and half of them from older ones, most from Remedy Lane. Those were the songs I recognized too, but I could not name them. Everything sounded quite different from the last time I had heard them, but at least it felt familiar and in the end it didn’t matter, because it was entertaining. I was bobbing my head along with he music and smiled a lot. These guys are good and they were really into their music.
Just watching them was fun. Daniel, with bare feet, always on the move, leaning left and right, jumping high in the air. Ragnar, head banging and constantly getting his long hair everywhere. Gustav, all cool bass player with a cap. D2, overseeing everything behind the keyboards and Leo, beating the drums with precision. To my surprise all of the guys sang harmony vocals and it sounded great too. The playing was flawless as far as I could tell. They all know their stuff. 🙂
There was not much talking between the songs. Basically Daniel said “Hello” in the beginning, let us know how he feels about Trump (not positive! :D) and said a few words about the songs being new or old from time to time, but that was it until the last song and saying goodbye. Fine with me, but after the acoustic tour I sure had expected more chatter. 😉
The people around me knew the words, sang along, moved along and the smiles on their faces said everything. The band smiled right back. It was a perfectly entertaining concert with a well chosen setlist that never got boring. I wished I could have heard Daniel’s singing more clearly, but that is the price you pay for being front row. Instead I got to see every detail and every move. I was happy and there were a few moments that I got lost in the music too. It happened rarely though. The music made me smile, but it did not move me, even though I love some of the songs dearly. Nothing to worry about though, I cannot be at each and every concert with all of my heart and once in a while it is nothing more than entertainment. Doesn’t mean I won’t go see them again. I sure had a good time.
At the end they threw guitar picks, drum sticks and even a drum skin into the audience. Wow! The latter dropped into the small pit separating us from stage and Daniel jumped into it to pick it up. One final bow with everyone, a smile from Ragnar who might have remembered me from January and they were gone. On the way out I ran into A., who had offered to give me a ride home. Tired and happy we sat in the car, everyone thinking their own thoughts.
Setlist
Full Throttle Tribe
Reasons
Meaningless
Linoleum
A Trace of Blood
Rope Ends
Beyond the Pale
Ashes
Silent Gold
On a Tuesday
The Physics of Gridlock
Encore:
The Passing Light of Day