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Powerwolf @ Trix, Antwerpen, Belgium 1/11 – 15

Posted in Concerts, Music, Uncategorized with tags , , , , , on November 1, 2015 by Sara Hammerzmith

The D-Day was here, to see the mighty wolves. Would you believe – it’s actually the very first time I’d see Powerwolf on their own headlining tour. I’ve seen them twice before; once at Sweden Rock and then on Noch Ein Bier. So I was really, REALLY looking forward to this concert, more than I originally thought.

We started the day off pretty early with band rehearsals for Antoine. It sounded really good, that’s all I can say. After this, we picked up on the good old gasstation food and got on the road to Antwerpen.

We arrived a couple of minutes before the doors opened and we quickly realized we needed to exchange our E-Tickets for real tickets, so despite being halfway inside, we had to go back out again. Once we actually MADE IT inside, we hit the merchbooth and picked up on each a Powerwolf shirt. We got inside the venue only to discover that despite arriving late and needing to go out and in again, we actually scored pretty decent spots. We stood on the left side of the stage, meaning, Rikard’s if you speak Civil War, Amen’s if you speak Lordi, Clown if you speak Slipknot.

Exactly right on time Civil War went on stage and started off with “USS Monitor”. The band was energetic when they entered the stage, and delivered really good. However. There’s something extra and truly sad about the fact that the band had to tell the light guy to put some lights on them, because they felt like they were playing in the darkness.

And they were right. They had a constant red light on them until Patrik told them to put on some more lights, which improved a bit, not a lot, and you know… when the BANDS has to tell you your light sucks.. man. They should think about getting a new light guy. Because this is just pathetic.

Civil War’s set was about 40 minutes long, consisting of “Saint Patricks Day”, “Braveheart”, “Gods and Generals”, “Bay of Pigs”, “I will Rule the Universe” and wrapping it all up with “Rome is Falling”. The band was really good – especially if you think back to the fact that the tragedy that was Noch Ein Bier was my first encounter with them, this was QUITE the difference. The audience was a bit lame, in all honesty, but I guess it’s to be expected for an opener.

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So, they thanked for the set and left the stage leaving us waiting for Orden Ogan. And right on time, a quarter past 20, they started with “F.E.V.E.R”. Have I ever told you guys how much I love this particular song? They followed up with “Deaf Among the Blind”, and I’m not sure if the audience were just better warmed up or if Orden Ogan had a fanbase, because all of a sudden the crowd awoke.

But then again… the problems with the lights. Seriously. Whoever it was that did the lights that day should get a REAL call out. Seriously. You barely saw the band. What the hell.

They played for 50 minutes, and they truly delivered. I was very happy to see them again, and considering that they made me want to see them again right away kind of proves how good it was. The only thing I miss, was “Ravenhead”. For some reason they aren’t playing this particular one.

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(Photo by Antoine Grignard. This is what poor lightning gives you)

And after this… it was time for Powerwolf. At 21.30 sharp the lights started to find their ways all over the backdrop hanging in front of them, revealing the silhuettes of the band before joining together to enhance the Powerwolf logo, just before it all dropped down.

Flashing lights, heavy drums and “Blessed and Possessed” set off probably one of the more bombastic starts I’ve seen in quite some time. A strong opening was quickly followed up by “Coleus Sanctus”. “Amen and Attack” and “Cardinal Sin” followed, and then one of my personal favorites, “Army of the Night” was played.

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As someone who’s never seen Powerwolf on their own headlining show before, I was kind of… how do I put it… Impressive, I guess? I can’t think of a better word. Like I’ve said many times before, I’m a big fan of any band who has a strong image and concept, the way Powerwolf has. And what makes images and concepts even better is when they live it out on stage – like when Attila talks about how we celebrate the life and death of Christ, when he talks about the metal messes and so on.

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Or when he brings out the necklaces and starts preaching, the usage of the incensory in the last couple of songs, the wine glass for “We Drink Your Blood”… I appreciate things like this. Like, A LOT. I must admit I chuckled a bit when he made us shake our hands and scream in a possessed way. Humor is key, my friends.

They wrapped up the set with “Lupus Dei” before the crew came out and placed strings of fire all over the stage, and later returning (fairly quickly actually) to fire off three encores – “Sanctified by Dynamite”, “Kreuzfeur” and “All We Need is Blood”.

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After this, the wolves thanked for the evening and left the stage. As you probably understood from my previous writings, it was very good. And lights! There were lights! Thank God.

After the show I noticed Daniel on the other side of the venue so I left my company for a quick second to catch up with him and talk about the show. It was a bit hard to leave, since I don’t see him all that often. Eventually I got back to me peeps and we started to slowly head of the arena.

Halfway out, I notice the Civil War people was out and pointed it out to Antoine who wanted to have a picture with each of them. Once he was done with Patrik and Rickard, I leaned in and told them their show was good, but in Swedish. Patrik was like “Thank you so much.. OH WAIT SWEDISH! FINALLY!” Haha. I wound up talking to Rikard a little bit before coming with Antoine to take some pictures with the other members as well as them taking pics.

Before leaving, I figured I’d say good bye to Rikard, when he insisted I stay a bit longer. So said and done, I guess. And this lead up to about an hour of talking about everything and nothing, from Sabaton to Lordi to touring to beer. Eventually they had to leave, and so did we.

It was a really good night, better than I ever expected it to become, in all honesty.

Thank you, Powerwolf, Civil War and Orden Ogan for this night!

// Sara

 

 

 

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Delain @ Biebob, Vosselaar, Belgium 30/10 – 15

Posted in Concerts, Music, Uncategorized with tags , , , , , on October 30, 2015 by Sara Hammerzmith

For the first time since Korpiklaani, it was, at last, time to get back on to shows. I must admit, I’m pretty new to Delain, but since I do enjoy what I have heard so far, I was rather excited to see them. We met up with one of Antoines friends around 17 and that’s when we got going. The trip went pretty good, aside missing the food stop and “having” (according to Antoine) to stop at McDonalds (I don’t mind, I love McD) we finally reached Vosselaar.

We arrived a bit late, so when we entered the venue the first supportband had already started to play. The opener of the night was Amberian Dawn which is a Finnish band formed in 2006. The music was really good, and I really enjoyed the show. The feeling in the venue was good too, so yeah, quite a good start!

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And yes, I enjoyed this so much I actually went and bought the album right afterwards. I probably made that sound like I never buy albums of supportbands, which I actually do a lot, but usually I even wait until the show is over, but I didn’t want to risk being without an album so I went right away. While I was at it, I picked up on “The Human Contradiction” while I was at it.

We moved forward a bit in the crowd, seeing Quentin and Antoine are big fans of The Gentle Storm.

The began pretty much directly after soundcheck (I love bands like this). They put on a really good show, and it seemed like there was QUITE A FEW The Gentle Storm fans in the audience that evening, seeing how many were actually getting into the show. And Anneke is such a showwoman! Enjoyed it a lot!

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And after this… the wait for Delain started. Which wasn’t very long, just like The Gentle Storm they started pretty closely after the soundcheck and they opened the show energetically with “Go Away”.

The show continued on like this. A lot of energy from both sides – the crowd was on fire, and so was the band. Since I’m not too familiar with Delain, it will be a bit hard for me to give a detailed setlist of the night, so bear with me.

Something that I love, or perhaps WHAT, I love about Delain is how atmospheric they are. In their music. And the image. Charlotte looks almost paranormal, in lack of better words to use, in a way, like she has a connection with something else. And this, together with the music, together with the lights, makes it all so perfect. It was quite the show, even just the lights themselves.

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The show sadly came to an end sooner than I would have liked to, but everything good comes to an end, right? It was, regardless, a really good show. Thank you, Delain, for this evening.

Right after the show, Antoine and Quentin headed backwards to meet up with Anneke from The Gentle Storm, while I headed onwards to catch Cyril and Laura. I don’t think they actually expected me to be there, despite giving clues, but they were very happy to see me, and believe me, I was very happy to see them too, despite Laura being ill.

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So the rest of the evening sort of consisted of talking and catching up with them, dressing up Metal Pika for the cold and so on. We walked around a bit and caught up with some members from various bands as Laura and Cyril are pretty close to the band and they also introduced me to Charlotte.

That was an interesting situation. Laura was sad because Charlotte was about to leave and Laura really wanted to introduce me. I said to her not to bother, because it was alright, but she insisted and as I was going “no no no no” Charlotte caught our attention and eventually I was introduced to her. It was nice.

We went outside as Biebob closed and kept talking a bit more before Quentin forced us to go him since he had to work in the morning. Like I said, this was an amazing night. No joke. Meeting up with old friends are seriously the best.

// Sara

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W.A.S.P @ Nöjesfabriken, Karlstad, Sweden 1/10 – 15

Posted in Concerts, Music, Uncategorized with tags , , , , on October 1, 2015 by Sara Hammerzmith

So, this was quite an eventful day actually! I went to town quite “early”, or well, at 13, to meet up with Linn and Michelle in order to attend a guitarclinic with W.A.S.P guitarist, Doug Blair.

So basically, we got there and it was… not a lot of people. Perhaps about 20, I thought it would be a bit more, but then again, Thursday 13…. perhaps not. Regardless, we all got into the little room and sat down and he came on pretty directly.

It was an interesting teach. To my surprise, it wasn’t too much technical guitarstuff, but more about his story and journey, and what to think about as an aspiring musician. He of course played us some stuff, it was things he had done for Orphaned Land, Lord of the Lost, some things he WANTED to do for Deathstars and some W.A.S.P material. The teach was over sooner than I wanted it to, what I mean to say here is that it was so fun and inspiring that it went so fast. Afterwards we got the opportunity to meet him and say hi.

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Afterwards, we parted ways with Linn and went home to catch something to eat, watch a movie, get dressed for the night and eventually headed down to the arena for the show.

Since I’m a bit of a time optimist, we got on the road a tiny bit late, and it didn’t get better with us getting stuck behind a major truck who drove the wrong way, but according to my co-worker who worked at the venue that very night, we hadn’t missed a lot.

So, the first supportband of the night was the Norwegian thrashband Critical Solution. In all honesty, I wasn’t too fond of their music, it… I don’t know how to explain it. It didn’t really feel that special to me, but their image was cute. It was like merging a heavier band with the Murderdolls. It was odd, but a bit fun.

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After this, we actually headed for the front row. I have seen Dynazty a couple of times before, however, I’ve never seen them with “Renatus” in their baggage, and since I didn’t really become a fan of Dynazty until that very album, I was really, REALLY excited for this one.

So, they walked on stage ar 20.30 sharp and opened the whole set with “Run Amok”, which.. startled me a little bit. I had assumed they’d start with “Cross The Line”, which actually became the second song on the set instead. Oh well then!

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For the third song of the night, my personal, not only Dynazty favorite, but favorite song all in all through times, “The Northern End” came. And seriously… this song… Like I’ve told you. It’s absolutely perfect. And it was just as perfect live. I love these guys. “Dawn of your Creation” was next on the list, followed by “Unholy Deterrent”.

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They wrapped the set up with “Raise Your Hands” and at last, “Starlight” before they left the stage. As you can see, it was a very “Renatus” dominated setlist, making every song but one from said album, but I’m not complaining at all. It was a really good show, I’m very pleased.

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After this, the wait for W.A.S.P began. Anna and Linn came to join us, but after some consideration, we decided to give up our front row spots for an old classmate and his girlfriend instead, since we weren’t really big enough fans of W.A.S.P to really find the pressure and drunk people worth it.

They were a bit late when they entered the stage, but once they did so, the arena… well, they gave them a welcome, perhaps not the warmest, but a welcome nonetheless. They opened the show with “On Your Knees”.

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They continued on with “Inside the Electric Circus”, “The Real Me” and “L.O.V.E Machine”.

And let me talk about something here for a moment. So, while I’m no superfan of W.A.S.P, I know their deal, and I know Blackie is a little bit of a diva nowadays, and I know he has strong opinion against people photographing. I can understand that it’s boring to play a show with a lot of phones straight up your face, and it is absolutely okay to prohibit photographing, if you announce it properly – by for instance, putting up signs.

Anyway, where I wanna go with this is the actions of the security guards. There was only one security guard who was even remotely active in looking into the crowd, sadly, he spent most of his time looking for cameras and making sure people weren’t photographing. Actually, it was more important for him to look for cameras, that he missed out on this one guy beating a girl. He missed out on this one guy pushing everyone for no reason, causing mayhem. He ignored this one guy who pulled down Linn a lot. He missed out on this one guy who repeatedly almost elbowed Anna in the face and so on. I can go on forever about people who were a little more than a concertgoer should have to deal with, and despite trying to get the attention, they were too busy looking for peoples cameras.

And when a request of the band becomes more important than paying customers safety, something is terribly wrong.

And perhaps Blackie should ask himself… why are they so attached to their phones? Why don’t they give things back? Perhaps the problem lies with him? Perhaps he isn’t delivering anymore. Perhaps he doesn’t give any energy to the crowd to feed off by, and if he can’t deliver why should the crowd?

Anyway. The set wasn’t very long in all honesty – They began around 21.45, and they were done a bit before 23. It was mixed materials – some old, some “Golgotha”, very mixed. I’m confused though – Doug said they were going to have a new set up on stage, but I can recall them having the same, or similar, set up just three years ago when I saw them the last time.

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I’m actually a little disappointed. Or a lot. In W.A.S.P that is, not Dynazty, not even Critical Solution. Blackie’s attitude just turns me off, and the way the security guards acted the entire evening kind of ruined the whole show. And the hype around this tour… too much. Anna was even confused afterwards by the fact they didn’t play “Chainsaw Charlie”, nor did they do “Blind in Texas”. I mean sure, you don’t have to do ALL your hits… but apparently they played the first two in Gothenburg and Malmö.

Odd. Very odd. Well, I’m not sure if I’ll be turning to W.A.S.P again after this, and in all honesty, I realized yesterday that I always went to see W.A.S.P because of the supportbands, so I guess it says it all.

After the show, we spent some time with my coworkers before heading home, catching like one hour of sleep before going to work. No rest for me!

// Sara

 

 

 

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Korpiklaani @ Kulturhuset, Örebro, Sweden 26/9-15

Posted in Concerts, Music, Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , on September 26, 2015 by Sara Hammerzmith

So, this day started very interestingly, to say the least. At first, I struggled falling asleep because Michelle snored like there was no tomorrow. I kid you not – I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth, and I would hear her snoring all the way out in the hallway. After I woke her up, she stopped. So it was fine. Then I’d wake up then and then, perhaps because of “new” bed.

And then, I woke up in the morning because of a lot of noise. And I was so pissed, because it says very clearly outside that it should be silent between 22-08, so I was so ready to go and complain about it, but I was too tired. Eventually, I woke up for real and checked the time.

10.35.

10.35. The check-out due is 10. We were supposed to get up at 9. We freaked out, to say the least. Gladly, the hotel was a bit over-seeing with it, and let us do a late checkout without any additional expense. Than you, Hotel Micro! This is why I keep returning to you, always and forever.

Anyway. We got out around 11 and hit up the first Espresso House we could find to have probably the most expensive breakfast we’ve had in a very long time. We started moving towards the buscentral, but we did a quick stop at Creole. It’s really one of my favorite stores in Stockholm, so I’m so sad to see them close. I managed to pick up a pair of earrings though, will be great when I get my second pair of holes.

We thought about going to Blue Fox, but decided against it. Which was great, because the bus was set to departure five minutes earlier than I thought. I guess it was good in a way that we had the “Miss the bus” protection on those tickets, after all.

This time, we DID get the good bus, with extra legspace, leatherseats and all that stuff. Helped me a lot to finish up writing about the show last day, and to prepare myself for a maybe Delain show. For some reason, Delain was the only thing I could listen to.

We arrived in Örebro around 16, and we, alongside some other Korpiklaani fans, got off the bus and then we headed downtown. We wanted to find some store to find elastics for my hair, but instead we ran into a friend of mine. I wasn’t sure at first if it was her, but it was indeed! It has been a few months since I last saw her, so it was really good to just bump into her! Sadly, she told us all stores closed at 16, so off to Burger King we were, and we sat there for about two and a half hours. And what did we do? Well, first of all, sloweat, because I’m a sloweater. We planned the night, drew up some drafts, re-booked bustickets and then we changed clothes and put on our make up and all that stuff. at 18.30 cirka, we headed over to the arena, which was ten minutes walk from Burger King, I want to add. Oh. I went for the straight look, for a change, by the way.

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So, we got to the arena and we sat outside for quite some time. They never opened the door. We didn’t quite understand why, I mean sure, we’ve been around for a long time so we have dealt with delayed doors time, like Noch Ein Bier for instance, but it felt so weird. When about 20-25 minutes has passed, a guy sitting at the open bar service mutters that the doors are around the corner, literally 90% of the people sitting at that open bar got up and left. So, we weren’t the only ones who were wrong, gladly.

The thing is, the place where the entrance was were also where the tourbus was. And since it was on a “backstreet”, we were pretty sure it was the backstage entrance, but apparently, it was both. We got downstairs, turned in our gear and the first thing we noticed was how small the place were.

We were in this location called “B-Salen” which I suppose is the smaller arena of the venue. It was as small as Knastret, the second hand record store we have here in town. It looked a bit like Knastret too – it had the same thing with the stairs, the decor, everything. Cozy. But we were surprised.

The only thing I don’t like with small venues like this, is the fact that the stage is almost floor size, which makes it hard for anyone who isn’t in the first three rows to see very good. So that was the only downside, but aside that, I can’t complain more. I like small places.

Just as in Stockholm, Grimner walked on stage a bit early. They were supposed to go on at 20 sharp, but got on stage somewhere 19.40-19.45. Again, I don’t personally complain, it’s more.. It isn’t too fun for the people who really believe they will start sharp.

But, lets forget about that for a moment. Grimner. The set was just as good and energetic today as it was yesterday, and it was a bit more exciting to see them today, as we knew a little bit more of them now. But yes, really good and really fun. The audience was with them too, gladly. Not as much as last night, but still in.

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(Because of lack of useable pictures of Grimner from Örebro, I serve you one from Stockholm)

Anyway, after this, the… fairly short wait for Korpiklaani begun. Last night, we had already witnessed them going on stage about 15 minute prior to their stagetime, and we were very… weirded out by the fact that the  host had set one hour between Korpiklaani and Grimner, when they only did 30 minutes the day before. They were said to go on stage at 21.30, so we had to wait and see, I guess.

Already when they check the last mics, I see the entire band – Jonne standing on the side of stage.

And then, the intro finally started.

And at the very time Matson entered the stage, the time was around 20.45. 

We are talking about 45 minutes. 45 minutes early, according to their original stagetime.

While this isn’t personally a problem for me, and I think everyone likes when bands doesn’t diva around and wait just because they can, being 45 minutes early is problematic. The most likely reason, is a typo from the host. That they meant 21.00 sharp, and not 21.30. What is remarkable, is the fact that they actually wrote TWICE that they’d start at 21.30. And that makes me question why on earth Grimner, and then Korpiklaani, would go on stage so early?

Anyway. Back to the show, they opened with “Viinamäen Mies” and despite it being a fairly small crowd, the welcoming was very big and warm.

The setlist was pretty similar to yesterday, so there is no particular point for me to break down the setlist song by song, but I will speak a bit about the atmosphere.

Nothing bad against Klubben now, because I love Klubben as a venue, but seriously. Korpiklaani in a small sized venue is something very, very special. First of all, Michelle and I were on the top of our game with our dancing, impressing people to the left and right during songs like “Sathi”, “Ruuminmultaa” and “Juodaan Viina”, but some of the most magical songs of the evening was found in, first of all, my all time favorite of course, “Sumussa Hämärän Aamun”, but also in a song I was never fond of, but has grown on me thanks to this very show; “Lempo”. Yes, I said it. I was never fond of “Lempo”, but I’m sold now.

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But my highlight of the entire evening was “Pellonpekko”. What? And instrumental song? What the heck? No see – this is fantastic. First of all, this is a fantastic piece of music. And second of all, in the midst of our dancing, a little crowd is approaching us, and before we know it, we are all engaged in a circledance which included probably half of the arena, and eventually the other few who didn’t participate had to move over so we could dance properly.

And yes, this is a big deal. Because even metalheads in Sweden – they don’t… really do this kind of thing. The Swedish myth isn’t a myth, it’s true – Swedes, or perhaps nordic people I don’t know, like to stick to themselves and their crew, and to see that many people spontaneously getting together warmed my heart a lot.

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The main difference from last nights set was the lack of “Happy Little Boozer”. We’re not sure if they did that on purpose, or if they forgot it, or if it was because of the annoying person yelling “Juodaan Viina” throughout the entire set who forced them to skip “Boozer”, but it was gone nonetheless. Doesn’t bother me THAT much, but still.

But all in all – despite lack of “Boozer”, and despite of annoying men yelling “Juodaan Viina” this gig was probably the better of the two, shockingly. Despite us seeing close to nothing, despite the small arena. I enjoyed it so much.

After the show was done, so many people came and complimented us on our dancing, using words as “enchanting”. Michelle said afterwards that, “This is what will make us famous”. She’s probably right. Or at least infamous. We even got compliments from the securityguards and the wardrobelady, which we had NO idea could actually even see us!

Of course, this forced us to once again not being able to walk. It took longer than it should to get to the parking lot where my mother would pick us up, but we got there eventually.

I seriously wanna thank all the people involved on this trip – Korpiklaani, Grimner and Michelle for giving me one of the most fantastic weekends this year. I loved every bits, and it ended way too soon, if you ask me.

Now, it’s time for us to recharge quickly, because guess which two are getting back to work in six hours? Yup, us.

// Sara

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Korpiklaani @ Klubben, Stockholm, 25/9 -15

Posted in Concerts, Music, Uncategorized with tags , , on September 25, 2015 by Sara Hammerzmith

Finally, finally, the day we had kind of been waiting for had finally, finally, arrived. We got up around 10 or so and started running around like crazy hyenas trying to pack the last few things before going downtown to catch the bus, and for once, we were actually quite ahead of time. That doesn’t happen very often.

Much to our dismay, we got a replacement bus. Every once in a while, Swebus replaces their amazing buses with replacement buses which does NOT provide you with the internet, poweroutlets and everything else Swebus promises you when they advertise. I understand that this happen sometimes, but it’s starting to happen a lot. And it screwed up a lot for us, since we had planned to do some work on the bus but that can’t be done without internet so…

Anyway. Despite this, we did at least make it to Stockholm and since we took a bus that departured a bit later than originally planned, we had to hurry a lot. We threw on our clothes, threw on our make up and went down to Subway to catch some quick dinner or lunch or whatever you wanna call it – proper food at least, and then over to Fryshuset.

I’ve been here a couple of times before, seeing HammerFall, Lordi and Cinderella to name a few, and despite that, I struggle EVERY SINGLE TIME to remember where to go when leaving the subway. Gladly, the volunteers of the police were very helpful.

We arrived right when Grimner was about to start. So, as someone who’s not very familiar to Grimner, I can’t write too detailed about them, but I really liked them. They are the perfect opener for Korpiklaani, that’s for sure.

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And after they were done… we began waiting. For a very short time actually, Korpiklaani went on stage 15 minutes ahead of schedule. I like that, a band who actually GO ON STAGE once everything is set up and doesn’t diva around with staying off just because they can. And, to no surprise, they opened with “Viinameän Mies”.

They continued on very strongly with “Journey Man”, followed by “Pilli on pajusta Tethy”. They continued down the path of “Noita” by following it up with “Lempo” and perhaps one of our own personal favorites – “Sathi”.  I’m not sure if it’s like, their best song ever, but we sure as hell have SO MUCH FUN at that song. Traditional dances are the shit, seriously. I’m positive I could go to Scandinavian follk(metal) gigs solely for the reason to do traditional dances. And also. Some bands have a guitar solo, and some bands has an accordion solo.

I thought it would be safe to go get something to drink right after “Sathi”, because seriously, I was getting worn out, but of course, it was a perfect time for them to do “Ruumiinmulta”. Like, only one of my absolute favorites of them. Gladly, or perhaps sadly, depending on how you view it, it wasn’t a lot of people there and the venue is quite small, so it was easy to get back and forth from the bar.

“Petoeläimen kuola” was next song on the list, and then… then my friends.

“Sumussa Hämärän Aamun”

This is probably my absolute favorite of Korpiklaani. At first few listens, I wasn’t the songs biggest fan, I can admit. But as most things I dislike at first, it intrigued me and after a while… yes. What more could I even add to it. Okay, I need to get going, I’ll write more about my love for this song some other time, but to get back to the subject; atmospheric is a very good word to use to describe the feeling in the venue. Red, dim lights and Jonne letting his voice do the work… highlight. HIGHLIGHT.

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Instrumental time spelled “Vaaringpolka” was followed by “Viima” and “Kultanainen”.

Slowing down the set a little bit again with “Minä Näin Vedessä Neidon”, followed by another “Noita” song – “Ämmänhauta”. I love this song. It kinda goes hand in hand with “Sumussa”, don’t you think?

I haven’t really spoken a lot of Korpiklaani’s performance just yet. But I might as well just tell you – they were so on it. They very jolly on stage and delivering a flawless performance. “Kylästä Keväinen Kehto” was next song on the list and after this it was time for that one song the majority of the Korpiklaani crowd are waiting for.

“Vodka”.

We had originally planned to get into the pit for this one, but after observing during the night the people that participated in the pits throughout the night, we decided against it. There was one guy who was particularly violent to the people in the pit, like, to the extreme that people actually LEFT  the pits halfway through because of his violence, so we stood on the outside causing our own little mayhem with traditional dancing again.

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“Vodka” was followed by “Rauta” (seriously, this song!) and they wrapped up the set with “Happy Little Boozer”.

They left the stage, but really, they weren’t long before they were right back on stage starting off the extras with “Pelloonpekko” which invited to even more dancing. Seriously, can we have Korpiklaani every week?

Jonne joined the boys on stage and they wrapped up the entire set with “Joudaan Viina”. The band thanked for the night, blasted their cover of “We’re not living in America” and left the stage. After catching our breathes for a moment, we started to walk home.

Which was easier said than done. It has been quite some time since I was THIS worn out after a show – not even the five shows long Noch Ein Bier wore me out this much, that should count for something, right? I’m not joking nor exaggerating when I tell you this – when we were walking up a fair staircases, I had to grab onto the handle on the side in order not to fall down. My legs weren’t carrying me. Even when walking on a straight line, I had to hold onto a fence if there were any available. People must have thought we were drunk or something, but really, we were just tired.

We went back to the same subway and was greeted with the worst possible service, headed back to the hotel, ate and then passed out in bed.

Korpiklaani was absolutely amazing. I’m so thrilled and happy and glad and jolly and what not that we are going to see them again tomorrow. Fucking amazing. I can’t wait.

// Sara

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Annika Herlitz @ Mariebergsskogen, Karlstad 9/8 – 15

Posted in Concerts, Music, Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , on August 9, 2015 by Sara Hammerzmith

So, like I told you, a little bit last minute we made up our minds about going to see Annika Herlitz perform at the small stage in Maribergsskogen.

It’s quite the difference, approx one year ago I saw Sabaton in this very location, but at the time on the grass field on a temporary stage. This time around, it was inside the little house on the hill and it was…. 98% children. Emelie and I felt a little bit out of place until we saw two more people about our age coming in without children. Thank God! Now, I’m not one who usually cares about this, but I must admit it felt good.

So, like I told you before, this has been promoted as a “Family show” consisting some of the Frozen songs and other goodies, so we weren’t sure at all on what to expect. All of a sudden we hear some carnival music, and Emelie asked me if it began now, to which I responded I had no idea.

And all of a sudden, we see a table coming flying, and a magician accompanying it. Apparently, the support act of the day was a magician. He invited two children on stage with him and performed some magic tricks, which were pretty impressive I must add. The kids were blown away, of course.

Right after this, Annika Herlitz went on stage and opened the show with “Slå Dig Fri”, in which she also took the opportunity to say hi to everyone.

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With a small talk-break, she followed up this epic opening with “Ett Andetag”. It all felt a little rushed for some reason, I’m not sure why, but regardless – this song is just as fucking big live as it is on recordings. Seriously, this woman, she knows how to sing alright.

“Ett Andetag” was followed by a Frozen medley consisting pieces of “Do You Wanna Build A Snowman”, “For The First Time in Forever”, “Love is an Open Door”, “In Summer” and “Making Today A Perfect Day”.

This was followed by the “High School Musical” song “All Together”, celebrating her very first role as a musical actress, followed by her sisters composition “Du Genomborrar Mig”. She wrapped the whole set up with the pop version of “Let it Go”, during which she thanked for the afternoon and left the stage.

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Well.. First of all. It was good – she’s an amazing singer, like REALLY good. It’s nice to see in the big crowd of decent singers, and worst of all, autotuners.

Right after the music had stopped, we got up and left the place.

This is probably the shortest concert I have ever attended, including the supportband they performed for about 50 minutes, leaving Annika doing about 30-35 minutes alone. But you know, I guess this is how it goes in the beginning of a career.

I’m looking forward to see her soon again sometime. Because it was really good, regardless.

// Sara

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Skogsröjet 2015: Day two, Saturday 1/8

Posted in Concerts, Music, Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , , , , , on August 1, 2015 by Sara Hammerzmith

I went to bed too late yesterday and got up too soon, or at least it felt like it. I had put my alarm to 11, and the first band I wanted to see started at 11.30, but when I looked at the clock it was around 8. So of course, I decided to snooze. Or at least I tried to, didn’t work out to well seeing I’m at a FESTIVAL CAMPING. A place where people party 24/7. Should have known. But I guess I managed somehow, because before I knew it the time was around 11 and I PANICKED because there’s no way I’ll get done in time. Gladly, the weather was good so half a bread, mascara stains and a pair of shorts and Korpiklaani tank later I found myself at the festival area (Bless the camping being so close to the area!) watching Beyond Visions

Beyond Visions

So, Beyond Visions is a five-piece band formed in 2007. They released their debut album in 2o13, and was the first band to enter the stage this day. There were a bit more people there than I would expect, but still no massive crowds – but none of this stopped frontwoman Rebecka to deliver a powerful set backed by the rest of the band. I was impressed and really liked what I heard! Good job!

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Honeymoon Disease

So, right after this I headed over the the other stage to catch the second band of the day; Honeymoon Disease. It’s a four-piece rock n roll band from Gothenburg formed in 2014. They have released two singles, one in 2014, one in 2015 and are set to release their debutalbum this autumn.

They brought on a good show with great energy, and even though I’m usually not into this kind of music, they managed to convince me! Good on them. I’d urge you all to check them out!

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Tyranex

Running back to the first stage, it was time to catch the Västerås-based four-piece that is Tyranex. They have released two albums so far – “Extermination” in 2011 and “Unable to Tame” in 2014.

The crowd was a bit bigger this time around, and Linnea… she’s insane. Holy hell, the way she sings and the way she plays, I literally had to write to Antoine and tell her what a killer she is on guitar. It was a powerful and energetic gig with a charismatic frontwoman, and if the two bands I had already seen had impressed me, this band went far beyond.

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The Terrorhawks

So, there sure was a lot of running back on forth between the two stages here in the early morning, and after Tyranex it was time to see the New Zealand based band The Terrorhawks. Or well, they are based in Gothenburg now. Their debut single was released during the spring, and the debut album is set to sometime in 2015.

The set was good. The energy was lacking a little bit, I must admit, I didn’t really feel a lot from them, but I’m gonna give them thumbs up for going through with their set!

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After this, I first of all hit the merchstand to pick up on Beyond Visions and Tyranex albums and was set to see Hellshaker, when I noticed that the remote to my car was missing. The car-key was there, but the remote was gone. So I went back to the camp in order to look for it, hoping it was there, and while I was at it start to pack up. Gladly, the remote was in the tent and not lost somewhere randomly, even though I REALLY can’t understand how it got detached, since nothing was broken and it’s on a keyring.

Regardless, I started packing out and took two turns to load everything in the car. It took some time to remove all the baby snails and baby worms that were living on my tent, seeing it was placed in a water puddle, and it’s now full of mud because of the.. well, mud. I love this tent, but I’m glad we’re getting another one for next years festivals.

I made it back to the festival area pretty much in time to catch Imber, however, I decided against it. I’ve never been a bigger fan of their music, and I felt that I at least once on this festival should be front row, so I went to pick up a bottle of water and headed over to Bandit stage and started the hour long wait for Bloodbound.

Bloodbound

So, last week when we saw them at Noch Ein Bier the set was pretty short, so I was rather excited to see them doing a longer set at another venue with BETTER WEATHER. And again, to avoid making a Noch ein Bier long post, I’ll keep it short.

First of all, we learned pretty early in the set that Patrik’s father had passed away the day before the show. It was quite a shocking thing to learn, and I salute him, and the band for pushing through with the show.

They played a bunch of my favorite songs -such as “Moria”, “When all Lights Fail” and, biggest surprise to me – “Nightmares from the Grave”. I absolutely low this song. It was massive hearing it live. Although, I must admit I missed “Satanic Panic” a bit.

But over all – very good show, good energy and good set. And especially seeing the circumstances, we should all raise the horns one more time for them.

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Besserbitch

After this, I went over to the other stage to catch the first few songs of Besserbitch before getting in line for the Bloodbound signing session, but I realized pretty quick that I could BOTH stand in line and still see Besserbitch! Bingo!

Besserbitch is a four piece band from Stockholm formed in 2008, released their first two EPs on their own label and gave out their debut album in 2013.

First of all: Where’s the crowd? Seeing the playtime they got, you’d assume they’d have a big crowd. Bloodbound had a full crowd, so people where there, but none seemed to stay for Besserbitch. It was perhaps around 10-20 people, and I wanna add we weren’t THAT many in line for Bloodbound signing session, and NO OTHER BAND was playing at the same time. It’s like the band doesn’t draw an audience.

And while their music is good, I can see why. Now, I’ve never seen this band before, but where is the stage presence of the singer? I spoke of it yesterday, the importance of stage presence, something Jocke and Erik got, but also Mia(Crucified Barbara) and Linnea (Tyranex). That was completely lacking here. Maybe it was a bad day, who knows, but I almost felt like… I should go away, I don’t know how to put it better. It was surprising, to say the least.

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The signing session started in the middle of the set, so I missed out on half a song. It went pretty quickly – Patrik wasn’t there, and I had a quick chat with Fredrik about Noch Ein Bier and the weather there, before getting back to Besserbitch. The crowd was less now than it began with. What the heck just happened? Afterwards, I headed back to Bandit to see Junkstars.

Junkstars

In an attempt to make the festival worth it’s money, I decided to try to catch as many bands as I could today, so it was time to see Junkstars, formerly known as Rock n Roll Allstars. They were supposed to be the final act of the day, but as a result of Doro cancelling, they got her time and Bullet filled in her spot.

It was a good set they delivered with good energy, and you can tell they hit home with the audience, as there were quite a few people there. I still think Junkstars and U.D.O. should have switched, but still. Good to see some energetic and charismatic people on stage. Those are my favorites.

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Right after Junkstars, which finished a bit earlier than Doro’s original time, I went to buy some last minute items and headed to the car to get dressed for colder weather and drop off my newly bought merchandise. On my way, I bumped into Robert and it was SOOO Great seeing him there. We had a quick chat before I ran to the car, fixed my shit, and ran back the the venue to catch U.D.O.

U.D.O.

I’ve been looking forward to see U.D.O ever since I reviewed his album earlier this year, “Decadent” is sure one fine piece of work. So I was very, very glad to see him playing Skogsröjet.

The set was really good, he was on top and delivered a good gig, but I must admit I’m a bit unsure as to WHY he’d play the small stage. The crowd was PACKED in front of it, and people on the side could barely see anything. It would almost have been better if they did what Sweden Rock did, to put him earlier in the day, or, following the cancellation of Doro, but him in Doro’s scheduled time and Junkstars on U.D.O’s. Oh well, what can you do?

What I’m especially fond of is him playing “Pain”. It was always a favorite of mine on the album, and I’m usually so unlucky with favorite songs that this hit hard at home.

Good show, good energy, good set. Loved it!

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Dream Theater

After U.D.O, it was time for the last gig of the day and the festival for me, Dream Theater. I’ve heard of the band, but never really paid a lot of attention to their music, but I have a few friends who are fond of them, and therefore decided to see them.

They celebrate thirty years as a band, and therefore played material from all of their albums, which was pretty nice, or I guess so for the die hard fans.

The show was good, and I really enjoyed it. It was a good ending to a good festival.

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After this, I went to pick up some last minute candy for the ride home, prepared my car and left the festival for this year. I got home already around 2 am in the morning, which was really good. To sleep in your own bed.

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Thanks to all the bands for this festival, you made it what it is. And thank you, Skogsröjet, for once again proving you the best biggest smallest festival in Sweden.

// Sara

 

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Skogsröjet 2015: Day one, Friday 31/7

Posted in Concerts, Uncategorized with tags , , , , , on July 31, 2015 by Sara Hammerzmith

So! It was finally time for that time of the year again, for Swedens biggest smallest festival, or also known as the most cosy festival in Sweden – Skogsröjet. Located in the forests in a little community called Rejmyre (now Röjmyre) has the festival been running for ten years now. Yes you heard it, it was their tenth anniversary this time around. And for me, it was my fifth time. In a row.

However, despite this, I decided to go down on Friday to calm my nerves. I guess the epic performances of Noch Ein Bier kind of killed all enthusiasm I ever held for Skogsröjet this year, but at least I promised myself to make it in time for Crucified Barbara, which I did with some time to spare. It’s not a very long ride to Röjet from here – about two and half an hour only, unlike Sweden Rock which takes almost six hours from here.

Crucified Barbara

So, I’ve known about this band for many years, but I’ve never really gotten into them. I saw them in 2013, while queueing for Lordi, so I did look forward to seeing them again, and this time seeing them with a genuine interest. While the band performed almost flawlessly with a lot of energy, I must admit the public response was kind of weak. Gladly, this picked up as long as the show went on.

However, I must admit it was really, really good! I have to pick up an album or two with them now. I’m sad it took so long to convince me, but I guess it’s something about Klara’s personality on stage that is… contagious, in a way. So yes, good show, good band and a great start on the festival for me!

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After Crucified, I went on and picked up my luggage to set up my tent. For some reason, Skogsröjet had closed off half of the camping, so it was a little tricky to find a spot that wasn’t occupied or in a puddle of water. After a bit of time, I found a spot, which was in a puddle of water, but at least it was less water than the other spots. I always wanted a houseboat, so I guess this is one way to get it, no?

After I was done setting up and unpacking, I headed back to the festivalgrounds to catch one of the reasons I went to this festival in the first place: H.E.A.T

H.E.A.T

What can I possibly say about H.E.A.T that hasn’t already been said? They opened on spot with “Point of No Return” followed by “A Shot at Redemption” and it went down the road it has done all festival season really. With one exception.

No “Late Night Lady”. Personally, not being a fan of the song, I don’t mind at all, but it was a bit of a surprise seeing it gone. So was “Heartbreaker” and “All The Nights”. I can live without the last one, but I REALLY miss “Heartbreaker”. It’s such a good song. Why.

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But you know – you can complain all you want about missing songs, but Erik will very, very, VERY soon make you forget about it. Like I’ve said so many times before, he’s insane as a frontman, and the whole band just levitates from it. Fantastic gig with a bunch of Sweden’s finest, but who was ever surprised?

After H.E.A.T I quickly went to the record store tent and got myself a TOTO vinyl, a Bloodbound album and dropped them both off in my car while getting away from the rain for a moment before I headed back to catch the second big name for the day – Hardcore Superstar

Hardcore Superstar

HCSS…. There’s a certain thing with these bands. Like HCSS and H.E.A.T. HCSS is a band I’ve caught many, MANY times throughout the year, to the extent where I learned the majority of their songs only because I wound up seeing them live so much. At first it wasn’t even by choice, but eventually, it became by choice, because this band… is just so fucking good.

Opening up strongly with “Need No Company”, continuing on with “Last Forever” and “My Good Reputation”….  I’m still surprised how so many people can be so still to a band whose music is just one big party. Not in the sense of Korpiklaani or Alestorm, but it’s just… how can I even describe it? You kinda have to see it for yourself.

Jocke is also up in the run against Erik to be the best frontman, which helps a lot as to why this band is just… beyond perfect. I’ve come to realize stage presence is so important, and I learned during this festival what bad stage presence is. But I’ll talk about that later.

And for the first time in a while (where I have seen them) they invited some guests on stage for “Last Call For Alcohol” and I was so glad to see Angelina on stage with her favorite band again. That’s pretty much where she belongs.

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They wrapped the whole set off with “Moonshine”, “We Don’t Celebrate Sundays” and “Above the Law” before thanking for the day and saying good night. Seriously, I’m so glad HCSS is practically a houseband at Röjet. We always have at least one fantastic band, I love that.

Skid Row

Right after HCSS, I headed over to Tube Stage to catch Skid Row. I’ve never been a major fan of Skid Row, however, Tony Harnell is quite the housegod here at home, and therefore, Skid Row was a must. I was very… happily surprised when I saw that he had joined Skid Row, and it made me excited for the show.

And they were really good! Can’t speak so much about the material since I, as I said, was never a big fan of the band, but it was so good to see Tony on stage again. And odd, in a way, to see him in another spectra than with TNT, but damn, it was good!

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Europe

Went back to Bandit stage to catch the last band of the night – Europe. It was a nice set they put on – a decent mix of old tunes and new and they got good energy on stage. I love how they incorporate other sons in theirs – like “Here I Go Again” in “Superstitious” and “Du Hast” right before “Rock the Night”.

The only thing I have to say about it, is that I miss “Cherokee” a lot. I love that song, but since Europe isn’t exactly the band I’ve seen the most, I’m not sure what their frequency is with that song.

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After this, I headed right back to the tent and climbed in under my poofy blanket and fell asleep after a little while listening to the same song I listened to going to bed last year – “Världens Bästa Tjej” with 2 Blyga Läppar. It made me smile. I heard it last year and did everything I could to track it down, because I really like it, and it was… a bit special I guess, in a way, to hear it being blasted again at the same place.

Fell asleep with a big smile on my lips, that’s for sure.

// Sara

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Noch Ein Bier Fest 2015 @ Amphitheater, Gelsenkirchen, Germany 25/7 – 15

Posted in Concerts, Music, Thiz Izz Djermani with tags , , , , , , , , on July 25, 2015 by Sara Hammerzmith

Due to the heavy rain, there’s a slight lack of pictures in order to protect the camera. So I apologize on beforehand on the lack of pictures.

The D-Day was here! Noch Ein Bier Fest, Sabaton first attempt at a German festival. It it is a one day ”festival” hosting five bands – Bloodbound, Civil War, Korpiklaani, Powerwolf and Sabaton and was hosted in the Amphitheater in Gelsenkirchen.

The day… Well, we started the day with some quick shopping, which I will tell you all about another day, and then headed to the venue. We had originally planned to take the bus to the theater since we got free bus tickets from the hotel, but apparently German buses are wussies. Said to us the bus was full even though it could easily have fitted all of us in there, we people had just moved a bit closer. After further inspection, we noticed that the next bus wouldn’t go until 30 minutes later, leaving us missing out on the first band.

And fuck that. So we went back to the hotel and asked them to call a taxi for us. A nice bunch of guys offered us to go in their taxi with them, however, they apparently don’t carry minibuses here, so it was a no can do. The taxi arrived fairly quickly, and after an about 15 minutes ride we were at the arena.

And seriously, compared to Sweden, Germany is so cheap! The taxi cost us about 15 euros, that’s 5 euros a person! Like, 15 euros would be starting price per PERSON in Sweden. What a nice surprise!

Unlike yesterday, where it was so warm we almost melted despite having barely any clothes on, today was a different story. Rain, A LOT OF IT, and cold. You see, we had originally gone to Primark to pick up a raincoat for me, since I was in desperate need for one. The other two decided to get one each as well, and guess what was the best purchase of the day? Yup, the raincoats.

We arrived at the venue about 20 minutes or so before the door opened, and the line was… half full, now that I look back on it. At the time, it felt like it was A LOT of people, but after further inspection, we noticed the doors were closer than we thought they’d be. Anyway. The time hit 15 and…. nothing happened. At least not in the back. The time hit 15.30. Bloodbound was about to play, and I was so pissed, because, guess what? NOTHING HAD HAPPENED.

But on the other hand, I didn’t hear a band play either so all good. About 15.45, it started moving. Babysteps, one step at a time. At 16, we had maybe gotten three meters. Somewhere after 16, about 16.10 or so, we finally, FINALLY made it in.

The first thing we did was to get down to the arena in order to look for Antoine, and let me tell you this.

I was under the impression this was an indoor arena. So when Madlen broke the news to me about it being outdoors, my mood went from very high to very low, to put it nicely. So when I got in, I got even more of a shock. Basically, what I saw before me, was a smaller version of Dalhalla.

It was a small area infront of the stage, and then lots of stairs all the way up where we stood, where people would sit. So imagine our surprise to see there were very little people down there.

I’ve been to Sabaton shows before, and I know how it goes down. Pressed against the fence, and you can do nothing. Not fun. This is the major reason why I’ve started to withdraw more and more on concerts, because of the freedom to jump around and headbang without being pressed against a fence.

Just right after we got out Bloodbound got on the stage.

BLOODBOUND

So basically, to give you some perspective – Bloodbound was supposed to start at 15.30, and when they actually started, it was about 16.15, 16.20. We are talking almost an hour delay. Did this have an effect on how long their set was? I think so.

I didn’t track time exactly how long they played, but they played only about 4-5 songs. Despite this, the show was energetic. They started off with “Satanic Panic” and seemed to do the best they could with their short set. For my personal record, I’m just really happy they did “Moria”. Thank god.

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This festival did already from the beginning have a pretty tight time schedule, so already towards the end of the last song of Bloodbound did Michelle and I withdraw ourselves in order to catch some merchandise.

Which seemed to be near impossible. After trying to choose which one of the two merchstands we’d go to, we ended up doing the first one, and gladly, this was the very one Jaqueline was working at! It was so good to see her again, although a little odd to see her outside of Lordi, but you know, it’s a small world after all?

After this, we headed back to the “arena” and we arrived JUST as Civil War went on stage.

Civil War

I was pretty excited to see them – I’ve been in love with the band ever since I first heard “Rome is Falling” , so I got quite excited when they got on stage (not SlipKnot or Lordi excited, but excited). Just as with Bloodbound, they delivered a good and energetic set, which sadly came to an abrupt ending when they played “Bay of Pigs” and Patrik all of a sudden goes “That was our last song, good night”.

Like wait what. What just happened? Apparently they were supposed to play longer, but because of the delays they couldn’t. And I really missed “Rome is Falling” in the setlist, I must admit. Oh well, what do you do?

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Korpiklaani

Ok – so here’s the deal with Gelsenkirchen – when I arrived on Thursday, and also during Friday, it was hot. Like, MELTING HOT, it felt like it was twice as hot as it was in Sweden. Sun shining high, no cloud in sight, no wind, nothing. And then, when Sabaton came to town, apparently, they thought it was a good idea to bring swedish summer with them and POF – rain and thunder. So by the time Korpiklaani were to begin, we were all soaked. Like, through and through. Like I told you in the beginning, I wasn’t a fan of this being an outdoor show.

However, in the wait for Korpiklaani my SlipKnot-excitement starting coming to me, and me and Michelle were already bouncing around like rubber balls even before they started, and I may have cursed the short times between the bands earlier, but at this point I was happy. So, since we were already bouncing around, you can imagine what happened when “Viinamäen Mies” started. Yup.

That’s the thing with Korpiklaani – it’s just one big fucking party. Everyone is dancing, everyone is hopping around and everyone is moshing. I told Michelle “We should go in there the next time” and later on we decided to go for it in “Vodka” and so we did.

It was fun actually! I found myself tripping once, and got back up immediatley thanks to strong arms behind me, and this is probably something we’re gonna find ourselves doing a lot more. A sidenote to this: When I tripped, I hit my elbow and got really scared I had broken my new parkas. Gladly, I hadn’t. However upon further inspect, my Swedish Lordi crew shirt broke. What the hell?

But, back to Korpiklaani. The set was pretty similar to Graspop – and even though I love “Sumussa Hämärän Aamun”, I must admit it was a bit of a mood killer this particular day. But this gig DID make it clear for us that we will try to do both Korpiklaani days in September. Happy days!

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However, this festival, or perhaps Korpiklaani, started to take on my powers, so we decided to “sacrifice” Powerwolf (Madlen and Daniel are going to kill me now) and have a seated show and dinner. See guys – there’s the other perk of not being in the front. You wanna sit, you sit, you wanna stand you stand. So we went out and bought crêpes and got back in right when they started and sat on the side and had a calm dinner.

Powerwolf

Because of the weather, the band wasn’t able to use their stage props, so the stage was a bit weak compared to how you usually see Powerwolf, but it doesn’t really matter, in my opinion. They still put on a good show no matter what, and hadn’t it been because of my smaller leg injury I got in the pit, we would have been in the middle of the crowd for “We Drink Your Blood”. Trust us, we really wanted to (because at that time we had finished dinner, ok)

But you know, I don’t really know what else to add to this. It was a good show, they had good energy and delivered despite problems with the props.

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Sabaton

Rather sooner than later, did “The Final Countdown” start, and originally Michelle and I did plan to sit throughout the entire set, because hey, some day gotta be the first right?

Anyway. This show has been real hyped. Like crazy hyped. So many crazy things would happen, the best show ever and so much special and AHH! And then they go on stage and be like

“Hello Gelsenkirchen! We’re Sabaton and this is GHOST DIVISION”.

“Ghost Division”. Still. The. Fucking. Ghost. Division. After. Seven. Fucking. Years. Still. Fucking. Ghost. Division. 

Like, how about spicing things up a bit? “We’re Sabaton, and we are the lions from the north”??? Or how about, for this superextrahypersuperduper special show, why not go further back in time and open with “Panzer Battalion” (Peace&Love 2007). Seriously, none of you, my readers are strangers to my animosity towards “Ghost Division”. I really love the song, as well as “The Art of War” (competing in the top with “Carolus Rex” about best album) but I’m SO. OVER. THIS. SONG. Thank you.

Regardless of that, it’s a decent opener, and the crowd loved them as always. And by the time the intro for “To Hell and Back” came, I said fuck leg injury and we jumped (!!) off the stone staircase and went on the side of the audience (actually fairly close, but very much on the side) and joined in for the jump party. Didn’t feel shit in my leg, I’m happy.

“Carolus Rex” was next, and you know. It’s strange, the fact you feel the most patriotic when you’re not at home. And I still don’t know the English lyrics to it. And it wasn’t until now that the first real surprise came, or well, at least for me. “No Bullets Fly”. Nice! Not my favorite, but finally things are happening.

The crowd started chanting the intro for “Swedish Pagans” which naturally “forced” the band to play it already now, and I do like it, it’s a favorite of mine, followed by another favorite, “Resist and Bite”.

This far in the show, no major surprises had happened aside “No Bullets Fly”. The pyros were weaker than the stuff they had in Karlstad, and this MIGHT be because of the weather, but come on. Lordi has survived without pyros since like 2008, and they still put on a good show. Get creative guys!

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I am, however, gonna give them some creds for playing “Screaming Eagles” after, at least saying, they saw a sign in the audience requesting it. There was indeed a sign, I just really this is why they played it. But it was fun to hear it live, you know?

And it was right after this, the first real highlight for me came. A guy from the crew came out to “fix” the panzar that is Hanne’s drumset, and Jocke started talking about panzers, and about a song. I said to Michelle “I hope it’s ‘Panzerkampf’, because I really miss it, but it could be ‘Panzer Battalion'” BUT OF COURSE, TO MY DELIGHT, IT WAS INDEED “PANZERKAMPF”.

THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU. I’ve missed this song so much, I can’t even! Thank you thank you!

“Attero Dominatus” followed, by “En Livstid i Krig” (in Swedish, thank god!) and then a little.. surprise. “Coat of Arms”.

The thing with “Coat of Arms” for me is that the album as well as the tour is one big blur for me. “Coat of Arms” is one of the weaker eras for me when it comes to Sabaton, was never a big fan of the album or anything, BUT, I do love the song “Coat of Arms”. Maybe Sabaton should have opened with that one, to spice it up a little bit?

This one was followed by one of my all time faves – “The Art of War”. Seriously, anyone who doesn’t love this song can just stop talking to me right now. My hair had been dried, thanks to my intense headbanging, but then it got wet again because my hair kept hitting the ground and the water puddles. Because of this song.

After this, they brought out a song the German fan club had voted up, which is considered a rare song for anyone who doesn’t live in Karlstad and has a hockey-team whose fanclub is called The Wolfpack, because if you do, you are one of the few people who actually had the blessing to hear “Wolfpack” live QUITE a few times, only because of Färjestad. And I don’t complain, it’s my favorite song off “Primo Victoria”.

But to top it off, as what could possibly become the most exciting thing of the evening, was the temporary and very short re-union with Daniel Mÿhr, which started with a sexy dance ala Mÿhr in his military hotpants that showed more than it should.

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The performance of the song was beyond perfection, and to top it off even more, Daniel did indeed undress completely. Thank you Daniel, for bringing the humor. I love you.

And then it happened… a divine voice out of nowhere…

Pretty much so. I have one favorite song with Sabaton. This number one, that beats everyone else. Which one?

“7734”. I already told you how much I died on the inside when I saw it was the bonus track on “Heroes”, and my brother looked weirdly at me and was like “but everyone loves ‘7734’”, but that was never my impression. So the fucking fact that they actually played, they FUCKING PLAYED IT… makes me forgive them for opening with “Ghost Division”. Yup. I said it, and you heard it.

I fucking forgive them for “Ghost Division”, because they gave my “7734”. Lindyhopping the night away.

After this, they left the stage and the lights went bananas. Michelle turned to me and said “Nightwitches”? and I just nodded. Of course. What else. So first song of the first round of encores was “Nightwitches” followed by “Primo Victoria” and “Metal Crüe” and for the love of God, while we are at it to retire “Ghost Division”, can we also retire “Metal Crüe”? That one has been going on since I even saw Sabaton live the first time in 2006, and if you thought I was over “Ghost Division”, imagine how fucking OVER I AM THIS ONE. Come on! “Metal Machine” and “Masters of the World” are like 100 times better. And again, you readers are no strangers to my animosity for this one either. Ok, I’m calm. Even if I’m tired of it, it’s still fun. I admit it.

They were supposed to leave the stage, but came back again, this time starting with “Panzer Battalion”, and seriously, I love this song. They played “Saboteurs” dedicated to the Saboteurs and wrapped the whole thing up with “Gott Mit Uns”, or as it is renamed now, “Noch Ein Bier”. Haha.

“Noch ein bier, vår konung har talat, hör vårt stridsrop Noch ein Bier!” Uhh. Hahaha.

After this, they REALLY left the stage and thanked for the night.

And ok, time to get serious. To be honest, I think this show was way too hyped. Apart from a few songs, the setlist wasn’t anything extraordinary, the stage setting wasn’t anything extra ordinary, and I even think I dare to say Daniel Mÿhr saved everything with his sexy dance.

But on the same time, I can never be thankful enough for “7734” so I guess it all evens out. Regardless of it all – it was an amazing night with amazing friends, and no animosities for songs or repeating setlists can ever change that.

Right after it was over we left off to say good bye to Daniel and we headed for Burger King for some late night dinner and then hitting home to the hotel where we had a smaller after party and then crashed.

Thank you all for this amazing evening, but a little more so to Korpiklaani and Sabaton. Thank you!

// Sara

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Väsby Rock Festival 2015 – Saturday

Posted in Concerts, Music, Uncategorized with tags , , , , , on July 18, 2015 by Sara Hammerzmith

We got up fairly early today. Only to hear the sound of the rain on the tent. And the worst part with that, isn’t that it’s raining. I’ve been to enough festivals to not care about that, no, the biggest problem is the fact that it’s SO COSY in the tent. When you hear the raindrop drip down and it’s a pretty nice temperature – not very hot, not too cold. And since I’m already a somewhat lazy person… you get it.

After a little while we finally dragged ourselves out of bed and went down to the festival area to catch Adrenaline Rush.

Adrenaline Rush

It was a rather small bunch of people who had found their way to the stage were Adrenaline Rush was to perform, but I guess this is a fairly common thing for early gigs. Despite the bad turn out, the band played with good energy and put on a nice show. I look forward to see them again some day!

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Dalton

We were a bit unsure about what to do next, and therefore decided to stay for Dalton as well, because, why not?

They were good. The sun had finally come out, and a few more people had found their way to the area and it was a good vibe in the audience. They talked a lot about the old days, and for the last song they invited Chris Laney on stage to perform KISS’s “Lick it Up” with them.

Thanks guys, it was fun!

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After Dalton we went back to the camp and start packing things up a bit, calling different pizzerias before going back to the festival to catch Work of Art.

Work of Art

So, there was many reasons why we end up seeing this band. First of all, Ted Poley could not stop talking about them on stage last night, which made me curios. So when we laid in the tent after Dalton, I decided to read a bit about them in the program. Turns out this is the band of Lars Säfsund, one of my favorit voice actors. And all of a sudden, my excitement went up to a hundred.

And this, is the point where I thank God for Ted Poley, and curse myself for never checking out the bands playing properly. Because they were really good.

Like, insanely good. I’ve found myself a new band. And it was so fun to see Lars in action. God, this was perfect.

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After Work of Art we did a quick run to the car to let my phone charge for a moment and then hitting up Eclipse.

Eclipse

So basically, Eclipse is half of Ammunition. Featuring Erik on vocals and Robban or drums, it’s as close as it gets. It was a big crowd and a good feeling, and the band sure delivered.

After Eclipse, we headed off to Upplands Väsby centra to catch something to eat. The food was rather expensive at the festival, so we decided to get some outside. We had a good time sitting in a park, eating pizza and watching wild rabbits running around the street. I love bunbuns.

When it started to get colder we sat in the car for a while to talk and laugh and what not before heading over to catch Michael Schenker’s Temple of Rock.

Michael Schenker’s Temple of Rock

I’ve never been a big fan of either UFO nor Scorpions, but I did find myself really enjoy this show.

He put on a good show, and so did the rest of the band. It’s always a bit impressive to see influential musicians show some us some of their brains and soul. And the sing along on “Rock you like a Hurricane” and “Rock Bottom”… Gold!

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After this, we headed directly over to the second stage to catch the last show for this festival: W.A.S.P.

Right before they started, they announced the band for next years festival which included Battle Beast, Dare and Hardcore Superstar. HCSS!

W.A.S.P

Despite never really considering myself THAT big of a fan of W.A.S.P, and despite having only one album with them, I have caught them live enough to learn pretty much all the songs they play live. Just as last night, the crowd kinda failed them. Not as much as yesterday, but less people than on Michael Schenker.

Like I’ve said the whole day, and will repeat now, it was a good show. Started out energetically with “On Your Knees” causing a major sing along, as with most W.A.S.P song.

In all honesty though, while it was good, it wasn’t anything extraordinary. It was the usual songs – “L.O.V.E. Machine”, “The Idol”, “Wild Child”, “I Wanna Be Somebody” and so on and so on. Short set for being a headliner, but then again, it’s always up to the band and I guess I shouldn’t complain, since I was a bit tired.

But despite all of this, it was the perfect ending of a pretty good festival.

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After this we just went back to the tent to crash. We had to get up even earlier tomorrow, so in a way, it’s good they stopped early. And with that, this festival was over.

// Sara

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