Seems like some things went too smooth as of late, forcing my personal micro cosmos to add more authority to the chaos factor in my life ;) Already in the forefront of the tonight’s show were trials and tribulations to get my shift changed, making this show possible at all, and to set up guestlist, photo-pass and an interview. At the end I headed for Cologne without anything of it and to a sold out show *lol* Much better… Woman extra smart has a look for oil at the gas station Old car, you know); woman extra stupid slams down the hood… with key and wallet inside and car locked of course… *pffffffff*
That was just the first of unwanted breaks, next ones I got with the jams at my “fave sites” (Highway A1… *yawns* for how many years now? 5?)… At 5.30pm I finally arrived at the Palladium with the doors already open and thousands of people pouring into the hall.
After more, mag-related chaos, I finally got Listenable’s Jess on the phone, GOJIRA’s tourmanager Emma on me hands and the security boss in my neck, allowing me to join the masses on guestlist and with a photo-pass ;) Thank you for that! Interview took less than 15 minutes covering not even a third of my questions and will be continued by email soon ;)

:: pics ::

Ok, time to hurl my ass into the turmoil ;) At 7pm Swedish Metalcore upstarts :: SONIC SYNDICATE :: opened tonight’s show and promptly made the masses jumping and bouncing. The Palladium was already well-filled, the average age below 20 and dominating fashion were baseball caps and pants hanging deep hollow of the knee ;) Kids were quickly out of breath and also weren’t bothered by the raspy and often out of tunes singing. 30 minutes playing were just enough for a handful of songs from the brand new album Love And Other Desasters (cute title, isn’t it? ;)) Hip show, mainstream-orientated, almost Pop-like, an affected but dynamic performance. Is that a casting band by the way? Sound was so so. Dunno, who needs such a band? Labels probably, since SONIC SYNDICATE are a perfect cash cow. I’m not allowed to take photos, although I have the same pass as the other 3 ones. Odd. However… time knocking back a beer ;)

Tight timetable, 15 minutes change-over and exceptional French metallers :: GOJIRA :: jump onto stage. Love them since their last record From Mars To Sirius and now they downright blow me away with their brand new record The Way Of All Flesh. Sound is brilliant, crystal clear, unbelievably powerful and under the skin going intensively. GOJIRA kick off with the wonderful opener of the new album Oroborus and then play themselves in kind of a trance, delivering an amazing performance. Gooseflesh! The French gents also have a 30 minutes stint only that doesn’t gives much room, though the band plays songs across their history, from all four records. Flawless, with an unique intensity. Did I already say that I experienced a grandiose show? No? ;) Wanna more of it, at least with one and a half hour playing time, in a comfortable club atmosphere. Too bad that they didn’t play Vacuity, GOJIRA’s first single. That’s such a crushing track and must be awesome live.
Setlist: Oroborus, Clone, Backbone, Rememberance, Flying Whales, Toxic Garbage Island, The Heaviest Matter Of The Universe

8.45pm and the headliner is up to kick asses. But firstly :: IN FLAMES :: maintain low profile, hide behind a white curtain and play with lights and shadows to The Chosen Pessimist. A quiet but atmospheric start ;) Suddenly I was allowed to take photos again and can enjoy the Swedes for extra long fours songs from the photo-pit ;) Just the sound engineer apparently got lost, or was killed? Sound now was too loud, overdriven or too dull respectively. In between sound went ok again, but just for four songs…hmm… strange. In return the setlist didn’t leave anything to be desired. A great best-of set was played, many old gems, with half of the songs from the new album A Sense Of Purpose embedded. And yes, IN FLAMES still kick ass! ;)
Setlist: The Chosen Pessimist, I’m The Highway, Vanishing Light, The Mirror’s Truth, Insipid 2000, The Hive, Satellites And Astronaut, System, Pinball Map, Delight And Angers, Disconnected, Colony, Cloud Connected, Medley (Dead God In Me, The Jester Race, Behind Space), My Sweet Shadow, Come Clarity, Quiet Place // Only For The Weak, Move Through Me, Alias, Trigger, Take This Life

10.30pm over and out. Clear and brief, quick and easy ;) Guess what… GOJIRA has been the highlight for me, but I also much enjoyed IN FLAMES. Haven’t seen them playing live for quite some time but they still kick ass ;)
However, this early finish perfectly suited my further plans and shot me afterwards in completely different worlds. Back home I went to the Triptychon where a dear writing mate was celebrating its birthday during the Depeche Mode party (my very first one), with cakes and sparkling wine, seeing me dancing all night *lol* After a 2-days festival, 8hrs work, stress, concert and party I fell into my bed truly tired. Oh damned… Sunday, service… working… wasn't there something? *deeply sighs*

story & pics © Dajana