10-12-2007 Apocalyptica

Support: Lacrimas Profundere; Venue: 013 Tilburg(Netherlands)
By: Elvira Visser

For me today was the third day this week to see both bands. And I think it took
me three days to get used to Lacrimas Profundere. Their style can be best described
and rock ‘n sad, as they would call it themselves. To me it reminded me of 69eyes
and later a bit of Him and Paradise Lost.

The first day I heard them I did not like them, but there were some technical
problems as well. The stage was fully build and Rob, the singer was right in
front of the drums, which you could hear through his microphone so I think later
they switched of his volume because I could not hear him sing. The second day it all worked a lot better and it was okay for me, but at the Tilburg gig on monday I really started to like them.
The sound was good and I had the feeling they liked it more themselves
as well. They seemed to have more fun and interact with each other and with
the audience. Must be hard though, playing in front of people who came to see
Apocalytpica and probably never heard of Lacrimas Profundere. They had a good
show this evening. I am curious to hear the album which they are recording.

Oliver, a guitarist is great to see on stage, really building a little show
around him but still not claiming all he attention. Peter bass-guitar and Rob,
the singer also know how to interact every now and then with the girls in front
of them.
This night they sounded better on stage then I had heard on CD. Also I think
this new singer can do more with his voice, I kinda came to like this band.

Some of the songs have great guitar parts or a bass-line that just sticks in
your head. The last song they played was “Ave end” and the last word
of the song was “stop”. And that is what they did.

Then finally it was time for Apocalyptica. When the little weird intro started
the stage got darker and the covers of the chairs where removed when there was
more light again, the guys appeared one by one and walked to their places. Antero
started to play with the beginning of “World Collide” and the others
followed. The amazing backdrop was shown and the gig started. And like a roller-coaster
ride they played. Before I could blink with my eyes and realised I was finally
watching them they already played 5 songs.

I must admit that for me this gig was not the best, but I was standing on the
balcony and the whole gig experience is quite different. They played in Amsterdam
on Friday and to me that was the better gig of the three days. The sound was
not that good, Mikko’s drums came out a little too much. The vibe in the venue
was great, no pushing at all and just happy people, and even the band was happy
on stage. They were making a lot of fun with each other and the audience. Perttu
Kivilaakso learns us the importance of the Finnish word “Vittu” and
how you should use it. (a lot).

On Sunday they played at Groningen and this gig was a lot more energetic, the
crowd was pushing, jumping and building a pit. It was hard to just stand and
enjoy, you automatically had to join the others jumping and moving. Paavo said:
“It is really great to see those people, get all wild, but sometimes you start to pay more attention to the people.
That they might get hurt, and I forget to focus on playing. But then I think a pit belongs to a gig it is just a part of it”.

Although the audience was really wild, so to say, the singing along was a little
less then at Amsterdam. Which quite amazed me because not only the vocal songs
on the last 2 albums but also a song like “Seemann” ended in a lot
of people singing along. This evening I was standing on the balcony and had
a different view, I did miss the interaction from the guys with the fans, themselves
and even the flirting. From up there I could still see the poking with the bows
and the hugs which was great to see. The guys really seemed to enjoy themselves
on stage.

This new tour was not only to play new songs but the band also invested in
their show. Their chairs changed, they are now cello skulls, like the one on
the backdrop and a new backdrop that fits the album cover. But the most amazing
thing is their light show. My god, if you do not like a song you can just watch
the light effects. How great, at one point Mikko Sirén gives a short
drum solo and this see-through drum kit extricated by yellow-orange light. Not
only it is great to see Mikko play he really became an important part of the
band, especially with the newer songs, what a great power.

As their second song they played “Refuse and Resist”, many happy
people and me as well because I think that song live is really good but as second
song…well it does get you totally in the right energy and metal flow. The
sound of the cello’s is so great in this song.
The guys were goofing around and Eicca threw in a little game, the audience
vs. Paavo. We had to jump after 4, he would count. I think all nights Paavo
won because the crowd was packed close to each other, to close to jump or they
did not understand the meaning until Paavo had already jumped.
They did play
some Metallica covers to peoples appreciation such like: “Fight, Fire With
Fire” and “Seek and Destroy”. As a surprise they played “One”
this evening, really amazing song. They did not played this song the other days
and some Dutch fans asked Perttu if they could play the song. He said that he
liked the song as well but had to convince the other guys to play it, it seemed
to work out. What a great song live, it just builds up the tension and the power.

What was a little weird is that in previous gigs they played “Hall of
the Mountain King” as their final song, but now that was the end of part
1. There was more! After the encore they played “Nothing Else Matters”
directly followed by “Life Burns” and “Inquisition Symphony”.
WOW…energy levels up again, people applauding like nut heads and screaming
again for more. They did came back, but only to play “Seemann”. That
was the perfect ending, to get those energy levels a bit down again, to start
realise it is over. Damn they were great.

More pictures can be found at photographicretentions.nl

Links:
Lacrimas Profundere MySpace
Lacrimas Profundere Official
Apocalyptica MySpace
Apocalyptica Official