When I first heard about this tour I was completely mind blown by the lineup and I was hoping that I can catch a show. As it turned out, my visit to the Netherlands was not well adjusted and there was no way for me to grab the performance. Yet, by some extremely unexpected and lucky circumstances, my stay was prolonged and one more amazing gig has been added to my seen live list.
The show occurred a few days ago, namely on 21 April 2012, in a venue called "Tivoli De Helling" located in Utrecht, the fourth largest city in the Netherlands. Generally speaking, this venue reminded me of "Doornroosje" in Nijmegen, the place where the "Kylesa" show was held in February and about which you can read in my gig review here. Unlike "Sleeping Beauty", "Tivoli De Helling" has a really minimalist exterior and is basically just a big, dark, neat building with not much outside decoration. There is a wide entry door at the front and a small ticket window on its right side, numerous windows on the upper floor and that is pretty much all that grabs your eyesight while you are walking toward the place. The interior remains somewhat dark as well, but at the same time it is very lively. First thing that you notice is a nice bar just across the room and several small tables for enjoying your drinks. On the left side of the place there is a secluded smoking room, while on the right there is a big drop counter for leaving jackets and bags. Also, near the very entrance, a small band merch table is located, the place where my better half and me fell to the temptation of buying the amazing silk-screened tour poster. Soon upon arriving we moved to the actual show space to which you enter through a double door near the smoking room. The gig room is the thing that really reminded me of "Doornroosje", as far as both the design and the technical features go. A wide, spacey location capable of supporting a great number of attendants, decorated with dim light, occasional clouds of smoke and a big stage that dominates the sight. As you will realize by the end of this review, the sound capabilities were very powerful and satisfying as well.
Doors of the venue opened at 7:30 PM, the show being scheduled to start at 8:15 PM. A short delay followed, but soon enough "Deafheaven" took the stage and kicked off the night. Seeing the band in February this year absolutely blew my mind away and left me stunned, so I was really looking forward to checking them out a second time and compare the two performances. In case you missed my review of their show in Amsterdam you can check it out here. By now all of my readers know how big my infatuation for this band is and I presume that this black metal band already crawled into the hearts of many who visit the blog. Ever since their first recordings surfaced on the light of day they have just kept grabbing more and more of my liking, this show being yet another step down that same path. Much like as on their previous gig which I attended, songs from "Roads to Judah" were played and this time we heard the album in its entirety, all four songs wrapped into a magnificent 45 minute performance. Already the beginning of "Violet" signaled that the sound will definitely not disappoint and in fact it managed to grow stronger. I was standing there in front of the stage in awe as wave after wave of the audio ocean kept hitting the senses nonstop, the very floor trembling under the onslaught of "Deafheaven". Movement on stage was also quite lively, with one of the guitarists constantly swinging himself as he played and, of course, the dancing of the singer did not go unnoticed. I have to admit though, that his act wasn't as nearly as provocative and taunting as in Amsterdam, which I presume is much more appealing for the majority of the crowd. Yet, as before, he managed to spice up the whole spectacle with his body movement. At this point I will stop with giving compliments to "Deafheaven", simply because I would end up repeating my words from the other review. The only bad thing that occurred on this particular show was the extremely low volume of the vocal... or well, the high volume of the instruments. The vocal was barely noticeable, despite Clarke screaming his lungs out and putting maximum effort. The only instances where he could be properly heard were moments when the guitar playing would be toned down a bit, like in some instances in "Unrequited". I have no idea whether the band noticed this imbalance of sound, but it definitely made their performance lower in intensity. Overall, their act was impressive, but I think it would be on a much better scale if the vocals were in proper order, possibly overshadowing the previous show I saw. Either way, this flaw wasn't actually their fault, so I am still pretty much far from even considering being disappointed.
Doors of the venue opened at 7:30 PM, the show being scheduled to start at 8:15 PM. A short delay followed, but soon enough "Deafheaven" took the stage and kicked off the night. Seeing the band in February this year absolutely blew my mind away and left me stunned, so I was really looking forward to checking them out a second time and compare the two performances. In case you missed my review of their show in Amsterdam you can check it out here. By now all of my readers know how big my infatuation for this band is and I presume that this black metal band already crawled into the hearts of many who visit the blog. Ever since their first recordings surfaced on the light of day they have just kept grabbing more and more of my liking, this show being yet another step down that same path. Much like as on their previous gig which I attended, songs from "Roads to Judah" were played and this time we heard the album in its entirety, all four songs wrapped into a magnificent 45 minute performance. Already the beginning of "Violet" signaled that the sound will definitely not disappoint and in fact it managed to grow stronger. I was standing there in front of the stage in awe as wave after wave of the audio ocean kept hitting the senses nonstop, the very floor trembling under the onslaught of "Deafheaven". Movement on stage was also quite lively, with one of the guitarists constantly swinging himself as he played and, of course, the dancing of the singer did not go unnoticed. I have to admit though, that his act wasn't as nearly as provocative and taunting as in Amsterdam, which I presume is much more appealing for the majority of the crowd. Yet, as before, he managed to spice up the whole spectacle with his body movement. At this point I will stop with giving compliments to "Deafheaven", simply because I would end up repeating my words from the other review. The only bad thing that occurred on this particular show was the extremely low volume of the vocal... or well, the high volume of the instruments. The vocal was barely noticeable, despite Clarke screaming his lungs out and putting maximum effort. The only instances where he could be properly heard were moments when the guitar playing would be toned down a bit, like in some instances in "Unrequited". I have no idea whether the band noticed this imbalance of sound, but it definitely made their performance lower in intensity. Overall, their act was impressive, but I think it would be on a much better scale if the vocals were in proper order, possibly overshadowing the previous show I saw. Either way, this flaw wasn't actually their fault, so I am still pretty much far from even considering being disappointed.
About twenty or so minutes after "Deafheaven" went off stage, "Russian Circles" began. What is there to say about this brilliant post rock/post metal trio? If you haven't heard about them yet, you were probably living under a stone for the past eight years. In the said period, the band has kept lashing out astounding releases, constantly growing and expanding their sound, being stronger and more impressive every step of the way. I have been in love with their music ever since "Enter" came out back in 2006 and now it was finally time to witness them live. Prior to the show I was told that they were amazing in concert and during this show those claims came to be utterly true. The unstoppable force created by these three men on stage broke loose with the tones of the song "Carpe" and from that point on I was completely amazed, watching and listening for the next hour totally stunned. It was absolutely amazing to witness the gigantic wall of sound created by only three band members. Everything was shaking with intensity, then in another moment gentle melodies make the audience relax a bit only to be smashed again by an audio explosion. If one would just listen to their performance with closed eyes, the band would definitely be mistaken for an entire orchestra. The first song continued into "Harper Lewis", later followed by songs such as "309", "Youngblood" and "Death Rides A Horse". There was a perfect mixture of older songs and the tracks from their latest album "Empros", so I really feel like they managed to satisfy everyone who attended. Each song was performed in a perfect manner, sounding literally as on the recordings with the great clash of calm and aggressive for which they are famous for. With the addition of the above mentioned monstrously epic sound they really managed to create an impressive audio landscape and absolutely impress.
It is really tough to make a closing word for this concert. Maybe it is because this year has been extremely fruitful for me, as far as seeing amazing shows goes, so I always end up being mind blown. Either way, the night on April 21 will definitely be in the basket for running toward the best show of 2012. I sincerely hope that I will have a chance to see these bands again, despite seeing one of them twice already, and that they don't stop doing what they do for a very, very long time.
It is really tough to make a closing word for this concert. Maybe it is because this year has been extremely fruitful for me, as far as seeing amazing shows goes, so I always end up being mind blown. Either way, the night on April 21 will definitely be in the basket for running toward the best show of 2012. I sincerely hope that I will have a chance to see these bands again, despite seeing one of them twice already, and that they don't stop doing what they do for a very, very long time.
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