By Michael Brookhuis
In part I you could read about the things that led up to me following Tristania for a whole day. So today, Sunday the 10th of November 2013, I had to get up early to be in time in Tilburg. Nearly everybody was there, as I introduced myself.
I must say, everybody in the band seemed extremely relaxed and I made sure I was in no ones way while I took some pictures. The schedule of the day had to be talked through and in the meantime everybody was just relaxing. Kjetil (lead vocals) was showing a funny youtube video to the rest and we had some laughs.
Well, it was time to get some work done. We made our way to the stage. Sadly enough Tristania and Dark Tranquillity would play in small venue, which would mean that I could not make pictures on stage. Bummer, yet no problem. I would do my best from the front row anyway. As Tarald (drums) was preparing his pedals, while humming a happy tune, I walked around in front of the stage, making pictures here and there.
Heading back to the dressing room, I found Ole (bass, vocals), crashed down on the couch. Yes people, being in a touring band is hard work and from now and then, you just need to take your time to relax. After some more chatting, discussing daily stuff and so on. We also managed to do a small interview, the result of that can be found on this site as well in the next couple of days. Time went on and before we knew it, the soundcheck had to be done.
Dark Tranquillity was just finishing their soundcheck when I entered the hall again. Because Tristania would play first, they could leave everything as it was after the soundcheck. How convenient! It is pretty cool to watch everything being put into place on the stage. Especially if the sound-check goes smoothly. Lights were tested as well, sound balancing for every band member had to be done and some songs were partially played. When everything was set, it was dinner time for us all. While the band sat down for a great meal, I jumped back into the cold evening air and went for a quick bite to eat.
Heading back to the venue, I bumped into Anders (guitar and vocals). He was heading to the Irish pub to watch a part of the Manchester United match. Again, being on tour is hard work! The rest of the band was done eating and just relaxing until the show would start. As soon as the doors would open, I headed to the stage to make sure I got a decent starting point to make pictures of the show.
When the show started, the venue was about halfway full. Luckily for the band, people kept pouring in as the show continued. Once again, it was clear that most of the fans were here for Dark Tranquillity, but that does not mean that Tristania did not get the crowd on their side. People seemed to be enjoying the show a lot.
Well, except for this one obnoxious drunk dude who tried to keep starting fights. I don’t get whats the fun in being so drunk at a show that you are bothering everyone else. Nonetheless, with both songs from their latest release, “Darkest White” and also some older songs as once again my favourite “Beyond the Veil”, Tristania made sure that people were having a great time. Even though the stage seemed a bit small, the band had a lot of energy and made the best of it.
Setlist Tristania:
1.Number
2.Night on Earth
3.Himmelfall
4.Beyond the Veil
5.Libre
6.Year of the Rat
7.Darkest White
8.Requiem
9.Exile
Just before Dark Tranquillity would perform, the venue is packed. Even the balcony seems full. As soon as the band enters the stage, the crowd goes wild. The energy and atmosphere is amazing. The only downside was that it was hard taking pictures with some headbanging dude’s hair constantly in your face. But well, what can I say, it’s a metal concert, right? At least the annoying drunk guy seemed to have left.
Lead singer Mikael was jumping all over the small stage, interacting with the audience. It is very cool to see everybody singing/grunting along. Because the band feels this as well, they are enthusiastic as well. Dark Tranquillity has been around for quite a while, so it must have been hard to create a set list with songs that appeal to both old and new fans, while also attracting new fans who are there for Tristania. But I feel as if they have accomplished this. I have become a fan at least.
And just as before, Dark Tranquillity stated that they are not a band who bullshit on stage. They just play their set, as many songs as they can fit into the time frame they have. But maybe it’s the atmosphere in the 013, after their final song, the band re-appeared and played an encore!
Setlist Dark Tranquillity:
1.Science of noise
2.White noise/Black Silence
3.What only you know
4.The Fatalist
5.The Silence in between
6.Zero Distance
7.A Bolt of Blazing Gold
8.The Mundane and the Magic
9.Punish my Heaven
10.Wonders at your Feet
11.Indifferent Suns
12.Irridium
13.Terminus (Where Death is most alive)
14.State of Trust
15.Endtime Hearts
16.Therein
17.Lost to Apathy
18.Misery’s Crown
Encore:
19.Lethe
After the show, I met up with Kjetil and after the band signed some cd’s and posters, we headed back to the dressing room. To our surprise, some kebab was brought. A welcome surprise it was! We had a couple of drinks together, talked about the show and upcoming tour and not long after that, the band had to pack their stuff and head towards the next show.
To sum things up, a lot of people think that being backstage will be the most wonderful thing in the world. Let me wake you up from that dream. Most of the time is filled with waiting. Nonetheless, hanging out with all the band members has been quite an experience. I have learnt a lot from this day and must say that I think that Tristania has been awesome to hang out with. The band is just really laid back and friendly. So thank you, Tristania, for making this possible. Until the next time!
For more pictures of the show of Tristania and Dark Tranquility check out Brookhuis Photography!