Lucky, Rijssen (NL)
9th of December, 2016

By Michael
Almost a year ago, we went to see Blind Guardian in Utrecht. This time, at the end of the year, their tour brought them to a much smaller town, Rijssen. For this show, they brought the band Cirrha Niva, located in The Netherlands. Lucky was already quite packed when Cirrha Niva started to play. To be honest, I didn’t get a chance to check them out before the concert, but they surprised me! With their groovy tunes and characteristic lead singer, they put up quite a show. Not everybody in the crowd seemed to fully enjoy it and it was a bit off from Blind Guardians’ regular repertoire, but nonetheless, the band was quite good. They played songs like “I Guess”, “From Ego” and “24/7 Smile” from their 2016 record “Out of the Freakshow”, next to some older tracks. Go check them out if you don’t know them yet!

It has been over twenty years since “Imaginations on the Other Side” has been released. That’s why Blind Guardian is making a tour devoted to this album. During a two hour show, the entire album was played. Right from the beginning, people were enthusiastic and the atmosphere livid. As Hansi spurred everyone one with a “Scream for me, Rijssen!” the crowd let out a big roar. Amidst the Christmas trees hanging from the ceiling, the whole ambiance was great.

At the first part of the show, a nice mix of songs were played, but after a few songs, we were treated to the full Imaginations on the Other Side album. For a lot of us, this was a bit of nostalgia and I am sure a lot of people came just for this. Somehow it seemed as if the average age of the people in the audience was a bit higher than what I am used to at concerts.

As the crowd cheered on “Guardian, Guardian, Guardian”, the band played the last song of the Imaginations album, to leave the stage for a bit. No one thought it would actually be the end of the show and it wasn’t. The first encore contained three more songs and Blind Guardian even gave one extra encore with Sacred Worlds, The Bard’s Song and Mirror, Mirror. As always, The Bard’s Song was loudly sung along with everybody in the audience. Sadly, no Lord of the Rings was played, but this was well made up with the very long setlist. We wonder where Blind Guardian will arrive next time, but we’ll be sure that we’ll be there!

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Setlist Blind Guardian:
1. The Ninth Wave
2. Welcome To Dying
3. Nightfall
4. Time what is time
5. Fly
6. Imaginations From the Other Side
7. I’m Alive
8. A Past and Future Secret
9. The Script For My Requiem
10. Mordred’s Song
11. Born in a Mourning Hall
12. Bright Eyes
13. Another Holy War
14. And the Story Ends

Encore
1. Into the Storm
2. The Curse of Feanor
3. Valhalla

Encore 2
1. Sacred Worlds
2. The Bard’s Song (In the Forest)
3. Mirror Mirror