Covenant Modern Ruin Tour 2011
I went to see Covenant's concert on Saturday (10.12), and here are my impressions.
The venue was Markthalle, and, as it was already the third time there, I felt quite at home already XD Although I miscalculated a bit and arrived some 20 minutes before they even opened the doors. But they let the people in even earlier than it was stated on the ticket - very thoughtful of them, since it was cold outside.
The concert started 10 minutes before the announced time, and I was really surprised, that hardly ever happens. I was even more surprised that there were two support bands, not just one. I had no idea Patenbrigade: Wolff will be there too! I actually knew only one song by them, so I didn't think I would enjoy their performance much, but I was wrong because they were great!
They had this road worker theme going in, with orange overalls and safety helmets and everything, and their music was really catchy! Here is a video from another performance of theirs, it is very similar and shows how it was:
They smashed a keyboard and played on modified road signs, how cool is that?! And I have to say I actually danced along - the hall was still pretty empty since they were just a support band and they started early, so at first I was like 'No way I'm going out there to dance, that is bound to attract attention D:' But I just could not stand sitting while such cool music was playing! So in the end I got up and danced, and I feel kind of proud of myself for doing that. I know it's not a big deal, theoretically, but it is for me XD
Interestingly, they had no barriers at the stage whatsoever, so when the next supporting band came on stage, I got as close as possible. Well, I shouldn't have bothered, though because the band Decoded Feedback was not that cool. They were all right, I suppose, but they didn't do it for me. The vocalist somehow felt like he was trying too hard XD But it was really nice to see a girl at the keyboards, we don't see women performing this sort of thing too often.
And at last it was Covenant time! Well, actually, I can sum it up in one sentence: that is one band that is better on studio albums.
Maybe my strategical placement at the very stage misfired, but the sound seemed pretty bad to me. That's probably because the speakers were somehow behind me, so that it didn't even feel like the sound was coming from the stage. And the sound felt really messy - the rhythm and effects pretty much obscured all the melody, and in Covenant songs melody is an important element.
Another thing I didn't like was the damn smoke machine :/ Sometimes there was so much smoke I could not even see what is happening on stage, and I chocked on the smoke a little.
And the third thing I didn't like much, is that they did not have the classic band line-up. Well, ok, it's not like I knew anyone but Eskil by name, but still, I object to bands being turned into one-man project with just some people to play the music, it somehow negates the idea of a band. Although one of the guys who was on stage, Daniel Myer (also known from his works with Haujobb and Architect), is an official band member. But the other dude, also Daniel, is not, he is just a live musician.
Oh well, those were the negative points, but there are still plenty of positive ones. Such as - omg, Eskil is so awesome! I'm not into older guys normally, but in this case I will make an exception XD His voice sounds great live, it's amazing! I think he talks a bit too much, but then again, he says such profound, insightful things... And, as I mentioned before, I was as close to the stage as possible without actually being on the stage, so every time he approached the audience, I had to choke on a girly squee XD Also, he was wearing an impeccable white suit as he usually does, he has style!
As to the songs, the setlist was pretty much what I expected, the songs, in no particular order, were:
Lightbringer
The Beauty and the Grace
Judge of My Domain
Call the Ships to Port
The Men
Bullet
Der Leiermann
Dynamo Clock
We Stand Alone (that was played before the break, and audience went wild at that, the song is one of the fan favourites)
Happy Man
Dead Stars
Monochrome
The Passion Game (that was a presentation of a new song - they are already working on a new album!)
20 Hz
Lol, I'm pretty sure I'm forgetting something, because there is no way they had only this few songs... But if a full setlist gets published somewhere online, I'll update the list.
So, all in all, it was not all bad, even if it was not exactly as good as I imagined it would be. And I bought me a poster of their tour :D When I get a flat, I'll hang it on my wall ^_^
The venue was Markthalle, and, as it was already the third time there, I felt quite at home already XD Although I miscalculated a bit and arrived some 20 minutes before they even opened the doors. But they let the people in even earlier than it was stated on the ticket - very thoughtful of them, since it was cold outside.
The concert started 10 minutes before the announced time, and I was really surprised, that hardly ever happens. I was even more surprised that there were two support bands, not just one. I had no idea Patenbrigade: Wolff will be there too! I actually knew only one song by them, so I didn't think I would enjoy their performance much, but I was wrong because they were great!
They had this road worker theme going in, with orange overalls and safety helmets and everything, and their music was really catchy! Here is a video from another performance of theirs, it is very similar and shows how it was:
Click to viewThey smashed a keyboard and played on modified road signs, how cool is that?! And I have to say I actually danced along - the hall was still pretty empty since they were just a support band and they started early, so at first I was like 'No way I'm going out there to dance, that is bound to attract attention D:' But I just could not stand sitting while such cool music was playing! So in the end I got up and danced, and I feel kind of proud of myself for doing that. I know it's not a big deal, theoretically, but it is for me XD
Interestingly, they had no barriers at the stage whatsoever, so when the next supporting band came on stage, I got as close as possible. Well, I shouldn't have bothered, though because the band Decoded Feedback was not that cool. They were all right, I suppose, but they didn't do it for me. The vocalist somehow felt like he was trying too hard XD But it was really nice to see a girl at the keyboards, we don't see women performing this sort of thing too often.
And at last it was Covenant time! Well, actually, I can sum it up in one sentence: that is one band that is better on studio albums.
Maybe my strategical placement at the very stage misfired, but the sound seemed pretty bad to me. That's probably because the speakers were somehow behind me, so that it didn't even feel like the sound was coming from the stage. And the sound felt really messy - the rhythm and effects pretty much obscured all the melody, and in Covenant songs melody is an important element.
Another thing I didn't like was the damn smoke machine :/ Sometimes there was so much smoke I could not even see what is happening on stage, and I chocked on the smoke a little.
And the third thing I didn't like much, is that they did not have the classic band line-up. Well, ok, it's not like I knew anyone but Eskil by name, but still, I object to bands being turned into one-man project with just some people to play the music, it somehow negates the idea of a band. Although one of the guys who was on stage, Daniel Myer (also known from his works with Haujobb and Architect), is an official band member. But the other dude, also Daniel, is not, he is just a live musician.
Oh well, those were the negative points, but there are still plenty of positive ones. Such as - omg, Eskil is so awesome! I'm not into older guys normally, but in this case I will make an exception XD His voice sounds great live, it's amazing! I think he talks a bit too much, but then again, he says such profound, insightful things... And, as I mentioned before, I was as close to the stage as possible without actually being on the stage, so every time he approached the audience, I had to choke on a girly squee XD Also, he was wearing an impeccable white suit as he usually does, he has style!
As to the songs, the setlist was pretty much what I expected, the songs, in no particular order, were:
Lightbringer
The Beauty and the Grace
Judge of My Domain
Call the Ships to Port
The Men
Bullet
Der Leiermann
Dynamo Clock
We Stand Alone (that was played before the break, and audience went wild at that, the song is one of the fan favourites)
Happy Man
Dead Stars
Monochrome
The Passion Game (that was a presentation of a new song - they are already working on a new album!)
20 Hz
Lol, I'm pretty sure I'm forgetting something, because there is no way they had only this few songs... But if a full setlist gets published somewhere online, I'll update the list.
So, all in all, it was not all bad, even if it was not exactly as good as I imagined it would be. And I bought me a poster of their tour :D When I get a flat, I'll hang it on my wall ^_^