It took quite some time till the DEFTONES showed their faces again over here in Europe. And after their large summer festival tour we get them even twice this year ;) Together with COHEED AND CAMBRIA they are up to fill the indoor locations for a one month lasting venture throughout Europe.
I have to confess that I was there to see COHEED AND CAMBRIA, who got me with their conceptual albums about the Armory Wars saga.
But of course the DEFTONES too are always good for a highly energetic show. Seems like I got once again the chance to mix business with pleasure. Two bands I did not see playing live so far, one I eagerly wanted to see and another one still to discover ;)

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The show at Cologne’s Live Music Hall is the first one of four in Germany and the only one in NRW. Despite of more or less fair ticket prices the hall is not sold out but packed. I loved the gesture to demand 5 Euro from all the guestlist people to benefit DEFTONES bassist Chi Cheng, who was involved in a very tragic car crash in 2008 and left since then in a coma. But I really disliked the merchandise pricing. Considering the fact that US bands have for sure expensive costs for airfreight, these prices are outrageous. To have to pay through our noses for a shirt or zipper seems to escalate these days…

Arriving very early for an interview I had the luck to see my favorite song of most recent :: COHEED & CAMBRIA :: album The Year Of The Black Rainbow performed live and in full length during the band’s soundcheck. Awwwww… so awesome ;) Off for a chat with guitarist Travis Stever and back for the show. The New York guys kicked off with an old one, In Keeping Secrets Of Silent Earth: 3, and a terrible sound. Even my fave, Here We Are Juggernaut, was soooo bad – bummer! Let me say that I naturally stood in the photopit, directly in front of the speaker tower left side, where the sound was thundering down way too laud and bass-driven. From the fourth song on it got better and I was told that the sound backwards was almost great. The audience again needed some time to get used to the Prog Metal performance; it actually was the last song Welcome Home that got the crowd eventually in full swing. And it was dark. A huge light show was installed for the Deftones but COHEED AND CAMBRIA only got a few spots. Damn! But hey, I though loved the show :)
Setlist: In Keeping Secrets Of Silent Earth: 3, Ten Speed (Of God's Blood & Burial), Here We Are Juggernaut, This Shattered Symphony, The Velorium Camper III: All The Killer, Delirium Trigger, No World for Tomorrow, World Of Lines, Welcome Home

Short break and it got very, very crowded. Fans were ravenous and eagerly awaiting Chino and the :: DEFTONES :: Lights out and with mad screams the Cali-guys jumped onto stage starting with Rocket Skates at full force. Wow. Mr. Moreno was completely going wild, running, jumping and climbing the high stage elements like a bouncy ball, almost impossible to catch. And he screamed his soul off the body. Somehow I was expecting to see him puke, but he did not. Though he always walked into back after having finished a high energetic and adrenalin pushing song to recover his breath and to get ready for the next attack ;) He stayed with the pace, through the entire show, and that day by day… I really take my hat off to him! In contrast, axe-man Stephen Carpenter stood like nailed on a 30x30 spot, while also the bass player and sound wiz were acting much lively.
The spirits in the Live Music hall are flying high! Fantastic. Nah… better said, the audience is totally freakin’ out ;) There are calmer songs in between to give rest to band and crowd, where Chino also plays some guitar and completely fails at Beauty School *lol* Great to see that rock stars ain’t perfect either and take it easy :) Some songs create gooseflesh, most of all Digital Bath – an outstanding track! Really. Seems Iike there is a certain backlog ;)
Having done my duties I went to the backside of the hall and finally the superstructures and lights came into their own. Too bad that I had to get my equipment out of the venue *sighs*
Setlist: Rocket Skates, Around The Fur, My Own Summer (Shove It), Lotion, Be Quiet And Drive (Far Away), Feiticeira, Digital Bath, Knife Party, Korea, Diamond Eyes, Risk, Beauty School, You’ve Seen The Butcher, Sextape, Prince, Bloody Cape, Minerva, Passenger, Change (In The House Of Flies), Headup // Engine Nr. 9, 7 Words

Yes, it was an amazing show and a nice evening. COHEED AND CAMBRIA of course played way too short but had a perfect setlist through all records to get me in. I was totally surprised by the DEFTONES and the fans… you know, frenetically celebrated them. Yeah, l left with a big grin…

story & pics © Dajana