OPETH & Mein Hund ist dunkelblau

That OPETH and ANATHEMA tour together was long, long overdue. Well, hate makes waste. But sooner or later things that belong together come together. So to say ;)
But it is not enough to just tour together, nope, the tour includes three very special acoustic shows that sold out faster than one could say… you know. But more about that in 2 days ;)

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As for now I once again have to take the ride towards Cologne, the fourth time within seven days and of course I had to struggle through the rush hour and its traffic jams. Weather was not on my side either, as closer I came to Cologne as more it started raining. Luckily it was just rain, no snow. Besides, there was another show at the Palladium opposite the • E-Werk • causing pure parking chaos already at an early hour. Must have been due to the fact that no one wanted to pay 3 Euro.

Nevermind! I wanted to see these bands! One drawback right from the beginning was the fact that :: ANATHEMA :: as support band would only get a 40 minutes slot to play where one usually gets a 2 hrs show. The Brits get a very hearty welcome when they entered the stage (Lee especially) and so ANATHEMA welcomed the audience with Deep. Gooseflesh occurs in a twinkling of an eye. ANATHEMA never fail when it comes to their very special and emotional
atmosphere. The band seems to be in high spirits and especially Danny Cavanagh acts downright lively. As already said, these 40 minutes are really way too short. One or two more songs, a bit more light would have been wonderful. So it is Fragile Dreams that closes the set. Frenetic applause, a sigh and a melancholic “too bad” and waiting for the headliner.
Setlist: Deep, Thin Air, Untouchable Part 1, Untouchable Part 2, A Simple Mistake, Closer, Fragile Dreams

:: OPETH :: are extremely fast with their change-over and kick off with The Devil's Orchard, the opening track from their most recent album Heritage. OPETH have a fantastic sound, crystal-clear and powerful and a great lightshow (at least after our 10 minutes as photographer). Between the tracks Mikael tells little stories and banters, shows is German language skills (see headline) and scored by making everybody laugh. He has such grandiose dry to the bone and black humor, I love it! There are some fans heckling, but the hall is too big to make it till the stage, so it just got on nerves of the people around the callers. With OPETH it is the same thing as with Anathema. No matter how long they play, an OPETH show is always too short and one will miss felt 100 songs. Same goes for the song selection. Well, it is difficult for sure, but on the other hand I have seen so many OPETH shows with different setlists, special for every tour or event. I actually do not want to hear always the same songs ;) I love to be surprised. Summing up: it was once again a stunning show! Truly amazing. And now I’m looking forward to the acoustic show the day after tomorrow :)
Setlist: The Devil's Orchard, Ghost Of Perdition, White Cluster, Hope Leaves, Deliverance, Hessian Peel, Häxprocess, Reverie/Harlequin Forest, Blackwater Park

story & pics © Dajana