Being one of if not the only writer(s) of these hallowed holographic halls situated in mainland Europe, I feel compelled to submit a collection of some of the gig experiences I’ve had the past half year.
Stam1na
Finnish prog/thrash darlings Stam1na fortunately attached themselves to a tour of their fellow countrymen Before the Dawn and Swallow the Sun, which I was lucky enough to attend in the company of two friends. Playing in the small room of Amsterdam venue De Melkweg, Stam1na had the questionable honor of opening the proceedings, although considering the fact that they seem like super chill dudes who all have full-time jobs and have somehow managed to put out consistently solid to excellent albums over the past two decades, they probably took it in stride. Regardless of being relegated to the opening slot, they fairly soon had a somewhat inappropriate pit going, had heads bobbing and banging across the still criminally small crowd, and showed that they are in fact very capable of putting their technically virtuous material on live. Considering they have had a tight and unchanged lineup, the band played equally tightly, and everything sounded great, which is especially impressive considering the limited time they had for soundchecking and the disparate soundscapes on offer during the whole of the evening.
Special props go out to vocalist Antti Hyyrynen, who routinely defies the physics of the human mouth with his blisteringly fast delivery, a feat he repeated in a live setting without a blip on the radar, as exemplified by a (to my non-Finnish speaking ears) faultless rendition of “Muistipalatsi”. Seeing them perform “Taivas”, the anthemic centerpiece of their latest album X live was a particular highlight for me, and after a painfully short but still very satisfying set, Stam1na bowed out and left the stage to their countrymen, and even though Swallow the Sun slew in their own morose way and Before the Dawn were perfunctorily good, Stam1na decidedly took the mämmi that night.
40 Watt Sun
40 Watt Sun takes up a special space in a damp but comfortable locker in my battered heart. Patrick Walker and co. are one of the few collectives that do it for me when nothing else does and life really seems to have me by the short and curlies, and I was predictably ‘excited’ to see the man himself perform an acoustic live set at VERA, an excellent music venue in my current hometown of Groningen. Preceded on stage by Serpentent and Cinder Well, a sad, introspective and twangy vive was well established before Patrick took to the stage. I bought some merch from the man himself before he started his gig, and made the hilarious error of only discovering the very nonchalant and unassuming man behind the merch table was in fact Walker himself only after I’d made my contributions, at which point I walked back and appropriately complimented the guy.
After the two opening acts set the mood and cleared the stage, it was time to open the ears and bare the heartstrings, and Walker performed a spellbinding and vulnerable set. In between songs, he juxtaposes the sincerity of his music with some hilariously snarky stage banter, adding a welcome dose of levity to the set. Most of the songs on the setlist were taken from Little Weight (2024) and Perfect Light (2022), and both “Astoria”and “Behind my Eyes” glided off the stage and into the audience's ears and hearts with elegance and poise, comprising two early highlights of the show. After a while, Patrick started offering requests, played an unreleased song, and especially floored me with an acoustic version of “Carry me Home”, a song that I’m pretty sure I’d never heard before but was still somehow mouthing the lyrics to. As if the entirety of that wasn’t enough, Patrick also took requests, and was such a gem that he accepted my plea to play “Until” as the evening’s last song. Tears were shamelessly shed, and after this wonderfully cathartic experience we left the venue hearts full and minds empty, except for the echoes of a carousel of melancholic and nostalgic masterpieces.
Dvne
Dvne are a pretty hip band, within the decidedly not very trendy scene that is progressive metal. May 7th marked my second time seeing them live, after a great set at last year’s Into The Grave festival in Leeuwarden, where they played an early slot on the sunday morning but still managed to wreck my neck with an earth shatteringly heavy performance with few bells and whistles. I was thus excited to see them perform again, this time at VERA. With a burly, no-nonsense stage presence, these Scottish powerhouses took the stage after Pothamus's rather more introspective (but still pleasantly heavy) opening set, and immediately shook the crowd awake with big riffs, roaring vocals and a standout drum performance by Dudley Tait.
While the gig was excellent, I was slightly disappointed that Dvne played the exact same setlist as they did at Into The Grave (if my memory serves me well). They also mainly stick to their latest album Voidkind (2024) in a live setting, which (according to some interviews I read) has to do with some issue performing material from Etemen Ænka (2021) live. No harm done, but I’m still a bit sad I didn’t get to wreck my vertebrae to the tectonic climax of “Towers” in a live setting, those ‘Ziggurats, Gilded ossuaries tolling’ are still unfortunately out of reach. Seeing “Abode of the Perfect Soul” bulldoze through the crowd and leave us leveled, sweating and wild-eyed was an absolute treat.
Repetition notwithstanding, it was absolutely great to see Dvne live in an indoor venue, actually headlining, and with a crowd that was there to see them instead of in a less prominent slot on the last day of a three day festival. These guys give everything they’ve got live, they’re tight and performing this technical and taxing material live is s feat or virtuosity that merits much larger recognition, even for a “hip” band in a niche scene. Even if I knew they’d play the exact same set again I’d go see them a third time without hesitation.