INTRO

DAGOBA

SEPULTURA

IN FLAMES

review by 

Matthew  Haumschild

photos © by Stefan W. Vogelaar

The public use of these photos  is strictly prohibited 

without written permission

INTRO  

What an interesting experience. For an twenty-five year old male from the United States to travel 2000 miles to see a concert in Milan Italy. I had no idea what to expect. The question going through my mind was “are European crowds the same as U.S. crowds?” My other curiosities lay in the venue itself. What kind of venue was it, how many people it could hold and how many people would show up.

            Rolling Stone is a venue that has an area for seating. It seemed like a theatre to me that could hold around 2000 people, the Minnesota equivalent to Roy Wilkins auditorium. The difference being that this place was built for just concerts and dancing when Roy Wilkins is not.

            Rolling Stone was packed! It’s not very often that I go to a concert with so many people and I was pleased with the amount.

DAGOBA                dagoba       

I had no idea who Dagobah was, but at first glance I wasn’t sure if I was going to like them or not since they ripped off Star Wars for their band name. Although the name is cool, it wouldn’t have been my first choice. I think the band was English but I didn’t know for sure. They actually didn’t sound too bad. Their drummer is actually quite talented and I enjoyed hearing him over all the other members of the band. I’m not too sure about their sound guy though, I was in the front and all I could hear were the drums. I could hear the guitar but it seemed muffled and the bass…I could hear it but I couldn’t distinguish the notes and I couldn’t really make out what the singer was singing about. But through all their faults I didn’t think they sounded too bad. Although, during the last part of their set, I noticed something, the guitar player was playing in-between songs and it sounded different from when the band was actually playing and then it dawned on me. The band had a rhythm guitar track playing along with the band! At that point I started to loose respect for the band. They sounded good live and I would see them again and I might buy their CD. But I know how they get their sound and I am still not sure what to completely think of the band.

SEPULTURA        sepultura      

The primary band I went to see was SEPULTURA! I had only seen them two other times. A band I’ve been in love with for over ten years and I’ve only seen twice before. I could tell that there were a lot more people in the crowd that were just as anxious as I was to see this band. Sepultura started their set with “Dark Wood Of Error” which got the crowd into a frenzy! Right after that song they went directly into, “Refuse/Resist” and that song got everyone singing! After that song, I had to retreat towards the middle of the pit because a lot more people came in and…wow.  I stood back and I just watched Roy Mayorga play. It was an interesting experience. I had seen him play with Soulfly a few times and it was just strange seeing him play with Sepultura and I was sceptical to see what kind of a job he’d actually do. He actually did a very good job and I was rather satisfied with his performance albeit a little weird. It would be the same if Paulo joined Soulfly and played bass. Some of the other songs that Sepultura played were, “Dead Embryonic Cells,” Arise,” Choke,” Buried Words,” Convicted In Life, “Apes Of God,” Kiaowas, “ Lookaway, “Roots Bloody Roots,” Troops Of Doom,” Slave New World,” and maybe a few others that I can not remember. I actually entered the pit a few times during that whole time and I can tell you this, the Italian pits were very friendly. I did not feel that when I went in there that anyone was going to purposely hurt me like they do in America. I had felt that way whenever I was in Phoenix, Milwaukee, Chicago, or Minneapolis. Everyone there was there to have a good time and to me, that makes a great crowd.  

IN FLAMES        in flames      

I have seen In Flames around six times before but never with this many people. No, I don’t count the time I saw them with Slayer because the crowd for the Slayer show was there simply to see Slayer and not just In Flames. In Flames was the band of the evening for the crowd. 5000 screaming Italians all for In Flames and the band delivered for them. In Flames started their set with “Pin Ball Map” which got the whole floor going! From front to back from each side, it was amazing. The band also had this incredible light show! I only wished that Sepultura had something similar. In Flames played a very large and very long set. From memory, they played “Behind Space,” Moonshield, “Only For The Weak, “ Colony,” System,” Drifter,” Cloud Connected,” The Quiet Place,” Touch Of Red,” My Sweet Shadow,” Take This Life,” Leeches,” Vacuum,” Crawl Through Knives,” Episode 666” and maybe a few others that I just can’t remember. The band played them all flawlessly and their sound couldn’t be better. I could hear the bass and every drum and guitar. The singing could be a little louder but other than that the band played flawlessly. The lightshow was still just amazing and I think that is what I remember most about this show.

            This is the show of the year for me. I got to see two of my favourite bands of all time play in a country a half a world away from me. If any of these bands come through town on their own…go see them. Any dollar amount is worth it.

Matthew Haumschild