Reflections of Darkness - Music Magazine - Live Review: Diary Of Dreams

Details: Written by: Nastja Iz; Published: 18 October 2019

Kubana Live Club, Siegburg / Museumskeller und HsD, Erfurt / Lokpark, Braunschweig Germany
10th, 11th & 12th October 2019
Diary Of Dreams - “Hell in Eden” Tour 2019 - Support: Us

The first, more extended part of the “Hell in Eden” happened to be already two years ago when the album was released on 6th October 2017. Due to different reasons it was not possible for me to attend more than one show back then while I was totally in love with the new album and so the announcement of this mini tour with three dates in mid-October was a perfect chance to fix that and go for another journey into the dark with DIARY OF DREAMS.

Siegburg, 10th October 2019

Us

The Swedish combo US just released their debut album ‘First Contact’ in May 2019 and just shortly later, in October 2019 they joined DIARY OF DREAMS on this mini tour and so also celebrated their first shows in Germany ever. Andrew Montgomery and Leo Josefsson are no total newcomer in the music biz, though. Andrew is also known as singer in GENEVA (former SUNFISH) with roots back in 1992 when the band was formed. GENEVA was a Scottish Indie Rock band that received popularity with the first two albums before a split-up. Also Leo Josefsson let some people first wonder - wait I’ve seen this guy already. Yep, totally possible. Leo Josefsson is also known as singer and guitarist of Swedish Electro Pop band LOWE and part of STATEMACHINE. http://www.usmusicspace.com / https://www.facebook.com/usmusicspace

Music & Performance
When US came on stage, a futuristic atmosphere covered the cosy venue of Kubana in Siegburg. The band was wearing white jumpsuits which is something one might not expect at a concert of DIARY OF DREAMS on the one hand. On the other hand it is also something very different and so also easily catching the attention. With the first moments of the first song of the night ‘Mute’ they got my attention totally. Calm, spherical, Future Pop melodies and the impressively unique voice of Andrew. Wow! While just trying to get used to the music that was presented on the first evening of the tour in Siegburg, it was totally fast clear that there is something of high quality presented to us. No matter whether some of us were convinced directly or needed a bit, we all agreed that the songs are written and performed on a very high professional level, considering that US presented us songs from their debut album, even being experienced musicians of course, an impressive performance.

The performance itself was quite minimalistic and as already mentioned futuristic. The guys appeared grateful to the audience and DIARY OF DREAMS and the crew behind for having the chance to perform in Germany. While the first 3-4 songs where lovely to listen, but for the first-time-listener a bit difficult to catch with the sound given at a live gig, somewhere in the second part US totally caught me for the first time. I remember that ‘Technicolor’ was one of the first songs that stuck in my head. Catchy, danceable and always served with the really spherical voice of Andrew and the music created by Leo who also is supporting with some backing vocals (and has a voice that is not less fascinating and pleasant to listen to at all). At the end of their performance we all were grateful for this choice of support act and looking forward to two more nights with them.

Setlist
01. Mute
02. Till The Dying Of The Light
03. My Heart’s Desire
04. As A Child
05. Towards The Sun
06. Never Get Over
07. Technicolor
08. In Denial
09. Voyager

Rating
Music: 8
Performance: 7
Light: 8
Sound: 8
Total: 7.8 / 10

Diary Of Dreams

There is no need to introduce DIARY OF DREAMS - 25 years since the debut album ‘Cholymelan’ was released, many more incredibly beautiful dark releases followed, countless live performances on tour and at festivals all over the world. DIARY OF DREAMS grew to a band that is nowadays considered to be one of the most important bands of our scene and this is so well deserved. With ‘hell in Eden’ DIARY OF DREAMS released in 2017 that convinced even those who might have been a bit of the track the few years before - majestic, dark, epic, with a lot of love to details, from fragile ballads to roaring tracks. An album that is totally worth to be put on a list of “must listen to”. https://www.facebook.com/officialdiaryofdreams / https://www.diaryofdreams.de

Music & Performance
The location in Siegburg, Kubana Live Club, is one of the smaller ones compared to those where I have seen DIARY OF DREAMS in the past. It was also extremely cosy, the way the stage was built in was a bit unusual with the angle, but I really loved the steps, so it was easy to watch the show also from behind. DIARY OF DREAMS played a wonderful setlist full of new songs from ‘hell in Eden’ along with old and even rare gems. Some of them literally took one back in years. The start with ‘Made In Shame’ and ‘Epicon’ (along with ‘Hiding Rivers’ definitely my favourites on the current album) was powerful and direction-giving for the whole concert. ‘Listen And Scream’ was one of a bunch of songs where the audience was involved to and followed happily. ‘MenschFeind’ and ‘Soul Stripper’ - two of those older songs that will be forever some of not only my favourites.

A very special song on that setlist was ‘Reign Of Chaos’. An old, beautiful, dark track that Adrian surprisingly dedicated to a long-time friend and band member Gaun:A. When I heard that dedication it felt very intense since Gaun:A was always along with Adrian the core of DIARY OF DREAMS to me and without being too emotional here, I am still really missing him on stage, so this felt so real at that moment. Adrian dedicated him that song as he said, it was also so great to play especially that one with him and he was clearly missing him as well. Also we were introduced to the new keyboarder Felix who actually had his very first show with DIARY OF DREAMS in Siegburg. We were really impressed and hope that he will stay for a long, long while.

At some point Adrian pointed out that he was impressed that just a very few people were taking pictures at all (he also made sure to add, that it’s fine to those who did), but the fact that everyone was just focused on the songs and the show, really stood out to him. Also I’d say the audience in Siegburg was the most thoughtful on this tour. Partying loud when it was the time, but also being perfectly attentive during those magical quiet moments. Loved that a lot about them. The regular set ended with beloved ‘Butterfly:Dance!’, a song that is very special to me on many different levels, that also means some great interaction with the audience and many memories to all of us.

Of course DIARY OF DREAMS had to come back for another bunch of songs. The first encore was consisting of ‘Endless Nights’, ‘Kindrom’ and ‘Undividable’. Adrian now dedicated ‘Undividable’ to Albert who he has been working together with for 20 years now. This evening felt very special and personal, a very open side of Adrian Hates and also the rest of the band - Dejan, Hilger and Felix seemed to be in perfect harmony. You could not tell that Felix joined the band for the first time at all. The concert was not over with ‘Undividable’ though, even that the band left the stage again. The audience also didn’t feel like that would be the end already. And honestly, considering it was Thursday night in a not that big place, the atmosphere and audience was really amazing. It didn’t feel at all like the people would care about working the next day.

The audience was loud enough to make it happen and so DIARY OF DREAMS came back for one more song - the legendary ‘The Curse’ and well this one turned out to be a surprise, oh yes! Just a few moments into the song and Adrian surprisingly left the stage and joined the audience! While walking around the venue and singing, hugging fans, singing with them or just confusing them a little bit. I’ve never experienced that before (though my sources told me that it happened outside of Germany already) and it was definitely a highlight! Very different from what shows back in the past were like and absolutely great. With that really intense finale the perfect show in Siegburg came to an end. Totally unexpected, but it turned out to become one of my all-time favourite DIARY OF DREAMS shows that I’ve been to (and that’s been quite a bunch). We also knew that we probably just started the tour with a highlight, but of course were looking forward to the next two days.

Setlist
01. Made In Shame
02. Epicon
03. Daemon
04. Listen And Scream
05. MenschFeind
06. Soul Stripper
07. hell in Eden
08. Reign Of Chaos
09. Malum
10. She And Her Darkness
11. Haus der Stille
12. Traumtänzer
13. King Of Nowhere
14. Decipher Me
15. Butterfly:Dance!
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16. Endless Nights
17. Kindrom
18. Undividable
---
19. The Curse

Rating
Music: 9
Performance: 10
Light: 8
Sound: 9
Total: 9 / 10

Erfurt, 11th October 2019

The Thursday evening ended for us chatting with friends and as usual meeting new people who share the same passion for music. The typical after concert insomnia hit in and so the night was short, but the hotel breakfast and lots of coffee helped in the morning before we took our ride to Erfurt. Due to traffic jam we had only very little time in Erfurt but the few things we saw totally blew our mind. I never happened to be in Erfurt before, and was totally surprised about all the beautiful architecture, tiny, cosy streets and houses. Wherever we walked by, it all looked lovely. But there was only time for a dinner on a rush and the promise to plan more time for sightseeing during the next visit.

Us

The venue in Erfurt was bigger than the day before in Siegburg and though there might have been more people they had more chances to hide, so it didn’t feel packed, but got better later when the main band came on stage. I guess the gig in Erfurt was not the most favourite for US, as their music really requires attention from the audience which is sometimes difficult to get when you are a support act. However I enjoyed the songs as I now listened to them for the second time even more and all the little, fine details got to unfold better. It felt already easier to feel the vibes and afterwards we all agreed that the production of the songs is on a really high level.

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I caught myself once or twice thinking of some COLDPLAY vibes in the songs. So another band that just started getting my attention and made me look forward to see them again the next day. Unfortunately the sound technician (I think) got it wrong when Andrew was thanking DIARY OF DREAMS and the audience as they were about to play at least one more song, but suddenly the sound of the microphone was turned off and the music that was filling the venue in between turned on. That made me really sad for the band and the end just felt so incomplete (and actually it was). Anyway I was hoping for Braunschweig to make up for it and it actually did.

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Diary Of Dreams

DIARY OF DREAMS’ performance in Erfurt was amazing. I was not very happy with the sound that night, and the atmosphere just had no chance against Siegburg the night before. But, to be fair, we all agreed that it was actually a really good night, just the comparison with Siegburg the night before made it hard. And the band itself was actually on fire. Dejan was as active as never before, Felix obviously felt even more comfortable after the premiere the night before and Hilger just approved his rock star appearance. Always fun to watch him and all together they seemed to really give 100 % tonight. What about Adrian? Well he seemed to be in the best mood ever which he also showed a lot to his band colleagues and our magazine’s photographer Daniela who was included way more into the show and Adrian’s comments than she probably expected. That was indeed a really fun evening with lots of highlights.

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‘She And Her Darkness’ got a special spot for me on this evening, sharing that song and moment with a very important person in my life was indeed magical. The emotions felt very honest and true. Also tonight Adrian introduced the new keyboarder Felix to the audience as well as he dedicate ‘Reign Of Chaos’ again to Gaun:A, a moment that meant a lot to me. The setlist was the same as in Siegburg and also tonight the audience got to get in touch with Adrian closer than usual during the second encore with ‘The Curse’. An evening full of laughter that proved that darkness is not all just grey and black and the facets of it are as diverse as our emotions. Even more unusual was, that Adrian did not even leave the hall after the concert and just stayed at the merch booth – where he later was joined by his colleagues – to talk to the fans.

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Setlist
01. Made In Shame
02. Epicon
03. Daemon
04. Listen And Scream
05. MenschFeind
06. Soul Stripper
07. hell in Eden
08. Reign Of Chaos
09. Malum
10. She And Her Darkness
11. Haus der Stille
12. Traumtänzer
13. King Of Nowhere
14. Decipher Me
15. Butterfly:Dance!
---
16. Endless Nights
17. Kindrom
18. Undividable
---
19. The Curse

Rating
Music: 9
Performance: 10
Light: 9
Sound: 8
Total: 9 / 10

Braunschweig, 12th October 2019

Another short night - after leaving the venue, we ended up for some drinks at the bar directly connected to our pension talking about the concerts and everything else on our mind. The next day started with a team breakfast before we all left for Braunschweig. Another place where I haven’t been before, and I actually haven’t really seen anything of the city this time as we spend the little time we had meeting friends and enjoying these short, valuable moments.

Us

Whatever happened to the guys tonight - I hope they can keep that up! I really don’t know what happened - but the entertaining skills in Braunschweig were impressive. Both made little jokes and told also more stories in between and appeared really confident on stage. Leo obviously learned a new German word - “ausgezeichnet” - that he proudly presented along with little dancing performances and Andrew told that they now were planning to release some CDs of their debut as it was so far only released digital but they just learned that Germans still would buy CDs. A friend added a perfect comment right away “and pay cash!” and we all had a great laugh in our corner in that moment.

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There was a little change in the setlist and ‘Towards The Sun’ made it to the 3rd spot. Obviously US enjoyed that gig a lot and made the historical Lokpark celebrate them enthusiastically. I was honestly surprised not only by the band, but also the great and open-minded audience that made sure the guests from Sweden would not forget that evening that fast. At the end Leo transformed his new favourite word “ausgezeichnet” perfectly into “US-gezeichnet” and I think it’s really beautiful and perfectly fitting. US played themselves in our hearts during these 3 shows and I really hope they will visit us again really soon.

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Setlist
01. Mute
02. Till The Dying Of The Light
03. Towards The Sun
04. My Heart’s Desire
05. As A Child
06. Never Get Over
07. Technicolor
08. In Denial
09. Voyager

Rating
Music: 8
Performance: 9
Light: 7
Sound: 8
Total: 8 / 10

Diary Of Dreams

The venue Lokpark in Braunschweig was truly unique with old locos standing right behind the audience, a very impressive view for both the audience and the band. I’ve never seen a concert in such a special venue before and so that alone made Braunschweig very special. And honestly the gig was perfect, almost perfect. The only thing that was not on point in Braunschweig was the light. We felt like only in the second part of the gig, mostly just in between the songs, we got to see the faces of the band at least sometimes. However, the only one who got some more light that evening was Dejan - which is fair since drummers are usually the ones who perform in the dark and covered fully in fog. Many times it felt like there was no light at all. While standing in front we were able to recognise a bit more and so I know how much the band gave and it still came through to the audience, it was just hard to see anything which is a pity. However, this way we got a really dark show, the full package of energy and emotional power.

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I really loved the show and all three shows felt incredibly strong. After many years of following DIARY OF DREAMS around it felt like they not just “still” have the great live energy, but gained even more. I was extremely surprised by that weekend and the magic of the band enchanted me and sparked the fire once again even after 15 years. I couldn’t have wished for more. Also Adrian said “thank you!” to the “cute” guys from support act US, telling the audience that he discovered their music himself and being totally impressed, contacted them and invited to join this little tour. A very harmonic and lovely weekend, as colourful, magic and dark as live can be. A memorable journey through the time and songs of one of the band that really impacted my and the life of many others so much. Like the two days before, the evening ended with ‘The Curse’ and Adrian joining the audience, very great, intense and lovely moment for all of us.

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