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apocalyptica01.jpg013, Tilburg, The Netherlands
March 31st 2005
Apocalyptica and Angelzoom

Only one day before the concert the tickets were sold out but some people had had their tickets since the day the presales started. On the 31st of March these fans had gathered at the doors of the 013 as early as 3 o’clock in the afternoon but at eight the moment they had all been waiting for had arrived…the doors finally opened and they could run in to try and get the best spot in front of the stage.

Angelzoom

From 1996 until 2001 she was the voice of X-perience. Her biggest hits were ‘A Neverending Dream’ and ‘Magic Fields’ for which she received gold and platinum awards. Now Claudia Uhle has her own project; Angelzoom. She has three musicians at her side playing synths, the violin and a cello and together they are the supporting act for the tour of Apocalyptica. 


Music

Angelzoom brings you a mixture of warm cinematic and fairytale sounds and is sometimes accompanied by some danceable beats. Together these sounds support the sweet voice of Claudia. Her voice is beautiful but there is not that much diversity or emotion to hear so after a while songs start to look a bit alike. I think this is music which you should listen to more often to hear the different qualities of each song. She performed several covers, from Depeche Mode, Linkin Park’s Crawling and ‘into my arms’ from Deine Lakaien. Her last song, ‘Fairyland’, which is also her latest single, really stands out. It has more power than the other songs and made a great last final. Claudia takes you on a fairytale journey dropping you off relaxed and refreshed after her performance. The sound was great, as always in the 013.


Performance

After the three musicians entered the stage it was time for Claudia to make her appearance. With her bright red hair and a long red coat she was hard to miss and a sight for sore eyes. After a while she took of her coat, causing the audience to cheer and revealed a jeans and shirt on which she was wearing a sparkling tie. During the performance there was hardly any movement on stage the only thing moving were the lights so it was very static. And even though it suits the music this became a bit stale to look at after a while, luckily Claudia is lovely to look at.


Rating

Music 7
Performance 6
Sound 8
Light 7
Total  7 (6,8)

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Apocalyptica

Four graduates from the prestigious Sibelius academy in Finland released their first album ‘Plays Metallica By Four Cellos’ in 1996. They have created their own style, which is unmatched by anyone. When cooperation failed they went on as a trio, now accompanied by drummer Mikko Siren. Occasionally they work together with singers such as Nina Hagen, Sandra Nasic (Ex Guano Apes), Ville Valo (H.I.M) and Lauri Ylonen (The Rasmus) who are of course not the least of all. After the release of their fifth studio album ‘Apocalyptica’ it was time to tour again and this evening 013 had the honour of having them as its guest.
Since Perttu was ill this evening he was replaced by their former Apocalyptica partner Antero.


Music

While most bands only play their new songs Apocalyptica plays a well balanced mixture of old and new, soft and hard. The sound was fantastic; no earplugs were needed for it was adjusted just right.
For their new album they have cooperated with Dave Lombardo from Slayer for their song ‘Betrayal’ because they needed the fastest drummer they could get. Since Dave can’t accompany them on their tour Mikko had to take on the challenge of drumming this song. “Let’s see how fast Mikko can go” said Eicca who announced the songs. Mikko did a great job, luckily he got to take a small break after this song for you could see it took all his strength to keep up with this tempo.
They played their single ‘Bittersweet’ which is sung by Ville Valo and Lauri Ylonen but of course they couldn’t come on tour either so the audience was asked to provide the vocal parts. As with all Metallica songs they were happy to sing along, although with less conviction, probably because the lyrics aren’t as well know yet. Alternating fast and furious with calm and serene, Apocalyptica played a great show, convincing us once more that they are still going strong.


Performance

The stage contained 3 impressive seats on platforms, with skulls cut out of the back. Lights searching the stage, clouds of smoke adding to this mysterious atmosphere, then the crowd started to cheer and roar as Apocalyptica came on stage; each taking place in their own chair which was a magnificent sight to see, they looked as if they were kings.
From the first notes on heads were banging and every now and then a mosh pit arose. Eicca told us why Perttu was absent thus causing the entire audience to go “ahhhhh”. Due to this absence they had to make changes in their arrangements and they were anxious to see if all went right, it did. They were enjoying themselves very much judging from the smiles on their faces. After a while their positions caused the show to be a bit static, most movement came from Eicca banging his head and Mikko banging his drums. During the last three songs before the encores though, they went crazy. Walking and running around the stage with their cellos. Eicca even played on his knees while his cello was lying on the floor. If they wanted response from the audience all they had to do was clap once and the entire crowd participated, when they wanted the crowd to cheer all they had to do was ask and they were happy to do so. The lights were great, adding an extra element to the show but they could have been a bit more cautious with the smoke, sometimes it blocked at bit to much of the great view.
All in all everybody was very enthusiastic and had a great time. When the show was finished they were hugging each other and after that they bowed for us once more and then left the stage leaving the audience in ecstasy and with sore necks.


Rating

Music 8
Performance 7
Sound 8
Light 8
Total  8 (7,7)

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Apocalyptica, Angelzoom - Cologne 2005

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