Diary of Dreams - Nekrolog 43 Tour Part I

Cologne, Live-Music-Hall, 24th January 2008

This first tour day was rainy and grey; somehow this was very well fitting to the mood of the current album. Half an hour before the show was going to start I arrived at the venue. My first way guided me to the merchandising booth standing there with open mouth seeing all the cool stuff the band created fort he fans. The amount of different merch was not the only surprise; there was another one right in front of the stage where some kind of catwalk was built up. I was curious how this additional walking space would be used during the upcoming show. There was still time for some chat with friends - in the meantime the venue filled up - and sharp on 20:00 the support act NOYCE TM entered the stage and did a good job to warm up the audience for the upcoming headliner of the evening.



During the rebuilding break, really some time before DIARY OF DREAMS started, the new microphone stand attracted our attention. It was something special and looked like some intricate roots or limbs. Furthermore, there were two microphone stands placed on each side where I asked for whom they might be. I got the answer when the show started as one after another four dark men - to be exact our four protagonists - clothed in black coats and hoods entered the stage and took place behind those microphones to start a very uncommon (at least for DIARY OF DREAMS) intro. It was whispered, with the time overlapping lines out off the title track of the new album ending with two fire shots on the sides and going over into ‘Nekrolog 43’ right afterwards. If you read “fire” you read right… with fire there was another new element in the DIARY OF DREAMS show and those two fire columns worked very well along some of the songs.



You think that is enough of surprises? Well, they got some more for us…. At least the following ‘False Affection, False Creation’ was a real surprise for me that was contained in the setlist. The quite aged song did not feel shop-soiled at all due to the new production as well as the energetic presentation on stage and so, the track caused first signs of enthusiasm within the overall quite calm Cologne audience. The set following now consisted of several (well, for my taste much too little) songs out off the current album - within of course the single ‘The Plague’, the energetic ‘Hypo)crypticK(al’ or the dreamy ‘Son of a Thief’ - but also of the unavoidable classics such as ‘Chemicals’, ‘Butterfly:Dance!’, ‘Traumtänzer’ of course or ‘The Curse’ which also ended the main set.



With the following first encore the next surprise for the audience was presented when only three of four band members - drummer D.N.S. has ended his job for the day - entered the stage. While Taste again took place behind his keyboards, Adrian and Gauna grabbed acoustic guitars and now it was quite clear what would come up now - and acoustic part. Actually something like this could have been expected because the band already newly arranged and played several songs in an acoustic way for the acoustic release concerts in October. First song of the encore was the song which has ended the main set too - ‘The Curse’ - now presented in a totally different version, followed by ‘Giftraum’ and ‘O’ Brother Sleep’. While during the main set the lights seemed very hard and uncompromising, aggressive and fast, now they calmed down and moody gentle lights framed those songs.



After the band said goodbye for the second time they were applauded back for one more song. In good old tradition, the last song of the evening was also an acoustic one, this time ‘She and her Darkness’ which was presented by Adrian, only accompanied by keys, with so many emotions that it plucked people’s heartstrings - not if that songs wouldn’t do that anyway. With bright smiles in their faces, the band said goodbye for a last time tonight and after less than two hours, the tour start was already history. Surely this first show of the “Nekrolog 43” tour was not perfect and every now and than you could see how nervous the band was. But well, doesn’t that make those four guys even more likeable?



Even though the usually the audience in this Cologne venue is thrown out very quickly, the band took some time right after the show to appear at the merchandising booth to shake hands, sign stuff of just talk to the people. After such a good tour start for me there is only one thing to say: Off to the next show to Eindhoven!

Setlist
00. Intro
01. Nekrolog 43
02. False Affection, False Creation
03. The Plague
04. She
05. Chemicals
06. Hypo)crypticK(al
07. Butterfly:Dance!
08. Mensch:Feind
09. UnMensch
10. Son of a Thief
11. Traumtänzer
12. AmoK
13. UnWanted
14. Kindrom
15. The Curse
---
16. The Curse (acoustic)
17. Giftraum (acoustic)
18. O’ Brother Sleep (acoustic)
---
19. She and her Darkness




Effenaar, Einhoven, 25th January 2008

This day’s trip to one of the both Dutch concerts started - different to the one on the previous day - in bright sunlight. When we arrived at the venue, there were not too many people waiting already, but slowly the small hall of the Effenaar filled up. Sharp on nine, opener NOYCE TM entered the stage. The three guys seemed to be more relaxed than on the day before and also the performance had more power and energy. After a short rebuilding break it was already time for the main act who had much less space on stage today what caused that the fire could not be used today.



Practised already on the first show, DIARY OF DREAMS presented the same setlist like in Cologne with just a small change: today there was a new song taken into the set right after the powerful ‘Hypo)crypticK(al’. ‘Retaliation’ was welcomed with huge applause. Anyway, the audience was much more open and not that contained like during the Cologne show what conjured a smile into the faces of the band several times. The audience was more active than the day before, but today there was some technical problems in the middle of the show when the backing tape just refused to work when D.N.S. on his drums already started ‘Butterfly:Dance!’. The lax comment of Adrian if they should change over to the acoustic block right away was taken up with huge applause but right when they were ready to change guitars, the backing tape all of a sudden started again with the song ‘Mensch:Feind’ and so, the band went on in the usual way and the acoustic set followed as the first encore.



Different to the day before, the show in Eindhoven was very intimate what was caused due to the very special charm of smaller club gigs.

Setlist
00. Intro
01. Nekrolog 43
02. False Affection, False Creation
03. The Plague
04. She
05. Chemicals
06. Hypo)crypticK(al
07. Retaliation
08. Butterfly:Dance!
09. Mensch:Feind
10. UnMensch
11. Son of a Thief
12. Traumtänzer
13. AmoK
14. UnWanted
15. Kindrom
16. The Curse
---
17. The Curse (acoustic)
18. Giftraum (acoustic)
19. O’ Brother Sleep (acoustic)
---
20. She and her Darkness




P60, Amstelveen, 26th January 2008

If there is the label “perfect” for a concert, than it was well deserved for the show in Amstelveen. After two shows played so far, the band was very well rehearsed and anything run very smooth. Today, everything was really perfect: the small but extremely enthusiastic crowd, the wonderful club with its special atmosphere, a band on stage in a very good mood - musically perfect btw. - and an angry and extremely emotional performing Adrian on the microphone who seemed to feel his music with every single bone of his body and last but not least perfect sound and a wonderful light show using also the fire elements today… this all made the evening something special not only for the fans who appeared at the show but also for the musicians on stage as you could hear in Adrian’s very long “acceptance speech”. Again there was no change in the setlist, but now where the band is so well attuned to each other you can hope for changes during upcoming concerts.



Setlist
00. Intro
01. Nekrolog 43
02. False Affection, False Creation
03. The Plague
04. She
05. Chemicals
06. Hypo)crypticK(al
07. Retaliation
08. Butterfly:Dance!
09. Mensch:Feind
10. UnMensch
11. Son of a Thief
12. Traumtänzer
13. AmoK
14. UnWanted
15. Kindrom
16. The Curse
---
17. The Curse (acoustic)
18. Giftraum (acoustic)
19. O’ Brother Sleep (acoustic)
---
20. She and her Darkness






The Steeple, Waregem, 27th January 2008

My fourth show of the tour was leading to Belgium Waregem where DIARY OF DREAMS already were celebrated during their appearance at the Gothic Festival in Summer. Also today much more fans than expected showed up at the venue and so, the Steeple was very well filled. Even though the audience still was a bit reluctant during the performance of NOYCE TM, the mood changed with the first sounds of DIARY OF DREAMS.



Because the stage of the Steele was quite small there needed some changes in the stage setting to be made: not the whole light setup could be placed on stage, just like in Eindhoven there was no fire and also the four microphone stands for the intro could not been placed side by side on stage. So, also the usual intro was cut and the band started right away with ‘Nekrolog 43’.



The more the tour proceeds, the more self-confident the band seemed to be on stage. Infected by the excellent mood within the audience, the band around Adrian Hates delivered a fabulous concert. Over and over again the creative head of the band thanked the audience visibly emotionally moved. During the acoustic set it seemed as the band was even discussing if they should change the planned encores. Hope was arising that they might play ‘The Valley’ what was written on the setlist since the first tour day already but was never played so far. Anyway, this hope was not fulfilled but the emotionality with which also ‘She and her Darkness’ was presented by Mr. Hates can hardly be topped.



Setlist
01. Nekrolog 43
02. False Affection, False Creation
03. The Plague
04. She
05. Chemicals
06. Hypo)crypticK(al
07. Retaliation
08. Butterfly:Dance!
09. Mensch:Feind
10. UnMensch
11. Son of a Thief
12. Traumtänzer
13. AmoK
14. UnWanted
15. Kindrom
16. The Curse
---
17. The Curse (acoustic)
18. Giftraum (acoustic)
19. O’ Brother Sleep (acoustic)
---
20. She and her Darkness