“Just let us
play the fucking song!” Ah, Warrel, such a treat! When he announced that he
will play the full Dead heart in a dead
world album, I expected emotion, angst and a heartbreaking burden. We got
that alright, but we also got a very positive and jovial Warrel Dane. For a man
who sings about despair and madness, he really doesn’t take himself very
seriously, and it was exactly this unexpected combination that made the show
enjoyable. But let’s start with the beginning.
Dreamrites are a young band from Greece
that is basically a walking Iron Maiden tribute. The bassist is pretty much Bruce
Dickinson’s (looks) and Steve Harris’ (behaviour) love child, the lead singer
sounds and acts almost exactly like Bruce and the music.... yup, total fanboys.
They even ended the show with a Powerslave
cover, to eliminate all doubt, if there was any left. And I say it in the most
positive way possible, they were very endearing, especially when they told us
it’s the first time they play outside of their country and made the public go
“aww, now we really have to make them feel welcome”. They were clearly nervous
and the lead singer slipped a few times with his voice, but the music was good
and they were friendly so I enjoyed their performance.
And now back
to Warrel Dane. I still don’t know
if the show was very short or felt very short and it ended rather abruptly,
with Warrel declaring that this will be the last song, no discussion, no
pretence and going straight into Born.
I liked the approach, especially since the “now we’re going to make it look
like we’re leaving, but the encore is already written on the setlist we have
glued to the stage” trend is a bit ridiculous, but still, he ended the song,
waved and left. I didn’t even realise it was over.
Other than
that, it was quite a pleasant experience. Warrel is a very quirky fellow (to
put it mildly, since I love the guy). On one hand, he’s so theatrical in his
performance, moving his hands and literally shaking from the intensity of his
singing. It’s impossible to not feel your heart twitch when he’s playing, the
music is already emotionally heavy, but when combined with his interpretation
(especially live) it’s even more so. There were a few moments when I was in my
world, just listening to the music and not caring about anything else. On the
other hand, the seconds between songs? Totally different guy. Funny, relaxed,
joking, goofing around and arguing with some dude in the audience about the setlist.
The best part was that all this show was put up for a handful of people. Don’t
get me wrong, I think he deserved a better and larger audience, but the way he
acted said a lot about his dedication and professionalism.
There was a
thing that got to me even more: we had a very excited fangirl in the front row,
singing all the lyrics and waving her arms and generally being over the moon
with happiness at seeing Warrel Dane and at some point he noticed her and
looked straight at her for almost half of the song. It was like they were
singing to each other and there was no one else in the room but them. It was so
sweet and I imagine it was very special for her.
I can’t end
by not saying a few things about the location because in my opinion it’s the
reason this show was ok instead of really really good. To put it shortly, Hard Rock
Cafe is not a suitable location for metal concerts in any way, shape or form
and I have no idea why the organisers keep using it. Just because it has “hard
rock” in the name, doesn’t mean it’s actually destined for it. I touched the
issue briefly after the Arjen Lucassen show and I thought maybe the crowd’s apathy
had something to do with the artist, or the fact it was an acoustic show, but
now I’m starting to think it’s truly because of the location. Leaving aside the
fact that it has a giant bar in the middle and several pillars that block the
view from probably half of the corners of the venue, the idea of sitting at a
table and maybe even eating while an artist is rocking on stage and giving his
all is incompatible with the electricity and intensity of metal shows. Even
when standing up (which most of us did because seriously, it’s Warrel Dane, not
chamber music), there’s still very little room to do anything among the tables
and the waiters keep coming and going and you have to look out for them and
their porcelains and glasses. I felt I couldn’t let myself loose and judging by
how tame most of the people were, I’m thinking I wasn’t the only one.
In the end
though I had fun, mostly because Warrel is such an interesting and captivating
performer, quickly going from emotion to emotion and taking you along for the ride.
He’s “out there” enough to be intriguing and develop an extremely loyal
fanbase, but he’s not that out there to stop being relatable and likable. As
with many others, I wasn’t very familiar with him as an artist, I just listened
to the music without seeing him perform or give interviews. I didn’t exactly
know what to expect from him or his show, but he definitely made an impression,
he’s quite the memorable showman, in his own special way- which means without “hey
hey”, “let me see your hands”, running around the stage, jumping, kicking,
rubbing the microphone and all those heavy metal cliches (which work for some,
but manage to look forced for most). He just sinks into his music and for me
that is more genuine and powerful than all the “entertaining” gestures in the
world.
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