Spice Of Life: BABYMETAL On Fire In Cologne

When I join the queue in front of the Cologne Live Music, equipped with mountain climbing shoes instead of sandals but still dragging a huge Russian novel around, all it's been only two days since I saw BM move heaven and earth with their wonderful performance at Fortarock. I suspect the overwhelmingly positive welcome the Fortarock crowd gave BM was as much a surprise to them as it was to me, because from the moment they noticed it it seemed to invigorate them. I've never seen them do a show where they looked like they enjoyed it as much as they did there. So what happened in those two days? I don't know, but something must have.

It's nice to be able to finally tell you that my trip was without any incident. No sob stories about delays, misunderstandings or horrible misfortune, everything went smoothly for a change. Oh how variation is the spice of life. More good news was that the expected heavy rainfall was polite enough to wait until we were all inside. At one point I did see quite a few thunderbolts raining down on the city, an impressive sight to be sure, but not followed by the actual wet kind of rain. Good thing too, since I had planned to meet with /u/kapitan_memo right after I'd arrived and he was already at the venue. I decided to not tempt Murphy's law the way I had in London and book a hostel first, which I found right around the corner from the central station. My luck did hold up quite well, as I looked at my room number: third floor, room 303, bed number three, nice and easy to remember. I had a good feeling about the rest of the day.

So here we are waiting at the venue now, there being a small line already when I arrived at a little past three. I join kapitan_memo for the impending long wait, and we talk for hours about all kinds of stuff. We are joined occasionally by /u/leahmetal and /u/daneguy, who both queued behind us together with some companions. Meanwhile I feel tension about making it inside before the inevitable shower, as the line grows longer and longer and wraps itself around the block. I don't know how many people we should expect but given that the show was sold out it would indicate at least 1200 souls or more. When the gate opens we enter the quaint little courtyard next to the music hall and contrary to Batschkapp we can walk inside straight away. While my companion tries to get as close as he possibly can, I decide to stay in the back. This to avoid getting crushed on the one hand, but also because it turns out I have to pay for the cloakroom, and they only take cash, so no choice but to keep my coat and all my stuff with me.

I observe the place as I pace around a bit. It looks typical for a venue like this; barren and industrial, a bar in the back and on the side, some posters here an there of upcoming events and a merch stand. The ceiling is flat and not terribly high. I do see one airconditioner hanging from the ceiling straight in the middle of the hall, but I suspect it'll still be quite hot in here when the place is entirely filled up. Another reason to stay in the back somewhat. I don't know how late the concert was supposed to start, but I don't have long to worry about it since as soon as everyone is inside the doors close and the lights dim. The familiar scene ensues when the DEATH intro starts playing and we greet the white faced musicians entering the stage, followed by the hooded trio. It seems they brought the spirit from Forta with them because they immediately try to summon the same joy and connectedness with the audience they showed there, and only falling a little short. At least, at first.

I pick my favourite spot to stand, right behind the moshpit, although all the heavy junk I'm forced to carry with me prevents me from joining the mayhem at any point. Problem is that it's not quite clear where the moshpit begins and ends. I take no chances and cautiously hold my right foot back, it being still sore from two days ago. Meanwhile they follow DEATH with Gimme Chocolate, where I first notice the terrible sound mixing. It's been bad before at a few BM shows, but this one takes the cake with me barely being able to hear the vocals. Su has to struggle against the instrumentals constantly. Good thing here voice seems to be back in top condition. By the end of the second song they are already sweating all over. That can't be good. But my mind is put to rest by the performances that follow. Yes the heat puts a dampener on the enthusiasm of both the audience and the girls, but it's still a great show overal. I think I can now safely add Karate to the list of Doki Doki Morning and Catch Me If You Can; of songs which I don't think are all that special on record, but are among my favourites to hear live. The new audience participation part really adds something that the GC one never could. There must have been some prearrangement I missed because during the sing along a few people in front of me kneel down, while one person beckons the rest of the crowd to do the same. I sit down, hearing and following suit Su's whoawing. After that she tells us to jump along with the chorus and madness ensues as everyone on the floor takes a leap right into the air and then keeps jumping. That might be the highlight of the evening right there.

Another one occurs when after a song Moa and Yui stay on stage with their backs to us, and immediately I know. An unfamiliar intro sounds, but when the sample at the start of Sis Anger is heard throughout the hall a cheer follows. I have to admit my first time hearing this song live isn't what I'd hoped, not only because of hardly being able to hearing the duo's harmonising, but also because at this point they're starting to look a bit fatigued by the heat. Still, I'm very happy to have heard it, it being among my favourites on Metal Resistance. At one point I also see Moa reacting to something out of my sight, trying to hold in her laugh. Glad to see those antics continue unhindered. With that I slowly get the feeling that everything's going to be alright tonight. I feel the show moving towards its grand crescendo of a finale. I feel I'll have to sadly say goodbye again soon, happy that I was here to witness it and already looking forward to next time. Then Road of Resistance starts.

The girls stroll in with their flags, staring into the air in front of them, trying to keep their composure as best they can. Moa and Yui manage still, probably falling back on the routine of their choreography which they must be able to dream by now. They both stay quiet when Su does her best to compel us into singing along with her. She's not smiling anymore. At one point she holds her head back and closes her eyes, looking so very, very tired. "Now Ben" I tell myself, "It's you who's tired. You've been tired for more than a week now. Are you sure you aren't projecting?" Yes that must be it. I put aside the thought and enjoy the the song as best I can. Next is The One. The girls once again enter the stage in the appropriate attire. Their hair is a mess, more than usual after a show I mean, which I only notice because it's so different from how we normally see them in public. They perform the song to which we all raise our arm skyward. Then, without saying a word, they leave again and the show abruptly ends.

I'm in shock and so is the rest of the audience. At first we refuse to believe it. When the lights go on and the doors open we keep calling for an encore. Even when the staff starts clearing the stage we won't leave. Finally I make my way forward to where kapitan_memo is standing. He suggests they may be taking a break. "I don't know man" I say, "I don't think it's happening". Outside we meet up with a few other people, daneguy and leahmetal among them. We're all clueless and speculating about what might be going on, but we all saw the girls didn't look good near the end. My mind goes back to that night in LA two years ago, when Moa was rushed to the hospital. I wasn't there of course, but from what I heard the scenario was eerily similar. Despite everything we spend the rest of the evening in high spirits. Despite my own fatigue I'm having a great time chatting and reminiscing. It's past twelve when I finally hit the sheets.

I've read a few things here and there since I came back home today, but I'm still largely in the dark. All I can say is: yes it was quite hot in there, but in my personal experience no hotter than it was in Brixton or Batschkapp. I suspect there must have been something else going on, something we'll never know. Which isn't to say the heat wasn't a real problem. That brings me to my next point: BM management have been booking all these venues that are normally populated by rock and metal acts, because that's how they want to sell themselves now. Apparently it didn't occur to them that most of those acts don't have dancers who have to go all out for 90 minutes or more. It always gets hot in there, but if you don't have to dance it's still doable. The BM format has this incredibly practical limitation of simply not being able to be performed under conditions like that. I hope they finally learned their lesson, but my mind is still plagued by all kinds of worries for present and future. When I post this the Stuttgart show will have already happened. I'm looking forward to reading how it went. In the meantime at the very least I can say the Cologne concert was a very unique experience. I'll just keep telling myself: it's the spice of life after all.

Music listened to while writing

Albums

• King Crimson - In The Court Of The Crimson King
• Neutral Milk Hotel - On Avery Island
• Metallica - Ride The Lightning

A One Show Festival: Forta Needs More Tutus

You know, going to a festival alone sucks. I wasn't planning to, but my prospect companions all decided they'd rather be elsewhere this weekend. So there I was in green shirt, as usual, and exhausted and way later than I had planned, also as usual. But this time the exhaustion was worse. I blame the heat of the past few nights. I arrived at the festival terrain at a little past four. There would be a meetup at one at the merch stand, but when I got there I didn't notice anything of the sort. Probably everyone is already at the tent, where BM would perform, or looking around the Goffert park. I see a BM shirt pass by here and there, but nowhere a group of them sitting together which I could join. I walk around a bit, its still two hours until the show, so I need to find something to do or be this bored out of my skull for the rest of the afternoon. I contemplate sitting down somewhere between the mayhem and festival buzz and read a book. Partly because I want to kill time, partly to convince myself I didn't bring a bible sized book like War And Peace all this way just to weigh down my bag. On the main stage some Swedish band is playing. They sound alright, but not enough to compel me to join the crowd. Finally I decide to just go to the tent.

As soon as I arrive another band enters the stage. The name on the banner behind them reads "Abbath". I can't say I really care that much for their music, but I'm nothing if not easy to please when it comes to live performances. I manage to get into it quite a bit, but I'm still glad when the show is over. As some of the audience leaves, I walk forward. Finally I'll get to talk with some fellow fans here. I wind up in a conversation with a guy who tells me he went all the way to Ozzfest especially to see BM there. When I respond by saying this is my fourth time seeing them, he looks shocked and in disbelief. He then starts bragging about all the other concerts he's been to, one of which he apparently paid 1200 euro for. When I don't act impressed enough, he starts questioning my choices in music. "That was Amon Amarth who just played, don't you know that?" he says while facepalming. I kindly remind him he's never heard of The Flaming Lips either. "I think I'm glad I haven't" he responds. Ah yes, this must be that fabled open mindedness among metal fans I've heard so much about. He brings up my three previous concert visits again, "You know two of them are underage right? You can't do them!" I explain I have no such desire. "Well that Suzuka Nakamoto, I'd totally do her." "Really, I mean, have you heard some of their interviews?" I counter, desperately trying to steer the conversation in a different direction. "It doesn't matter, I'd still do her." Right. Jezus fucking Christ, is it time yet?!

While this real life comedy sketch is unfolding I look back, over the heads of the crowd. It's quite full already, and I expect it to fill up even more after Megadeth finishes their set. I was afraid there would hardly be any fans, seeing as they are still pretty damn obscure in the Netherlands, or so I thought. It's a sign of how insulated the metal community is from the rest of society. Not only haven't most people outside of it heard of any of the bands playing here, but I had no idea how much attention BM had garnered within it. The stage in front of us is quite primitive and we can see some of the backstage area from where we stand. When I, and many other as well, notice the trio casually walking by with their backs towards us our hopes are raised. Not long after we see the kami band taking their starting positions and soon enough the show is underway.

One hope is soon crushed, namely being able to stand near the front row without being myself crushed for a change. Nope. Although this is a festival rather than a solo, I soon feel the familiar sensation caused by the elbows of some Japanese bloke in my back, fighting his way to the front of the crowd. I manage to restrain myself from grabbing him by his shirt and shouting a well deserved "Doe normaal man!" in his face. He wouldn't have understood it anyway. Eventually I capitulate and move further back where I'm safe. However, my trusty sandals may be a perfect match for the weather today, they're little good for a metal gig, as I find out when someone violently steps on my foot, ripping a hole in my sock and almost doing the same with my toenail. Although it's a bloody affair, thankfully the pain quickly subsides. At least, until the exact same thing happens again.

Now you might think, reading all that, I had a terribly festival going experience, and for the most part you'd be right. But the thing is: this is BABYMETAL. I don't know how they do it, I really don't, but when the girls are on stage and the music's playing it's just impossible to stay unhappy for long. When their voices, which sound much more squeaky through the sound equipment than they do on recordings, go ooooh-ing full of joy I can't help but be affected. This is the fourth time I see them up close and by now that magical aura of the mysterious, exotic and intriguing surrounding them is gone. Their appearance and movements have become simply to familiar to me, although it may also have something to do with me not having to travel to a foreign land this time. In it's place has come a new appreciation of their talent, professionalism and on-stage charisma. All that is on full display this evening. Unlike at the Wembley arena the girls genuinely look like they're having fun here, with none of the reservedness displayed at that concert. From the moment they turn around during the DEATH opening, they look engaged with the audience. I guess this smaller crowd isn't as intimidating as the over ten thousand at Wembley. It also helps that they seem to hold this particular crowd in the palm of their hands. It's nuts!

To give an example: there are now much more interactions with the audience than there used to be. Gimme Chocolate is played, but the sing along part is skipped. Instead we are asked to sing along to Karate. At one point we are also asked to shout, then to jump, and so on. If you compare the response BM gets to that of the band that just left the stage, it's night and day. I'm surrounded by enthusiasm everywhere. This is especially encouraging when IDZ starts playing and, like in the olden days, the wall of death is executed too early. That tells me a lot of these people are new fans, or just people who came to see them out of curiosity and will leave this simmeringly hot tent as fans. I may be getting light in the head from exhaustion, but that thought brings a smile on my face nonetheless.

I don't think I've ever been sadder seeing them leave the stage for the final time. Of course it's a festival gig, so the set was short and the setlist was safe. The girls this time around show no sign of emotional disturbance whatsoever. Why should they: they absolutely nailed it! While this certainly wasn't the most enjoyable BM gig to me, it might just be the best performance I've ever seen them give with my own eyes. A quick see yuu sends them on their way. No attempt at speaking Dutch unfortunately, but you can't have everything. I feel tired and sad again as soon as I leave the tent, no after concert high this time. In the grass nearby sits someone who looks like /u/bouketenvoorde, but I'm not in the mood to go ask. In fact, I'm not in the mood for anything. I just want to go home now.

I have learned a few very important things today. First that I'm still not tired of BM concerts, which is good since I'm seeing them again this Tuesday. Second that that the metal concert experience might just not be for me. I have no trouble listening to some of it, after all my vinyl collection now includes Master Of Puppets and New Bermuda, something which would've been unthinkable before discovering BM. Most of the performances on display at the festival failed to seduce me though. Megadeth is playing in my home town in a few days, and while I considered going this experience convinced me I shouldn't. You see, I came there for one show and one show only, and that show involved tutus.