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| 2011-07-28
DE – Osnabrück - Ballroom |
| I must admit that I didn’t manage to get to a CIRCLEIICIRCLE-Show though there had been enough opportunities. In addition Zak Stevens represents one of my favorite singers since his time with Savatage. Not forget to mention the pretty good efforts he made with his solo band, releasing five albums by now. Nevertheless it isn’t the same, as we all know. The special magic and the vibes of Savatage outputs are nearly impossible to reproduce. This is shown in the fact that CIRCLEIICIRCLE announced to play 80 percent Savatage songs tonight which additionally raised the tension of the fans. Unfortunately there aren’t many people (150 by guess) who came out into the relatively new Ballroom, which is formerly known as N8, but meanwhile changed its look a lot. :: pics :: Arriving at
the club the backdrop signalizes that there will be opening band
as well and this part is fulfilled by ::
SEVEN
THORNS :: from Denmark. I’m one of a very
few who knows them already since I reviewed their album recently.
Shortly past nine the very young musicians (okay, Drummer Lars
is a little bit older and somehow Dad of the band) kick off their
set with End Of The Road. From the beginning they celebrate high-speed
and catchy European Power Metal with great instrumental skills
and a lot of enthusiasm. It works well in a live situation as
singer Erik Blomquist is highly motivated with strong voice until
the end although there are only about 15 metal heads in front
of stage. Except one song the whole album Return To The
Past is presented with one demanding but entertaining
solo from the two outstanding guitarists Gabriel and Christian.
All in all SEVEN THORNS did a solid job as opener. Apart
from that, as written in the album review, the song writing doesn’t
offer anything special.
Then we enter
the front row to show our respect to the master of emotional power
voice with his band :: CIRCLEIICIRCLE
:: From the beginning Zak Stevens is in good mood and
shows that he’s still a first-class lead singer. His voice
convinces and he interacts very active with the captivated audience.
After Wake Of Magellan opening duo The Ocean/Welcome, smashers
like Edge Of Thorns, Damien, This Isn’t What We Meant
and Handful Of Rain cause more and more pleasant Savatage
memories. Overall it is an adequate width as at least two songs
from every Savatage output with Zak is shown. The backing band
fervently supports Zak and along power base player Mitch Stewart
new member Rollie Feldmann well replaces long time guitarist Andy
Lee and improves his solid play with some really great solos.
Only drummer John Osborn sometimes makes a distracted impression
which maybe caused by the piano/key parts he has to access from
band. Four songs from Consequence Of Power together
with classic Watching In Silence constitute the only material
from the CIRCLEIICIRCLE back catalogue this evening. Loud
jubilance bursts out when Taunting Cobras and the magnificent
Anymore already lead towards the end of the show. But there
is still a lot to come! Zak is so much taken with the enthusiastic
reactions from the fans that he tries out something special they
never did before (allegedly). Together with Mitch Stewart on keys
Zak performs the down shivering ballads All That I Bleed
and Alone You Breathe in remembrance of Criss Oliva and
Matt LaPorte. And then follows the surprising If I Go Away
(Zak’s studio version was released as bonus on a Fight For
The Rock re-release). Wow! I couldn’t believe what was going
on. The final track Conversation Piece brings everyone
back down to earth and sets an end to brilliant show. I want to
thank CIRCLEIICIRCLE for this great evening. Thanx go also
to the Ballroom for fast help concerning guest list and thanx
to friend Stefan for the photos. Gladly again!
|
| story © Terry • pics © Stefan |
