Delain Delivers An Epic Night At The Cabooze

With the cooler days fast approaching and having subtle hints of fall here and there I was eager to get a metal fix in at The Cabooze. Cold desolate days pairs well with metal music from my experiences. However, with The Cabooze baking in the high heat all day it was a return to normalcy at The Cabooze as my visits there always seem to be on the hot and humid side. So much so that the ceiling begins to sweat with condensation in solidarity with the hordes of folks down on the floor.

15 years have passed since I last was fortunate enough to be in the presence of such an angelic voice that is Anneke van Giersbergen. This Dutch signer has been a favorite vocalist of mine going back to when she was with The Gathering. While she has numerous other guest spots and projects in the works, tonight it was just her and an acoustic guitar on stage. Her solo acoustic performances are comprised of songs that she has collaborated with other artists on and songs she simply appreciates and loves to play live.

Anneke was greeted with a gracious cheer before she even began. She has a warm and inviting presence as she gleefully greets the crowd with anecdotes before serenading those in attendance. Her smiles soon faded to soaring melodies but quickly returned as fans cheered mid song and at the close of each one as another anecdote was shared. She was thrilled to have an opportunity to stop by Paisley Park earlier in the day where she purchased a Prince guitar pick.

It was nice to hear these songs stripped down and re-imagined, such as when she performed Saturnine by The Gathering. As the crowd began to sing along in a lower register, she layered her higher vocals on top. It was a moment that presented a wave of chills as the song closed out. To keep the audience engaged once again she presented a choice for the next song. A Kiss cover or a song by Dolly Parton, the latter received a much louder response of approval.

When the folks in the audience weren’t captivated by her singing in between songs, whispers in the crowd could be heard. There was a reoccurring theme of adjectives that where used to describe her voice with words like amazing,  piercing, beautiful and sweet. 
 
Despite her playing a solo acoustic set she wanted to close out her performance with a metal song, as that’s what the headliners were playing. As the notes to Iron Maiden’s Wasted Years ring out the crowd cheered with great applause.  She pauses and quips back, “yeah, with my Prince pick!”

Anneke van Giersbergen’s Setlist:
Ih-Ah (Devin Townsend) 
Valley Of The Queens (Ayreon)
Saturnine (The Gathering) 
Jolene (Dolly Parton) 
Beautiful One (Agua de Annique) 
Like A Stone (Audioslave) 
Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd) 
Cloudbusting (Kate Bush) 
Wasted Years (Iron Maiden)

Amorphis has had a long storied history within the metal scene going back to 1990. This Finnish band brought back a host of memories for me even though I had never managed to see them perform live before. Their name is iconic in the metal community and by the show of support the audience gave along with their expectation, it was bound to be a great show. Their mix of harsh and clean vocal styles is a suitable method for their dynamic song writing. They opened up their set with the heavy hitting opening track from their latest album.

The sonic atmosphere they created on stage kept the audience beckoning for more. The swirling synths added a nice texture to wrap up the songs in. Their live performance was delivered with quality and fervor that presumed for a band of this stature.

With Anneke being a featured vocalist for the recording of Amongst Stars it was with no surprise that she would make another appearance on stage. She worked off of Tomi Joutsen vocal lines to add yet another dimension to their vast sound.

Amorphis’ Setlist:
The Bee
Golden Elk
Silver Bride
Four Wise Ones
Into Hiding
Smoke
Wrong Direction
Daughter Of Hate
My Kantele
Black Winter Day
Amongst Stars
House Of Sleep

Dutch symphonic metal band Delain continued down that epic path that Amorphis had laid out earlier in the evening. With their high energy they worked the crowd up in a frenzy from the get go. The recently recorded Burning Bridges was the first one to be unleashed to the enthused crowd.  This was a new treat for the many fans decked out in Delain tees. With more songs in the works a new album is to be expected soon. But with five albums already under their belts they’ve had enough time and experience to craft their own sound and have a good sized catalog to select songs from.

The highly spirited Charlotte Wessels sang out each song with energy and emotion. Often leading the crowd with fist pumps and filling the space with intensity. The camaraderie that was on display by all the members was evident of their time together. They certainly enjoy each other’s company and creating and performing music together. Each one of them was engaged with conjuring up the crowd and kept up their robust stage presence throughout the evening, one especially.

Amorphis drummer, Jan Rechberger, pulled double duty and provided the rhythmic backbone to Delain’s set as their drummer ran into visa issues. The amount of thrashing away he did for two long sets is astounding.

As the crowd cheered and applauded as the night was coming to a close, a chant in Dutch rang out. Charlotte Wessels called out and acknowledged the “Dutch brigade” and translated for us that they were shouting they want more. The English speaking fans concurred  and the band obliged these requests and played out a few more songs with great energy and execution.

When the crowd heard that they only had one song left, ravenous fans began to shout “two more!” which soon expanded to “no, three more!” followed by “four more!” Alas, the concert must end and the tour continue on from here.

Delain’s Setlist:
Burning Bridges
Suckerpunch
Fire With Fire
Stardust
Masters Of Destiny
April Rain
Control The Storm
Pristine
Hands Of Gold
Don’t Let Go
We Are The Others

 

Remaining Tour Dates:
Wed, OCT 2 – Dickens – Calgary, Canada
Thu, OCT 3 – Starlite Room – Edmonton, Canada
Sat, OCT 5 – Venue Nightclub – Vancouver, Canada
Sun, OCT 6 – El Corazon – Seattle, WA
Tue, OCT 8 – Ace Of Spades – Sacramento, CA
Wed, OCT 9 – Slim’s – San Francisco, CA
Thu, OCT 10 – The Roxy Theatre – Los Angeles, CA
Fri, OCT 11 – City National Grove Of Anaheim – Anaheim, CA
Sat, OCT 12 – Marquee Theatre – Tempe, AZ
Mon, OCT 14 – Gothic Theatre – Englewood, CO
Tue, OCT 15 – The Riot Room – Kansas City, MO
Wed, OCT 16 – Trees – DIN Productions – Dallas, TX
Thu, OCT 17 – Scout Bar – Houston, TX
Sat, OCT 19 – The Orpheum – Tampa, FL
Sun, OCT 20 – The Masquerade – Atlanta, GA
Mon, OCT 21 – Baltimore Soundstage – Baltimore, MD