The Gathering, 27th December, Tilburg 013.

On wednesdaynight I went with Mark to watch 'The Gathering' playing in Tilburg at 013 (the late 'Noorderlicht'). Their second album 'Mandylion' really had me hooked in 1996 but I lost track of them after 'Nighttime Birds'. There were rumors they had broken up so I never thought about them much, although I still listened to Mandylion. Early December I accidentally found their website; to my amazement they were still recording and performing. So I called Mark we went on the 'third day of christmas' and watched what they were doing these days.

The Gathering has a knack for doing what others do not. They are masters of mixing musical styles. It is simply amazing to see them mixing trance and trippop with gothic metal. They call it triprock and it really sounds very cool. Combine this music with the haunting voice of Anneke van Giersbergen and you got me falling in love. I mean they do something *new* while bands like 'Within Temptation' know a trick and keep doing it. I like Within Temptation because I like the trick. Still, The Gathering keeps surprising you and I simply am a sucker for surprises.

The mood at 013 was excellent. We were really amazed we never had a security check or pat down or whatever. I always consiciously empty my pockets before going to any concert but in Tilburg nobody ever shook me down. The hall was small but crowded, drinks were served at the bar and the public was very friendly. Well the entire public minus one idiot who ordered me away because he couldnt see anything. Mark and me are both about 2m tall but neither of us is going to exchange a perfect spot for the hundred or so other people who happen to be smaller than us. I mean before we know it we are standing at the back and not seeing anything. Besides nobody really bosses me around to do anything so I told him (nicely) to come earlier next time. All in all the crowd and the band interacted as friends. The band had crafted a special gift of tape and toiletrolls and plastic cups for a fan who had turned 40 that very day. After the concert people climbed on stage to hug them and stuff. The relaxed mood really helped the show itself. The Gathering is really one of the very few bands I know who perform live as good as on record and sometimes even better. Consider the difficult vocals and this really becomes an incredible accomplishment.

So to sum up, The Gathering is back into my top 5 of favourite bands and I will certainly go and watch them more often.

Fotosjop

Just to show people what I do in photoshop after I downloaded pictures from my camera. Is this convincing enough to go and watch my gallery?

Oh and a merry christmas!

Life in the fast lane

My post of this morning... blogger wouldnt post!

Taking a-do-nothing-day today. Listening to Nina Simone while playing around with the tons of pictures I took in Languedoc, France last October. You can watch them here...

Last weeks were quite busy with work and study and stuff so I'm getting a bit tired, ah well, nothing new there. Lots of weird stuff happening too. Most weird encounter was in Leiden last Tuesday. I was just walking along minding my own business when suddenly a man rushed up to me and told me 'Watch out! For the Israelites are coming!' and he was gone before I was able to make a witty remark. Which is a pity.

Finished this semester with an exam in 'Early Christian History and Philosophy' which I think I made well enough. Next semester also proves to get really interesting. After classes paleography I signed up to assist one of my teachers in his translation of the correspondence of Duke Jan IV of Brabant with his rebellious subjects in Brussels and Leuven. Jan IV was finally kicked out by the population in a general vote of no confidence (which seem to be more effective in the second half of the 15th century than our common era...) setting an example by which the Staten Generaal kicked out Philips II in the late 16th century and by doing so creating The Netherlands. Jan IV was finally able to get back after making serious concessions. Anyways, all his correspondence has survived and has never been translated or published into modern Dutch and English... and I am going to assist in changing that! :)

Also very cool is me signing up for a course of three weeks in Rome. Problem is that there are only 10 spots for students of all dutch universities. I have the advantage that they asked for a list of courses and grades to make a choice. Nearly all my courses are in medieval and ancient religious history and passed with flying colors. So that shouldn't really be the problem, all I need is luck. If you can't find me during February I'll be in Rome!

Test post

Blogger doesnt post.... or does it?

Sinterklaas

Yesterday was Sinterklaas. He brought me a Rubber Ducky that glows in the dark.
I am a complete sucker for Rubber Duckies, especially if they glow in the dark.

So yay for the Rubber Ducky...

*YaY*

Iron Maiden

Last week I went with Mark to the Iron Maiden concert in Den Bosch. Both of us are old-time fans and neither of us had ever visited them before. We kinda lost contact with the band after the return of Dickinson and the last album we knew well was Brave New World.

We kinda left Zoetermeer late but managed to get to Den Bosch within 1.5 hours which is, considering the rush-hour, a very good time. When we eventually entered the hall Trivium was already playing. I had time to observe the crowd, which was a very strange mix of parents with 8-year-olds on their hands, 40-something year old businessmen wearing their 80s Maiden outfit, a large Goth contingent, the average metaljunks and lots and lots of people like Mark and me: 20-30ish male, clad in black but without the long headbanging hair probably due to work restrictions - or simply getting bald like in my case ;) -. The concert itself rocked, Dickinson was as energetic as always even though I understood that he was not feeling well. The first hour or so they played their new album in full which was cool but didn't really get the crowd off their feet. I think about 75% of us really was there for the 80s and 90s hardrock. When they eventually started playing 'Fear of the Dark' the hall exploded which was continued with hits like '2 minutes to midnight', 'the evil that man do', 'Iron Maiden', 'Hallowed be Thy Name' etc. All in all about 6 or 7 old songs before they left. No extras no nothing. This turned the crowd at our end sour and for a second things felt very aggressive. The organizers did an amazing thing of crowd-management at that moment; they switched to playing the tune of 'Dad's Army' - Who do you think you are kidding Mr. Hitler, when you think that we're on the run? - followed by Monty Python's 'Always look on the bright side of life'. The masses left singing...

Getting back home was hellish. It took over an hour to drive 15 meters across the car park, another hour to get out of Den Bosch and to the highway and another hour to get to Zoetermeer. All in all the concert was finished around 2245 and I was at home and in bed by 215.