There are several factors that made this May 11th show of Johann Wolfgang Pozoj and Wolves in the Throne Room somewhat emotional for me.
First, I turned 29 recently, so I’m slowly reaching my third decade in life and I’ve been in forced hibernation since early February. Those two things, me pushing 30 and not being able, until recently, to have my social life, made me do a lot of (involuntary) thinking and it caused the big question to pop up – the question of whether or not it’s actually normal for me to still be listening to metal with a fiery passion, getting tattoos and thinking about beer a lot while the vast majority of people my age have either “grown out of it” or never got it in the first place. I guess not being around the like-minded minority made it sink in that I actually am the weird one out.
Second, this was the first show I’ve been to in months. I’d forgotten how good it is to be hyped all day at work ‘cause you’ll be going to a great concert, with people that kick ass.
Third, it was the first time that I went to a show not as a fan but as a part of the band-team, riding in the van with the band and friends and arriving early to take care of behind the scene stuff while the fans were outside eagerly awaiting for the show to start.
Fourth (yes, there’s more) one of the members of the band I was with (not WitTR, obviously) had a family tragedy and couldn’t come to the show, so we were going there singer-less, not knowing how the fuck that’s gonna turn out.
After we arrived at the venue a bit late because the police officers at the border did their best to search for drugs in our van for the longest time, we had less time to set the merch stand, do a soundcheck and other things required. The crowd outside was getting restless and it was time for the singer-less Johann Wolfgang Pozoj to open the Wolves in the Throne Room concert.
As they started playing in a pretty-much crowded venue, and as the hole where our friend, the singer was supposed to be doing his part became obvious, I was nervously looking around at the audience to see if anyone’s gonna start booing or walking out of the club…but it didn’t happen, because apparently, the fans already heard what had happened and they came to watch Pozoj play as enthusiastically as ever. In the end, Pozoj did their damnedest not to disappoint and they performed the entire Escape of Pozoj instrumentally with unbelievable band-strength pouring out of them, and I guess the fans got an unexpected opportunity to hear how Escape of Pozoj sounds instrumental.
Wolves in the Throne Room played next. I was pretty exhausted but I was very anxious to hear one the most respected US black metal acts play because, even though I was never a die-hard fan, their particular style of black metal that is less raw and more melodic, ambient and doomy is what I enjoy if executed right.
As I was doing some research on them before the show, I came to realize that I don’t know if I’ll recognize any of them because they have no conventional band photos, but, following the band’s philosophy, have only primordial-like, blurry, nature footage and I’m sorry to report that use of flash on cameras was forbidden during the show, so I won’t help in disposing their mystical faces. However, the pics I did manage to take show (I hope) the incredible ambient they managed to create despite the tininess of the venue.
As I already mentioned, I wasn’t a die-hard fan and even though I liked the Wolves prior to this show, they gave such an astonishing performance that I do believe I will return to their releases more often now, because they helped me discover something in their music that I was never able to while listening to the studio sounds. (For example, I now know that I absolutely love Vastness and Sorrow of the Two Hunters album.)
One thing I always keep repeating is that I respect most of all when a band gives itself on stage and is able, with its music, to put both themselves and the crowd in a trans-like state where all of them/us are an object enveloped in living music. That’s what the Wolves did.
Their set-list for the night was:
1. Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog (Black Cascade)
2. Face in a Night Time Mirror Part II (Diadem of 12 Stars)
3. Vastness and Sorrow (Two Hunters)
4. Crystal Ammunition (Black Cascade)
My attempt of capturing the moment:
p.s. A huge thank you to Will Lindsay and Nathan for everything.
Posted
May 13 2010, 05:22 PM
by
TheSlayerM