  
Tonight's entertainment started with the support band, Serpentine. Many people saw them as an odd choice to support Amaranthe with most fans expecting a female fronted band, so it was going to be interesting to see how they'd go down with the fans on the night. By the time they came on stage the venue was already very busy.
For anyone who hasn't come across Serpentine yet, they're a British AOR band and are well worth a listen. Tonight they put on a great show that goes down well. One fan makes a brief attempt at heckling but finds out the hard way that Serpentine's singer Matt Black could double as a standup comedian as he quickly turns the tables withe some good natured comments about the heckler, and in a clash between a heckler and a man on stage with a microphone theres only going to be one winner (it was good to see the two enjoying a beer together later in the evening).
Serpentine were a surprise choice, but as it turned out they were a good choice - their strong collection of songs combined with a great performance won most of the audience over and definitely won them some new fans.
By the time Amaranthe came on stage the venue was absolutely packed - there was no chance of me getting near the front to get photos of the band on stage, and even fighting my way through the crowd to the staircase by the entrance took some doing - Amaranthe look to have sold out the Borderline on this their first ever UK headline show, and judging by that then hopefully they'll be back before too long to play a few more headline shows.
Amaranthe barely managed to fit the whole band on the small stage but didnt let that bother them as they kicked off with "Leave everything behind". Amaranthe blend pop with power metal and death metal to produce some very listenable radio-friendly rock/metal, and tonight they're on top form. The show tonight is special in several ways - it's their first UK headline show, it's the last night of the tour, and it's the 30th birthday of guitarist Olof, so the band are in the mood for a party on stage (and a few beers later on too). Tonight's setlist is taken almost entirely from the bands debut album ("Splinter in my soul" being the only exception - it's a track from the "Rain" single). Actually there's one other song performed tonight which wasnt on the album, but since it was sung by the crowd then "Happy Birthday" doesn't really count
The crowd definitely enjoy tonights show with a large part of the crowd bounding up and down for a lot of the set, and the scene being one of hundreds of arms in the air.
A great performance from both bands tonight, but Amaranthe show that this is their crowd and make things look easy. A great night of music.
Amaranthe setlist:
Leave Everything Behind
Enter The Maze
1,000,000 Lightyears
Serendipity
Act of Desperation
Splinter in My Soul
Amaranthine
Director's Cut
Call Out My Name
My Transition
Rain (It's All About Me)
Encore:
Automatic
Hunger |
