  Before the Rain + Katatonia (27-11-10)
The concert took place again at Hard Club (Porto), and as I mentioned in my last review (see Anathema 03-11-10) the heat inside the venue was horrible, so I think everybody was praying that the air conditioning system would be working this time; but that was only wishful thinking because, despite the four giant air conditioners they got placed along the wall, it was really hot but I guess less worse than the last time. Another problem was the fact that anyone who wanted to “get rid” of their coats so they could be more comfortable inside the venue couldn’t do it because there wasn’t enough space in the cloakroom; there were some complaints about the smoke too.
The night started pretty early (9pm sharp) with Portuguese band Before the Rain debuting their new singer Gary Griffith ex-guitar/keyboard from Morgion, who got great acceptance from the crowd; they presented us with new material from their last album “Frail” such as A glimpse towards the sun and of course Frameless from the “One day less” album. For any fans of Katatonia, old Anathema, My Dying Bride I strongly recommend this band, it is quite a fine specimen of pure undiluted doom.
But as Gary said, everybody was waiting for the Swedish kings of depressive rock Katatonia, some people were curious and hesitant since there were two new live-members in the current lineup with “Sodomizer” Eriksson on second guitar and “Nille” Sandin on bass, but their presence was great and they do emphasize this rock n’roll posture that gave a new dynamic to the band on stage, they played for about an hour and a half, some may say It was a “short” gig, but the truth is that when you’re enjoying it time runs fast. Anyway I wouldn’t mind a couple more songs!
As they entered on stage they quickly began with songs from the “Night is the new day” album, in fact they played mostly recent songs with, of course, some exceptions such as Saw you drown, Teargas and For my Demons (this last one on the encore). As they played there were projections in the background from images from the album they were about to play, so before they began, you would know which album was coming next.
Comparing this setlist to the last one I saw from Katatonia at Sá da Bandeira on April 11th of 2009 I have to confess I was hoping to listen more of the old school stuff, specially from the “Discouraged Ones”, “Tonight’s Decision”, and who knows maybe a pleasant surprise with some of the “Brave Murder Day” album! But don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed every part of it and I clearly understand that they had to put aside some old songs in order to play more from their new album. In terms of attitude and interaction with the public it was refreshing to see a more sociable Jonas Renkse, more easy-going and talkative which surprised a lot of people, surely “Sweden loves you” is always a nice thing to hear.
Before The Rain Setlist:
Intro
Somewhere Not There
Frail
Frameless
A Glimpse Towards The Sun
…And The World Ends There
Katatonia’s Setlist:
Day and then the shade
Liberation
My Twin
Onward Into Battle
The Longest Year
Soil’s Song
Omerta
Teargas
Saw you Drown
Idle Blood
Ghost of the Sun
Evidence
Criminals
July
Encore:
For my Demons
Forsaker
Leaders
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