Bands: Dark Funeral – Midnight
Date: 28/12/19
Location: Turock (Essen)
Promoter: Decibel Touring
With the end of the year it was time to restart into my concert-season. It’s quite funny, because it was always the same during the last years. In October or November they start to release the dates for the coming winter and – with my Christmas bonus – I buy tickets for the upcoming shows I’m interested in. In the end I realise that I could visit a show per week, sometimes even two. So this winter’s concert-season started directly between the holidays in Essen, and what is better to say goodbye to all the Christmas stuff than a show with masked US-Rockers and Swedish Black Metal?
So I started the night the way it should be, with a beer in the train on my way to Essen. The same procedure as every show in Essen, Miss Sophie. First beer for my way from home to the train station, then one for on the go during the train ride. In Essen I bought one for my way to the location, and a second one for my time in the line before the show. This night was some kind of special for me, because I met somebody I have known from my time at school. I haven’t seen him for nearly 20 years, and I got into contact with him through my work for this page. Sometimes it’s strange, isn’t it?
Okay, let’s start with the show. To be honest: I don’t know too much about both bands, I know the last Dark Funeral album Where Shadwos Forever Reign, because I really liked it, and also listened to the “classics” here and then. Regarding Midnight, this was the first time I saw and heard them. So please don’t ask me for a setlist, I have no idea….
Dark Funeral and Midnight were on a tour with Venom these days, as well as Wiegedood and Deathrite as additional support. Between a show in Lichtenfels on the 27th and Leipzig on the 29th we were lucky to see them in an additional show in Essen. It was announced that there should be a support act as well in Essen, but instead the show started directly with Midnight. Three guys on the stage, masked, as I mentioned before, with tons of energy. The show was sold-out, but, to be honest, on other sold-out shows it was fuller than on this night. I was in the second to third row this night, directly in front of the bassists. Usually I’m more the guitar guy, but hey, you can’t have everything, right?
So Midnight played 45 to 50 minutes, we got quite a lot action in the audience, a little circle pit, and a lot of banging heads. There was a small guy in front of me, hitting my balls with is elbow a few times with his dance moves. Not to such an extent that it hrut, but also not the way I like it… With a little conversation, and nice words I convinced him to better dance in the pit and not play with my balls.
During Midnight there was a lot of movement on the stage, running and jumping, climbing on the cabs. It was fun to see the action, and it made the audience move as well. In my opinion a real good Rock show, with a nice old-school sound, fuzzy and dirty guitars. I liked that one.
With the start of Dark Funeral the atmosphere changed on stage and in the audience completely. It became some kind of freezing ritual, there still was movement in the audience but in another way. I think you know what I mean, it’s Black Metal. Everything got a little slower, but there was still a lot energy. As in a lot of shows in the Turock, we had a good sound, in my opinion. What I also like in the Turock is that they don’t overuse stroboscope effects during the shows. Here and there, I’m fine with that, but not during the night please. The blue and red lights fit, of course, perfect to Dark Funeral, and a Black Metal performance in general
What I don’t need anymore in my music shows are these “performances” with spitting on a crucifix and stuff. Alright, I know, it belongs to the show somehow, but on the one hand, you don’t really have an effect anymore with things like that, and on the other, it’s simply not necessary. Maybe I’m just getting old. I’m fine with dressed up musicians, with make-up and everything, that’s a costume they get into on stage, as some kind of actors. But I don’t need to be shocked anymore. I don’t need blood, dead animals or stuff like this, I don’t need burning flags, as well as I don’t need a champagne reception before a show. It’s Rock and Metal, not a f**** musical.
So, Dark Funeral played a mixed set with some real old tracks as well. You can definitely hear a difference between the fast, aggressive older songs, and the more melodic tunes from nowadays. In my opinion, We saw a good show, with two bands who liked to play one more night. I’m not sad about a missing support, two bands are more than fine for me. No need for 7 bands with 20 minutes playtime each or stuff like that.
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