Report: Anneke van Giersbergen, Dreambleed – Athens, Greece

Anneke van Giersbergen, Dreambleed // KooKoo Bar, Athens, Greece // 1.12.13

Rainy Sunday in Athens…still,December entered with a big smile for those who were blessed to attend Anneke van Giersbergen’s show in Athens. After her two successful appearances in Thessaloniki ( 29/11) and Larisa (30/11) it was the turn of the “beautiful one” Athens to be enthralled by the ethereal voice , the exquisite beauty and the sweet smile of Anneke. Our greek alternative metallers Dreambleed, were delighted to open the show, warming up the crowd.

Being a huge fan of Anneke for over 12 years, my heart was beating furiously the whole week,waiting for the big day to come! I arrived at the Kookoo live bar at 20:30 sharp. Lots of people were standing in the line , holding their tickets close with joy, waiting with excitement for the doors to open.

The soundcheck was still in process until 9 pm ,but then, approximately 15 minutes later we entered the bar. All the fans were trying to find a good place as near the scene as they could.

The show began at 21:40 according to schedule,with Dreambleed getting on stage. Their frontman, Manolis, proved to be full of energy through the whole show. In the beginning, he welcomed the crowd, made somejokes and then grabbed the microphone and sang a setlist of 10 songs most of them deriving from their forthcoming album entitled “Beautiful Sickness”.

The band’s appearance was dignified and noteworthy.With their modern alternative sound, including some electro-gothic elements, they managed in an excellent way to whip up the crowd’s interest.

”Punishing Ghosts” , “I will forget” , “Changing” ,”Alone with myself” and then Antonis Vlachos , vocalist of 3Fold Pain joined the band for “Dialogue with the stars”. He was a real “live-wire” with his brutal vocals and his mind-blowing stage presence.

Later, Manolis took his his place in front of his piano ,the rest members of the band left the stage and he made a cover of Anathema’s “Parisienne Moonlight” with deep emotion. Three more songs followed ,until Dreambleed “waved goodbye” and then, finally 15 minutes later ,the crowd welcomes and embraces Anneke van Giersbergen and her band.

At 10:45 the lights turned low and magic began! Micha Haring , Joost van Haaren , Ferry Duijsens and Gijs Coolen entered the stage and afterwards,the lovely face of Anneke appeared and welcomed all of us with a glow in her eyes!

“You will never change” was the first song and “Drive” followed with Anneke playing electric guitar ,jumping around and the fans singing along the whole time. Anneke and her bandmates are, in fact, on tour for the promotion of the album “DRIVE” that was released on September 2013. As a result, most of thesongs played derive from that particular album.

I was filled with a feeling of happiness with the first notes of “Saturnine” reaching my ears. It travelled me back to the past and I know that her voice was, is and will always be soul-stirring, no matter how many years will pass.”My boy” , “1000 miles away from you” ,”You learn about it/She” .. All of them…one of a kind! You should be there and take a look at the eyes of people attending the show..some were glistering with tears of emotion. Others were glowing with joy and these are always the effects of watching Annekes’s shows.

The masterpiece “Beautiful one” ,dedicated to Athens came next to touch even the hardest heart…After the request of a fan, “My electricity” was performed (instead of “Circles” )and I fell like faint! Sensation at the summit when “My mother said” was played. My mind got filled with images and emotions and I couldn’t stand but burst into tears,I confess!!!

Four more songs ’till “Shooting for the stars” and the sense of living in a fairytale and after a minute… the encore with 3 more songs,some chatting with the crowd, numerous times with Anneke sending us kisses and her love.Finally , “The best is yet to come” for closure.

All of these years I’m convinced about how much Anneke van Giersbergen loves her greek fans and so..I hope next year there’s more to come.

–THE BEST IS YET TO COME–