A Riverside concert is something not to be missed if one is offered the chance. I discovered them a while back ago and saw them live for the first time in 2011, when they visited Romania during their ‘ten year birthday celebration as a band’. They were touring with Tides From Nebula, another group that had its moment of glory on our beloved blog, and they hit it right out the field with an excellent representation of their musical prowess, showing a packed house that they were a force to be reckoned with.
This year, however, Riverside appeared alone on stage. With no supporting bands and having in front of them a somewhat ‘restricted’ crowd (although it was the same location), the whole thing felt a little more….intimate. I mean, one could hide away into a little corner of one’s mind and pretend the guys were summoned to present a personal audition. Yeah, Riverside in my living room, such was the feeling…
After a brief intro in the form of New Generation Slave, opening track of their latest effort, we were treated with a second song, The Depth of Self-Delusion - also taken from this last album - and if the track wasn’t already good enough, they added some wild bass & keyboard solos and they turned it into what could have easily been the closing song of the show. But no, as the awesomeness was just beginning…
After a brief spoken passage in Romanian (it’s cool, Mariusz , you made yourself understood :) )the band treaded away to a full two hour set, recreating diverse experiences from many an album. We were given Feel Like Falling, Escalator Shrine, Driven to Destruction, Egoist Hedonist, Left Out (for the second time, I was blown away),
go to the four minute mark for the start of the song
Panic Room, Conceiving You, Living in the Past, We Got Used To Us and ended with the crazy-town that is Celebrity Touch, the single from their latest effort.
Overall, the sound was clear as a bird’s chirping in a sunny morning (oh, dat BASS!), the lads were enjoying themselves on stage, Mariusz had great communication with the crowd (I don’t know why, but he sounded a bit like Mikael Åkerfeldt - without the kinky jokes, though) and everyone had an excellent time.
Meanwhile, here’s the full recorded show for you
and you'll excuse me as I go and write a letter to the guys, begging them not to wait more than a year before they grant us with their presence again. After all, our homelands are quite close, aren’t they?
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