The 69 Eyes / Lacrimas Profundere
Naturally a snowstorm picked precisely this day for a rage; luckily only 15 km further in Pratteln it´s only rain, so that you don´t look like a snow man on arrival at Z7. Today it´s not only a concert but also an interview with 69 Eyes beat machine Jussi, which can soon be read here. Unfortunately the 69Eyes haven´t attracted too many people, about 400 attend this „I know what you did last summer“ tour show with – like several times before – Lacrimas Profundere as support.
When Lacrimas Profundere begin, I am still at the interview, but I manage to watch half of their show. The guys from Munich are also the band that I have seen opening my very first 69Eyes gig many years ago. Back then with vocalist Christopher Schmid, who left the band in 2007 and who is still longed for by many. Although Roberto Vitacca does a good job at the microphone, he cannot live up to the elegance and mystique of Christopher – or better, no longer. In my opinion a member of a Gothic Rock Metal band should also look the part and not go on stage in workday clothes, styling is simply part of it all. And he should not press the microphone to his mouth all the time, you can hardly understand him. Roberto is a good singer, but he should also pay attention to such detail to make a gig perfect. Guitarist Oliver Schmid, who provides the music to the vocals, together with Tony Berger and Dominik Scholz, hides behind his long hair most of the time. Musically Lacrimas Profundere are still impressive, their songs touch the heart and even make the otherwise overly critical Z7 technician dance. http://www.lacrimas.com/
After a quick changeover the headliner is on, The 69 Eyes enter the stage and struggle a bit in the beginning to inspire the tired crowd. Maybe it´s also the song choice, they should have played some ear candy in between those slower songs. The new material seems to be less effective than classics like Brandon Lee, Gothic Girl or The Chair. It seems that a majority does not know the new stuff yet. The Eyes choose good material from the new album: Black, Red and Borderline become highlights of the show, at least for me. Jussi does his usual performance, giving everything behind the drums, and the photo of his hands posted next day proves that he doesn´t shy away from weals for a good show. While Archie, Timo-Timo and Jyrki keep their Rockstar attitude and their sunglasses on during the whole set, Bazie also makes contact with the audience, before he focuses on his guitar again. Jyrki sounds a bit softer in comparison to last time, still he has one of the best male voices in the biz. Those guys know what to do, how to remain interesting, by keeping a distance and still keep up the hope for all the females in the audience. No wonder, they have decades of biz- and life-experience. I have seen better shows of this band, but still they are one of the best.
What surprises me is that half an hour after the gig Jyrki – who otherwise rather prefers to disappear in the band bus quickly – joins the fans to give autographs and pose for photos. I have not seen this in those 15 years I have been following The 69 Eyes. Before he and Bazie – who also came to join – retreat to backstage, Jyrki obviously has some fun riding a cleaner´s broom, what a show! www.69eyes.com