Teeth Grinder's Collection
Dead Can Dance 06/24/2013
Heineken Music Hall, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| Source | AUD |
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| Media | CD-R 2 discs |
| Tech Notes | RECORDING: Type: Audience master, recorded from seat in dead centre of row 10, approximately 15 metres from the suspended PA. Source: Factory-matched pair of Schoeps CCM 41V microphones (DINa mounted) -> Marantz PMD661 recorder with Oade Concert Mod (-18 dB gain/44.1 kHz/24 bit WAV) Lineage: Audacity 2.0.3 * Applied variable amplification across recording for consistent listening experience. * Attenuated audience. * Added fades. * Split tracks. * Converted to 16 bit. -> FLAC (compression level 8) [libFLAC 1.2.1 20070917] Taper: Ian Macdonald (ianmacd) |
| Microphones | Factory-matched pair of Schoeps CCM 41V microphones (DINa mounted) |
| J-Card Comment | Total running time: 96:56 I very nearly didn't go to this. With my morale for the band at an all-time low, the prospect of having to turn up early enough to vie for a decent seat at a 3,500 capacity gig with unassigned seating filled me with dread. In fact, I had more or less made up my mind not to go on Sunday night, but somehow drifted around to the idea of going again in the course of Monday morning. From the moment the gig was announced, people had questioned the band's decision to play at this venue. Sandwiched between much more illustrious open-air amphitheatres and classic concert halls, the crassly named, soulless, American-style corporate arena they call the Heineken Music Hall had stuck out like a sore thumb on the band's 2013 itinerary. True, there are few other venues of this size in the area, but if that was the main reason that this venue was picked, we can say in hindsight that it was a wildly optimistic gambit. Whilst the Leidsche Rijn's 1,500 capacity Vredenburg had sold out in mere minutes last year, tickets for the 3,500 capacity (in its rarely employed seated configuration) Heineken Music Hall were still available on the night some eight months after they had first gone on sale. Walking a fine line between foolhardiness and shrewdness, those who waited until the day of the gig could pick up their tickets that morning on Marktplaats for an €18 steal, a third of the face value. So, somewhere between the figures of 1,500 and 3,500 lies the answer to the question 'How many fans do Dead Can Dance have in the Netherlands?' The choice of unassigned seating is also a peculiar one. Never before have I been to such a large seated concert without being in possession of a preassigned seat. We arrive at the venue around 17:45, 45 minutes before doors and a good 2¼ hours before David Kuckhermann is due to work his magic on the audience. As the doors are opened, the predictable mad dash for the auditorium takes place. I have come early to secure an optimal position from which to record the gig, so I sprint, too. As I expected, everyone else is hell-bent on securing the front row, a location with anything but optimal sound. Either they are labouring under the misapprehension that the sound gets better the closer you sit to the stage, or they are willing to sacrifice sound quality for a magnified visual experience. Either way, I am more than happy not to disabuse them of the notion that the front is the place to be. Once inside the auditorium, I am thus able to stroll down to a completely empty 10th row and saunter along it take up position in the centre seat. I don't like unassigned seating, because it defers the stress of securing a good seat from the day that the tickets go on sale to the day of the actual gig, and is much more time-consuming, because one must typically queue well in advance of the doors opening, quite possibly in the pouring rain. On the other hand, since I can't change the nature of the seating, I may as well take advantage of the opportunity to hand-pick my location and give myself every chance of coming away with a superb indoor recording of the 2013 leg of the tour. David Kuckhermann comes on promptly at 20:00. You could set your watch by his arrival on stage. As in Brussels, he has a surprise up his sleeve this evening. He's joined on the last number of his set by a tabla player. Again, Kuckhermann's riq solo garners a huge and well-deserved response from the audience. Visually more impressive than anything Dead Can Dance have to offer, I'm once again faced with the very real prospect that the evening has already peaked. The headliners make their appearance at the usual nine o'clock and it's immediately evident that they are louder than usual this evening. It's not an issue, however, because the sound is crystal clear from my position in the hall. Perry becomes increasingly more irritated in the course of the evening, but it's unclear why. I suspect that it's due to the large numbers of people leaving their seat and wandering along the front row to take photographs of the band. Unusually, many people are stupid and inconsiderate enough to attempt to use flash photography this evening. Even more unusually, the pleasantly low-key security staff are doing absolutely nothing to keep it in check. It will later emerge that not the amateur photographers, but the stage monitors were the source of Perry's mounting aggravation. Apparently, he couldn't hear himself. I have no idea whether it was only Perry who was afflicted, but if others in the band experienced the same issue, they certainly weathered it more stoically. Listen to the ending of 'Amnesia', for example. Perry intones the penultimate phrase of "Sweet Mnemosyne", then gives up completely. His irritation becomes palpable again with 'Ime Prezakias', which is performed tonight without the customary introduction and ends without the vocal gymnastics that have characterised the song on this leg of the tour. When, after 'Dreams Made Flesh', Perry grips Gerrard's arm as she turns to leave the stage for his performance of 'Song To The Siren', it's clear that he has had enough. The band skip straight to 'Return Of The She-King', omitting even the usual introduction of the band. Ironically, from my perspective, there seems to be a little more fire on stage tonight, particularly from Gerrard's corner. I ultimately enjoy this show more than any of the others on this leg thus far. I regard the band's cover of 'Song To The Siren' as disposable and I know both the background to 'Ime Prezakias' and who is in the band, so rather than finding this abbreviated 96 minute version of the show to be lacking, I experience it as leaner and more vivacious. On the way out of the car-park, the machine spits out my credit-card without charging me and the barrier rises to allow me to drive out. Things are looking up! To my considerable surprise, I actually enjoyed this evening's concert, the only one of the four I have so far witnessed in 2013 about which I can say that. Combined with the fact that the recording has turned out beautifully, just as hoped, and I am pleased that I ultimately made the decision to attend. |
| Trades Allowed | Yes Traded from: Ian MacDonald |
| Ratings | Show: * Sound: A- |
| Reference / Generation | EXT / 1 |
| Lists | Lossless Audiolist |
Owned by Teeth Grinder
· Last Updated May 23, 2023
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