Here is what went down in Engelwood/Denver on April 9:
Before I left my town to head up to Denver for the week, I had a vision come to my mind. Im a huge fan of DT and hypocrisy (first and second fav bands). Living here in New Mexico, the whole alien theme is still pretty abundant around here. There is a brewery here in this state that brews a beer called Roswell alien amber ale. I had the great idea to bring a case to Peter Tagtgren and see what he thinks.
So, I arrived at the venue around noon to hang out and talk to the band members. Low and behold, the first people out of the bus were Nicklas and Martin. I approached them and they were totally friendly. They signed all the cd covers and we talked about guitars. I told them that I had a gift for them and the rest of the bands-a case of beer (more on this later).
I then noticed somebody with long hair taking pictures with a Nikon camera. Low and behold, it was one of the guitarists from Mnemic. I felt like a total dumbass since im a fan of the band and didnt even know it was a member of the band.
I then saw Mikael Stanne emerge from the bus. We sad a few quick words and I told him that I had a case of beer for everybody, but I wanted to present it to Peter Tagtgren of hypocrisy.
About 30 minutes later, Mikael Stanne comes up to my car and tells me hey dude, peter is right over there. So, I then brought the case of beer over to him. As I was crossing the parking lot, I saw him smile and say that is really cool. I put the beer down and Peter greeted me with a big smile and a thank you so much. I then took a pic of him with the beer (I cant wait to see how this turned out) and then one with me and him in the pic with the beer. I was so ecstatic! He then autographed the whole entire catalog of hypocrisy cds plus the new Pain album and then gave them to Mikael Hedlund to autograph as well. Peter was on cloud nine! He then asked me hey dude, what is your name? I told him my name and then Peter said Man, im going to put you on the guest list-the show is on me tonight. I thanked Peter from the bottom of my heart. After this all went down, I could barely talk because I was so shocked and happy about what just happened. Thank you so much Peter!
Ok, enough of my story with the bands-Onto the show:
Mnemic-played a good short set-great stage presence and aggression. I was pretty impressed!
Hypocrisy-Played a 9 song set-most were songs I herd them do before, but they played Inferior Devotes which was CRUSHING!!!! I think the band was kinda drunk, probably thanks to me and my beer (good or bad?)
Dark Tranquillity-they played a really solid set. I was so happy they played the endless feed. I was singing along to every song just about. After the show, Mikael Stanne gave all the front people some fives-he gave me a shake of my head and a pat on the back. His stage presence was amazing and they played really solid.
Soilwork-played 16 songs-they played some of the better from the last 2 albums. I was really happy to hear chainheart machine, like the average stalker, bastard chain and SADISTIC LULLABY!!!!!! They NEVER play anything from the first album and that was a pleasant surprise.
After the show:
I saw Anders Jivarp and thanked him again for a great show. Then, Mikael Stanne came off the bus and started talking to fans. I approached him and he gave me a hug and thanked me for coming and being into the show. After Mikael left, Anders was still outside talking to me. I told him how far I drove for the show and told him that im going to be at the Phoenix show. He then said Dude, you brought us beer and came along ways to see us-Im going to get you on the guest list for the Phoenix show as well I gave him my name and phone number and he gave me his also (of course, a Swedish number) and told me to call him the day before the show.
I cant say enough about the hospitality and friendliness of the members of DT and Hypocrisy. Thank you guys form the bottom of my heart for such an amazing evening. Its something I will never forget.
Before I left my town to head up to Denver for the week, I had a vision come to my mind. Im a huge fan of DT and hypocrisy (first and second fav bands). Living here in New Mexico, the whole alien theme is still pretty abundant around here. There is a brewery here in this state that brews a beer called Roswell alien amber ale. I had the great idea to bring a case to Peter Tagtgren and see what he thinks.
So, I arrived at the venue around noon to hang out and talk to the band members. Low and behold, the first people out of the bus were Nicklas and Martin. I approached them and they were totally friendly. They signed all the cd covers and we talked about guitars. I told them that I had a gift for them and the rest of the bands-a case of beer (more on this later).
I then noticed somebody with long hair taking pictures with a Nikon camera. Low and behold, it was one of the guitarists from Mnemic. I felt like a total dumbass since im a fan of the band and didnt even know it was a member of the band.
I then saw Mikael Stanne emerge from the bus. We sad a few quick words and I told him that I had a case of beer for everybody, but I wanted to present it to Peter Tagtgren of hypocrisy.
About 30 minutes later, Mikael Stanne comes up to my car and tells me hey dude, peter is right over there. So, I then brought the case of beer over to him. As I was crossing the parking lot, I saw him smile and say that is really cool. I put the beer down and Peter greeted me with a big smile and a thank you so much. I then took a pic of him with the beer (I cant wait to see how this turned out) and then one with me and him in the pic with the beer. I was so ecstatic! He then autographed the whole entire catalog of hypocrisy cds plus the new Pain album and then gave them to Mikael Hedlund to autograph as well. Peter was on cloud nine! He then asked me hey dude, what is your name? I told him my name and then Peter said Man, im going to put you on the guest list-the show is on me tonight. I thanked Peter from the bottom of my heart. After this all went down, I could barely talk because I was so shocked and happy about what just happened. Thank you so much Peter!
Ok, enough of my story with the bands-Onto the show:
Mnemic-played a good short set-great stage presence and aggression. I was pretty impressed!
Hypocrisy-Played a 9 song set-most were songs I herd them do before, but they played Inferior Devotes which was CRUSHING!!!! I think the band was kinda drunk, probably thanks to me and my beer (good or bad?)
Dark Tranquillity-they played a really solid set. I was so happy they played the endless feed. I was singing along to every song just about. After the show, Mikael Stanne gave all the front people some fives-he gave me a shake of my head and a pat on the back. His stage presence was amazing and they played really solid.
Soilwork-played 16 songs-they played some of the better from the last 2 albums. I was really happy to hear chainheart machine, like the average stalker, bastard chain and SADISTIC LULLABY!!!!!! They NEVER play anything from the first album and that was a pleasant surprise.
After the show:
I saw Anders Jivarp and thanked him again for a great show. Then, Mikael Stanne came off the bus and started talking to fans. I approached him and he gave me a hug and thanked me for coming and being into the show. After Mikael left, Anders was still outside talking to me. I told him how far I drove for the show and told him that im going to be at the Phoenix show. He then said Dude, you brought us beer and came along ways to see us-Im going to get you on the guest list for the Phoenix show as well I gave him my name and phone number and he gave me his also (of course, a Swedish number) and told me to call him the day before the show.
I cant say enough about the hospitality and friendliness of the members of DT and Hypocrisy. Thank you guys form the bottom of my heart for such an amazing evening. Its something I will never forget.
