After a nearly missed (sadly) H.E.A.T and a ’wish I had missed’ All Ends, it was finally time for the main attraction of the night, the band we could clearly see everyone had come to witness – Edguy!

The scene at KB reminded me of the Resident Evil: Outbreak cover, you know the one with all the arms reaching out with clawing hands. This was what I saw as I looked down the front row with people hanging against and over the crowd fence, reaching out to get to touch Tobias Sammet as he walked by on stage. Impressive, and yet a bit scary at the same time.
The band would not be so easily intimidated however, and Sammet kneeled down on several occasions to greet the ecstatic fans. This was going to be a good night, you could tell right from the start.

In a way, it was actually a relief to see Edguy playing in such a (for their current standard) small venue as KB, where there is room for about 750 people. This meant that they couldn’t fit the bigger stage set-up’s in they usually use; a back-drop and some painted sheets was all there was room for.
What was so great about this was that even with (or maybe because of) such a barren stage, the energy of the band was still at its full potential. Comparing to the Avantasia show at Wacken from last summer, where the stage and costumes had been much more elaborate, this show was filled with something else, something Avantasia had sorely missed; vitality and spontaneity. These two ingredients are, to me, crucial for making an entertaining live show, and it was something Edguy displayed an abundance of this evening.

They kicked the evening of with Dead Or Rock from their latest release, Tinnitus Sanctus, and after this followed a varied, though a bit short, set with music from almost all of their albums; only skipping the first two, The Savage Poetry and Kingdom Of Madness.
It all started out fine, but towards the middle the set lost its pace a bit, first spending some time with an extended, very melodic but slow-paced bass solo in The Pharaoh and then later a drum solo which was great in the beginning, then it started to drag out a bit, getting some of the lost momentum back with a sing-along of Twisted Sister’s We’re Not Gonna Take It, after which it ended. Or so it should have. A short break, then the drum solo continued on... There is absolutely nothing to complain about in Felix Bohnke’s drumming, there was just too much of it. They could easily have made it a good solo AND squeezed and extra song in there, which would have worked better, keeping things moving along.
And of course the time of another song was spent on the typical shouting contest for the audience, where the left and right side compete about who is the loudest.

As this was the last show with the two support bands, they deserved their own thank you speech where Sammet remarked on the fact that they were both Swedish, concluding that Sweden must be a great metal country; he also called H.E.A.T the best upcoming band he had heard in 25 years. Now there is something to brag about at home!
Also, as had happened during the All Ends concert, Edguy was disrupted by the comedians of H.E.A.T as they entered the stage during Save Me, took their clothes of, brushed their teeth and then went to bed with the pillows and duvets they had brought with them. This little prank almost made Sammet miss his vocal duties, as he had a hard time keeping a straight face throughout.
Even All Ends tried to pull on some smile chords as drummer Joseph Skansås carried singer Emma Gelotte onto the stage and tried placing her as a mantelpiece on top of the drums.
There was a more serious appearance as well as Kenny Leckremo (H.E.A.T) gave some excellent guest vocals in Pride Of Creation. Too bad his mic wasn’t turned on in the beginning though...

“The next song is one we have played for a long time; it’s called The Last Song Tonight!”
- Tobias Sammet (vocals)

Finishing the set of with King Of Fools, Edguy took a final bow and left the stage. By this time I don’t think there was anyone in the room who felt they hadn’t gotten full value of the show tonight. As I said, it did lose momentum in the middle, and there could have easily been a couple of more songs (actually I saw a longer setlist on stage which included Speedhoven and where Vain Glory Opera was replaced by Nine Lives) but they picked up the pace again after the solo’s, and from thereon out it was pure bliss to behold. This is how Edguy should be seen and heard.

Setlist:

Dead Or Rock
Tears Of A Mandrake
Until We Rise Again
The Pharaoh
Ministry Of Saints
Solo (Felix Bohnke)
The Headless Game
Pride Of Creation
Save Me
Superheroes
Vain Glory Opera
Lavatory Love Machine
King Of Fools