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Orphaned Land - The Neverending Tour in Paris and Nantes (14-15 May 2010)


Event: The Never Ending Tour Of Orphaned Land
Written by: Darkside Momo
Published: 25.05.2010

Galleries:

Orphaned Land in Nantes, 15 May 2010 by Darkside Momo (23)
Orphaned Land In Paris, 14 May 2010 by Darkside Momo (17)


Orphaned Land? It's been five years since they last toured in France (well, with the exception of the first Hellfest, in 2006), and damn we certainly missed them!
Considering that this is their very first headliner tour in these parts, and that The Neverending Way Of ORWarrior is such a great album, I couldn't resist the opportunity and thus managed to attend not one, but two of their shows: Paris (14th of May) and Nantes (15th of May).



The venues

Both were little clubs, with a welcoming capacity of about 400 people.
Let's say it: I preferred the Ferrailleur in Nantes. The venue is more welcoming, the drinks are far cheaper and with a wider choice (quality and price of booze SURE is an important factor ), and the sound was better. Oh, it wasn't bad in Paris, far from it, but it was just clearer in Nantes.


The audience

Both venues were sold-out (Paris before the show, and Nantes during the evening), so the audience was packed, hot, and ready to party. And it showed: all three bands received a warm welcome, and the crowds often sang and globally reacted very well.


Arkan

Openers Arkan are a French/Algerian band, led by Foued Moukid, ex-drummer of The Old Dead Tree. They play some oriental metal (and Sarah, the female guest vocalist, was there during all the tour), and were invited by Orphaned Land themselves, as the bands already knew each other.
So, it was a pretty sure guess that their music would please Orphaned Land's fans. And it did! But the band didn't act as if everything was already won - even if they were on their home turf in Paris. Far from it: they gave all they had, were pretty active on stage, always interacting with the audience? So it worked, and they left happy smiles in their wake.
A promising band, powerful and nice.




Suidakra

Then came Suidakra. Some more metal with folk touches, but with a different background (more celtic in this case).
Well? They do sound a bit generic, but that didn't prevent them to be enjoyable. Or, at the very least, they didn't let the audience down, as the front rows kept shouting, and moshed a bit too. In fact, the singer asked for a circle pit during one song, and in Nantes said circle pit started even before the song began. The band was so surprised and pleased by the overall great reaction of the crowd that the Arkadius Antonik (vocals) said that Nantes was one of the best crowd of the tour?




Orphaned Land

And now, the band we were all waiting for. First thing to say, Schlomit Levi wasn't touring with Orphaned Land this time, so her voice was replaced by the album's samples. And yes, it's important, with "Sapari" for example?
Anyway, the band was happy to play, for sure, but none showed it more plainly than Yossi Saharon, who was continuously smiling, even when he had those technical problems (more on that just below). Kobi Farhi, with his simple white dress, always said "I am not Jesus Christ, my name's Kobi". Of course everyone cheered. And the others might not be as demonstrative - Matan Shmuely, the drummer, excepted - but they were totally in the show.
And the audiences, of course, went nuts, singing, jumping, shouting, whether in Paris or Nantes. Well, maybe in Nantes they were a bit more crazy.



So, I spoke of technical difficulties, above. The Paris show went smoothly, without incident. Nantes was another matter. First, the computer which played the samples had a bug. So the band had to re-boot it, just after "Birth Of The Three". Not wanting to wait for a few minutes for the PC to be operational again, the band started to play "Sapari". And this version, without samples, with only Kobi (well, without the samples, but with the crowd for sure), was way better than the normal one I heard the day before in Paris.
Then the show went on? until "M I?", when Yossi's guitar sound just went 'poof' and disappeared. No more sound? Well the crowd reacted almost instantly and sung the guitar line! So Yossi's short look of dismay was quickly changing to a smile of surprise and happiness.
After this song, Kobi told us that we would have to sing if there were any more problems? There were. During "The Warrior" solos. Well we did try to sing, but if you've listened to the song, you know it was difficult?
After that, we had a drum solo, while the defective material (an amp or a simple jack, I don't know) was changed, and everything went smoothly again.



Just a short word about Nantes' ending: as it was the last date of the tour, Orphaned Land invited all the other bands' members so sing and jump with them (and us) on "Norra El Norra". One hell of a party it was!




Orphaned Land's setlist

My biggest (and only) problem lies with the setlist. Why on earth did they play "Barakah" then stopped, leaving us without the great "Codeword: Uprising"? Come on?

Anyway, this was the setlist in Paris (I'm not totally sure of the order):

Birth Of The Three
Olat Ha'tamid
Disciples Of The Sacred Oath
Barakah
The Kiss Of Babylon
Sapari
The Path part 1: Treading Through Darkness
Ocean Land
M I?
The Warrior
El Meod Na'Ala
Seasons Unite
In Thy Neverending Way

Encore:
Thee By The Father I Pray
Norra El Norra
Ornaments Of Gold (excerpt)


Due to the computer bug, "Sapari" was played 2nd in Nantes. Also, they didn't play "Seasons Unite", but instead we were granted with a nice drum solo. In Paris, "El Meod Na'Ala" and "Seasons Unite" were dedicated to Philippe and Séverine of Holy Records, Orphaned Land's first record label.
And it seems we didn't have the whole set, as "Like Fire To Water" and "From Broken Vessels" were played on earlier shows? Damn! The reason is sad but simple: given the cold and rainy weather holding sway over France this week, Kobi got a little cold and had to be careful with his voice.


Conclusion

Every article needs one, but you probably see it coming anyway?
Let it be said and written, then: Orphaned Land live ROCKS, so next time you have the opportunity to see them play live, just go and enjoy!
Understood?



Many, many thanks to Miriam for the accreditations and for her kindness and help too!

Extra special thanks to Wrathchild and Sylvain too!

Cheers to everyone I met and chatted with during these two shows, including (but not limited to): Ana, Christophe, Collin, Jeff, Nathalie and the Orphaned Disciples, Otto, Syl, White Winter Sun? And of course thanks to the bands for the great shows!







Written on 25.05.2010 by Once your regular Hellfest reporter, now retired. I (strangely enough) listen to a lot of metal. And enjoy good beers, comics, novels and role-playing games.


Comments

Comments: 9   Visited by: 85 users
27.05.2010 - 03:47
Fat & Sassy!

Hopefully be seeing them in the states(!) this September! This article has me more excited for it.
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28.05.2010 - 13:56
corrupt
With a lowercase c
Funny. They had the exact same computer problems when I was seeing them last weekend at Rock Hard Festival. I talked to Kobi later and he told me the machine was only supposed to provide additional instrument samples and he was supposed to sing Shlomit's vocals in Sapari all along. Seems they changed their plans then.
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28.05.2010 - 22:31
Darkside Momo
Retired
Written by corrupt on 28.05.2010 at 13:56

Funny. They had the exact same computer problems when I was seeing them last weekend at Rock Hard Festival. I talked to Kobi later and he told me the machine was only supposed to provide additional instrument samples and he was supposed to sing Shlomit's vocals in Sapari all along. Seems they changed their plans then.

Yeah that's the same But I saw it works with Windows Vista so maybe there's a reason why they have so many problems
----
My Author's Blog (in French)


"You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you"

"I've lost too many years now
I'm stealing back my soul
I am awake"
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28.05.2010 - 23:06
corrupt
With a lowercase c
Written by Darkside Momo on 28.05.2010 at 22:31

Written by corrupt on 28.05.2010 at 13:56

Funny. They had the exact same computer problems when I was seeing them last weekend at Rock Hard Festival. I talked to Kobi later and he told me the machine was only supposed to provide additional instrument samples and he was supposed to sing Shlomit's vocals in Sapari all along. Seems they changed their plans then.

Yeah that's the same But I saw it works with Windows Vista so maybe there's a reason why they have so many problems

Haha! While standing in front of the stage I though "why the hell are they the only band on earth not using macs?". Seems the old rule does still apply then.
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31.05.2010 - 23:51
wrathchild

The Paris gig was great, even though I wasn't that familiar with any of the bands, including Orphaned Land. The crowd was either dedicated or respectful, quite responsive. But the best band for me was Arkan. I had never heard of them and was doubtful when I entered the venue during a violent part of a song but then it evolved into a soft oriental passage that was just awesome. And they had a great stage presence, which is not always expected from the first opening band (but well, the band is new but the members are not newcomers - Foued from The Old Dead Tree, Sarah from The Outburst, etc.)
----
La belleza no reside en lo que puedas crear, sino en lo que eres capaz de transmitir
Beauty resides not in what you're able to create, but in what you're able to communicate


Txus, Mägo De Oz
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02.06.2010 - 23:57
Bad English
Tage Westerlund
Darkside - you went to both cities to Paris and Nantes
well in such case I agree booze price is important since it help lil relax when you're tired from traveling

I like Suidakra more , probobly I would go see that band more how OL
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Life is to short for LOVE, there is many great things to do online !!!

Stormtroopers of Death - ''Speak English or Die''
apos;'
[image]
I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
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03.06.2010 - 00:24
Darkside Momo
Retired
Written by Bad English on 02.06.2010 at 23:57

Darkside - you went to both cities to Paris and Nantes

Yes!
----
My Author's Blog (in French)


"You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you"

"I've lost too many years now
I'm stealing back my soul
I am awake"
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03.06.2010 - 00:30
Bad English
Tage Westerlund
Written by Darkside Momo on 03.06.2010 at 00:24

Written by Bad English on 02.06.2010 at 23:57

Darkside - you went to both cities to Paris and Nantes

Yes!


Train, car, bus, bike?
----
Life is to short for LOVE, there is many great things to do online !!!

Stormtroopers of Death - ''Speak English or Die''
apos;'
[image]
I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
Loading...
03.06.2010 - 08:15
Darkside Momo
Retired
Written by Bad English on 03.06.2010 at 00:30

Written by Darkside Momo on 03.06.2010 at 00:24

Written by Bad English on 02.06.2010 at 23:57

Darkside - you went to both cities to Paris and Nantes

Yes!


Train, car, bus, bike?

Toulouse (home) -> Paris = train
Paris -> Nantes = train
Nantes -> Toulouse = car
----
My Author's Blog (in French)


"You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you"

"I've lost too many years now
I'm stealing back my soul
I am awake"
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