Graveyard
w/ Spiders
January 31, 2016
Raleigh, NC
The Lincoln Theatre
I can pretty much count on 3 or 4 fingers just how many bands I would actually travel out of town to see and do so willingly. When a scheduling conflict made it impossible for me to catch Graveyard’s Atlanta show, there was no way in hell I was going to miss this tour so I packed my shit up and high tailed it up to Raleigh, NC. Besides, this would be my first opportunity to see Graveyard with my best friend who has never seen them before so all in all, this situation was going to be nothing but a big ass win.
Spiders
The evening was kicked off with a high energy set from fellow Swedish rockers, Spiders. Spiders is a band that I was honestly very much on the fence about. When I first heard the album Shake Electric, I wasn’t quite sure about them but after their performance opening for Graveyard, I was definitely impressed and made a fan. Spiders’ live performance was dynamic, powerful, and just flat out fun. Lead vocalist Ann-Sofie Hoyles is a born natural who embodies the spirit of timeless, classic performers such as David Bowie and T-Rex.
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I love the fact that Spiders’ energy and their music is very honest and very true to themselves. Instead of trying to get out there and upstage or do something overly trendy, Spiders is a band that I believe is doing what they do whole heartedly with passion and fire. They definitely won me over this night without a doubt and will be a band that I will be keeping a close eye on from here on out.
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Graveyard
Finally, after a fantastic opening set from Spiders, it was time. It was the time that I had been waiting for. For those of you that don’t know, Graveyard is a very important band to me. This band and the music that they have been making for the last 9 years has been some of the most sentimental, moving music I have listened to in my life but it is seeing Graveyard live that truly makes it all come full circle. This was my seventh Graveyard show and leading up to the show there was a sense of nervousness that started to overcome me. Would this be the show where they would let me down? Would this be the show that would have them not playing up to the high standards I have set for them?
As the band took the stage to a roar from the crowd, they slid right into “Slow Motion Countdown” from Lights Out and suddenly I felt the hairs on my arm stand at full attention and before I could even let out a sigh they were ripping it out with “Magnetic Shunk.” At that moment I knew that this was going to be a truly magical evening. From there, Graveyard went right into “Hisingen Blues” and without even a slight pause went right into “Endless Night.” Graveyard are masters when it comes to putting together a setlist. It is truly an art form in its own right. The entire night had such a conscious flow to it that made for a remarkable and unforgettable experience.
The rest of the set covered a lot of ground and pulled pretty heavily from the band’s latest album, Innocence and Decadence. It was so great to see Graveyard pulling so many new songs into the set as it showed a level of pride in the new songs. Songs like “Magnetic Shunk”, “Exit 97” and “Cause and Defect” were perfectly at home with the more classic material but it was “Too Much is Not Enough” that was easily one of the most awe inspiring moments of the night. Lead singer/guitarist Joakim Nilsson’s soulful, raspy, brooding voice was so full of passion and intimacy but then just as you feel like you know where things are going, here they come with “As The Years Pass By, The Hours Bend.” Getting to see bassist (and former guitarist) Truls Morck take lead on this song was such an amazing thing to take in. Truls has really settled back into Graveyard so nicely and with him in the mix the band just seems so comfortable and solidified.
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After taking things out with the stellar yet melancholy “Uncomfortably Numb”, Joakim returned to the stage to deliver one of the most heartfelt songs I have seen/heard in a long time with “Stay for a Song.” His performance, just a man and his guitar bearing his soul, was so moving and captivating that for a moment I forgot that there was anyone else in the room with me. The band returned to the stage and without missing a beat went right into “The Apple & The Tree” which had lead guitarist Jonatan Ramm doing some of his best work of the night. Closing things out was the now classic “The Siren.” This was where Graveyard brought it all together and left every ounce of sweat, energy, and passion on the stage that they had left in them. This particular performance was the most powerful one I’ve seen them do of this song yet and it left me feeling happy, proud, and exhausted.
Graveyard left the stage and then all of the sudden I felt like I could feel my feet on the ground again. Whenever I see Graveyard live, it’s the closest thing to a spiritual experience that I ever have. The band is so captivating, the songs are so full of life and passion, and the band plays with such a captivating vibe that at times you truly do feel as if you are the only person in the room. That is such a hard thing to do and you can’t do that by just going through the motions. As a band, they accomplish this because they put everything that they have into the creation and performance of these songs.
Graveyard makes a powerful connection with their audience and did so this night on a huge level. Walking out of the Lincoln Theater I just smiled to myself knowing that what I saw that night was lightning in a bottle. The only thing is that they take that bottle everywhere they go and share it with everyone in attendance. Of the seven Graveyard shows I’ve seen, this one was by far the best I have seen them do to date. With each passing year they just hone their craft more and more and at this point I consider them to be true masters of the craft. In my opinion, there is nobody doing it better than Graveyard and for as long as they keep bringing that passion and that fire, they will forever be solidified as one of my all time favorite bands.
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