...SIŁA I PIĘKNO MUZYKI TKWIĄ W JEJ RÓŻNORODNOŚCI...


..::OPIS::..

The "A Night Under The Dam" concert event took place on August 3rd (2006), almost 700 meters above the ocean, several kilometers into Norwegian mountains, under a 30-meter tall dam built in 1939. With 65 million cubic of water above them, the band - together with guest artists and string quartet - performed its entire "Acoustic Verses" album and other material in front of more than 500 enthusiastic people, some of them travelling all the way from the USA, Italy, Ireland, Germany and Holland. This DVD contains the entire live show, including two bonus songs "Two Ribbons" and "Transparent Me" from the sold out EP, extensive photo gallery (170+ images), a behind-the-scenes video and offers full 5.1 surround sound to ensure the best possible viewing and listening experience. This is the closest you can get to the "real thing": A unique concert performed by a unique band.



In the realm of "great live DVDs", there are those which are great simply because they're just a recording of a great show, with everything working perfectly production-wise. On the other hand, there are those which are great because they're something genuinely special, something different than what you'd be able to see even on a good concert. This one is also not that simple, because sometimes even the best intentions of doing something extraordinary may not go right. But then, it may also go wonderfully well and result in something amazing and memorable, something that's truly different and above most such releases. A Night Under The Dam is the best such example I know, and I will be straightforward: this is my all-time favourite live DVD any band has ever released.

It shows basically the final stage of Green Carnation transforming from a doom metal band to something entirely different but no less, and I'd even risk saying more, atmospheric. The DVD is the band's performance of the entire The Acoustic Verses album (which is amazing in itself) in a slightly different order, plus two non-album tracks. It's also more than just the band with acoustic instruments, as for the show it's permanently joined by a string quartet, as well as a few guest musicians on several tracks. For more effect, the whole band plays in suits (I admit this is on my personal "to do" list), under a dam in the mountains in Norway which provides a quite amazing scene. Already at this point, Green Carnation raised the bar of "try to do something more atmospheric" already to a - excuse the poor half-intended pun - mountain level, and the charm of the whole setting is irresistible since the first minute.

As a lover of acoustic guitars as well as all things atmospheric, it shouldn't be a surprise I immediately fell in love with this DVD, and of course there's more to it than just good intentions and ideas. The performance of all songs is absolutely excellent, and while overall rather faithful to the album versions, they have the great "this is live" feel to them, being produced in a way which gives a great, clean sound, but retains that slightly rawer feeling of a live performance. There are also some small, but interesting changes from the studio versions; there are several spread throughout, but Maybe? is probably the most noticeable, as the theremin interlude is slightly extended (with Michael Krumins looking like a genuine serious wizard playing it), and Kjetil Nordhus' vocals afterwards are much more powerful and dramatic than the more subtle performance on the album.

The latter gentleman is one of the most important aspects I love about this band and this release, and here he proves he needs no studio magic nor a wall of electric guitars to hide anything: his voice is unique (if you've heard him, you'll recognise him, end of story), and everything he sings is just full of emotion. Besides the aforementioned Maybe?, which is possibly his most amazing vocal performance here, going everywhere from very subtle to passionate and powerful, there's also the amazing High Tide Waves, where again, he starts very subtly and then joins the crescendo created by the whole band, and his singing is just full of... romanticism that this album is just filled with. The latter also has some vocals done by the bassist (here also often acoustic guitarist) Stein Roger Sordal, who does a fair share of backing vocals and occasionally also takes a lead vocal role here, his voice and style being a little different. He gets to shine the most in the "encore", the minimalistic, sad ballad The Burden Is Mine... Alone, performed only by him and the guest singer Anne Marie Almedal (who also appears with her charming voice on Transparent Me and Six Ribbons). Overall, there is definitely a bit of vocal variety, which is perfectly balanced, as it makes the music even more varied and interesting, but as a whole, Kjetil Nordhus is the lead vocalist and he gets all the necessary space to display his capabilities.

The rest of the band here consists of up to four (!) acoustic guitars, and this is possibly the most amazing use of such setup I've ever seen, as it allows for an incredible, complex sound and melody, which is arranged in such a masterful way that there is never a feeling of the music being "overcrowded". It's hard not to fall in love with the intro to the epic 9-29-045 for example and the thick but discernible texture created by the instruments, or the powerful, dense atmosphere of the instrumental section in High Tide Waves. Besides the aforementioned Stein Roger Sordal and Michael Krumins, the main guitarists here are Bjorn Harstad (present in the band since their second album) and, of course, the completely inconspicuous band leader and founder Tchort. The whole construction is supported by Tommy Jackson on drums, who provides some subtle, tasteful drumming perfectly fitted for the acoustic material, as well as Kenneth Silden on keyboards, most prominent on the almost classical instrumental Child's Play Part 3, here chosen as the opener of the setlist.

Of the "guests" here, it's impossible to overlook the performance of the string quartet - without them several of the songs simply wouldn't be the same, especially High Tide Waves, which is my personal favourite on the album, and is performed here in all its atmosphere and majesty, which is no simple task, looking at the complexity of the track. Their playing adds an amazing amount of depth to the music and provides great background for the more dominating acoustic guitars. Also, for a bit more of string-related variety, we have an electric violin (probably the only non-acoustic instrument here) played on Alone by Leif Wiese, who kind of brings a different world to the stage, disregarding the formal clothing and looking metal to the core. Which is quite fun.

My only complaint is the following: it's too short. After one hour, it really feels like there could be more. But then, forcing a longer show would probably result in it not being this great, so... maybe it's better it remains the way it is? Literally everything here is wonderful, and it's impossible not to fall in love with the music and atmosphere created here. Unfortunately, it appears that this is the band's final release, which is in a way almost depressing, but on the other hand - it's difficult to wish for a better farewell. Green Carnation (at least in the way we used to know them, as according to Tchort he might write another album) ended their discography on a really, really high note, and a lesson for many bands how to create atmosphere in a live setting. I keep returning to it every now and then... And it never loses its beauty.

But maybe they will return one day. Maybe?

TheLiberation


Oh What a Night !
By posting "review no. 100" I decided it should be a special one, well, here it is! By watching this DVD I only could have wished I would have been there that night on the 3rd of August 2006, but unfortunately I didn't even know GREEN CARNATION yet back then.

During this night GREEN CARNATION played their entire Acoustic Verses album and some other material under a 30-meter tall dam built in 1939, several kilometers into the Norwegian mountains. They were also accompanied by the "Kristiansand String Quartet" who were playing the viola, cello and violins this night.

All instruments are played very well and accurate and Kjetil Nordhus surely has a magnificent voice. During the last 3 songs he is accompanied by the beautiful Norwegian female singer Anne Marie Almedal. She surely has a voice that accompanies her looks.

Most interesting moments on this DVD:

1) Guest violinist Leif Wiese (with the beautiful tribal tattoo on his right arm) treats us on some of the best violin play I have ever heard in one of my favourite tracks "Alone". This is the song of which the lyrics were based on an Edgar Allen Poe poem. Beautiful!

2) The young talented guitarist Michael S. Krumins playing Theremin on "Alone", another one of my favourite tracks. The Theremin was one of the earliest fully electronic musical instruments invented by Russian Léon Theremin in 1919, and it is unique in that it was the first musical instrument designed to be played without being touched. It consists of two radio frequency oscillators and two metal loop antennas. The electric signals from the Theremin are amplified and sent to a loudspeaker. Just looking at Michael playing this instrument is quite amazing. With full devotion and with a lot of spirit. Awesome!

3) The extra tracks "Transparent Me" and "Six Ribbons", which haven't been on any of GREEN CARNATION's studio albums, but were taken from the The Burden Is Mine. Alone EP. Wonderful to hear those songs for the 1st time as part of the "Acoustic Verses" on this DVD.

Negative remarks of this DVD:

Almost none. The only thing I can think of is that this concert could/should have been a bit longer! With a total duration of just under one hour I think it is a bit short, and I'm sure songs from the Blessing In Disguise album, like "Lullaby In Winter", "The Boy In The Attic" and "Rain" would have sounded great in an acoustic setting as well.

Overall, being even better than The Acoustic Verses , I give it the full 5 stars.

Evenless



..::TRACK-LIST::..

1. Childs Play (Part III)
Music By - Bernt A Moen
Music By [Based on Child Play (Part I) By] - Tchort

2. Sweet Leaf
Music By, Lyrics By - Tchort

3. 9-29-045 (Part I, II And III)
Music By, Lyrics By - Stein Roger Sordal

4. Alone
Lyrics By [Based on 'Alone' By] - Edgar Allan Poe
Music By - Tchort

5. Maybe?
Music By, Lyrics By - Kjetil Nordhus

6. High Tide Waves
Lyrics By - Tommy Jackson
Music By - Michael S. Krumins

7. Transparent Me
Music By, Lyrics By - Tommy Jackson

8. Six Ribbons
Music By, Lyrics By - Jon English

9. The Burden Is Mine... Alone
Music By, Lyrics By - Stein Roger Sordal



..::OBSADA::..

Bjørn Harstad, Kenneth Silden, Kjetil Nordhus, Michael S Krumins, Stein Roger Sordal, Tchort, Tommy Jackson

Guest Musicians - Anne Marie Almedal, Leif Wiese

Kristiansand String Quartet:
Cello - Ariel De Wolf
Viola - Kjell Åge Stoveland
Violin - Lene-Marie Helland, Pål Svendsberget




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J88t688ESWU



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