‘NEXT TIME WE’RE BACK HERE, WE MIGHT KNOW WHAT WE’RE DOING’
De Boerderij, Zoetermeer, Holland, 16 September 2005

Night after night in the past few weeks, I woke up screaming and sweating. A terrifying nightmare kept haunting me. I was wandering through the desert, almost dying of first. Every now and then I would encounter a little bottle filled with clean, cool water. Drinking it, I felt the most grateful person on earth. But rapidly, the thirst would return. I would find another bottle, drink it but later on become thirsty once more. This would go on and on. The solitude and the sun gave me delusions. I saw monsters all around: a guy with a hat and sunglasses and a fat man in diapers with the face of a baby. I needed a pool of water… and quickly. My psycho-analyst told me I was searching for something. When I asked him what it was, he said: ‘What do you think yourself?’ I really don’t know.

Friday the 16th was the first day I stopped having those bad dreams. Why? Precisely that day, I saw a live show by Arena for the first time in almost two years. Thank you Clive, Mick, Ian, John and Rob. I owe you! I was just looking for Arena live on stage. Those little bottles of water were of course referring to the times when I played Pepper’s Ghost in my room. That would satisfy me for a short while. But nothing beats the live experience.

I shared this experience with about eight hundred persons in De Boerderij in Zoetermeer (Holland). At last, I could hear the songs from the new album without having to turn my stereo down because of the neighbours complaining. The introductory short film showed the band preparing for the concert. It was obviously not without some self mockery. Maybe that was to be characteristic for the evening. Arena try to present a concert as a thematically integrated package of music, graphics, outfits, hairstyles and acting. While they play a song, the artwork of the album can be seen on a big screen behind. Rob came up dressed in the suit and wearing the wig seen in the drawings of Pepper’s ghost. Ian wore his ninja-outfit and John was dressed in the waistcoat of Mr. Horus.

It became clear, however, that for Arena it is just the music that matters. The costumes are a funny extra but nothing really important. While John wore his Mr. Horus jacket, he had put on jeans as well which was a strange contrast. It looked like Mick had not even bothered to put on his ‘American’ suit. The graphics based on the artwork are great. But not every song has its artwork translated to graphics on screen. In those instances, the audience saw ever changing geometrical shapes without a moment of rest. Even when the music invited us to a more relaxing state, the graphics kept shifting manically. This interfered with the atmosphere of the songs and the presentation on stage.

So what about the music? It was nice, but it wasn’t great. Apart from Waiting For The Flood, the setlist contained no surprises to do the title Tenth Anniversary Tour justice. The mix was at times a bit unbalanced and the flow of the songs wasn’t always very smooth. One of the causes may have been John’s health. Earlier that day he visited the pharmacist where he received enough medicine to bring an Egyptian pharao back to life. Apart from that, maybe the band was too relaxed or maybe I am just too demanding. Rob, who hit some off key notes and forgot some of the words, seemed to agree as he said to the audience: ‘Next time we’re back here, we might know what we’re doing.’ Fortunately, that next time will be in October. Furthermore, Paul Wrightson and John Jowitt will then be joining the band on stage. So you won’t find me wandering through the desert looking for water all over again.

Setlist:
Bedlam Fayre
A Crack In The Ice
Midas Vision
A State Of Grace
(Don't Forget To) Breathe
Smoke And Mirrors
Witch Hunt
An Angel Falls
The Painted Man
Waiting For The Flood
Medusa
Serenity
The Shattered Room
The City Of Lanterns
Riding The Tide
Chosen
Skin Game
Enemy Without
Solomon
Crying For Help VII
Jericho

By: Niek Hermsen