Let this not be the last dance

Oslo. John Dee. 07/09/13. Xelabration Festival.

TraKKtor, NOISUF-X, Orange Sector, Aesthetic Perfection. Covenant. 

Just after midnight. The lights turn off. The crowd awaits. Sweet agony. The lights of the scene turn on. The sound of the synth fills the space.

~We're leaving Babylon~

Covenant. The band.

~We make ritual noise
we weave the fabric of dreams
We build cities of sound
We feel the rhythm of time~

Everything seems so right. The time, the place, the fans, the feeling, the band.

~We are the prime movers~

I've always loved the small concert venues. The smaller the better. Then the relationship between the band and the fans is more intimate. Pure. More honest.

~Too late to escape, too late to regret, no time to hide, no time to forget~

~The price for a life in sin is beyond repair and mending~

The feeling of being in a concert can't be described easily. You have to be there. A part of it. To live the moment. To feel your heart beating in the rhythm of music.

~White light solid to my eye, deep down inside I'm alive~

To sing. To smile. To feel your body getting to a higher level. To dance until you don't feel your feet anymore. To look each other in the eyes. To touch.

~Ten thousand times ten thousand ways to catch the beauty and the grace~

~I am the rhythm and the noise,  I am the voices in your blood, I am the logic and the lust~

Eskil Simonsson. The voice. The performer. The man.
He sings and makes your spine tingle. His voice clear and enchanting can travel you to the most beautiful unknown places. A voice to trust. You forget everything. Nothing matters as long as he's there singing. You could listen to him forever.

~I watch with gypsy eyes secrets never told, stolen years of yearning turn their tears to dust~

The synths. They are there. Dominant. Skillful fingers touch the keys and transform the sounds into melodies. They keep the rhythm.

~We work so hard to be wise and dream of light to be pure~

~I want more to burn, I want more to break, so give me the speed I need~

The rhythm penetrates the bodies and fills the space. The hearts are beating faster. Dance.

~We dance to the sound of sirens. We are the heroes of self-deception~

It's a pure oldschool party. Full of energy. Full of passion. Hundreds voices become one. They sing along. It's a total experience. Almost mystagogic. If you haven't been there you can't feel it. If you have been there you can't forget it.

~I see the stalker in your face, the secrets on your skin, I keep the wisdom that you need, the password that you want, I feel the stalker in your mind, the fire in your veins~

Covenant sets the dance floor on fire. "Last dance". A killer song. One of these songs that brings tears to your eyes.

~The floor collapses as we dance, we are falling apart.This is the world on fire. This is the end of it all.~

~Tonight we light the fires we call our ships to port. Tonight we walk on water tomorrow we'll be gone~

You know it will soon end. But you don't want to. It's fatal to happen so the only thing you can do is to try to live every single second while it happens. To keep the moment in your heart. To cherish it.

~If this was a shelter I would endure in a world with faceless strangers, I would have a place to feel secure from the ever present dangers~

Can't feel my feet anymore, but I keep dancing. Makes it hard to breathe. The heat of a  body which suffocates under a latex dress. I can feel the sweat dripping down my back, all the way down my legs.

~Fire in my footsteps, peace in my mind. Broken rhythms, broken bodies, broken minds, broken hearts~

It's not the first time I see Covenant live, but it was definitely the best. The most complete. The most intense.
That unique relationship between the fans and the band that fills the space and the hearts with so much positive energy. The pulse..

~And eternity is in your hidden eyes. Take my broken wings teach me to fly again. I stand alone. We stand alone~

Just before the end. Feels like it's just the beginning. Or at least you wish it was. But time shows no mercy. The best things in life last the shortest time. The lesson is learned, but it's still hard to accept reality.

~ Time is like a bullet from behind I run for cover just like you~

The curtain falls. The sound stops. The band leaves. The lights turn off. I stand still for some moments and then I start walking. The body moves, but not the mind. The mind stays there. Until next time.

~Dead stars still burn, dead still stars burn~

I had the time of my life. Thanks to Covenant for making it so special and real. I'm waiting for the next time. The next journey.


When: 07/09/13
Where: Oslo, John Dee
Who: Covenant

Playlist:
Leaving Babylon
Ritual Noise
Prime Movers
Replicant
Voices
Edge Of Dawn
The Beauty And The Grace
I Am
20hz
Figurehead
Speed
Theremin
Stalker
Last Dance
Call The Ships To Port
Shelter
Lightbringer
We stand alone
Bullet
Dead Stars

Love will tear us apart.

When routine bites hard and ambitions are low
...

The music.
The words.
The voice.

And resentment rides high, but emotions won't grow
...

The song
The meaning.
The fear.

And we're changing our ways taking different roads
...

The needle.
The ink.
The skin.
...

Then love, love will tear us apart.

Words carved in the skin. They turn into image. I carry them with me. Forever.


Where: Kunst med Puls, Fredrikstad Norway (https://www.facebook.com/kunstmedpuls)
When: 2012
Who: Joy Division. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHYOXyy1ToI

The last day of summer never felt so old

The end of summer came the day I took the flight back home. It was still July. Since then, not even a day has passed by without me thinking of the moments spent under the hot almighty sun staring at the big blue. The easygoing life blessed with light. The indolent days by the sea, drinking wine, reading books, meeting new friends. The smell of sun lotion. The taste of warm homemade "rakomelo", the salt on the skin. The feeling of walking barefoot on the soft burning sand. The sound of "meltemi" blowing on the narrow alleys. The beauty of the barren landscape. The starlit endless sky. The time that stops for a little while. There. Where I left a piece of my soul. On Koufonissi island.

Standing still

Crystal blue green waters

Path to heaven

Prosecco and salads at Kalofego restaurant in Pori

Siesta

Meringue with caramelized pear and sour cherry.
One of the best desserts ever. At Kalofego restaurant.

Narural swimming pool

Blue strange colour blue

Astrolouloudo cafe in the town of Koufonissi

Pori beach

The end 

                                                         

Who will save your soul?

July 9th 2013, Koufonissi island Greece. Not even a cloud in the sky. The sun is burning the skin. Nobody can escape the light. Who wants to, anyway? We're drinking our coffee in the town of Koufonissi, planning the day ahead. 

In front of us, the endless blue Aegean sea shinning under the sunlight in all its beauty. I realize how generous the Gods have been to this place. And then, the words of a melody I hear for the first time are breaking the morning silence.. "I can feel the presence of God occupying my intensions - In my soul within my thoughts and in wasted dreary dimensions..." Soulsavers the band, Dave Gahan the vocalist, "The Light The Dead See" the album. His voice sends shivers down my spine and sets the hot day on fire. I promised myself to find the album as soon as I am back from holiday. I did it. It has been the soundtrack of this summer. Maybe the soundtrack of my life. At least, a piece of me. 

Find it. Close the eyes, turn on the volume, give in to Dave's deep sensual voice and let the melodies...save your soul..

Where: Nikita's cafe-bar, Koufonissi Island Greece (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nikitas-Bar-Koufonisi/246538438705122)

When: July 2013

Who: Soulsavers - Dave Gahan