14.06.2015 The Beauty Of Gemina

Blackfield Festival

Amphitheater Gelsenkirchen (Germany)

(Pentax K-5 with Tamron SP AF 17-50mm 2.8 XR Di II LD Asp IF and Sigma AF 50-150mm 2.8 EX DC APO HSM II)

On the last festival day of the Blackfield Festival, the weather had become a bit more stable. I still let the first two bands of the day pass and only arrived at the infield for the dark rockers of The Beauty Of Gemina. They had already been guests last year, but with the slightly rockier versions of their songs. Today, it was to be an entirely acoustic set, for which the band had brought additional support in the form of a violinist (Eva Wey) and a cellist (Raphael Zweifel).
Singer, guitarist, and pianist Michael Sele opened the quiet and rather melancholic set with “Kingdom Of Cancer” from the 2007 debut “Diary Of A Lost”. The crowd in front of the stage was still quite manageable and dreamily followed the quietest show that Blackfield would experience. The really great performance that the musicians (also including drummer Mac Vinzens and bassist Andi Zuber) delivered was truly unparalleled. They worked their way through all their released albums during their approximately 40 minutes, up to their latest “Ghost Prayers”, from which the songs “Mariannah” and “Down By The Horses” were quickly dealt with right at the beginning. Communication with the audience was kept brief, leaving more room for the music, which evolved from the somewhat heavier and darker pieces at the beginning to the lighter and “happier” ones (if you can even call it that) towards the end of the set. Unfortunately, the end came all too quickly with “Last Night Home” from the 2012 album “Iscariot Blues”, and under great applause, the band left the stage.
I had already admired The Beauty Of Gemina two years ago in the truly intimate setting of the Krefeld Kulturfabrik, but this performance was a completely different experience. Hearing the pieces in an acoustic guise opened up a whole new perspective on the music of the Swiss band. For me, this show was one of the best of the Blackfield weekend, and they actually deserved a larger audience.

Setlist:

Kingdoms Of Cancer
Mariannah
Down By The Horses
The Lonesome Death Of A Goth DJ
Dark Rain
Suicide Landscape
Badlands
Last Night Home

Weblinks:

	The Beauty Of Gemina Homepage of the Suisse band The Beauty Of Gemina.
	Amphitheater Gelsenkirchen Homepage of the Amphitheater at Gelsenkirchen (Germany).