"Gigs of VNV Nation are parties"... With that in mind I left for their next passage in Belgium / Antwerp. I would return with the same feeling, but a bit tempered.

It all started off quite well: stopted earlier at work to start the rush towards the venue: I had an appointment at 18h30 with mr. Harris and mr. Jackson for an interview. HAD, as the fr*cking traffic made sure I was 10 minutes late. With a sixpack Westmalle Triple and a sixpack Duvel in my hands, I arrived at the door: the band was having dinner and the interview was planned after dinner. No problem: now I had some time to jump in my 'party-outfit'. 10 minutes later I was back: doors closed and no way in...

So nothing left to do but wait with the crowd and stand at the entrance freezing for about an hour. After getting my presspas I grabbed a quick coke to get the necessary sugars for the evening and than I headed towards the stage.

Ayria was the first opener for this evening. A pity, as other openers in the tour are Frozen Plasma, S.A.M. and Rotersand, who might be more familiar in Belgium, but hey: no complaining before the show starts!

I fear my omen was correct: Ayria was not a waw-experience. No mather how hard Jennifer tried to move frivoly over the stage: the audience did not get into it... I hope it was the PA, cause the tone was not that good. Although I feel that on CD they sound much better. Maybe it also has something to do with the audience, which is not that familiar with Ayria?

Next on was Straftanz. And "Tanz" was on it's place here! The venue was already filled for 3/4 and those who were there, were blown away! The frontman was a true entertainer and his silly faces were very convinsing (yes, we had a laugh or two!). The sound was right, hard and straight forward! We did not expect less...

But I have to be honest: although the crowd was quite 'in it', I think it did not really fit as a support. Put them before Combichrist, Agonoize or Suicide COmmando and they can move the whole audience, here it was obvious that lots of the crowd came for the more light beats of VNV Nation and Straftanz was maybe a tad to harsh.

But make way fot the headliner of the evening for which a nice 800 people came on this tuesday: VNV Nation!

As always, Ronan nits the tracks perfectly together and gives Mark the best of himself. As always, Ronan has the audience in his pocket after half a minute and the crowd follows him as sheep following the herd. He knows perfectly how to play with his audience. He scores a homerun if he starts telling some stories about previous times he was in Belgium. He gains there heart when he starts talking about the screaming girl in Mechelen in 2004... He gives them the impression that they are special... And they dig it!

But hey, you must admit that some of the 'gimmick' are straight out of the book: again the gag about the Best Beer in the World (why do you think I brought Westmalle Triple as a gift?) and of course the one minute sing-through-a-cellphone to some VNV-fan who did not make it to the concert...

Musically, I feel I have seen them better before. The choice for the more relaxed tracks and the less hard beats will be on purpose, but still you can feel that the crowd adores the older work and misses Joy, Rubicon or Solitary, none of those made it to the setlist today. Instead of that, we got a nice overview of the last 2 albums with here and there a wink to the past with e.g. Further, a rather unknown track only released in an EP and some samplers (not even on a full album).

The crowd couldn't get enough and called them back 2 times, but after 2 hours the shirt of Ronan was so sokes that he had to throw in (euhm: take) a towel and end this great evening in our small Belgium.

I made one last shot for an interview and went towards the organisation. They told me that the management preferred not to have interviews after the show, so I would have to leave empty-handed.

But I don't give up: Ronan and Mark promised on stage that they would come to the afterparty, so I sacrifice myself to get a place at the bar with my box full of Duvel and Westmalle and wait for them...

The afterparty itself is very nice, but I fear that it does not have the wanted effect middle of the week. It was no real 'party', although DJ Hive really did his best, but I guess those who did stick around still had some drinktickets to spend or waited for the bands to come in. So not much movement on the dancefloor, although Warmongers by Frozen Plasma was a nice wink to the missed support-act.

The bands entered, but a real interview was no possibility: there for the people were to much 'demanding' towards the bands, but still I had a nice little informal chat with Mark; About beer off course, because Mark knows what he is talking about and he apparently does not choose Westmalle Triple out of the blue if he says that it is the best beer in the world! But also about the setlist and the changing audience. He does not say the word 'generation-difference' literaly, but I can hear we share opinions about the audience: a lot of fans who like the old stuff are not so fond of the new releases and vice-versa: the 'new' fans are ot always that open towards the older work. He says that they know that in Belgium they always have good reactions on the new releases and there for they chose to bring some more newer things.

A bit after Mark, Ronan comes in and some people almost start a fight getting to him first. He kindly accepts the Duvel, but has but a little time: the people are demanding and he has to share his time. A quick signature on my Reformation 01-box and there he goes: into his adoring crowd...

A very nice evening, I must say. VNV Nation is still a real party, but Mark was right about the generations: I am still very enthousiastic, but in a more tempered way. And still I am looking forward in seeing them again very soon, because who knows they might play some more old tracks?
-Septic Error-

Playlist Ayria:
- Bad list
- Analog trash
- Disease
- 1000 transmissions
- The gun song
- Girl on the floor
- My revenge on the world

Playlist Straftanz
- Intro
- Tanz kaputt was euch Kaputt macht
- Out of time
- Gummimann
- DZE
- Turbo
- Straftanz

Playlist VNV-Nation was not available