Somehow the band seemed more relaxed than ever. This might be because of the change in stage set up. Tonight Roine Stolt wasn’t in the stage center, a place difficult to reach for the cameramen. The spot was taken by bass player Jonas Reingold, in my opinion the true engine of the band. Because of this, the band seemed more in balance. The over expressive Hasse Froberg on the left, the solid Reingold in the center and the modest Stolt on the right. One wasn’t bothered by the enormous contrast between both guitar players/vocalists.

The band played a broad selection of songs covering most of the more recent albums. There was little room for instrumental/experimental outbursts. In the vain of the new album, tonight’s show was mainly about songs. Highlights were `Mommy Leave The Light On` and the excellent `Pioneers Of Aviation`. A true eye opener for me was that the older stuff didn’t sound as good as it used to, a confirmation that the band is still growing to higher levels. As one would expect the band played over two and an half hour of excellent music. At the end the Kings were even ‘forced’ to play and extra, unintended encore by a exciting crowd.

Hopefully the recordings of tonight will be near as good as the performance. The contrast with the earlier ‘Meet The Flower Kings’ a live studio recording could probably haven’t been bigger. If the film crew has been able to capture tonight’s atmosphere, the new live dvd is bound to be even better!

(Review & Pics: Geert Oldenmenger)