What could be more pleasant than an evening in "one's own" company, enjoying favourite music? All week before the 23 March concert at the SDK MAI I was impatiently waiting to hear old, somewhat familiar songs in their acoustic versions — songs that have become somewhat tiresome but are passionately beloved. And then the day arrived.
The concert began at the most unexpected of moments, i.e., practically on time. The long-awaited "Gates of Time" rang out, the musicians took the stage. For what it's worth, the performance was divided into three notional parts: what we had already heard a hundred times, the acoustic section itself, and again the usual sound.
There is probably no point in describing what the first part represented. Those who have heard EPIDEMIA and been to their concerts know what that drive is, what a flow of positive energy fills the body, how emotions and rapture overwhelm you. To everyone else I can only advise: simply listen to at least the most iconic material. (That word is not quite appropriate here, since all the songs of this band are worthy of admiration.) I will note only how moved I was by the phrase "A song for those who have lost their love" before "Rider From the Ice". If someone had told me then that this song would now be my anthem, I would have laughed for a long time and not believed them. (One more reason why I personally love Epi — their lyrics and music reflect my soul.)
A brief pause and then she began — the acoustic section everyone had been waiting for. The experiment turned out ambiguous. Consider me a conservative, but at first all the songs in this version felt alienating. (I am of course not referring here to the divinely sounding "Again to Be With You" and "I Prayed to You" — these songs were simply created to one day be performed at an acoustic concert.) But then I listened more carefully, acquired a taste for it, and again received an enormous charge of positive energy. The idea turned out to be very interesting indeed and deserves to be heard.
The only question that still torments me — where was "Phoenix"? Where was "Phoenix", which I had dreamed of hearing live for so long, which had made me literally wear out the Chronicles of Twilight disc? As it turned out, I was not the only one disappointed by the absence of this song. It is a great shame that it was not performed, but the world does not rest on one song alone — there are many other wonderful songs.
At the start of the "third act", like many others, I was exhausted but wildly happy and did not want it all to end. At one point the music captivated me so completely that only at the concert's conclusion did I realise I had been staring at a single point. And what I had taken for my own thoughts were actually the words of songs. Music can truly conquer the human mind.
Very unexpectedly, but pleasantly, I heard at the concert a cover of "When the Rain Grows" by HELLOWEEN. This song fitted very harmoniously and beautifully into EPIDEMIA's repertoire and style.
Then came a couple of songs for the encore, the Epilogue marking the end of the concert, and the standard post-event rush on the cloakroom. And again the metro, the suburban train, life returning to its normal course. Nothing more amusing or interesting was on the agenda for the rest of the day.
So what did we have in the end? Pleasant music, an excellent way to relax, but... but all of this has grown slightly tiresome. The soul wants something new. Something that no one has ever heard before, that no one has ever performed. Fortunately, the wait for the second part of the Elven Manuscript is not too much longer. And then EPIDEMIA will be reborn like a Phoenix from the ashes in my soul.
Special thanks to the SDK MAI for the accreditation provided