Blind Guardian with Grave Digger Live @ The Plaza Live Orlando, Florida 11/28/2015

Blind Guardian with Grave Digger @ The Plaza Live Orlando, Florida 11/28/2015

Saturday night, The Plaza Live was very much the place to be when German metal bands Blind Guardian and Grave Digger ended their two month US Beyond The Red Mirror Tour in Orlando, Florida. The scene upon arrival the night of the show was something I never expected. With the doors open at 7 pm, the line to get into the show that night was wrapped around the building and down the side of the road minutes before the show was to start. Although the line was moving quickly, it seem to be never ending.

Grave Digger took the stage promptly at 8 pm to play their 50 minute, 10 song set. The band came out and the crowd started cheering as the set started hard and heavy with Headbanging man. Just as quickly as they started, the horns filled the air. With the chants “Grave Digger” between the songs and the cheers, the crowd seemed to really be digging the set. It was especially evident when the crowd began to sing along with the band. The set didn’t feel like a show full of strangers, it felt like a show full of friends and family. The band played songs from 7 of their 17 albums which taking us on a journey through their career which spans more than 30 years. With the old school sound, they showed us what a true Rock -n- Roll/Metal show really should be. Grave Digger is Chris Boltendahl (Vocals), Alex Ritt (Guitar), Jens Becker (Bass), Hans Peter Katzenburg (Keyboards) and Stefan Arnold (Drums).  If you ever get the chance to see Grave Digger live, I would suggest not missing it! You won’t regret it! Keep up with what’s going on with Grave Digger on their website www.grave-digger.de.

Set list:

“Headbanging Man”

“The Round Table (Forever)”

“Witch Hunter”

“Ballad of a Hangman”

“Season of the Witch”

“Excalibur”

“Tattooed Rider”

“Highland Farewell”

“Rebellion (The Clans Are Marching)”

“Heavy Metal Breakdown”

 

Blind Guardian took the stage right on time to start their 2 hour set with The Ninth Wave. Immediately as soon as they took the stage, they started interacting with the crowd, not staying away from the very front of the stage and moving from each side making sure everyone felt like they were getting personal attention from the band. The crowd sang along with every song as if they were up on the stage with a mic in their hand giving the performance themselves. In between each song, Hansi would tell a story as the intro into the next song. Amazingly, the crowd knew each story he told and cheered as they waited for the song to begin. He had such a look of surprise on his face several different times when the crowd would sing the songs back to him as if he didn’t expect them to know the words. Once the set was “over”, the band came back out and did not only one but two encores giving their fans both new and old an experience they soon won’t forget. The last song of the set was a cover of the Regents/Beach Boys hit Barbara Ann. Personally; I didn’t want the set to end, as I’m sure the feeling was mutual throughout the venue. Blind Guardian is Hansi Kursch (vocals), Andre` Olbrich (guitars), Marcus Siepen (guitars) and Frederik Ehmke (drums)Keep up with Blind Guardian on their webiste blind-guardian.com and on their Facebook page Facebook.com/blindguardian.

Set List

“The Ninth Wave”

“Banish From Sanctuary”

“Nightfall”

“Fly”

“Tenelorn (Into the Void”)

“Prophecies”

“The Last Candle”

“Bright Eyes”

“Lord of the Rings”

“The Curse of Feanor”

“And then there was Silence”

 Encore:

“Sacred Worlds”

“Twilight of the Gods”

“Valhalla”

Encore:

“Wheel of Time”

“The Bard’s Song – In the Forest”

“Mirror Mirror”

“Barbara Ann”

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