{"id":55858,"date":"2017-11-13T22:24:36","date_gmt":"2017-11-14T03:24:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=55858"},"modified":"2017-11-13T22:24:36","modified_gmt":"2017-11-14T03:24:36","slug":"live-ceti-with-black-meadow-concert-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2017\/live-ceti-with-black-meadow-concert-review\/","title":{"rendered":"LIVE! | CETI with Black Meadow"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Alexandra Mrozowska<\/span>
\n– Sr. Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

November 10, 2017 at Rocker Club in Szczecin, Poland \u2013-<\/h3>\n

\"\"While Heraclitus\u2019 famous quote \u201cNo man ever steps in the same river twice\u201d doesn\u2019t seem to be a part of a rocker\u2019s creed, it could have been applicable to a certain extent when it comes to the tour dates. Seldom does it happen that the band plays in the same city twice during one tour, does it? <\/p>\n

However, there are some noble exceptions to the rule. Having already played in the city of Szczecin once during the first leg of their The Snakes Are Back In Town Tour 2017<\/em>, the Polish Hard Rock\/Heavy Metal veterans CETI returned to the capital of West Pomerania in mid-November. Was it the enthusiastic response of the Szczecin-based audience back in January that made them announce yet another date in the same city? It could have been so \u2013 and those who couldn\u2019t have made it months earlier now had a chance to make up for the lost time.<\/p>\n

The majority of fans gathered in the Rocker Club that cold, rainy November evening sported Snakes Of Eden t-shirts, a nod and a wink to CETI\u2019s general attitude towards the choices behind the concert setlists. Similarly to their 2015 tour in support of the previous album Brutus Syndrome, the band adds a lion\u2019s share of the new material to their concert repertoire rather than riding the wave of nostalgia. Asked about that, the band\u2019s leader Grzegorz Kupczyk told me back in 2015 \u2013 \u201cWe played [the older songs] for so many years and finally, it\u2019s time we took a chance and let [them] go.\u201d However, at least a handful of classics also made it to the setlists during the tour, too \u2013 including the band\u2019s 1992 staple \u201cLamiastrata.\u201d<\/em> <\/p>\n

\"\"The support act for the gig in Szczecin was Black Meadow, a local quartet whose sound blends Rock, Metal, and Funk. Although their set was relatively short, the group managed to present a handful of songs of their repertoire, such as \u201cHighway Son\u201d or \u201cMad Woman.\u201d If given more time, perhaps they would include a few interesting covers in their setlist as well \u2013 for example, their energetic version of Billy Idol\u2019s \u201cRebel Yell.\u201d <\/p>\n

The night\u2019s headlining act didn\u2019t make their fans wait for too long \u2013 just a while after Black Meadow left the stage, the rhythm section (Marcin \u201cMucek\u201d Krystek \u2013 drums and Tomasz Targosz \u2013 bass) appeared, followed by the group\u2019s co-founder, the keyboard player, and backup singer Maria \u201cMarihuana\u201d Wietrzykowska and the guitarist Bartosz Sadura. The last to complete the line-up on stage was Grzegorz Kupczyk \u2013 not only CETI\u2019s singer and co-founder but also the former singer of the pioneering Polish Metal band Turbo.<\/p>\n

The intro was Rossini\u2019s \u201cWilhelm Tell Overture\u201d, not an unusual choice for the band who\u2019s already preceded their live performances with the Classical pieces like \u201cCarmina Burana\u201d in the past. CETI opened the show with the first track off Snakes Of Eden, the Maiden-esque \u201cEdge Of Madness\u201d fading into the galloping \u201cWizards Of The Modern Worlds\u201d. Referring to Hitchcock\u2019s famous quote, it could have been said that the gig started with something comparable to a musical earthquake, and then the stress continuously increased. Songs like \u201cC.E.T.I.\u2019a\u201d, \u201cPrawo Piesci\u201d and \u201cOgien I Lzy\u201d revisited the earliest part of the band\u2019s catalog only to prove that CETI\u2019s debut album really stood the test of time twenty-eight years after its release. Simultaneously, they blended almost seamlessly with the group\u2019s newest works, including the Whitesnake-tinted, anthem-ic \u201cNotes Of Freedom\u201d, the crowd favorite \u201cWild & Free\u201d or the semi-ballad, semi-uptempo \u201cLady From The Dark\u201d. CETI\u2019s surely come a full circle with the last two albums, and the formula they embarked on doesn\u2019t fall too far from their earliest endeavors. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Even though the entire set in Szczecin was magnificent, the show had its certain highlights too. Those included Kupczyk\u2019s breathtaking vocal equilibristics in the epic \u201cEmpire Of Loss\u201d, the keyboard charm of \u201cOgien I Lzy\u201d, the wild drum pound in \u201cFight To Kill\u201d, the blazing guitar solo in \u201cLamiastrata\u201d or funky bass part in \u201cThe Evil And The Troy\u201d. And \u2013 last, but surely not least \u2013 \u201cDorosle Dzieci\u201d, the legendary ballad originally recorded by Turbo in 1982. \"\"Although it remains a cult classic for many \u2013 especially the two generations of Kupczyk\u2019s fans \u2013 it was in and out of the CETI\u2019s setlists throughout the years. The Snakes Are Back In Town Tour marked its return to the band\u2019s live repertoire \u2013 but was it only for the sake of nostalgia?<\/p>\n

Similarly to Turbo\u2019s 1985 song \u201cJuz Nie Z Toba,\u201d also revisited by CETI during their 2017 gigs, \u201cDorosle Dzieci\u201d in its current live version has Kupczyk reaching back to his roots as a singer and showing how his voice matured through the years of stage and recording experience. He might not have been that twenty-something singing \u201cDorosle Dzieci\u201d during his first recording sessions with Turbo in 1982 anymore, but today he still delivers the songs with equal passion and feeling. And as the second verse approaches, he shares vocals with Maria \u201cMarihuana\u201d Wietrzykowska, making it another unique moment throughout the gig. <\/p>\n

Although 2017 marks the 28th year in CETI\u2019s history \u2013 invigorated by line-up changes of the Brutus Syndrome era, the band seems to get even better with time. The gig they played in Szczecin in mid-November was a clear proof of that. But \u2013 as everyone who attended it can testify \u2013 there was more to this concert than just a combination of solid repertoire, experience, and talent. Perhaps the best aspect of watching CETI live in Szczecin was to feel the energy exchanged between the band and the roaring crowd and to see the pure outbursts of joy upon the faces of the quintet as they blazed through songs old and new. If every band with almost three decades of activity under their belt was able to blend maturity and professionalism with almost childish glee, there wouldn\u2019t have been any disappointed concert attendees. But if you want to check it out in person, be sure to keep the Polish ensemble on your radar from now on. Chances are that CETI is going to go West again quite soon, and that means way beyond Szczecin \u2013 who knows where to\u2026?<\/p>\n

Band:
\nGrzegorz Kupczyk \u2013 vocals
\nMaria \u201cMarihuana\u201d Wietrzykowska \u2013 keyboards, backing vocals
\nBartosz Sadura \u2013 guitar
\nTomasz Targosz \u2013 bass guitar
\nMarcin \u201cMucek\u201d Krystek \u2013 drums <\/p>\n

Setlist:
\n1.\tEdge Of Madness
\n2.\tWizards Of The Modern Worlds
\n3.\tC.E.T.I.\u2019a
\n4.\tNotes Of Freedom
\n5.\tDevil Made Me Do It
\n6.\tPrawo Piesci
\n7.\tJuz Nie Z Toba
\n8.\tLady From The Dark
\n9.\t2027
\n10.\tKilling Time\/Czas zla
\n11.\tFight To Kill
\n12.\tEmpire Of Loss
\n13.\tDorosle Dzieci
\n14.\tWild & Free
\n15.\tOgien I Lzy
\n16.\tEvil And The Troy<\/p>\n

Encore:
\n17.\tLamiastrata
\n18.\tFire & Ice<\/p>\n


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