THE GATHERING – “SLEEPY BUILDINGS – A SEMI ACOUSTIC EVENING”

If anyone ever needed proof that The Gathering could perform live and aren't just a studio act which receives a lot of help in making top notch records due to excellent equipment, then here it is. 'Sleepy Buildings' is a semi-acoustic live performance from Holland, or The Netherlands. This live performance took my breath away. Before hearing this, I didn't think it was at all possible for The Gathering to pack more emotion into their full-lengths, but this proved me wrong.


When turned up loud enough, you get the feeling as if you're there, watching The Gathering perform their magic in front of a huge audience. The great thing, well, one of the great things about The Gathering is, they have a remarkable ability to be able to pull individuals out of a packed crowd and make it seem as if they're performing solely for you and your hearts content. Recording a live performance and putting on a disc is a risk. It's something that leaves The Gathering totally exposed to criticism and mistakes. However, having said that, you cannot fully tell this is a live performance until the crowd shows their appreciation at the end of each song. It does have the feeling of a live performance, but it's so well done, that you'd think it was recorded and improved upon later. That isn't the case.


The Gathering have chosen their song selection carefully for 'Sleepy Buildings'. It's a rollercoaster of a live performance. Emotion is rife, that much can be heard. The fact that it's an acoustic performance makes this even more special. I've always thought acoustics sound different to anything else. They add a different sense of emotion to the proceedings. They add a depth that cannot be achieved by anything else. The use of additional instruments like the melancholy piano are fantastic. The use of such instruments gives the audience a sense of how well The Gathering prepare their live sets. The fact that a huge amount of preparation seems to have gone into 'Sleepy Buildings' is a positive. One can obviously see that this band are intent of giving a fantastic performance every single time they play in front of others.