Nachtleben

Can I say Cynic fans are the coolest people in the world? Hell yes!!!
An intimate night with great energy. I felt at home and protected
among my German brothers and sisters. Nachtleben was a tiny
little space with a cafe upstairs. The opening act canceled so we
had more time than usual to setup. Again, many travelers made
their way to this gig from various parts of Germany. Another
very cool fan from Vienna made the 9 hour train trip! Later in the
night I met a fan who was also at Hellfest and had come all the
way from Australia.

Playing 10 countries in 11 shows has provided me an opportunity
to find the unique characteristics and differences among the
various cultures of each country. But I must comment on the
cohesion that I'm experiencing too. The Germans I spent time
with last night had that same universal greatness of spirit I
see at the core of all humans. I am constantly being touched by
this world with a sense of interest and tenderness. I see many
open hearts and minds that comprise the Cynic listeners. How
blessed we all are to have found each other and made a
connection on this seemingly large yet incredibly short-lived
planet we reside on. Perhaps, we should all come together and
plan a 'Celestial Cruise' across the great seas of Europe! We
can have different music each night (with various musicians),
workshops, theatre (for interesting films), and other
adventures. It can be a celebration of spirit with music at
it's foundation, while taking in the beauty of European land
and sea. Just the thought of this does the trick!

Just before we went on stage a fan showed me a ticket stub
from a Cynic/Pestilence Frankfurt show back in '94. I knew
we had been here before, but not on that tour. It must of been
a quick, play and go kind of gig. He said it was to a nearly empty
room. Thankfully shows are different this time around. I
mentioned to the audience about those days of touring when
Focus was first released. We had toured with Cannibal Corpse in
the states, which was a blast on a personal level, but not always
easy with the audiences. The scene wasn't as diverse then, and
many fans were only into extreme brutal metal. We didn't
necessarily fit into that category, further we had a female (Dana)
doing the death vocals for that tour. All the 'metal' conventions
were no longer relevant when we hit the stage and it wasn't
always a pleasant experience because of it. We never took much
of the disdain personally though, knowing that our audience
would eventually find us. All we could do was stay in process,
and stay true to what we worked so hard to create. It would just
take time, without ever really knowing how long it would be. The
statement "if you love something, set it free - if it never comes
back, it was never yours", couldn't be more true with regard
to Focus. Although, now it's come back belonging to everybody.

Nachtleben reminded of a slightly smaller version of London's
Dingwalls. Super intimate. I felt right at home when we opened
with Veil Of Maya and followed our usual flow. Although this time,
due to my gear working well, I was able to indulge further into the
opening synth guitar sequences that suggest the harmony of the
approaching song. We had fun tonight, and the interaction with the
room was comforting. I was able to spend some quality time with
some great people after the show and couldn't be more grateful for
such kindness and warm spirits.

As we proceed on this tour, my perspective continues to expand. I
feel more open and grateful to be alive. For my own reinforcement,
I'm going to quote, review and share some basic universal
Shambala truth. The phenomenal world has a fickleness and also a
merciless quality to it. You often wonder whether or not you can
ride on that fickle and merciless situation or if its going to ride on
you. It seems the more force we use to try and maneuver the
'horse' that is life the more it rides us. It becomes a struggle of
aggression and speed to overcome obstacles. We become further
subject to the phenomenal world. There's security in knowing
that the earth is always there for us to sit on. It won't disappear
below us. We can rely on the sturdiness and reliability of the earth.
The sky is always there too. We can look up and see blue, grey or
whatever color and trust in that. Also the sun is always there,
whether we see it or not. We accept that the earth is there, the sky
is blue or grey, we accept the landscape and the sea. We accept
cities, highways. Human existence is natural. It is the basic law
and order of world and it is an ideal situation. Applying a
'for or against' viewpoint to life situations only complicates the
way it is. Of course we don't let life tread on us, we go with
gentleness, observing and appreciating all the unknown's as
they appear throughout our lives. We are travelers, opening
further when life seems to tell us not to. We stop holding, and
start letting. We surrender with truth, integrity and strength.
By doing this, everyday experience becomes sacred and the
goodness in everyone's heart can be realised without doubt.

Danke to the fans of Germany. We leave your country
encouraged and inspired to continue on with the second half
of our little European tour!


Paul




Nachtleben Set list

Veil Of Maya
Celestial Voyage
The Eagle Nature
Sentiment
I'm But A Wave To...
Evolutionary Sleeper
Textures
Uroboric Forms
Cosmos
Meeting Of The Spirits
How Could I