22nd October 2024: Antwerp & Starset’s Immersion {Belgium October 2024}

Posted on 14 December 2024 by JBinnacle

The weather was clear but crisp in Antwerp [Anvers | Antwerpen] when I left the hotel to grab a coffee at a small supermarket at the station. I walked right up to the Cathedral of Our Lady Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal. The interior was spacious, with a feeling of light and openness, with pointed arches. One of the key features of the cathedral is the art it houses, particularly the four paintings by Peter Paul Rubens (1577 – 1640), the most important Flemish Baroque artist, known for his nude characters, whether mythological or biblical. There are four of his works in the cathedral – The Elevation of the Cross, The Descent from the Cross, The Assumption of the Virgin Mary and The Resurrection of Christ. The cathedral boasts that it contains more “masterpieces”, both classical and contemporary, but they pale in comparison.

The cathedral is 123 metres long, and its tower is 123 metres high, giving it a special proportionality – which would have been even more spectacular if the second tower had ever been completed. The nave has a “secret” skylight that can only be seen if you are standing right underneath – this is supposed to represent the presence of God. The building is considered late Brabant Gothic, with some Baroque decorations. The stained glass windows are mainly Neo-Gothic, since the originals were destroyed. Underneath the nave there is a Medieval crypt.

Antwerp Cathedral interior

Art in Antwerp Cathedral

Afterwards, I headed out for the Plantin-Moretus Museum Plantin-Moretusmuseum, a Unesco Heritage Site. It is a museum on the history of book printing, especially from the 16th century printers Christophe Plantin (founder) and Jan Moretus (heir and son-in-law), located in their former house and workshop. The collection includes original printing presses and typesetter letters, drawings and paintings by Rubens, and hundreds (thousands?) of books printed throughout the centuries, and even some manuscript codexes. There were Bibles, atlases, medicine books… It was absolutely fantastic – though taking pictures was hard due to the lightning (so forgive the strange angles).

Plantin-Moretus Museum

Plantin-Moretus Museum books

I was feeling a bit woozy, probably because I had not eaten anything solid in 24 hours. Thus, I found a supermarket and bought a few items to have lunch, dinner, and breakfast the following day. I was heading back to the hotel, but I became distracted as I walked by the Stadsfeestzaal. Now a shopping centre, it used to be an exhibition hall, built at the end of the 19th century. It burnt down in 2000, and in 2007, it reopened after restoration as a shopping centre… which was celebrating Hallowe’en.

Antwerp festival hall

I ate a sort of pizza bread, warm from the supermarket, on the way, and some sushi when I got to the hotel. It was an unorthodox combination, but it made me feel fine again. I saved a salad for later, and I got some rest and got ready for Starset’s concert Immersion: The Final Chapter. I reached the venue Trix Zaal around 16:20, and I was… second in the VIP queue. The VIP passes were issued around 18:30, with a staff member taking our names and checking IDs. Doors opened at 19:00 and the curtain literally fell at 20:15.

Starset Inmersion poster

I once had to describe Starset and I did it as “weird”. Not in a bad way. They have a futuristic image, with an emphasis on a future rather terrifying technocratic dystopia. The concerts carry out a narrative – the New East is a sort of mental empire that controls everything through a device implanted in your mind. Their music videos are independent though. Their music style is hard rock or alternative metal, I’d say.

When I first saw them in Japan, they were officially four members: Dustin Bates (lead vocals, keyboards, soundboard, guitar), Ron DeChant (bass, keyboards, backing vocals), Brock Richards (guitars, backing vocals) and Adam Gilbert (drums, percussion) – those were the ones I met for the sainkai. They are currently touring with Zuzana Engererova (cello), Siobhán Richards (violin, keyboards), and Cory Juba (guitar, synth). I am very happy to report that the touring members are – at least for the two concerts I’ve attended in Belgium are present for photographs and meet and greets.

I enjoy Starset concerts a lot, I kind of feel the music. Besides, there are a bunch of songs that hit my soul really hard. Out of this concert’s setlist, I particularly love Carnivore and TokSik. However, Trials, Monster and My Demons are the ones that touch me really deep.

The stage was set with a bunch of rotors between the musicians and the audience, and there was a lot of neon and smoke to help with the visuals. The concert took about two hours, with a break in between to take down the rotors (in a matter of minutes). The “final chapter” the tour title refers to turns out to close down the futuristic plot and kickstart a present one with… time travel. And it makes total sense!

Setlist:
1. Unbecoming
2. Carnivore
3. Manifest
4. Perfect Machine
5. Frequency
6. Trials
7. It Has Begun
8. Waiting on the Sky to Change (Downplay cover)
9. Devolution
10. Infected
11. Telekinetic
12. Brave New World
13. Faultline
14. Monster
15. Degenerate
16. Echo
17. Die For You
18. Halo
19. My Demons
20. TokSik

Starset concert snapshot

During the concert, the person who had been first at the VIP queue had a bucket with a glow in the dark message asking for guitar picks. They caught an extra one and gave it to me afterwards! I was extremely grateful! After the encore, VIP pass holders could stay behind to take the official photograph and get some items signed.

I had brought a printed copy from my photograph from the VIP event at the previous concert. Whilst last year the VIP experience was a pre-concert acoustic, this time around it was afterwards, and it consisted on “hanging out with the band”. I had heard about it before, but I could not imagine how that went. First, we lined up for the official photograph. They built up a backdrop for the. After the picture was taken you got a signed poster and the QR to download it, and off you went back to the floor. I was talking to the people I had queued with when I suddenly looked up and saw Cory within the crowd. How can these guys be so tall and at the same time so sneaky? Because I swear, Dustin is 2.5 times me and I never saw him coming.

I asked each member to find themselves in the photograph and they signed it for me. Some asked when it was from, and I explain the one from the previous year. Though technically they could sign two things, I forewent the CD I had because the photograph was easier to hold on its own. I praised Zuzana on the girl-power vibe she and Siobhán had going on for the tour and she was happy “someone noticed”. Trust me, it is very noticeable. It was extremely weird and fun to be chatting with all the members like that. I am not sure it makes sense, but I am a bit intimidated by the interactions with Japanese stars – I would blame it in Japanese being my third language, but both Miyavi and Yoshiki are fluent in English. I could blame it on all rules being broken after the stint on the floor of the Royal Albert Hall, I guess. Or maybe it is just different with American artists, since I had the same feeling with Misha Collins – “approachable and human”.

Though the manager had said “no selfies”, towards the end, when he was the last around and a bunch of people had left already, Dustin (vocals) took a few with the fans who remained. I was one of the lucky ones. Then we ran into Andy (drums) at the bar and we were chatting for a while longer. We also took a selfie, yay us.

Afterwards, I undid the way towards the hotel. I walked because it was actually shorter than taking public transport. It was after 23:00, and the streets were mainly deserted as it was cold, but I had no incidents. I had to walk fast to keep myself warm, so that helped reduce the time out. I was also glad I had bought myself dinner, as I thus I did not have to look for a fast food place open at the time and I could head directly into the shower.

All in all, the whole experience was fantastic and I had a blast, or two. Thank you, Starset, for such an awesome event, and all the nice fans who had zero issues with switching to English whenever I was around, and especially to the person who gave me the pick.

21st October 2024: Bruges & Antwerp {Belgium October 2024}

Posted on 13 December 2024 by JBinnacle

It was raining in Bruges [Bruges | Brugge] when I woke up, but it was supposed to stop by the time the monuments started opening. I asked reception to take care of my bag and I left around 9:30. I thought I would retrace my steps from the previous day, but when I got to the Church of Our Lady, it was not open yet, thus I took a small detour and explored its surroundings. I walked around the area taking in the scenery, and crossed Boniface Bridge Bonifaciusbrug, one of the iconic bridges overlooking traditional wooden and brick houses which face the canal. In front of the church stands the hospital-turned-museum Apotheek Sint-Janshospitaal. It was closed because it was a Monday, but the building was pretty.

Bonifacebridge

The Church of Our Lady Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk opened at 10:00 and I wanted to at least see the free area. The church is famous for having a statue by Michelangelo, but that was in the museum area, which I did not visit. The church also displayed original frescos and a small Via Crucis.

Church of our Lady Bruges

I then walked towards the city centre and Saint Salvator’s Cathedral Sint-Salvatorskathedraal. The cathedral is made mainly out of brick, along with tuff and limestone. The oldest bricks date from the 14th century, made outside the city and brought via the waterways. It was not originally built as a cathedral, but took over the role when the actual one one was destroyed in the 18th century. Instead of rebuilding it, the city made Saint Salvator the next cathedral in the 19th century. Unfortunately, shortly afterwards, there was a fire and the roof collapsed. English architect Robert Chantrell was in charge of the restoration, and he chose to build the neo-Romanesque tower that looks something like a Lego set. Later, a peak was added to the tower which makes it even more… Lego-like.

Saint Salvator Cathedral Bruges

The cathedral has an organ originally built in the 18th century, and has been expanded thrice since then. The altar is surrounded by Flemish tapestries. Underneath the nave, there is a crypt where you can see the oldest bricks and a number of 14th century tombs, decorated with paintings in the fresco technique. They feature angels, Jesus, the Virgin Mary and Saint John. There is a small building adjacent to the cathedral with a closed off cloister which holds the treasure, full of works of art.

Saint Salvator Cathedral 14th century tombs

Afterwards, I headed off back towards Market Square Grote Markt. It was raining on and off, so I decided that maybe I could check out the Belfry of Bruges Belfort van Brugge – it turns out that the museum is… climbing the belfry. The belfry was originally built in 1240, though it burnt down and it was rebuilt forty years later. It has an octagonal end cap which was added in the late 1480s. After a few built and destroyed wooden spires, a stone neo-Gothic parapet was added in 1822. The tower is 83 meters high (366 steps, yes, I counted, I got 364) and contains a carillon with 23 bells (27 tons, no, I did not weigh them), and a total of 47 bells. Believe it or not, I was up there when the carillon stroke noon. That was awfully cool. There were also great views of the city.

Bruges Belfry

Bruges from the Belfry

There was a clearing in the clouds and very low chance of rain for the next hour or so, and thus I decided to find one of the official providers of boat tours on the canals. These are sanctioned by the town hall and all of them have the same price and the same route, so any one would do. The one I found first was De Meulemeester Boat Tours Rondvaarten De Meulemeester. The tour departed and arrived from Dock no. 5 (Wollestraat 34). We sailed to Jan van Eyckplein (Jan van Eyck Square) and the edge of the Lake of Love Minnewater. On the way we did not only see the most important monuments facing the water, we also came across Bruges’ famous swans. In the 15th century, keeping swans was a symbol of status, and they were added to the city as part of its image as a flourishing trade point. Today they’re still maintained by the city, which has actually taken them off from the canals for quarantines before. There were quite a few tours going on at the same time, and the boat captains seemed to know each other – or at least have enough familiarity for some banter.

The canals of Bruges

After the boat ride, I found the Gothic Bruges city hall Stadhuis van Brugge, one of the oldest city halls in the historical region. It was built in a late Gothic style between 1376 and 1421, but it has been modified and renewed a few times – and since at this time I had decided that Bruges was a city to come back on a non-Monday, I decided to leave it for the next time, hoping that Antwerp would have better weather – a bit less cold at least.

Next to the town hall stands the Basilica of the Holy Blood Basiliek van het Heilig Bloed, which is supposed to hold a Relic of the Blood of Jesus Christ. I only visited the Romanesque chapel underneath, because I had just seen two huge groups of people go in.

It was then around 13:45, and I had decided to take the 14:25 train to Antwerp to try and make it to the last entry to Chocolate Nation. At the station, however, I decided to get a Belgian waffle with dark chocolate and strawberries. The waffle shop was out of strawberries, so I got a berry mix instead. That killed all my appetite, to be honest, but it was delightful. I even got a little Belgian flag on it – and good thing that I did not order whipped cream, because it was so filling that I was not able to eat anything else throughout the whole day. I regret nothing.

Belgian waffle

The train was on time and off I went to Antwerp [Anvers | Antwerpen]. I reached the stunning Antwerpen-Centraal railway station Gare d’Anvers-Central | Station Antwerpen-Centraal. The weather was not much nicer than in Bruges though, and it was still raining. I dropped my luggage off at the hotel, and went back to the station to take some pictures – I like hotels near travel hubs. Afterwards, I headed off to Chinatown / Van Wesenbekestraat, but the only interesting thing there was the pagoda gate.

Antwerp Central station

I headed towards the historical centre and stopped by the Cathedral Cathedral of Our Lady Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal, which belongs to the Unesco World Heritage Site Belfries of Belgium and France. It is credited to architects Jan Appelmans and his son Pieter Appelmans. Both of them are honoured in a metal monument within the wall of the cathedral, which was erected in the Gothic style. The cathedral was never completed to its original concept, and only one of the two projected towers was ever finished. The church was damaged in several scuffles with time – as recently as WWI – and it was completely restored between 1965 and 1993. It had already closed, but I was counting on that.

Antwerp cathedral by day

I continued off to Main Square Grote Markt, which was almost empty due to the weather. There stands the Antwerp City Hall Stadhuis Antwerpen, a few guild houses, and Brabo Fountain Brabofontein, which represents a legend – a giant who cut off the hands of boatmen received the same fate by hero Silvius Brabo.

Antwerp Grote Markt by day

Then, I continued off towards the edge of river Scheldt, on whose banks Het Steen, a Medieval fortress dating back to the early 13th century. It is what one could call the Antwerp Castle from Wagner’s’ operas, and it was built as a way to control the river. It is currently used as a visitor centre.

Het Steen

It was getting dark already and none of the monuments were lit, so I decided to get back, as it was raining rather hard. The second I saw reached the station though, the illumination was turned on. I decided to go to the hotel and wait the rain out, as it was supposed to clear out in about an hour. It did, so I retraced all my steps back towards the Cathedral of Our Lady Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal and the Main Square Grote Markt. I even reachedHet Steen, but it was not lit.

Antwerp cathedral by night