ASP:

We were fortunate to have seen ASP at the previous year's festival. We got some pretty interesting photos and by sending them to ASP himself, had struck up an overseas friendship with him (please see link at end of this year's coverage).

We had not expected to get to go this year but ended up doing so and under especially grand circumstances, our honey moon. Having conveyed to ASP the additional nature of our trip, we assured him that we would definitely be there to see him at Haus Auensee.

As ASP came to the stage the audience went wild, his outfit and appearance like some vampire in nosferatu-esque stylings. They immediately broke into a strong track to break the crowd in, the sound was perfect in the Haus tonight.

After finishing the first few tracks he introduced the next song and then mentioned Tina and myself and that we had just gotten married (and also that we were animals and a bunch of other stuff I didn't quite understand in German)! He then sung a special intro for us which was really special and he sounded so perfect, every note spot on which finally broke into a special version of Sing Child (a song that I felt was great and inspiring - see the ASP Sing Child art piece it brought to my mind).

Tina and I thought this was really awesome and the coolest thing ASP or anyone could have done for us on our honey moon so I would have to say this show was definitely the high-point of the festival for us.

ASP's second album had come out since last summer and so the set was now doubled with the amount of material and greatness. He covered all my favorite tracks off of both albums, the entire band being in perfect sync for the show. The back up vocalists sounded in perfect harmony with ASP which when all voices combined gives some of the most powerful experiences and is definitely one of the reasons ASP is so effective live.

Mathias was to one side on guitar, his hair whipping to the beat and his fingers bringing out powerful driving guitar layers that fuel the songs.

This was an amazing performance, the hall entirely packed and everyone very enthralled by what enfolded from the stage.

Something about ASP, the voice and lyrics most definitely, but also the songs and musical structures themselves are so appealing to me, it is something different that greatly stands out and has all of the elements combined in the right ways. I hope to see ASP and his company again for the next album because this was certainly a great experience.

We had the opportunity to meet up with ASP later and thank him for the wonderful dedication for us and just to see him in person after communicating across oceans. It definitely meant a lot to us and to signify the great union we made to one another so it was a great memory to add to that time of our lives.

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