AVATAR
AN UNNAMED WAREHOUSE IN SWEDEN
Sweden’s kings of the carnivalesque aim for the impossible
GIVE ANY BAND the choice between playing a livestream or a real gig and the answer is a no-brainer, and yet the range of virtual shows that has emerged as a result of the pandemic has been quite incredible. Whether it’s Wednesday 13 intertwining their set with comedy sketches or Puscifer beaming their performance from a multi-stage amphitheatre in Arizona, it’s just possible that, in a weird way, COVID-19 has created opportunities for bands we never thought would be possible.
Taking full advantage of the livestream experience with not one but four shows paced over four weeks, those circus-obsessed masters of the freakshow, Avatar, have admittedly taken on a gargantuan task, promising an “impossible concert experience” with all the usual bells and whistles, including tour shirts and a meet ’n’ greet. The prospect of fan-voted setlists is tantalising, but these are reserved from the second show onward. For the first chapter of their four-show spectacular – mysteriously entitled ‘Age Of Dreams’ – the Swedes have opted to play their latest album, Hunter Gatherer, in full plus some of their biggest hits.