The M'era Luna Festival is always an experience, but every year again I am impressed of the width of the area, the number of people and the peaceful alltogether on the camping-places. This time I get into some trouble with the plan.  Press tickets given out at 10 am, First gig starts at 11 am, without the ticket no entry to the camping-places, so when to build up the tent??? Well, we decided that my co-worker Monique build up the tent and I start with Delain and Reflexion alone.
And that was an opening!!
Delain as one of my favourite bands could be proud of the huge audience that came to the main stage in fact before the wake up time and rocked along with them! Well Charlotte is definitley an eycatcher and so most of the audience was male, what a surprise ;).
Right after the gig I rushed over to the Hangar-stage to see my beloved Fins from Reflexion. Why do my fave bands had to play all in a row, that's kind of stressy. Well even the Hangar was filled better than I had ever seen it at 11.20 am before and I am sure Reflexion got themselves a lot new fans with their amazing gig!
Well then it was time to meet up with Monique to find out that the tent fits perfectly in the small corner some friends hold free and to take our stuff into the tent. Sometimes the ways are too long, but well that's why it is one of the biggest Festivals in Europe! In the background I could hear some tunes of Elis and found myself that the new singer is a bit horrible and I could see that's not just my opinion!
At 12 am we met up with Mikko and Juha from Reflexion to do an Interview and then we hang around at the main stage, the sun came up, and it seemed to be a perfect Festival day.
To have not too much relaxing time we met with Charlotte from Delain at 2 pm right after their signing session, to do another Interview. Fulsome praise to the M'era Luna that we could do it backstage, we remember WGT last year, where we had lots of trouble with the interview places!!
Afer that we danced along to Tanzwut and I recognized that the technical problems at the main stage are still there. Bass-tunes were trying to kill my eardrum. The organisators should find a solution for that!!
To round off my faves at M'era Luna we went to Hangar at 17.30 pm to enjoy Epica. Yes even on that small and dismal stage Epica lead their crowd into some fantastical orchestral-metal heaven! I was surprised to see so many Batcave -dressed people moving their heads to Simones tunes!!
By the way: I wonder what hapened to the "big dressed up" people. I just saw a few ones, but no visual keis, no medievals, just black dressed people and a few ones in "normal" EBM-dress. Nothing we haven't seen before. This year there where very plenty freaks, but some brides- YES BRIDES!!  Whatever ;)
When we fight ourselves out of the Hangar (why do the toilets have to be in the entrance area??- I nearly was knocked out by some doors that were opened suddenly!) we rushed right into the ASP gig and yes we stayed. Not that I pretty much like it, but he gigs are great, and the wine did the rest! I guess there was a bit too much fog on the main stage at every concert, but ASP was just fog to me, sometimes you could see human shapes on stage ^^.
 The crowd was great, but I guess that's normal at M'era Luna and the later the evening, the louder the people are!! We decided to watch the first part of the VNV-Nation gig to shake our hips a bit and then try to enter the Hangar for the big final on Saturday: Paradise Lost. It's a miracle to me why they played in the Hangar, but well it was cozy, we like to cuddle complete strangers, sure we do! If they like the same music they can't be so strange to us!!
No need to say that Paradise Lost were awsome?? They were, belive me!
The rest of the evening was party, fries and sleeping or trying to sleep meanwhile others fell over the tent and cried around!
The sunday starts calm and there was this noise... drop drop drop... yes, guess, it was raining, and not just once for an hour but half the day and later in the evening again. I got some RAR feeling and we needed hours to dress and stand up.
In front of the main stage were just few people and the hangar was filled well even at earlier times. We planned to see Agonoize in the Hangar and it was hard to get in, but even harder to get out 20 minutes later when I got all the pictures I needed and decided that Agonoize is no my music for that sunday. Not that they were bad, but I didn't felt like it.  Others did, the combo from Berlin was joined by a massive number of fans.
Saltatio Mortis, jongleurs, were interesting and showed another side of the gothic culture.
Then Apoptygma Berzerk from Norway entered the stage and the ardent crowd celebrated them. They had been the biggest rock- gig on Sunday next to Hocico for EBM as the headliner.
Apoptygma Berserk is Gothic for masses but a great live-band. And they had fun, the guys did their own party on stage. It was the singer's birthday and he got a big tart from his mates.
For us it was the last gig of M'era Luna 2008, we packed our stuff and crawled back to the car at 7 pm. But as usual it was a great time, it is still one of the best Festivals and we will come back, as all the other black-coats will do for its crazyness. No one searches for Helga anymore, maybe Helga is dead and who need sleep? Well I do, they shoud offer an oldie tent-place!!!
The only trouble to metion is the organisation with the brown ribbons. It can not be wanted that just hobby-photographers with no serious jobs, that have the time to arrive on friday before the festival get the ribbons and people that have to work and just arrive at saturday early morning don't get them! Photo-pass should be photo-pass or they have to mark it and send a note along!!
Except for that it is applaudable how the Festival is organized.
Thanks and see ya all next year at M'era Luna.Tickets and infos will be available at: www.meraluna.de

www.northern-rockmusic.com
(c) Frances Amelie Sin
Pictures are in the Gallery!!