It's gotta suck to be Jens Kidman right now. Meshuggah flew over to kick off their tour on Monday, and Jens was battling the flu (as noted by my terribly Photoshopped photo). Jens made it through Monday's set, but his condition got so bad, that he had to sit out the band's second stop in Atlanta last night. Meshuggah posted the following on their official sites:
“Jens is down with the flu. And this flu means business. He has been forbidden to even speak. He’s mute for now. WE WILL PLAY ANYWAY. So memorize the lyrics and bring your very best growl Atlanta. You will all be Jens tonight!! Lets make this happen! We hope he’s back tomorrow,or it’ll be vocal-duties Charlotte!”
Seeing Meshuggah play instrumental versions of their songs still seems like a delight. Turns out the band also got some help from one of the tour openers, vocalist Sacha Dunable of Intronaut, who, moments before going on stage posted this on his personal Facebook page:
So, no big deal or anything, but Jens is sick so I am about to be the singer of Meshuggah for one song.
Later adding…
Not the worst night I've ever had over here
This being the internet, of course there is video footage of this event:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGYq-ki6Gx4[/youtube]
Kudos to Dunable for doing a pretty commendable job on such short notice. I'm assuming the band performed the rest of the set instrumental. If there is anybody reading this post who attended the Atlanta show, let us know how it went in the comments.
The tour itinerary states that the band does have a show tonight, in Charolette, NC and no word yet on if Jens is feeling well enough to get back on stage. We'll keep this post updated if we hear any further developments.
Update: A redditor posted the below photo with the caption "Jens (Vocalist of Meshuggah) got the flu so the band put up a cardboard cutout with his face, clothes and everything in front of the microphone for the whole set." Absolutely brilliant:
…and there is video:
[youtube]SJFVqxSklFs[/youtube]
Being a selfish prick, I really hope he gets better before the New York show on Friday…because, you know…MESHUGGGGAHHHHHHHHH.
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