And that’s all from the first set of rehearsals on this first day in Vienna. There’s a short break now, then we resume later on with Finland – so stay tuned to escgo.com!

NETHERLANDS
The first laugh-out-loud moment in the press centre as the screens go active to show Trijntje wearing a black veil. Why-ay-ay-ay? It’s a curious moment in a performance full of curious moments: a black-and-white video backdrop that turns into psychedelic pale greens and turquoises halfway through, backing singers in a variety of weird and wonderful outfits including a top bearing the words “NO YES” – and that’s before we even get to Trijntje’s own fashion statement of an office secretary’s skirt combined with a cleavage-revealing blouse-like number that Moran Mazor or Mando would be proud of. It’s certainly an eye-opening statement.

After last year’s sensational Dutch visual performance, we were promised that Trijntje and her team would give us something styled like a music video, and I can see where they’re going with this – the whole thing is filmed in one single camera shot, with lots of close-up shots and angles that make you forget you’re watching a live performance in an arena. And her vocals are basically flawless, which keeps that impression going.

Trijntje obviously has several veils she’s trying out, and there are various other tricks they’re building in with each run-through, including projecting the word “LOVE” onto her hand in red lighting. The visual side of things does help to distract from the repetitive nature of the melody, which was one of the (unstated) aims, but I’m not convinced it all fits together particularly well – the performance manages to have too much going on and be a bit underwhelming at the same time. Though there’s no danger you won’t remember it at the end of the show, at least…

image copyright: Thomas Hanses (EBU)

BELGIUM
Black and white is the visual theme for Belgium, with a monochrome colour scheme and monochrome outfits. The backing vocals are quite loud and notable in the mix in these early run-throughs, but I think it kind of works – there’s almost an a cappella feel to the verses, considering how “empty” the backing track is by comparison. Everyone on stage has a microphone, so the backing vocalists are very much part of the choreography here, which involves slow and steady moves (and some curious gestures here and there) rather than anything too complicated. I don’t know if the effect is meant to be seductive or robotic. Maybe a bit of both.

The performance they’re working towards here walks the tightrope between arty and alienating, but I think that’s a necessary risk. Loïc connects with the camera nicely during the verses, which detracts from some of the coldness of the song itself, before he and the backing singers deliver a pretty powerful chorus considering this is just a rehearsal. They still have plenty to work on in the camerawork and choreography department, of course, like always on the first day – and there’s a section where he writhes around on the floor that I’m not convinced by. But otherwise I like what they’re doing here. It’s the right kind of different.

Almost inevitably, there are some mutters around the press centre that this isn’t working – I’ve even heard the word “terrible” – but this was never going to be something that appeals to everybody. It’s not a stereotypically Eurovision performance, after all – but why should it be? This is the first thing we’ve seen (we didn’t hear much of it, unfortunately) that resembles something that could exist in the real world in 2015.

Oh, and Loïc himself is pretty adorable! He’s intense during the performance but seems otherwise relaxed and happy for such a relatively inexperienced performer, getting a bit irritated when things go wrong but making jokes and taking things in his stride. It’s a performance that will take some time to get right, so I’m calling this a promising start for Belgium.

image copyright: Thomas Hanses (EBU)

ARMENIA
Everything seems fine on the technology front now, so we can continue with the first Armenian run-through! The stage is a very effective combination of purples and lilacs for this one, and the group themselves are also dressed in a kind of aubergine-ish purple, with the female members sporting various kinds of ethnic jewellery and headgear. The stage is looking great for this one, actually, with some lovely forest/nature imagery on the backdrop and gorgeous patterns on the video floor. The instrumental section before the final chorus is particularly visually effective, with a tree in a galeforce wind followed by an overhead shot of the group in a huddle backed with a map of the world. Whether you buy into the message of the song or not, it certainly illustrates it effectively.

With six people to coordinate, we’re not going to draw too many conclusions based on the early rehearsals for Armenia, because there’s lots of camerawork still to get right. That’s the main problem so far – during the verses in particular, the singers don’t seem entirely sure where they need to be looking (but that’s precisely what rehearsals are for). It’s odd to see them occasionally smiling during what’s meant to be a serious song, and there’s some hand choreography for the “time is ticking” section that also seems a bit frivolous and out of place. Otherwise it’s a solid enough performance, with the vocals particularly strong for the last chorus – though it takes a while for them to get going at the start of the song, with some timing issues here and there (and the static choreography doesn’t help that impression). We’ll be keeping a close eye to see whether it starts to become more coherent in subsequent run-throughs!

image copyright: Thomas Hanses (EBU)

MOLDOVA
Twenty minutes after Moldova was due to begin, and we haven’t heard or seen anything on the screens in the press centre yet. No idea whether there’s a delay in the hall or just with the transmission to our part of the Stadthalle complex, but in the meantime, here’s a photo of the visual treat awaiting you from Eduard and his team!

And now we have screens! Just in time for the last run-through of Moldova. And gosh, what an opener this is. The visual side of things is as follows: Eduard and his team are dressed in leather with overtones of police brutality. One female dancer accompanies him throughout the song, with male dancers doing their stuff around them. All are dressed in police shirts with tight shorts, because why wouldn’t they be? Camera-wise, there are a lot of gratuitous shots of wiggling asses here, which puts this somewhere in Trackshittaz territory in terms of the general look and feel. Feminists everywhere will be outraged, as will fashionistas. Vocally Eduard seems to be in decent enough form, with two backing singers (in – yes – police shirts with shorts) providing support throughout.

The stage backdrop is predominantly red, with white and blue flashes from the video floor that look quite effective in the overhead shots. Too many long shots using the crane for my liking, although the eye-shaped stage does look very effective from a distance. There’s a metal climbing frame structure on which Eduard and his dancers do their stuff, before he does a backflip and ends the song open-shirted. If I had to pick three words to sum up this performance, they’d be “trash”, “trash” and “trash”. It is seriously eye-opening and quite a remarkable way to open the first semi-final. But maybe that’s exactly the right place for it…

image copyright: Thomas Hanses (EBU)

Introduction
It’s the first day of rehearsals for the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest, and escgo is live in the press centre in Vienna to bring you LIVE coverage as the countries from the first semi-finals start working on their performances!

Moldova will be the first country to rehearse, at 12:00 CET. They’ll be followed in this first session by Armenia, Belgium and the Netherlands. So stay tuned and watch this space!