Kee Marcello & Febby Tasiran Band - Musicon The Hague, 16 October 2019

A rainy Wednesdaynight and a city occupied by angry farmers. Not ideal to attract a full Musicon and so it was spacious. An evening of Classic hard rock in The Hague seems to attract much less people than an evening of Death Metal. Those who came would have a trip down memory lane as support band FTB woudl give us covers. This band is formed around guitarist Febby Tasiran, who gave us several impressive solo's. Holding a female voclaist singing male originals you get a different edge at times. For me at some songs this worked, while others were not that suited for the band. Highlight absolutely Mistreated, while Slow an' Easy sounded good as well. Songs not so nice to my ears were Crazy Train and Still of the Night which did not flow. Nice band to have on a party presenting classic hits though.

Kee Marcello is ex guitarist of Europe and no he did not play on The Final Countdown. Let me first share my history of Europe. In 1983  De Nieuwe Aardschok wrote positive about a young Swedish band Europe, calling them Swedish Rainbow. I bought their debut LP and a year later Wings of Tomorrow. Both albums still stand strong until today. Then came The Final Countdown in 1986 and the title track became a hit and spoiled it all. I was not going to see them in Jaap Edenhall with a room full of teenage girls waiting for one song. For Magchiel this remained in the eighties the only show he went without me. Meanwhile John Norum on guitars left the band and released very strong solo album Total Control. I lost track of the band, but refound them with strong albums Bag of Bones and War of Kings. So basically I missed the Kee Marcello era completely. That did not stop him playing TFC though. Coming on stage I had not realized that Kee would be taking care of vocals as well. Three Italians being his band, reminded me of a Mark Boals show I saw earlier this year. Apparently Italy has touring musicians on offer. What about the quality of the show? well very nice. Even not owing the albums most Europe songs came from I did know them. Kee Marcello sung pretty decent and the band was good. Keeping it eighties all band members had the chance to shine during a solo spot. Nice songs and throuh Carrie and Superstitious working towards that finale. When it came it was played in a heavy version and we had a good end of an evening of history. Next time let's hope PSV - de Graafschap is played at de Vijverberg and not on het Malieveld and it is sunny. Much better fitting this kind of music.

Zonder / Wehrkamp - Tim Bowness - Dreaming Madmen - The Room - Twisted Illusion

Some of the calmer CD's I liked over the past months. Recommended for rainy autumn weekends.

Zonder / Wehrkamp - If It's Real

Gary Wehrkamp (Shadow Gallery) and Mark Zonder (Warlord and Fates Warning) are icons in the progmetal world. I saw reviews on this album stating warnings. So this is no progmetal, but plain old AOR in good old eighties fashion. Turns out I play this a lot as a light album on the background. If you liked your eighties Survivor and Night Ranger, you'll love this. A lot of broken hearted songs, to the extent you want to scream to them, get over that b%tch, she doesn't want you. Yet all packed in very decent songs. So if you like high quality light rock you might be as pleasantly surprised as I was.



Tim Bowness - Flowers at the Scene

Tim Bowness is of course the master of melancholy. Famous after his work with Steven Wilson in NoMan his solo efforts are as sad. This album is produced and mixed by NoMan and Steven Wilson and has some interesting guests in among many others: Jim Matheos (Fates Warning), Peter Hammill and Colin Edwin. Actually you hardly notice guests, as this is albout the depressing atmospheres, Tim Bowness knows to put down on music so well. Maybe not for the instable at mind, yet beautiful in all it's sadness.




Dreaming Madmen - Ashes of a Diary

Dreaming Madmen is the band around brothers Mathew & Christopher Aboujaoude. They are Libanese, but based in Austin Texas. Yet their album to me sounds like British progrock. Opener Page One is an instrumental with a heavy nod to their PF cover band Brick Floyd. Hereafter the conceptalbum knows lyrics and the style reminds me of the storytelling that British bands can do so well. Maybe a lighter version of Cosmograf hints at a direction that I mean. A pleasant ride through the life of an elderly man, discovering an old paper with writings of his. Recorded in Deir El Harf, Lebanon it is good to see how progressive music is all over the world.

The Room - Caught by the Machine

I missed the release of this album originally. Strange as their first two albums I hold and like pretty much. Then my friend Brian Mear posted about them as they shall play Mearfest 2020. So I corrected my miss and what a great album it is again. The Room have something own as they are inbetween melodic hardrock and prog with some AOR blended in. Their strenght lays in the quality of the songs and that collection grew again. From uptempo opener Bodies on the Road to closer Bloodstream we have ten melodic gems. Hope to see them in June at Mearfest South.



Twisted Illusion - Excite the Light part II

The second album of a trilogy by the band that spits out albums like there is no tomorrow. Taken the high production it becomes even more amazing how every album is a winner. Apathy Killed the Artist opens fast as we are used to. The epic is called Empathy is Earned and holds Daniel Moran on guest vocals. Matt Jones is a very talented musician, who one day I will see on stage. Meanwhile part III has been announced and crowdfunding target was met very fast again. All this band needs is more exposure, as I believe they might attract many.

Haags Metaal - Musicon Den Haag, 12 October 2019

Metal in The Hague. Some say it is hardly alive, but then they did not attend Haags Metaal in Musicon. Last year the first edition took place in HPC during Progpower, so no option. This year I had family plans, but as Josie and Tiago had another idea for the afternoon I could get a bit of the atmosphere and beers in the afternoon. Eight bands playing so it was a long day and I decided to see the first three. Pity as in the evening several of my favorite local bands in different genres would play. This being Rages of Sin (Death), Defazer (thrash) and Icarius (Modern). Further Anatomy of I would play. A band I hardly saw before and who released their first album Substratum in 2011 with none other than Steve DiGiorgio on bass. I did opt in teh evening for family as I love my metal.but love Josie and Tiago more, although they might at times doubt that.

So what I did see was short and heavy. Acrid opened the day. Existing 25 years, their Death/Thrash was tight. Mancuerda came next. I never saw this doom/death band before. I was not the only one, as this was their first show. Playing all their available songs it sounded slow and heavy as it is supposed to be, more to come I hope. Last band for me were instrumental trio Nihiverse. Two guitars and drums got me interested as they had good solo's over nice riffs. So with a short Musicon visit I did support my local scene, like anyone should do and luckily many did yesterday. The Hague city of Peace, justice and metal.

ProgPower Europe, Sjiwa - Baarlo 4-6 October 2019

PPE 2019, the rainy edition. In my memory we always have decent up to very nice weather. This year especially the Sunday was wet. As if organizers knew this in advance, they put together the best line-up in years. Unfortunately Redemption had to cancel, as they are one of my absolute favorites. Still the last minute substitutes found made me happy. This time I knew most bands in advance, before they were booked, but luckily several of them I never saw playing live before. So we were more than a bit keen to head down to Baarlo again. We this year was 11 of us, as Lida had to cancel due to a fever. I was struggling with cold and chills  myself over the past two weeks, so somehow I did need to seek time for rest and go light on the drinks. Not sure how far I succeeded, but in order to arrive fitter I did cancel the pre-party in my hometown by Emma Ruth Rundle and Gold, pity but wisdom comes with age. So arriving around 15:00 at camping de Berckt we could start our own traditions. In our case that means have a few bock beers who arrive in October as well and eat the delicious Roti prepared by Ron and Astrid. Renting a bicycle and down to Sjiwa hereafter meeting friends we see either once a year, or pretty often at gigs in the country.

Friday
While the program was for the weekend very strong, the start was in my case not overly exciting. Unfortunately Tweve Foot Ninja cancelled their European tour and a substitue was needed. This was found in Voyager, known to frequent visitors. To me Voyager falls in the category that I follow, but not closely. The first time I saw them live I was fully blown away by their show and style. Later on I saw them a few more times and without the surprise, they became just a nice band to watch. I have a few of their albums, but not their last and I go see them play only if close to home. Luckily this evening they were inspired and gave us a nice show. They were Hyperventilating at the start, which I did recognize and The Meaning of I was also still in the set. They were announced as a headliner opening, which was true as it is not every festival that gives the opening band 90 minutes. Then again PPE is not your average festival by all means. Conclusion I liked re-seeing Voyager on stage and appreciated their set. I even almost managed to forget that I could have been in Bochum the same evening.
Next on would be that band. Almost every year PPE puts one band on the line-up, that divides opinions. Usually they go down really well, but those not getting the point walk around outside and in the downstairs bar asking WTF this is all about. This year that band would be Diablo Swng Orchestra and unfortunately I fell in the second category. I consider myself fairly open minded see just who I intended to see on Thursday and one of my favorite concerts this year was by Azusa, but DSO was too complicated for simple me. Or was it the huge amount of wind instruments on stage? We shall never know, so I can only say that the majority seemed to appreciate them and I expect such combo's to play at world chamionships speedskating.

Saturday
Saturday had legendary written all over the programmed bands. This could be one of those days where I would really like all six bands. This resulted in a sold out house, but also in some worries, how recovering me would handle this. It turned out that  I did well by staying inside half the set only a few times. The first band that happened were opener Scarlet Stories. They are from Holland, so I will see them again probably soonish. I liked their playing and style, although I woudl have appreciated a fast banger somewhere halfway for needed variation in pace. Still a band that opened for a full and enthusiastic hall went down very well I saw. For me only half an hour before getting some fresh air.

Now I obviously did not read the program carefully enough, so I walked back in when teh next band started playing. I thought this would be VotF, but it was Anima Tempo, the first Mexican band ever at PPE and one I definitely wanted to see. Entering the hall I was halted by Christian complaining I missed his Spanish introduction of the band. Now I don't speak Spanish, but my Portuguese is fluent (ish), so I probably could have been a judge on his lines. Not important as meanwhile Anima Tempo started ruling the hall. Their energetic played set with double guitar attacks, comes very close to the style I like most, so we had for me the first winner of the festival. I picked up their CD afterwards and shall play it with care, seeing if I can recall some of the high that went on for an hour to me. This is what is the best about PPE to me, bands you did not know yet, that become new favorites to follow. Gracias senhores. Voices from the Fuselage came next and I must again admit I did neither prepare, nor give them a fair chance as a delicious Falaf Hell was served by Pois Chic. So I saw only some 20 minutes, enough to get an idea on their music, with the recognizable high voice of Ashe O'Hara. It sounded ok I thought.

After the break things could not go wrong really as I know and like to totally love all three bands. Kingcrow being the first was the one I like. I knew them since their album with the easy name Phlegethon. I saw them a few times hereafter and always liked them, yet not buying their last album any longer. When they hit the stage I recalled what I like so much about them. It is their sympathetic appearance on stage, a band that is enjoying themselves playing for us and doing so rather well. I did not go for the full 75 minutes due to two reasons. First the rest for what was to come and second the similarity inbetween songs to me. So start and finish together I got some 45 minutes and that was enough. Kingcrow are a band I will see when playing the west of Holland, but as with many bands to me, when the surprise is gone the efforts from my side diminish a bit. They did have huge response though and might have been a silent headliner to many.

Next another band I was really looking forward to: Ghost Ship Octavius. On tour with Psychotic Waltz I was even considering seeing them on Thursday in Hamburg or Friday in Bochum. When due to cancellations they were included to PPE as well I decided to skip those, save some money and health and see them here. Well that did not disappoint. During PPE I usually tend to love it when a band just comes and blows us away with Heavy or even Death metal for the needed variation throughout the day. And that is just what they did. Heavy from begin to end giving us an overview of their two albums, with personal favorite Turned to Ice, what a killer song that is. For the occasion they came on stage with painted faces and I loved this set from start to finish. Very welcome last minute addition to the line-up indeed.

Psychotic Waltz
Yes I know Psychotic Waltz is not a day, but this band deserves a full chapter. On the FB page of PPE, people were asked to introduce themselves and tell among other things which three bands they were looking out for. To my shock and awe, hardly anyone mentioned Psychotic Waltz. This must be an age thing and also explained why I did not manage to get many regulars to come to The Hague, when I had Heir Apparent playing in June. So as I am old and older people have to teach herewith a small history lesson of Progressive metal. Without Psychotic Waltz, there would not have been a PPE festival. Let me explain this a bit. As from the eighties all good Progmetal came from over the ocean to us. The so called big three never played clubs. Queensryche supported Dio and Bon Jovi in main halls and then headlined Aardschokdag when Mindcrime was released. Fates Warning hardly came and first time was as opener for Manowar in Paradiso (their first ever European gig) Dream Theater released WDADU, but that one was overlooked by the mainstream and with Images and Words they sold out Vredenburg at once. Then there were other bands who just managed to come over once (or even never) due to lack of finacial support. Here you can think of Watchtower, Heir Apparent, Crimson Glory and Lethal for instance. In comes Psychotic Waltz who with their debut A Social Grace amazed all that understood great music. Opening Dynamo Open Air 1991, they would from there on tour every year at lest once through Europe, playing all clubs sized around Sjiwa size. They became my absolute favorite band of the nineties and I can't count how often we went to see them. I even travelled abroad seeing them at a metalbar off Heidelberg in Germany and once in Vienna, when Ajax picked up the Champions league that same weeek. That last tour they brought along Threshold as support. The years before they gave a stage to many Dutch (Donor anyone?) and German progmetal bands, helping to grow the scene. So when PPE started a firm base was placed by their intensive touring. Since 1997 they more or less disappeared with only a 2011 support on a Nevermore tour and two years ago a very strong appearance at Amersfoort and Graspop. Now there is a new album coming and they finally made it to PPE. Since my first visit to Baarlo in 2000 I always put Psychotic Waltz on the evaluation form after PPE. So fanboy me was happy as can be and I hoped that Psychotic Waltz would show us all how proper Progressive metal is supposed to be played.

And then came Saturday 22:05 and I was placed up front next to old school PW fan Gerrie with his camera. Let me first share how I underwent 90 minutes of Psychotic Waltz. For me this trip down memory lane was the high of PPE, for nostalgic reasons. The sound was OK to me, and if Devon's voice was not as dominant as it was in the past I had no complaints. So upon a high after the show I only ran into people telling me they were disappointed in the vocals. Musically very strong, but off key vocals making it hard to them to like the full set. Well that was a cold shower as I did not get this and my wish for PW to win over the full crowd apparently did not come true. Well I have the right to be biased, so I had a brilliant show. Maybe not their best ever, but still PW so hard to match by anyone. The setlist was great with an overview of all four albums, two new songs and a Black Sabbath cover to close with. I remember (!) on their first tour they played obscurer BS song Disturbing the Priest. This time it was Children of the Grave. On the songs I can not mention highlights as all of them are favorites to me. Amazing also to see that A Social Grace until the day of today remains one of the most exciting progmetal albums ever released. So coming out of their set on a high reactions of literally everyone talking to me, gave some disappointment. Not to me, but the missed chance. Well February 2020 the new album is out and Psychotic Waltz already promised a fast return to Europe. Go give them a chance again, as in 2017 they were the best gig of the year, not just to me.

Sunday
After Saturday with so many ups, Sunday promised to be a bit more low key and unknow to me. Well not opening band Lost in Thought. I had their debut album Opus Arise and then they went a bit under the radar. Through the website of the Man of Much Metal I read about a new album, so I joined the crowdfunding. It was nice to meet Matt Spall after the Lost in Thought set and share that he put me on the right track for this band. I said right track as to me Lost in Thought were the first highlight of the day. Good band, nice presentation and songs that flow and differentiate between them. So they skipped their (classic?) debut Opus Arise and played the new album in full. Well either set would have worked as I liked my first encounter with these men from Wales. Finally I am surely not the only Dutch person being surprised how good our ex topjudoka Dennis van der Geest is on guitars in this band.

Prehistoric Animals would be next and they were the only band I heard or read absolutely nothing off and about. The idea was to let them surprise me and what a good surprise this was. Unknown to me, now one to follow and getting their CD after the show. Again it was for me about the quality of the songs, which in their case were helped by videos on the background. It always helped when the  on stage appearance is sympathetic and appreciative. Well no lack of either here and later on they told this was only their fourth show ever. If they return one day to holland I will travel further to see them again. Now knowing the songs it might be even better. So that was two out of two wins on a Sunday afternoon.

Rendezvous Point are from Norway, but are not very weird in music, given their passport. Fairly open and accesible songs to me. A few weeks ago I saw them opening for Vola and now getting a full hour, they managed to keep my attention spanned. What I saw in the hall was this to many probaby also a silent headliner, as it was and remianed full throughout. Well a nice show again, not my top favorite maybe, but definitely a nice live band. Then came a break for dinner and I made a mistake, Staying outside far too long I managed to miss most of Kong's show. What I did get was their last 20-25 minutes, which sounded impressive. While Kong are Dutch I still managed to never  see them before. Defintely one to look out for, as this felt and sounded like more.

My silent headliner and band I looked out for most on the Sunday were Teramaze. Their progmetal is closest to Heavy Metal again and I love their feel for melody. Only holding their last two albums I did recognize most songs. Yet being honest I probably was hoping for too much, as I was not blown away. Turns out you can not be blown away just by expectations only. Don't know what it was exactly, but something did not fully connect with me. So I saw an enjoyable show, by an obviously good band. Still wondering what I missed though.

Persefone headlining ProgPower Sunday is a bold statement. I do like this band, but know that their death metal parts are a bridge too far for some. Yet we saw those present (fairly large in numbers still given the Sunday night) enjoying themselves during their long set. Energy is the only certainty never missing during a Persefone gig and that was present again. Only issue seemed to be with the mic. Talking inbetween songs, we got some cartoon like voices thrown at us, and noone seemd to be bothered to solve this. While Marc Martins is the one jumping around on and off the stage all the time, the clean vocals from behind the keys are as important to me. Maybe a bit long for me as we are old and tired, but another good gig by Persefone, showing us they deserved the headline spot for the weekend.

Afterparty's
Being old and tired is one thing, but skipping all the afterparty's is simply not an option. Down in the basement the mood is brilliant and so many nice people just seem to be happy to be there and then.This year the Saturday held a top 25 of epics as chosen online by the audience. I only stayed a while. The Sunday knew the introduction  of a Hard Rock and Metal Karaoke and let's hope another tradition is born. Maybe swapping both days is even better for enabling more to participate. This was pure fun and highlights where Death Metalizzed Three Little Pigs and the smoothly sung Tequila. People understanding music told me that a certain The Boys Are Back in Town sounded rather awesome as well. Well what a great way to end this wonderfull weekend. An annual high on music and more for many frequent visitors, so we can only thank the organization and many volunteers, for giving us this platform to get together and enjoy some brilliant bands.  2-4 October 2020 has been noted down in the agenda. See you all there again.

Mario's 55th Birthday Fest - Little Devil Tilburg, 14 September 2019

This weekend Tilburg is the capital of Ayreon land with huge banners starting at the station and fans from all over the world selling out 013 four times. Now I am not a huge fan of rock operas, but probably would have liked the spectacle if I was bothered to attend one show. Fans of metal knew that the place to be in Tilburg for them would be Little Devil as is so often the case. Mario the man who brings so many great bands to Holland had a birthday weekend and while I could not attend the Friday I was in almost from the start on the Saturday Fest. Five great bands 10 Euro, beers reduced to Eur 2 so even Baroeg Open Air was no competition for me. The program needed some updates after unfortunate cancelations by Leather and Syren, but the substitutes performed well.

Upon arrival GRZLY was already playing. First band of the day with a female vocalist and luckily no angelic sopranos but singing with balls and this all guided by an obviously experienced band. The music was heavy hard rock and turned out to be a perfect opener for the day. Next on Thoughtless were the only Dutch band on the bill, so I saw them a few times before. Also female vocals and again of the good kind.  They play heavy metal which goes thrahsy at times and is full of nice guitars. I even remembered drummer Axel's name this time and shall see him again in Baarlo in three weeks, not on the stage but in the audience though. During Metal Experience Fest I could hardly see them in the overcrowded small hall, now watching the full set was a joy. Good band.

The next band on was the one that definitely made me decide to go down to Tilburg: Spirit Adrift. I only recently discovered them through their great CD Divided by Darkness. Their doomy metal definitely sounds like something I would love to see live, so this opportunity was not to be missed. Well that did not disappoint. Sounding live a bit rougher in general and vocals mainly this was an energetic set of doom (if that is possible) Playing songs from DbD and their previous one Curse of Conception we got a good idea on what they are about. This set deserved a purcahse of CD and Tee afterwards and was a highlight of the day to me. Not sure if the huge Tattoo Born Too Late on the vocalists chest was a message to Mario, but  guess not. Highlight of the set Angel & Abyss, check that song out somewhere online. Spirit Adrift are currently touring Europe for the first time with Sanhedrin, so that was the next band. Now up front I heard and read some positive buzz about this band, but I decided to not prepare and let them surprise me. Well that was a nice surprise. A power trio with for the third time today female vocals gave us one heavy set.  The strenght to me lay in the building of atmospheres of power. Great voice suiting the music and yet another highlight of the day with obligatory CD purchase afterwards. As this tour is only just starting I can recommend highly to catch them somewhere in Europe. I shall later be able to say that I was there during the first victorious visit to Holland by Sanhedrin.

Closer of the evening were Tysondog in quartet formation as Steve Morrison was enjoying holidays in Crete. Remember they were a last minute substitue so this was to be excused and in the end did we suffer the loss? No not really as what a party these guys build for us. I am close to Mario's age so starting to get tired I thougt maybe taking an earlier train more towards the end of their set. Well no such early departures as we got a party to close the day. Tysondog are from the NWOBHM era, but I must admit I did not have their LP's at the time. Still I recognized several songs, so must have heard them around. Even if songs were new to me their catchiness made them instantly bangable. We even got some sort of moshpit and I am not sure what the huge drunk german was about looking to hang over the vocalist and the stage. Well a very enjoyable end of a great day came with the song about French cuisine: Dead Meat. So next year I am turning 55 myself and this day gave an idea on how to celebrate that in style. Maybe I should have some talks in Musicon next year and pull of something. Congrats Mario and thanks for the party. 

Vola, Uneven Structure, Arch Echo, Rendezvous Point & Schiermann - Patronaat Haarlem, 12 September 2019

Five bands on a weekday, challenging to start with. I came to see the headliner as I discovered Vola through the Prog Metal Zone website some years ago around the release of their EP Monsters. Pretty soon thereafter they played Progpower and released full album Inmazes. Then last year I did not get their last album "Applause of a Distant Crowd". Reviews on both their album and live shows were positive as I read, so time to reintroduce the band to me. Before they would hit te stage many bands would try to warm us up and although upon arrival we feared an empty house, the evening was held in a very decent filled small hall of Patronaat.

First band was Schiermann. Kicking off he ran into the first technical issues of the evening. Being so worried with his laptop he missed fixing the sound of his guitar so we heard nothing and a restart was sympathetically announced. This instrumental trio played hereafter four songs and they were building up nicely with at times some references to Joe Satriani for me. Pity that they fall in the category overdose on laptop, as keyboards and guitar were also provided by Apple. Next band Rendezvous Point did hold a singer. That does add a song structure in their case and I did like what I saw. Good songs, varried playing and interesting enough throughout. Even liking their set I got distracted as from minute one. No not by the blonde lady on bass, but by the keyboard player. He seemed to have walked straight out of classical dutch saitire program debiteuren/ crediteuren. Result I was waiting for him to throw sandwhiches at us during the 30 minutes shouting Toedeledoki. They shall have a full hour at Progpower, which they did not announce strangely enough, but apparently something to look out for.

The next band was instrumental again, depending on laptops and to make matters worse with bigger technical issues. They could not hear each other with defect in ear systems and thus gave us a jam of music. With music being so complicated a rather hard task, so we got tiring bits inbetween what I thought two songs they could play in total. I would love to see them once without the technical issues showing what they are able of. Now the band was pleased with what they pulled of, but I felt bored at times and thought this miss a victory of organic heavy metal. Next band were French band Uneven Structure. I missed them at Progpower in the past, but saw them at Complexity some years ago. I recall liking them, but tonight they were a bit flat to me. In their defense what did distract and annoy were a bunch of children making a lame attempt at a moshpit or slamdancing without any sense of the music being played. These kids should go obligatory to a next Exodus show in Holland to learn how it is done "Murder in the front row, crowd begins to bang and there's blood upon the stage". Bassist of Uneven Structure was the same eccentric moving guy from Schiermann, thanks Marcel as I did not even notice that. Not their best evening I guess, yet at heavier moments pretty acceptable.

And then Vola came on and it took very short to notice why they were headliners. Sound and songs at another level. Technical issues continuing with a broken string during the opening song causing a minor delay. We had a very convincing band going through their discography, although I believe they skipped their EP. Luckily my favorite Your Mind is a Helpless Dreamer  was in the set. And afater more or less one hour they announced their last song Stray the Skies. This was one succesful reintroduction to Vola and I can see them climbing the time schedule at Progpower any year soon. This band mixes their technical domination of instruments with well written songs and that was not the case with all tonight. Pleased to have trained to Haarlem for the evening and I wll keep a closer eye on Vola returns to Holland.

SOTO & supports - Boerderij Zoetermeer, 7 September 2019

Jeff Scott Soto is one of those vocalists of whom you have no idea how many CD's/LPs you own so many bands and projects he sung in. I know I first heard him with Yngwie Malmsteen. During the set he mentioned how he loves coming back to de Boerderij as he has been here with bands like Talisman, Sons of Apollo and J.S.S. He actually skipped Soul Sirkus an album I picked up now for the occasion. Solo he can go many directions where he does not scare away from some soul influences at times. His last album Origami is more hardrock again, so we expected some melodic hard rock tonight.

Before it was so far we did get two supports both playing some 40-45 minutes. This meant a long wait as Scarlet Aura was not at the right place at the right time. Their old school metal with female Doro clone did not get any reactions whatsoever from the small crowd, but they kept on trying till the end. Stop Stop hereafter sounded better. No idea how pissed they were when deciding that Stop Stop is a catchy band name. Yet their rock and roll landed better and a walk through the audience by all three band members playing on was an interesting end before they dropped dead on stage.

 S.O.T.O. came on hereafter and we got the music we came for. During the set they played music from several bands he sung in but unfortunately no Yngwie or Soul Sirkus, There was a WET medley for fans of that band and a Talisman cover next to several Soto or JSS solo album songs. His genuine love for de Boerderij was also expressed when he complained about UK venues trying to kick you out fast for a disco to follow. So we got an extra medley where his old favorite cover Crazy by Seal was included again. At first his voice seemed to need some warming up, but later on all was fine. His presentation is professional and sympathetic and his looks reminded Leroy Fer returning after summer holidays. This was just a nice evening of live music. Good band nice performances and afterwards the band would come to the bar for signing without any star issues. September it is and the gig season can be declared open now.