Hasse Fröberg & Musical Companion

July 6, 2012, Lakei, Helmond (NL)


Some bands that perform at the Loreley Festival in Germany choose to play one or two shows somewhere else as a kind of warm up before this big event. However, being under contract some bands are not allowed to play other shows than the Loreley Festival,
Hasse Fröberg
but luckily this was not the case with Hasse Fröberg & Musical Companion. So, we were happy to witness this phenomenal band at venue Lakei in Helmond at a nice and warm evening in June.

First of all I think it's a shame that this band had to perform for such a small audience. The high quality of the music certainly deserves much more visitors. I don't know exactly the number of people that attended the show, but I could have count them easily. Apparently many prog heads couldn't find the time to join us at this memorable evening. Unfortunately I missed the performance of the support act Modest Midget due to an interview I had with the band backstage.

When Hasse Fröberg and his friends entered the stage he looked around in the venue as if he would say 'where are all the people?' The band started to play with a tremendous sounding My River To Cross, the opener of their second and latest album Powerplay (2012, see review). However, the songs from the debut album Future Past (2010, see review) weren't forgotten either, so we had a nicely balanced set of songs. As a vocalist Fröberg was very convincing; his voice is a pleasure to listen to. Every time I attend a concert of this band, Fröberg impressed me. He also took the time to communicate in between the songs with the other band members and with the audience. He alternately played virtuoso guitar with the young guitarist Anton Lindsjö, who played excellently in the line of the songs and in his solos. Kjell Haraldsson's keyboards were prominent during the concert. Apart from a
Anton Lindsjö (L) and Hasse Fröberg
minor technical problem with a cable his skills on the keyboards added a lot to the overall sound. Bass player Thomsson obviously had a great time. He used the entire stage walking around continuously laughing and communicating with the other band members. Ola Strandberg was strongly focussed on his drumming. I always thought he was influenced by Neil Peart (Rush); he confirmed my observations during the show telling the audience that he had always been a Rush fan.

During the gig I found out that the song Venice CA from the second album really is an excellent piece when played live. This song couldn't convince me on the studio album, but on stage it sounded more powerful and more energetic. Piece Of The Sky and Fallen Empire are brilliant live songs and with some Thin Lizzy sounding twin guitars Hasse Fröberg and Anton Lindsjö were stealing the show. As an encore the band played Godsong, the final song on their latest album. For the audience this was a perfect song to end a great evening.

When we had a chat before the show Hasse said that the band would leave soon after the show in order to get some rest and to be on time at the Loreley Festival the next day. However, I think he didn't care that much about the next day. He was talking to everyone who would like to have a word with him. That also applied to the other band members. They all took the time to talk to people and gave them a nice family feeling. For me this concert was a musical highlight with wonderful musicians, great music and excellent people to spend an evening with. It's just a pity that only few people showed up to attend this concert.

Pedro Bekkers (edited by Peter Willemsen)

Setlist:

My River To Cross
I Wouldn't Change A Thing
The Final Hour
Song For July
The Chosen Ones
Venice CA
Piece Of The Sky
The World Keeps Turning
Fallen Empire
Encore:
Godsong




Pictures by Henri Strik

Click on the picture to enlarge.

Line up:

(left to right)
Thomsson:
bass, backing vocals
Kjell Haraldsson:
keyboards, backing vocals
Ola Strandberg:
drums, backing vocals
Hasse Fröberg: (back)
lead vocals, rhythm guitar
Anton Lindsjö:
lead guitar, backing vocals









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