Three years ago during one of the hottest days in June (the temperature was above 30 degrees Celsius) the German musicians from KariBoW climbed for the very first time a stage in the Netherlands (see review). Band leader Oliver Rüsing and his fellow musicians found 't Blok in Nieuwerkerk aan den IJssel such a great venue that they wanted to come back one year later. Something which the crowd present certainly enjoyed a lot, because their performance at the time was just brilliant. However we all know what happened the following years to come. Covid 19 ruined everything. Year after year the concert was postponed. Finally all lights turned green in 2022 and the stage belonged once again to all the musicians in the world. So the return of KariBoW to the Netherlands and to 't Blok was a fact.
During the lockdown, the very talented singer and multi-instrumentalist Rüsing released lots of new progressive rock albums under the moniker Karibow. Such as the revisited version of Three Times Deeper (2020, see review), the live album Essence (2020, see review) and the latest studio release Age Of Amber (2021). So it was obvious that the upcoming concert would more or less focused on the latest compositions written.

L to R: Oliver Rüsing, Philipp Dauenhauer, Felix Jäger and Gerald Nahrgang (►more pics)

Thank God the weather was this time around better than three years ago. Everybody loves a real sunny Sunday afternoon, but too hot, nobody really enjoys that. As for the band. Without doing any concerts for two and a half years and with almost exactly the same line up as the last time the members of KariBoW entered the stage. Only keyboard player Guido Seifert was absent. Therefore all of the keyboards were triggered. During the short instrumental intro tape it was first Gerald Nahrgang who went behind his drum kit. Followed by Philipp Dauenhauer who picked up his electric guitar before Felix Jäger strapped on his bass guitar. Finally Oliver Rüsing came on and started to sing the first song of the almost 45 minutes long first set, whilst playing electric guitar. Bodhisattva (the first track from the latest album Age Of Amber) came out rather strong, even if it was obvious that the musicians had to find the right sound first before they could blow away the audience in front of them. Oliver felt rather comfortable on stage and had no problems whistling as well. Next up a piece of music which was enjoyed three years ago. The Raining Silence had again a mind blowing guitar solo by Dauenhauer. Next up three songs in a row from Age Of Amber again. Namely Secret Birth Of Something New, The Impermanence Of Sound and Renaissance. Unfortunately they were all unfamiliar to me as I hadn't heard the latest album at all. However it didn't mean they were less enjoyable to hear. But it always helps if you hear the studio versions earlier! Finally the first set ended with a well know track that was also done three years earlier. The North Wall Tale sure is a great tune to end a set with because it features everything which KariBoW stands for. Melodic progressive rock with sing-a-long parts and instrumental breaks.

Oliver, 'Lonesome Cowboy" (►more pics)

After the break it was time for Oliver on his own. Doing an acoustic mini set. This time around he was not accompanied by Philipp Dauenhauer on acoustic guitar nor drummer Gerald Nahrgang on the acoustic bass. With a blue cowboy hat on his head and an acoustic six string guitar in his hands, he was introduced by someone in the audience as the lonesome cowboy. He again opened the acoustic set with Home Of Cain just as three years earlier. During the song Oliver asked the audience to participate. He needed a rhythm so they had to clap a long and they also did sing the chorus. Next was When The Air Stands Still, a quiet song from Age Of Amber. Finally a medley on which Oliver challenged the listeners to recognise the parts he played on his guitar. For those who didn't know the answers I can tell you that the acoustic medley included parts of Change, Primeval, The Big Y, Inside You and Helios (Ambrosia Part IV). After that the other musicians came back to continue with another electric set.

From that moment on the fun started. While Oliver put on a white jacket and two different gloves and two different gloves (one white and one black) bass player Felix Jäger (also known as Xkajsdfoajsfvuehrfö Kjaqckdasi on Facebook) took over the

Oliver @ Wrecked B.I.L. (►more pics)

show. I expected he would do a bass solo but instead he kept talking about the music of the band he is playing in and other stuff. After Rüsing was dressed up again he took over the microphone and introduced the next song. A song which actually was never played before. However soon it turned out that The Impossible wasn't supposed to be played because Wrecked B.I.L. (another track from the latest album) was next on the setlist. They couldn't be switch on the setlist, because all backing tracks were of course programmed according to the list on the piece of paper on the floor. So again Oliver had to change his outfit. Wrecked B.I.L. otherwise known as Wrecked But in Love! During the performance of this song for the first time ever, he wore a jacket on stage. The tie he wore is the only one he owns and found it three years ago at Craufurd Arms in Milton Keynes. It was an unwanted remnant of a ska/punk party they had a night before. After that he got back into white jacket and two different gloves to finally do The Impossible. A song which has on the studio version the vocal contributions of Mark Trueack (United Progressive Fraternity, Unitopia). According to Oliver it was impossible to have him on stage because he had to come all the way from Australia. Therefore he did all the vocal parts by himself. The Impossible was for me personally one of the musical highlights of the entire show. The final song of the regular set was Remember. A great song on which Rüsing and Dauenhauer could do some heaving rocking on their electric guitars.

Finally the encore, which was for me probably the ultimate highlight of the entire concert. E.G.O.is taken from the sold out album Holophinium (2016, see review) and is a real epic piece of music with different time signatures. It has strong instrumental parts that you want to hear over and over again. Oliver even went on his knees to sing this great song. It was for me the perfect ending of a excellent concert.

Thanks again to the members of KariBoW for giving another great concert just like three years ago. Hopefully back next year if another pandemic does not disturb it and we don't have to wait another three years. Also thanks again to the amazing ProgFrog team who booked them once again for a one off concert which attracted people from England, Belgium and Germany as well. Thanks guys!

Henri Strik (edited by Tracy van Os van den Abeelen)