Friske Prog Middei
Flamborough Head & Leapday

September 14, 2014 - 't Blok, Nieuwerkerk a/d IJssel (NL)


Seeing two of the best progressive rock bands coming from the Northern part of the Netherlands on a Sunday afternoon, is something you can't afford to miss! Unfortunately not every proghead in the Netherlands felt this way, because the acts Flamborough Head and Leap Day didn't get the audience they deserved performing at 't Blok in Nieuwerkerk a/d IJssel. The event was presented as 'Friske Prog Middei' and announced in the language which is spoken in this part of the Netherlands! Which means in English 'Frisian Prog Afternoon'. The people who did show up however, certainly got two well performing acts and certainly had a pleasant afternoon with music and the usual snacks!
 

Flamborough Head

The band that kicked-off this double feature was Flamborough Head. Anyone who has seen them play before noticed a change in the line up right away. After twentytwo years of playing the bass guitar, Marcel Derix felt that had been long enough for him and decided to call it a day!
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Eddy Mulder
The musician who replaced him was certainly not a stranger to the band and their fans, namely Eddie Mulder! Who once touched the electric and acoustic guitars in the band when Andre Cents left. He contributed on three studio albums and joined Leap Day when he left. Well, I guess he couldn't let the band down when they asked him to replace Marcel for this concert. Anybody who knows Eddie, knows he is a rather good bass player too. After all, he played this instrument on three albums he made with Trion. Very soon it became clear he had practised the material of his former band in a rather good way. Although his way of playing differs from the way Mr. Derix plucks the four strings. I could hardly see him making any mistakes, something which I unfortunately couldn't say about the guitar player who replaced Eddie several years ago. The first three songs The Trapper, Looking For John Maddock and Lost In Time were played with hardly a wrong note, but even with those minor mistakes I have to admit Gert Polkerman did perform a rather strong set with his fellow musicians. A set which predominately contained songs taken from the band's latest release Lost In Time (2013, see review), such as the opening piece The Trapper, the title track, I'll Take The Blame and
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Margriet Boomsma
Andrassy Road. I heard the last song for the very first time during one of the band's live shows. A track that was written when they visited the House Of Terror in Hungary in 2007. It inspired them to come up with a piece of music which deals about the bad period this land went through! During this piece it was most of all the flute, played by female lead singer Margriet Boomsma, and the playing of the acoustic guitar by the already mentioned Gert Polkerman that lifted this song to a high level. One of the highlights of the band's performance was without a doubt the title track of their album Looking For John Maddock (2009, see review). An epic piece with many different moods and several strong breaks. The band said goodbye to their audience with a song taken from an album made with their earlier line up, namely the epic piece Garden Of Dreams from the band's second album Defining The Legacy, released in 2000. Through the years the song went through a real metamorphosis and that's why it sounds differently nowadays, compared to the one on the studio album. However, this didn't mean it was less interesting; no way. This song gave this afternoon's first performance a great ending. A performance that was enjoyed a lot by the visitors and me!
 

Leapday

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Leapday
After a break in which Leap Day did a short sound-check, the final act climbed the stage to give their show. Once again, Koen Roozen stepped behind the drums and the afore mentioned Eddie Mulder could be seen, this time however he didn't play the bass, but his electric guitar instead. That Eddie is an excellent musician could be seen throughout the entire set. While looking at the audience he played his parts very easily, as if it was his daily job. Mentioning only Eddie won't do justice to the guys on stage with him, because the other five band members were also in great shape. During their one hour and fifteen minutes long set they worked through their entire back catalogue very strongly. A catalogue which contains three excellent albums and a fourth is currently in the making.
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Jos Harteveld
Four songs from their next release From The Days Of Deucalion, Chapter 2, could already be enjoyed, being Gods Of War, Homo Ignoramus (Amatia), Death & Destruction and Phaeton. The last title had already been played during their performance at last year's Northern Prog Festival (see review), therefore it already sounded familiar to me. Out of the band's other familiar tracks, I certainly have my favourites, such as the opening tune Haemus and Hurricane. Both tracks are taken from the band's latest effort; From The Days Of Deucalion, Chapter 1. During the start of the latter song lead singer Jos Harteveld received a well deserved applause. He managed to sing the difficult opening lines of this track very well. Since the band's debut, Awaking The Muse (2009), is still my favourite album, I was glad they performed What Would You Do, Secret Gardener and When Leaves Fall. Secret Gardener started in a funny way with the sound of birds coming from the speakers. After this song Jos asked the crowd if they liked to hear one more song, because it was actually the final of the regular set. Well they did so, and the band could only continue by playing the encore mentioned on the setlist, therefore When Leaves Fall was performed without leaving the stage. After finishing this final sing, Leap Day left the audience behind feeling satisfied, knowing they had succeeded to play a fine gig after not been on a stage for almost an entire year.

'Friske Prog Middei' was certainly an event I would like to see at 't Blok more often, however next time with a much larger crowd please, because fantastic progressive rock acts like Flamborough Head and Leap Day simply deserve it, and even more so because they proved capable of delivering very good live shows!

Henri Strik (edited by Esther Ladiges)

Live video
recordings

   Henri & Roel Strik

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I'll Take The Blame (6:15)
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Andrassy Road (9:40)
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Garden Of Dreams (12:31)

Setlist Flamborough Head:


The Trapper
Looking For John Maddock
Lost In Time
I'll Take The Blame
Andrassy Road
Garden Of Dreams


Pictures Flamborough Head by Arthur Haggenburg

>>> Click here to view all pics on one page.

Click on the picture to enlarge.

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Line up Flamborough Head:

(left to right)
Edo Spanninga:
keyboards
Eddie Mulder:
bass guitar and backing vocals
Margriet Boomsma:
lead vocals, recorders, flute, acoustic guitar
Gert Polkerman:
backing vocals, electric and acoustic guitars
Koen Roozen:
drums, percussion
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Live video
recordings

   Henri & Roel Strik

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What Would You Do (6:57)
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Homo Ignoramus (Amatia) (4:26)
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When Leaves Fall (8:22)

Setlist Leapday:


Haemus
Changing Directions
Gods Of War
Walls
Homo Ignoramus (Amatia)
What Would You Do
Hurricane
Phaeton
Death & Destruction
Secret Gardener
Encore:
When Leaves Fall




Pictures Leapday by Arthur Haggenburg

>>> Click here to view all pics on one page.

Click on the picture to enlarge.

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Line up Leapday:

(left to right)
Peter Stel:
bass guitar
Derk Evert Waalkens:
keyboards, backing vocals
Jos Harteveld:
lead vocals, acoustic guitar
Eddie Mulder:
electric guitars, backing vocals
Gert van Engelenburg:
keyboards, backing vocals
Koen Roozen:
drums, percussion
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