While a part of the Dutch population were putting on funny clothes and wearing masques as a part of a traditional Catholic feast, others went to see two progressive rock acts at 't Blok in  Nieuwerkerk aan den IJssel. Those who were part of the festivities in the southern part of the Netherlands certainly missed some fine performances of the Dutch quintet Sky Architect and the Italian quartet Unreal City.
 

Unreal City

Ema

The in Parma based musicians had already entered the venue one day before they actually had to do their first and only concert in the Netherlands. They had just returned from a gig in Innsbruck (Austria). So you could say they climbed the stage without any signs of fatigue. The stage was prepared with a couple of dummies who were wearing white sheets and masques to get the audience in the right mood. The musicians also made sure they looked good and had put on some nice costumes, which you wouldn't see on a daily basis on the streets of any city or town. The band chose to perform their excellent brand new album Il Paese Del Tramonto (see review) in its entirety. Therefore they started with the instrumental opening piece Ouverture - Obscurus Fio and ended their regular set with the epic Ex Tenebrae Lux. Each of the musicians on stage made sure the songs from this album were done in a perfect way.

Francesca Zanetta

Lead singer Ema not only impressed the audience with his playing behind his stack of keyboards, but also by giving his Theremin a special treatment on Oniromanzia (Il Paese Del Tramonto). You don't see a female playing the electric guitar every day, but Francesca Zanetta showed that she had complete control over her instrument, playing several fine solos on songs such as Caligari (E-bow) and Il Nome Di Lei. During the last mentioned title all of the musicians wore masques, which really looked fantastic. Besides playing fabulously on the electric guitar Francesca also assisted on the keyboard department by playing very well on the new modern version of the famous Mellotron. As for the rhythm section, the biggest compliment goes to the new drummer Andrea Gardani. This was the second time he was on stage to do a concert with the other musicians. So bravo to him! Together with bassist Dario Pessina he made sure Francesca and Emanuele had enough room to show off on their instruments. Two songs from the band's fine debut La Crudeltà Di Aprile (2013, see review) were on the setlist for possible encores. The people from the organization had given the band permission to do a one hour and a half show and therefore they remained on stage when the tracks of their latest release were done. They didn't wait for the crowd to ask them back on stage and continued with Ecate (Walpurgisnacht) and Dell'Innocenza Perduta. Both of course done in an excellent way. The people in front of them loved it all the way and gave them a warm applause before they left the stage. It was indeed a very well deserved applause for what they had achieved during their debut in the Netherlands! Hats off to all of them!
 

Sky Architect

Tom Luchies

The last time I had witnessed a concert from this in Rotterdam based band was at the LiveProg Festival (see review) with M!ndgames and Anima Mundi in 2011 at De Lakei in Helmond. At the time they had just released their second album A Dying Man's Hymn (2011, see review). In the meantime their third album A Billion Years of Solitude (see review) was released in 2013. On both albums and their debut Excavations Of The Mind (2010, see review) you will not find progressive rock music that is easy to digest. Possibly influenced by acts such as Gentle Giant, King Crimson or Frank Zappa indicates that it will take a lot of attention for everybody to get into their style of music. This was also the case during their Sunday afternoon performance at 't Blok. For those who already thought the music performed by Unreal City was too complex, it was not very easy to understand what was going on for one hour and fifteen minutes while the band was on. They started their set a little bit chaotic. During a Breach and a part of a new piece of music it was difficult to notice in which direction the music would take the listener. Their improvised parts didn't

Rik van Honk

help either. On the other hand the way they used the equipment, which was lying on the floor, to make some noise from it was not something you will see and hear every day. However, as soon as they continued with Wormholes things seem to fall into place. This was also the case during the rest of their set. That they now and then improvised more and more on their instruments made it difficult sometimes for the viewers to stayed focused. Also, several times the tuning of the electric guitars didn't make it possible that the set was going on as one piece of music to enjoy. That the music wasn't easy to digest didn't prevent the crowd to ask them back for an encore. During Traveller's Last Candle it was nice to see keyboard player Rik van Honk perform on his bugel. Not an instrument you will hear a lot in progressive rock music nowadays. But then again Sky Architect are not an everyday prog act. Maybe that's why lead singer and guitarist Tom Luchies, bassist Guus van Mierlo and the already mentioned Rik van Honk left their shoes off stage while they played on their instruments. Well, with or without their shoes on the five musicians managed to come up with a fine set of progressive rock tunes! What else could you ask for?

Henri Strik (edited by Astrid de Ronde)