In 2011 the legendary Progfram festival was held for the very last time (see
review). For 15 long years the people
of
Flamborough Head gave the people of the northern parts of the Netherlands a chance to see several progressive
rock acts on a stage. But also people from the other parts of our country and even from abroad witnessed this
annual event. The festival was always held on the first Saturday in November In 2013 members of the band
Leap
Day decided to organise the same type of annual festival in the same region. Most of the time also held on
the first Saterday in November. The 2017 edition was for them an anniversary edition. Because for the fifth time
in a row they succeeded in coming up with a rather entertaining festival. Of course our team was present to tell
you all about the ins and outs.
Nem-Q
|
Paul Sieben |
Nem-Q comes from the Southern parts of the Netherlands and has been in existence for more than 10 years. During
this period they released three albums. Their latest release
Fault Lines (2017) is their best album on
which the band tries to get the best parts from
Pain Of Salvation and
Dream Theater mixed with their
own style. During their one hour performance they made a good impression. It was obvious that the largest part
|
Nem-Q on stage |
of their setlist were songs from their latest album. Main roles were for lead singer
Paul Sieben and keyboard
player
Dennis Renders. Sieben has a great voice and his guitar solos were very tastefully done. Renders
occasionally made sure the band moved into progressive rock territories with his majestic keyboard chords and
fine solos. The other three members made sure they got all the space to shine on their instruments. All in all
the band can look at a rather strong performance and gained some new fans.
Leap Day
|
Jos Harteveld |
Next year the organisers of this cosy festival will have their 10th anniversary and will celebrate it with a special
CD release. They might even come up with a brand new studio album if everything goes as planned. But that's for
later. First they had to entertain the people who came all the way to see them. Well according to what I witnessed
|
Koen Roozen |
they certainly succeeded. They played really tight and as always came up with a set of songs which was different
from the last time they played. Something which I always like. Therefore some older songs such as
Eyes Wide
Open and
Awaking The Muse could be enjoyed again. But as always the band gave us an inside as to what
to expect on their next studio album. This time around even two brand new pieces of music were done.
Like Icarus
and
Autumn. Both having the typical melodic Leap Day sound. So the new album is once again something to
look forward to. As for the songs performed I can only be positive. I will not go into details but believe me
it was difficult to stand still while I heard them. Once again the six musicians on stage proved that the band
belongs to the best live acts in the Netherlands.
Nice Beaver
|
Erik Groeneweg |
The next band on stage is the third one in a row coming from the Netherlands. Between 2002 and 2004 they released
two albums
On Dry Land and
Oregon. During this period they hit the Dutch stages several times and
I saw them many times. They were an amazing live band then and therefore I regretted that they got lost somehow.
Many times I asked the bands bass player
Peter Stel why they didn't perform at this festival. After all
he is in Leap Day, the bassist as well. With a new album
The Time It Takes (see
review) released in 2015
it probably only would be a matter of time until they were on the bill of NPF as well. And indeed two years later
I finally could see this great band back in action. Expectations certainly did ran high for me personally. In
my memory, this band could get you by the throat right from the start of a concert. And indeed they did it again
after several years absence. Of course the main part of the set consisted of songs taken from their latest effort.
To be honest the only oldie they performed was
Culley On Bleecker Street taken from their debut. Furthermore
|
Hans Gerritse |
an amazing new piece with the title
Home - Something's Going On could be enjoyed. But the rest was only
from their third album. Did I care? Yes and no! No, because songs such as
River So Wide,
Waiting
For The Bell To Toll and
Timeline are a real treat for your ears. Yes, because oldies such as
Where
The River Runs and
Two Brides For Two Brothers are excellent progressive rock tunes which you don't
want to miss played live. Nevertheless, I still enjoyed the awesome guitar parts done by
Hans Gerritse.
His style of playing is often compared to the way
Andy Latimer plays his parts in
Camel. But also
the fine keyboard parts of lead singer
Erik Groeneweg are pretty marvellous from time to time. Respect
most of all to new drummer
Matty de Wijs, who played his second gig with the band and did it with
flying colours. The earlier mentioned Stel also needs no introduction. His parts are of a very high standard just
like in his other band. Too bad he had some equipment problems and therefore they had to skip
Space Cadet
from the setlist. But even without this piece of music the band impressed me all the way with their excellent performed songs.
Il Castello Di Atlante
|
Aldo Bergamini |
The only band not coming from the Netherlands on the fifth edition of the Northern Prog Festival are from Italy.
I had seen
Il Castello Di Atlante already in 2009 on the earlier mentioned Progfram festival (see
review)
at the time they were on the same bill as the host of the festival. Three of the original members who played during
that performance started with the band in 1974. The excellent bassist
Dino Fiore, guitarist and vocalist
Aldo Bergamini and last but not least entertainer, drummer, keyboard player and singer
Paolo Ferrarotti.
The original musicians now in their 60s, got some excellent help from the three youngsters in the band. Namely
Andrea Bertino on violin,
Davide Cristofoli on main keyboards and
Mattia Garimanno on drums.
|
Andrea Bertino |
Together they pulled off an impressive show. A show which started with four songs taken from their debut
Sono
Io Il Signore Delle Terre A Nord (1992). Followed by two compositions taken from their latest effort
Arx
Atlantis (2014). An album which celebrated the bands 40th anniversary. After that the time was already up
|
Paolo Ferrarotti tries to speak some Dutch |
for the band. Only one other piece from their debut,
Non C'è Tempo, was done before a sort of encore followed.
But before
Logora Spiaggia was done Paolo stepped into the crowd to let them sing-a -long with the
lyrics. He even tried to speak some Dutch from a piece of paper and got help from somebody in the crowd. All in
all it was again a very entertaining performance from the band just like eight years ago. A special mention goes
out to Andrea Bertino for his marvellous playing on the violin throughout the entire concert. Ferrarotti went
on his knees when he was introduced to the audience. But then again a show of hands is also in place for the rest
of the band for travelling all the way from Italy to set the house on fire in our small country. Bravissimo!
JunXion
|
Maarten Jung and Julian Haerkens (r)
|
The final act of the event was for me a totally unknown band. According to their Facebook page JunXion is an epic
modern day '70s progressive rock band, founded in 2010. The band combines various styles, such as symphonic metal,
fusion, electronics and ambient, with unexpected twists. The sound of the 4-man core is enriched by selected guest
artists to reinforce the stories being told. For instance a jazz saxophone, or gospel, pop or classical vocals,
can contribute to expound cultural and social problems, politics, science, and rabbits. There you go! This year
they released their debut
Inevitable RED. A concept album concerning the rise and fall of a dictatorial
regime. To my surprise they performed it completely. But before they started the whole concept a strong instrumental
piece of music could be enjoyed. With the help of the audience they got the right beat and a strong fusion
type of tune could be enjoyed. The strong melodic guitar parts of
Maarten Jung and the excellent keyboard
parts of
Martijn Hak made the track very adventuress. But I guess the song could not have been so strong
|
Quirine Bruynen |
without the help of the excellent rhythm section. Containing drummer
Roel Trommelen and bass player
Julian
Haerkens. After
Polyalphabetical Substitution Cipher was done Haerkens continued hosting the show in
the English language. After all the audience came from all over the world. Moreover he introduced the two female
singers
Quirine Bruynen and all the way from Belgium
Lois De Souter. They were brought in to make
the concept of the story more understandable. After a perfect rendition of the complete
Inevitable RED album
three more not yet released compositions were done. The crowd loved them all the way and therefore they were asked
back for a final encore. A track which was known to most of the spectators, because it comes from one of the most
famous progressive rock artists in the current prog scene. Namely
Steven Wilson. Too bad they didn't do
a complete version of
Luminol. A song taken from Wilson's best album ever made. Titled
The Raven That
Refused To Sing (And Other Stories) (2013, see
review). The band can certainly look back at an excellent performance.
As for myself I certainly want to see them more often because they are the future of Dutch progressive rock without doubt.
Finally I have to thank the people who made it possible that our team could witness the fifth edition of this
amazing event. They know who they are and they already mentioned that on Saturday November 3, 2018 another edition
of the festival will take place. A headliner is already booked, but will reveal it next year. So until the next time!
Henri Strik (edited by Tracy van Os van den Abeelen)