ODDITY (see review) was for me personally one of the most surprising releases of 2011. It was the debut album made by Franck Carducci. A musician from France who lived at the time in Amsterdam. March 2012 I

Franck Carducci

had to check out if Franck had become a rock star on stage as well. A Sunday afternoon gig organized by the people of ProgFrog at 't Blok in Nieuwerkerk aan de IJssel (see review) showed that he and his fellow musicians of international allure were able to come up with a fantastic live performance. However it turned out that it was just the start of something leading to an amazing live performance every time Franck and his band get on stage. Something which they really appreciated in Great Britain and led to 'Best Overseas Band' award from UK magazine 'Classic-Rock Society'. Given to them after the 'On The Road To Nowhere' tour which started September 2017. A show in which you can immerse yourself into the spectacle and let yourself go as you embark on a journey into a colourful, flamboyant and fun musical universe, which is open and accessible to all. Well that's what Carducci mentioned on his website and which I had to find out myself once again. Because it had already been three years since I had seen one of his amazing concerts in the Netherlands. So our team went out to witness two performances in one weekend. The first one at the Willem Twee Poppodium in Den Bosch with Mary Reynaud as the support act. The second one at the earlier mentioned 't Blok in Nieuwerkerk aan de Ijssel with The Dame as their support act.
 

Mary Reynaud

Mary Reynaud

The first time I saw Mary Reynaud, was when she was introduced as Alice during the performance of Alice's Eerie Dream when Franck and his band did their second concert at 't Blok February 2014 (see review). At the time she was only the backing vocalist in the band. Exactly one year later I saw Mary do a solo act while opening for Carducci's third concert done at 't Blok (see review). 'A short solo set to fill in, while the men put on their make-up, which takes a lot of time apparently', as she said herself. It was a well received set of acoustic guitar accompanied songs, in which Mary showed what she can do with her voice and her facial expressions. Now three years later I had the chance to see if she still could entertain the audience on her own with an exciting one woman show. This time around she was at the W2 venue in Den Bosch, dressed in a beautiful orange outfit and wearing white boots as well. Boots which she used to accompany herself for some extra rhythms when the songs needed it. A tambourine strapped to her left foot did the job! As for the songs she performed, she certainly knows how to bring them and entertain a crowd. Sure, they are not progressive rock tunes so might need some extra bass pedals to make them more attractive for the progressive rock audience. Going through the songs performed is not necessary as they don't ring any bells for most people. Although some might have heard about A L'Ombre Du pommier. Otherwise known as Ryland's Under The Apple Tree. All in all, it was again for me a rather entertaining performance to bring you in the mood for the band she is performing in as well.

[For more pictures, video clips and the setlist see below]

 

The Dame

Marian van Charante

The support act for Franck Carducci's fourth concert at 't Blok was The Dame. This is a new progressive rock band from The Hague. They all appeared stylishly dressed on stage, but what else do you expect from a band with such a name. They played four songs from their debut album Losing Sight Of What You Want released earlier this year. An album which has traces of neo progressive rock on which most of all guitarist Stephen de Ruijter sounds like Marillion's Steve Rothery.

Michel Krempel and Stephen de Ruijter (r)

On stage he recreated his sound from the band's debut really well. But he wasn't the only person on stage who got the attention of the crowd. Eye catcher of the band is without any doubt front woman Marian van Charante. She has a considerably powerful voice and occasionally assisted Stephen on her guitar to play some fine rhythm parts. Compared to Marian, who moved with flair across the stage, was Thijs de Ruijter a quiet guy behind his keyboard. In general I could say the band did a good performance but probably not as strong as on their album. But a new young band has given the time to grown on stage through the year!

[For more pictures, video clips, the line up and the setlist see below]

 

Franck Carducci Band

Of course the performances Franck Carducci and his band did at the two different venues were in a way not very different. But I didn't care about it because the musician - and showmanship were both at W2 and 't Blok of a

From L to R: the groupie (Mary), Arion (Franck), the security agent (Oliver) and Christophe.

very high level and most of all very entertaining. Never a dull moment. Every song performed was not only very enjoyable to listen to but above all also very great to watch. There was always something spectacular to watch. For example during the opening scene Carducci did as if he was too late at the start of the concert. The band started without him after a short audio fragment, on which you could hear some of the most important acts in the history of music. Keyboard player Olivier Castan acted like a security agent and made room for a new star in the rock business. His name Arion. It was the start of the first song performed, named Slave To Rock' n 'Roll. During the song Mary Reynaud played the role of a groupie and couldn't take her hands off the new kid in town. The new kid in town was dressed as the obvious rock 'n' roll star. Wearing dark glasses, a cowboy hat and a fake fur coat. After the song was finished the real Franck entered the stage and apologised being late.

Of course you want to hear as many of his songs taken from his two studio albums. But an artist always comes up with newly written songs and wants to perform them as well. Franck understands this as well and therefore decided to come with a medley of songs which can't be played completely anymore. So instead we got short versions of The Quind, Journey Through The Mind, A Brief Tale Of Time and The Last Oddity played during the medley. This time around they didn't do the octopus act during the final part of The Last Oddity. Instead a guitar duel was played between

Duel between Steve (L) and Christophe (R) supported by Frack (mid)

Christophe Obadia and Steve Marsala.

Mary on Theramin

Both showing off how great they can play great guitar licks. Using parts taken from famous Rolling Stones and Guns 'n' Roses tunes. The medley also included a short drum solo done by Nino Reina and a belly dance done by Mary. Leaving out some of the old favourites gave the audience the opportunity to enjoy some brand new pieces of music. The first on the setlist was a song about an astronaut, titled The After Effect and written by Castan and Carducci. During this composition Reynaud had a sensual encounter with the Theremin. Her sexy moves gave the instrument a special sound which fitted perfectly to the accompanied music played by the other members of the band. The second new track was announced as a song composed by Mary. During this excellent ballad, titled The Angel, she was dressed like a beautiful angel. Her wings had led lights which looked amazing while moving around the stage. The final new song had the title On The Road To Nowhere and was a tribute to the days of the legendary Woodstock festival back in the late sixties. This was done acapella, the whole band moved up front on the stage and came up with some strong harmony vocals. I loved it all the way.

Of course some old favourites could be enjoyed again as on the past concerts. For example a complete version of Achilles was on the menu. It included a nice visual part on which Obadia could also interact with the Theremin. Another favourite is of course Alice's Eerie Dream which tells the real story of Alice in Wonderland.

Christophe, brutally interrupting Mary

This time around Mary played the role of Alice, who turned into a hooker, in a completely different outfit. Once again she tried to seduce the other members in the band and kissed them many times. Leaving lipstick on their faces as a witness. During the song she was in a way brutally interrupted by Christophe by playing on his didgeridoo. He even went with his instrument into the crowd and jumped on the bar for a short while as well. Making it all looking very spectacular. Another favourite was done only at the W2 venue. They were lucky to enjoy a fantastic version of Closer To Irreversible. Instead the audience in both venues could enjoy a strong version of Artificial Paradises, done as the first encore. It included a part of a legendary album released by Pink Floyd in 1973. The album is titled The Dark Side Of The Moon and the final track on the the album has the title Eclipse.

The other encores were different in both venues. In Den Bosch they did one of Franck's all time favourites. Namely School, the opening tune of Crime Of The Century released by Supertramp in 1974. It had a perfect rendition. The other encore at 't Blok was for Franck a special one as he told the audience at the venue. Because while checking out his setlists on the internet he noticed that during the first performance at the same venue he came up with a very special encore. An encore which I didn't like at the time and also didn't know at all. At the time I had expected he would come up with a real prog oldie. Instead he did Whipping Post from The Allman Brothers. Well for the good old times he decided to do it once again. Well this time around I didn't care if I liked it or not, because it felt good and was well played! It ended a perfectly excellent two hours long performance!

Well after seeing two performances of Franck Carducci's 'On The Road To Nowhere' tour I can only come to one conclusion; 'A show in which you can immerse yourself into the spectacle and let yourself go as you embark on a journey into a colourful, flamboyant and fun musical universe, which is open and accessible to all'.

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