Hasse Fröberg and Musical Companion March 4, 2011 - De Boerderij, Zoetermeer (NL)
After the wonderful album Future Past (see review),
I was anxious to learn how it would sound on a live stage. A live
concert of Hasse Fröberg was never disappointing, so even before I heard a
single note, I knew this gig would become a special evening for progressive
music lovers. I was welcomed by stage manager Paul de Ruiter at De Boerderij. His
helpful and caring attitude made me feel at home, especially when he told me that
I could have an interview with Hasse Fröberg after the show. Wow, I wasn't
prepared to interview, but I was very pleased to meet a musician that I look up
to. Penny's Twisted Flavour
Hasse Fröberg After a short break Hasse Fröberg and Musical Companion entered the stage. From the first moment on you could feel the power, the tightness and the atmosphere in their music. Hasse Fröberg's voice was as great as ever while communicating with the audience all the time. Drummer Ola Strandberg played both powerful and subtle increasing the music's quality with all his delicate drum sounds. Thomas Thomsson played his bass guitar in a very melodic and steady way. Seeing keyboarder Kjell Haraldsson play is a feast for the eyes and ears: tasteful and magnificent solos filling all the gaps. On the left side of the stage we found the band's junior guitarist Anton Lindsjö, whose guitar technics are just fantastic and sounding superbly. The band played all the songs of their debut album Future Past and in addition we got a number of songs Fröberg wrote for The Flower Kings. Songs like Piece Of The Sky, Fallen Empire and Only My Blood are great songs and they work very well on stage, while Magic Pie indeed brought magic on stage. The twin solos that Fröberg and Lindsjö played together sounded very interesting and retro. Sometimes Thin Lizzy came to my mind. The atmosphere during the concert was rather intimate, the audience felt as if they became part of the family of the Musical Companion. Another nice fact was Patsy Delledone, a friend of the band from Canada. She was online via Skype to watch and listen to the show. With the laptop on stage she could hear the audience clapping and shouting for the encore, a wonderful version of Stardust We Are. Hasse Fröberg was accompanied by the keyboards and a few very enthusiastic people in the audience. This must have been a great sight, to see from the stage how people sing along. For me it was a musical highlight to become part of Hasse's followers.After the show, when the band members had talked to the fans, Hasse Fröberg took me apart to give me the opportunity to ask some questions backstage. It became a pleasant conversation in the presence of Patsy Delledone on the laptop doing a great job helping me out with the interview (see interview). After all it was a special evening that I won't easily forget. Pedro Bekkers (edited by Peter Willemsen) |
Setlist PTF: Penny's twistInside Falling What We Become Wasting Time Forgotten Words Motion Back Home |
Pictures Penny's Twisted Flavour by Miranda Bril Click on the picture to enlarge. |
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Line up PTF: |
Mark Bogert: guitar |
Wendy Heuvelmans: keyboards |
Matthijs Kieboom: bass |
Harmen Kieboom: drums |
Rodney Blaze: special guest vocalist |
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