On September 30
Riverside kicked off
the second leg of their Tenth Anniversary tour in venue De Pul in Uden. Before our
Polish friends entered the stage, the audience got the chance to watch
A Liquid Landscape, a new band hailing
from the north of The Netherlands, who were finalist in the prestigious contest 'De
Grote Prijs'. They already shared the stage with bands like
Anathema and
Karnivool. Now they got the opportunity to warm up the audience
that had gathered for a wonderful musical evening.
A Liquid Landscape
|
Fons Herder |
With a forthcoming debut album and only a two-track mini CD available, A Liquid
Landscape didn't make it easy on themselves since the majority of the audience wasn't
familiar with the band. Hardly anybody had listened to the music of these guys
before, but right from the start the band had the audience on their side. They
did an enthusiastic stage performance with good interaction which was
appreciated by the people in the audience. The band's musical style can be best
described as a blend of post rock, alternative rock and progressive metal. They
call it post-progressive rock themselves.
|
A Liquid Landscape |
Vocalist
Fons Herder has a great voice that sometimes reminded me of
Kevin Martin
(
Candlebox); guitarist
Niels van Dam
used a number of special effects to create a warm atmosphere. All in
all, A Liquid Landscape was the perfect support-act for Riverside and for the
audience a great opportunity to get to know this young and promising band. While
writing this review, I was listening to the two-track mini-CD and I can tell
you this: if the remainder of the forthcoming album is just as strong as these
two tracks then the album is something to look out for. Watch the video www.aliquidlandscape.nl.
Riverside
|
Mariusz Duda |
After a short break the main course was served. Vocalist
Mariusz Duda
slowly walked to the microphone, adjusting his bass
guitar while thanking the audience for being around and for supporting the band
in the last decade. He mentioned the fact that Riverside's success in Western
Europe started in The Netherlands. When the band started to play, I first got
the idea that Duda's microphone had some technical problems, but after a few
songs the sound got better and we could enjoy some fantastic versions of
classic Riverside songs.
02 Panic Room,
Lucid Dream IV,
Reality Dream III,
Conceiving You,
Egoist Hedonist,
The Curtain Falls,
Schizophrenic Prayer
and
Parasomnia
are just some random titles of songs that were performed. I must confess that I
forgot to write down all the songs they played, but they all were performed
perfectly.
|
Riverside |
During the concert I noticed that in general the audience were not
familiar with the songs of the new EP
Memories
In My Head
(see
review) either.
I wonder how they'll response at the end of
the tour when these songs have become well-known. Frontman Mariusz Duda repeatedly
talked to the audience, encouraging them to sing along which they eventually
did. On stage the band members of Riverside don't jump around like many other
prog metal bands. Some people even call them a static band, but I think when
guitarist
Piotr Grudziński
is playing his fabulous riffs and fine melody lines, you
don't want to see anyone jumping up and down before you. He's a master on his
instrument and he doesn't have to show off with jumping around the stage. Thank
goodness, no, I'd rather close my eyes to let the music carry me away. When
Grudziński plays his guitar I got goosebumps and that's evidence enough
I guess. I had again a wonderful evening visiting a Riverside-concert and
watching them play all my favourite songs. Thanks for the first ten years and I
hope for great new music in the next decade. See you next time.