I think many people didn't expect
Anima Mundi
to return to The Netherlands so soon for another live show after
their splendid performance last year during the LiveProg Festival (see
review) in
the same venue. Usually bands hailing from Cuba don't travel abroad that much,
I guess. However, their stay for almost two months in our country to record
their fourth studio album allowed them to do some concerts as well. Many prog heads
were delighted with this unexpected gig. Those who had seen the band last year
wanted to relive those fine moments again. In 2011 they performed together with
Sky Architect and
M!ndgames. This time they gave a
double concert with their Dutch friends from
Mangrove
to entertain an international audience as prog rock devotees from Belgium and France were present as well.
Anima Mundi
Most people had expected that Mangrove would perform first. However, it turned out
that our friends from the other side of the Atlantic Ocean started. This time they
weren't welcomed with the words 'Cuba libra!', but instead somebody in the
audience said that it felt like yesterday that they made their debut on the
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Carlos Sosa and Virginia Peraza |
same Dutch stage. Well, it surely felt that way because quite a number of songs
they played more than a year ago were performed now as well. However, this time
they didn't start with a marvellous version of
Time To Understand, but with
Jagannath Orbit, the strong title track from their second album. As soon as they
started to play it was obvious that Anima Mundi again were willing to perform
their music in a most professional way. The guitar solos of
Roberto Diaz
were played with great musicianship and lead singer
Carlos Sosa
once again proved that his voice is just as strong before an audience as in
the studio. Moreover, he was the host of the band and he played some percussion and keyboards as well. During
Cosmic Man there was a fine interaction between Sosa and keyboard player
Virginia Peraza. She played very
seriously on her stack of keyboards making sure to make no mistakes and
allowing the audience to enjoy her fine playing. Also the rhythm section gave their best shots. Especially bassist
Yaroski Corredera
was insistently present with some fine solo parts as could be heard during
Cosmic Man.
During the new piece
The Return /
Tales From Endless Star
drummer
Manuel Govin got assistance on percussion by
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Roberto Díaz |
Remco Engels (
Mangrove).
Their short drum duet really sounded perfect just as the remainder
of the material they performed. The final piece of the regular set was
El Umbral (The Threshold), a piece from their debut album
Septentrión.
By doing so they hoped to get some attention for the tenth anniversary of that
album. It was obvious that the audience wanted an encore after this track. They got
Sanctuary after which the band got
again a well-deserved big hand just like last year. They proved to belong to
the premier league of the prog rock scene. I guess that many spectators didn't
expect Mangrove to outclass this strong performance. So they left the concert hall to get a drink in the café, to buy
Live In Europe, Anima Mundi's new live CD/DVD or even went on their way home!
Mangrove
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Roland van der Horst and Pieter Drost (L) |
Unfortunately not all people stayed to witness Mangrove's concert. Nothing against Anima Mundi,
but in my opinion Mangrove's performance was even better, but maybe it isn't
fair to compare both bands. Of course, music is never a competition between
bands. Perhaps I've mentioned it in previous reviews, but Mangrove belong to
the best Dutch live bands, which they proved again during this outstanding performance
that only included highlights. During the concert of
Chris Jonker (keyboards),
Roland van der Horst (guitars, vocals),
Pieter Drost
(bass guitar, bass pedals) and
Remco Engels
(drums, e-percussion), my thoughts strayed away to the times that bands as
Pink Floyd,
Camel and
Genesis recorded excellent albums.
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Chris Jonker |
Everything was so well done! I heard many excellent guitar and keyboard solos, bombastic
keyboard parts and superb climaxes. No time to go to the toilet; they have it
all and without having a weak or dull moment. When the audience gets tired
Roland van der Horst will keep them awake while moving around the stage, climbing
on speakers or jumping off the stage to play his guitar parts amongst the
people in the audience. For a short time drummer Manuel Govin entered the stage
to join Remco Engels doing another drum duet. This performance showed again why
Engels joined Mangrove after the release of the band's latest album
Beyond Reality
(2009). His technical skills and his new arrangements lift the band to an even higher quality level. Maybe
it would have been fair if Mangrove got an encore as well, but when they left
the stage nobody asked for it. I guess it was okay by them since they knew, just
like me, that they performed a brilliant show enjoyed by those who stayed until
the last notes died away. Therefore an encore was probably not needed!
Henri Strik (edited by Peter Willemsen)