It rarely happens that we write a concert review of the same band within a couple of weeks or months. However, when a line up change takes place during the tour it's interesting to report this. Well, this happened to the Cuban progressive rock band Anima Mundi when they started their Tales Tour 2014 in August and ended it in September. While reviewing one of their first European concerts of the tour in Nieuwerkerk a/d IJssel (see review) I already explained why the line up with which they started the tour was different from the one they would end the same tour with. For those who missed it, the short story is as follows; the band's lead singer Emmanuel Pirko-Farrath wasn't able to travel to Europe together with his fellow band members and was replaced by Hein van den Broek. To visit the new concert venue De Cacaofabriek in Helmond and to see the band in action with Emmanuel fronting the band was the best option, even more so, because this was the final show of their Tales Tour!
 

Unkh

Jeroen Habraken

Earlier in 2014, I reviewed an album made by Unkh. This Dutch outfit had just released Traveller (see review). I labelled the album as a musical mix of influences taken from acts like XTC, Muse, Talk Talk and King Crimson (with Adrian Belew on guitars), along with the so-called neo progressive rock acts as IQ, Marillion with Fish, Pendragon and Pallas. This melting-pot of different influences certainly worked for me, because I liked the way they hustled all those influences into their compositions very much. The band dared to look beyond the traditional progressive rock influences and therefore enriched their music in a very positive way, but still kept their own identity alive! Compositions like Theme Of The Mighty Mushroom and the two epics Borderlines.Fr. and Borderlines.Ca. were real gems and, for me, the highlights of this release. When I learnt they would be opening for Anima Mundi, it brought a smile on my face, because seeing them performing live was one of my recent wishes. The four musicians had been given 45 minutes to show their capabilities. In a way, I had expected them to play a compact set with more of their true progressive rock songs. Well they

Frits Appel

must have thought the same and it was exactly what I got. The mentioned highlights of the album were featured and very well performed. Furthermore, the great tune Sur Place could be enjoyed as well. Too bad lead singer and (portable) keyboard player Jeroen Habraken, drummer Maarten Habraken, bassist Matthijs van Nahuijs on bass and bass pedals and guitarist Frits Appel (who replaced Maarten Peerlings, who played on the album, decided to add another song which had less progressive rock influences, before they left the stage for the headliners. Barfly's Last Sigarette is more of a tune that refers to the none- progressive rock influences and therefore they left the crowd behind with mixed feelings, because they believed this to be a true prog band, but in the end they got the feeling this band had more tricks up it's sleave that they didn't enjoy that much. Too bad, because they certainly gave a strong performance with amazing music throughout; including the final piece!
 

Anima Mundi

Emmanuel Pirko-Farrath

A curfew at the venue prevented the musicians to go all the way at their last concert of the tour. No party-time until the sun would come up, which almost did happen in the same town the first time they were in the Netherlands (June 2011, see review). Even though they had a tight time schedule, they tried to make this final concert a special one, and I have to admit they succeeded in entertaining the crowd all the way through their entire performance. It was obvious a different set could be enjoyed by the audience, compared to the one I heard earlier, for instance, the opening piece hadn't been played when I saw them in August. Flying To The Sun was also the first song which featured Mr. Pirko-Farrath; a song that was originally sung by former singer Carlos Sosa, and therefore sounded differently compared to the original version. However, it didn't mean it was less interesting. Emmanuel managed very well and you heard instantly that he was in better shape than one year ago, when he had had to learn the vocals on short notice. This was also true when he sang the next tune, The Dream Child Behind The Mask, which came close to the studio version.

Anaisy Gomez Fernandez

It was followed by an instrumental from their latest album The Lamplighter (2013, see review). Endless Star had as in their previous concert again a fabulous drum battle between Manuel Govin and Remco Engels from Mangrove. This time a different guest could be welcomed, namely ex-band member Anaisy Gomez Fernandez, who joined the band on clarinet. She stayed on stage to play the bagpipes on La Montaña Del Vigia; another instrumental that was taken from the band's debut Septentrión (2002/ 2012, see review). During Light The Lantern Of Your Heart she played both clarinet parts you can hear on the studio version, together with keyboard player Virginia Peraza; only Anaisy performed them on a real clarinet. During the longest piece of the set

Roberto Díaz, Hein van den Broek and Emmanuel Pirko-Farrath

Emmanuel's temporary replacement entered the stage. Just like at 't Blok, he sang Spring Knocks On The Door Of Men. He didn't leave the stage when Cosmic Man had finished and sang the vocal parts of this track as well. He got some help from Emmanuel as he had entered the stage too. A leading role during this piece was for bass player Yaroski Corredera again. He managed to let his instrument speak in a very strong way. When they were asked back for an encore, a short conversation took place between the musicians; they probably decided to play the Pink Floyd cover Comfortably Numb and just like a couple of weeks earlier, they performed it splendidly, but this time around, the leading vocal parts were divided between Hein and Emmanuel. In my opinion, the song was the perfect way to say goodbye to their fans who came from all over the world.

Once again the musicians from Cuba and their Dutch friends gave an outstanding performance which will be remembered until the next time they come to our country. This will probably be in the summer of 2015, with a new studio album in their luggage! As for the support act of the evening, I can only be positive. They proved that bands of international allure can originate from the Netherlands!

Henri Strik (edited by Esther Ladiges)