In 2010 Antony Kalugin's Sunchild/Karfagen performed their first concert in the Netherlands. During this performance at the legendary Progfarm Festival (see review) the musician from the Ukraine performed a rather strong set which was loved by most of the spectators. However, it took them almost six years to return to the Netherlands. During the 2016 edition of the Progdreams Festival, Antony and his fellow musicians climbed a stage in our country the second time. A third time was exactly one week later. Weird isn't it. First you have to wait almost six years and then one week later they are back. For this extra concert they had invited their Dutch friends from Leap Day to be the double headliner. Too bad not many progheads were in attendance for a special evening with two excellent acts. I guess two concerts for a Ukrainian band in such a short time just isn't possible unfortunately.
 

Leap Day

Jos Harteveld

One of the best progressive rock acts in the Netherlands is without a doubt the band that opened this two headliner's show. Their latest album From The Days Of Deucalion Chapter 2 (see review) was for me personally the best album made in 2015. Furthermore I consider them a very good live act that can easily copy the music they recorded on their four albums. Also, this time around they did not let me down, even if they had to perform in front of a very small number of people. Their setlist was not very much different compared to the concert they did at the Northern Prog Festival (see review) last year only this time they did not play one hour and fifteen minutes but an hour and a half so they were able to do one extra song-a song which I didn't hear them play during the concerts I witnessed myself. The band gave a perfect rendition

Eddy Mulder

of Deucalion as if they had done this composition many times which was of course not the case. When a band performs a strong set you hardly can write anything about it. You can only compliment them with their strong performance and say they did one of their best concerts but this is something I tell them every time I see them. Perhaps the musicians begin to doubt your credibility when you tell them this positive news. After all, you know the band so well that you might not be objective anymore but this is certainly not true. I always tell them honestly what I think about what I just had seen. A band in great shape! Oh and yes something happened which wasn't planned before hand. The fire alarm went off when they finished Walls. Keyboard player Gert van Engelenburg responded in a very funny way by telling the few people in front of him to leave the building quietly which they of course did not, because nobody took this alarm seriously. They only took the music seriously as the band played it perfectly once again. I guess I didn't expect anything less.
 

Karfagen

With this band from the Ukraine you could say you get two for the price of one because the musicians perform songs which are released on albums made by both acts whom are both led by Antony Kalugin. Compared to the first time I watched them, a lot has changed in the line-up. Only bassist Oleg Prokhorov once again accompanied keyboard player and lead singer Anton Kalugin during their 'Breaking Free' tour. Together with drummer Kostya Shepelenko they were an excellent rhythm section. This time around though, no Sergii Kovalov on the bayan.

Antony Kalugin

In a way, he was replaced by an extra keyboard player-his wife Olha Rostovskaya, who also did some extra backing vocals. The female lead vocals were this time done by the Kate Bush-like Olga Vodolazhskaya. Next to her perfect vocal parts she also played very well on the acoustic guitar and played some percussion. One of the best musicians on stage was guitarist Max Velychko. His excellent guitar parts were, next to the fine synthesizer solos done by Antony, a feast for my ears.

Also, the songs performed were of course different and music-wise had less elements of original Ukrainian folk music. This time the music moved more towards a style which could be labeled neo progressive rock. The songs done from the bands back catalogue came mainly from the Sunchild album As Far As The Eye Can See (2011, see review) and the two Karfagen albums Lost Symphony (2011, see review) and Magician's Theater (2014). From As Far As The Eye Can See the audience could enjoy the set opener Stars Of Cardiff Bay, Mirrors, Visionary sights and the title track. From Lost Symphony they did Sylph and Journey Through The Looking Glass. Before the last mentioned title was done Mr. Kalugin told the crowd that it was about a shy cat with big with brown eyes who had two kittens. The sound of those cats could also be heard during the opening part of this song, mainly performed on the synthesizer. From Magician's Theater they did the

Olga Vodolazhskaya

title track and the final part of the song. Nice was also the tribute they did for one of our best known progressive rock acts ever. I am of course talking about Focus. During Ode To A New Life from the Karfagen album Solitary Sandpiper Journey (2010, see review) the guitar parts certainly referred to Jan Akerman. Three older songs also done at the Progfarm Festival could be enjoyed again. A track taken from Karfagen's Continium (2006) they did one of my all time favourites titled A Winter's Tale Part 2. From Sunchild two pieces were on the setlist namely from The Invisible Line (2009) was Rain Drops and from The Wrap (2010, see review) they played The Day Of Destiny. The final song done in Uden was a song during which the people present could participate by singing along with Antony. After one hour and fifty minutes of music Antony and his excellent fellow musicians called it a day. Together with his two female musicians he later on joined the merchandise stand for a talk and an autograph. The boys in the band were left behind to get the gear off the stage. I certainly enjoyed the bands performance whole heartedly. In a way, I think it was better than the first time they showed their faces in our country. You could say they left me speechless. Hopefully they will not wait another six years to perform some concerts in the Netherlands.

Henri Strik (edited by Robert James Pashman)