My Brainbox

September 10, 2016
Geluid Van Loosduinen Festival, The Hague (NL)


 

Incredible, only a mile away from my home, Dutch guitar legend Jan Akkerman performed with My Brainbox. He was invited at the small local annual festival, named 'Het Geluid Van Loosduinen' (last year it featured Livin' Blues, another Dutch legend).
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Jan Akkerman
From the late seventies I have seen many guitar heroes, like Steve Howe, Steve Hackett, David Gilmour, Mark Knopfler, Carlos Santana, Eric Clapton (with Roger Waters), Ritchie Blackmore, Stevie Ray Vaughan, BB King, Paco De Lucia, John MacLaughlin, Al DiMeola and recently Brian Setzer. But it has always been a dream to witness our own Dutch guitar hero Jan Akkerman. Keep in mind that in 1973 he topped the Melody Maker Best Guitarist poll, above Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck!

And now I was in the front row, looking at a very relaxed and inspired Jan Akkerman. During the one hour set he blew away the crowd, playing a variety of styles and delivering lots of exciting solos. My highlight was a very extended, psychedelic sounding guitar solo, with mindblowing use of the wah-wah pedal, Jan Akkerman at his best! Singer Bert Heerink (ex Vandenberg and ex Kayak) did a very good job, also relaxed and inspired. He talked with the audience, made jokes and showed he still has a strong voice. The other members turned out to be a perfect support on their instruments as a fluent and tight unit. Halfway the concert keyboard player Coen Molenaar showcased great flute-traverse samples, evoking Thijs van Leer .. say no more, haha.

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  David
De Marez Oyens:

bass, percussion
Bert
Heerink:

vocals
Marijn
Van Den Berg:

drums (not visible)
Jan
Akkerman:

guitar
Coen
Molenaar:

keyboards
 

After the regular playing time the band was allowed to play one more song, to the delight of the crowd. This encore was an excellent conclusion of a fine annual festival, highlighted by Jan Akkerman and his band My Brainbox. Walking back to my nearby house, I was on cloud # nine. What an awesome experience to witness famous Dutch guitar legend Jan Akkerman, 70 years old and still going strong!

Erik Neuteboom (edited by Astrid de Ronde)





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