In February 2017 I watched two outstanding British progressive rock bands at 't Blok in Nieuwerkerk aan de IJssel. The performances of The Gift and The Far Meadow in the Netherlands (see review) grabbed me by the throat. I certainly wanted to see both bands again on a Dutch stage. But seeing one of the two bands in the same year was not something I had expected. Therefore was I very pleasantly surprised to find out that during the 8th season of Serious Music Alphen they had booked The Gift for a concert at the Parkvilla Theater. They would be supported by the Belgium act M!ndgames. But their keyboard player decided to stop his activities with the band and so they had to withdraw. A replacement was found in the Dutch act Silhouette. They would be presenting their new album The World Is Flat And Other Alternative Facts during this concert. However unforeseen sad private circumstances forced them to withdraw as well. In the end another Dutch act was willing to step in at the very last moment to be a support act for The Gift. Novatia is the name of the band and they had already climbed the stage of this venue in 2016!
 

Novatia

L to R: Ingmar Kops, Joep Selen and Fabian van Dijk

Novatia is a rather unknown band in the Netherlands even though they have already released two EPs. Remind You Of Yourself in 2015 and Reflection Of Thoughts in 2016. A new EP, titled Flow is coming out in November 2017. It is the first time I have seen this five piece in action on a stage. And I must confess that their mix of rock, pop, jazz, funk and progressive rock had my attention throughout their entire set. Their singer Joep Selen has a fine voice and the two instrumentalists Ingmar Kops (keyboards) and Rindert Bul (guitars) treated the listeners to some very melodic solos. The rhythm section, consisting of Joost Lobbes (drums) and Fabian van Dijk (bass), was for the occasion expanded by an extra percussionist. Jeroen Moerenhout is a special guest on the upcoming release but not only added some percussion on the new compositions but also the older songs in the bands repertoire got a nice percussion treat. Later on this year I have a second encounter with this band when they are on the stage of the fifth Northern Prog Festival in Siegerswoude. I am already looking forward to meeting the band again, hear their music and have a chat after their show. This could unfortunately not be done this time because they quickly left the venue for a 2nd performance elsewhere.
 

The Gift

Mike Morton

It's always great to see a band again after enjoying one of their concerts only a couple of months earlier. Even more when one of their musicians was unable to be present during that concert. A few days before their performance at 't Blok the mother of guitarist David Lloyd unexpectedly passed away. It once again showed that there is more to life than music. This concert in Nieuwerkerk aan de IJssel was a very good one. But with an extra guitarist in the line-up next to Leroy James, it showed that the band can even play better. The guitar pair had a very good interaction with each other. Playing very melodic guitar parts together or splitting the riffs and solos between each other. They sounded as if they had never done anything else in life. Which is in a way true, because the two of them have been friends since they were teenagers. Also the rhythm section, with Stefan Dickers on bass and Neil Hayman on drums, were a strong unit together. And I have not even mentioned the incredible keyboard player and the fantastic front man. Lead singer Mike Morton is a born show man and storyteller. Even though he was going down with a cold his vocal duties were to my ears excellent. Many times reminding me of another British band who were mainly big in the seventies but still are doing concerts nowadays. I am referring to The Strawbs. I am not sure how much this band influenced them. But I guess that doesn't really matter.

David Lloyd

All that matters is that Mike is just a great guy. The same can be said about the bands Italian keyboard player Gabriele Baldocci. The fact he is a classic pianist as well could be heard many times. The best example was during the intro of At Sea. He also played an amazing solo on his mobile keyboard during Tuesday's Child. The band must be very happy and proud to have such a talented musician in their line-up.

As for the songs performed during their performance it was obvious that the main part consisted of tracks taken from their fabulous last studio album. Only one piece of music was not done from Why The Sea Is Salt (2016, see review). But even without hearing All These Things, I guess everybody at the venue enjoyed what they performed. Hearing a large part of Awake & Dreaming was something not many expected. Or hearing a strong version of The Willows made a lot of people very happy. Therefore it wasn't so strange they were asked back for an encore. Walk Into The Water was warmly welcomed and enjoyed like the rest of the songs they played during their amazing performance. Let's hope they will get back to our small country in a couple of months again. I certainly would be pleased if they did!

All in all, was it a very nice evening thanks to the great performances of Novatia and The Gift. Therefore a warm thank you goes out to the people behind Serious Music Alphen. Giving the rather unknown bands in the progressive rock scene a stage to show their talents all the way!

Henri Strik (edited by Dave Smith)