While a part of the Dutch population were putting on funny clothes and wearing
masques as a part of a traditional Catholic feast, others went to see two progressive rock acts at 't Blok in
Nieuwerkerk aan den IJssel. Those who were part of the festivities in the southern part of
the Netherlands certainly missed some fine performances of the Dutch quintet
Sky Architect
and the Italian quartet
Unreal City.
Unreal City
|
Ema |
The in Parma based musicians had already entered the venue one day before they
actually had to do their first and only concert in the Netherlands. They had
just returned from a gig in Innsbruck (Austria). So you could say they climbed
the stage without any signs of fatigue. The stage was prepared with a couple of
dummies who were wearing white sheets and masques to get the audience in the
right mood. The musicians also made sure they looked good and had put on some
nice costumes, which you wouldn't see on a daily basis on the streets of any
city or town. The band chose to perform their excellent brand new album
Il Paese Del Tramonto (see
review) in
its entirety. Therefore they started with the instrumental opening piece
Ouverture - Obscurus Fio
and ended their regular set with the epic
Ex Tenebrae Lux.
Each of the musicians on stage made sure the songs from this album were done in a perfect way.
|
Francesca Zanetta |
Lead singer
Ema not only impressed the audience with his playing behind his stack
of keyboards, but also by giving his Theremin a special treatment on
Oniromanzia (Il Paese Del Tramonto). You
don't see a female playing the electric guitar every day, but
Francesca Zanetta showed that she had
complete control over her instrument, playing several fine solos on songs such as
Caligari (E-bow) and
Il Nome Di Lei. During the last mentioned title all of the musicians wore masques, which really looked
fantastic. Besides playing fabulously on the electric guitar Francesca also
assisted on the keyboard department by playing very well on the new modern
version of the famous Mellotron. As for the rhythm section, the biggest compliment goes to the new drummer
Andrea Gardani. This was the second time he was on stage to do a concert with the other
musicians. So bravo to him! Together with bassist
Dario Pessina
he made sure Francesca and Emanuele had enough room
to show off on their instruments. Two songs from the band's fine debut
La Crudeltà Di Aprile (2013, see
review)
were on the setlist for possible encores. The people from the organization had
given the band permission to do a one hour and a half show and therefore they
remained on stage when the tracks of their latest release were done. They
didn't wait for the crowd to ask them back on stage and continued with
Ecate (Walpurgisnacht) and
Dell'Innocenza Perduta. Both of course
done in an excellent way. The people in front of them loved it all the way and
gave them a warm applause before they left the stage. It was indeed a very well
deserved applause for what they had achieved during their debut in the Netherlands! Hats off to all of them!
Sky Architect
|
Tom Luchies |
The last time I had witnessed a concert from this in Rotterdam based band was at
the LiveProg Festival (see
review) with
M!ndgames and
Anima Mundi in 2011
at De Lakei in Helmond. At the time they had just released their second album
A Dying Man's Hymn
(2011, see
review). In the meantime their third album
A Billion Years of Solitude
(see
review) was released in 2013. On both albums and their debut
Excavations Of The Mind
(2010, see
review) you will not find progressive rock music that is easy to
digest. Possibly influenced by acts such as
Gentle Giant,
King Crimson or
Frank Zappa
indicates that it will take a lot of attention for everybody to get into their style of music. This
was also the case during their Sunday afternoon performance at 't Blok. For
those who already thought the music performed by Unreal City was too complex,
it was not very easy to understand what was going on for one hour and fifteen
minutes while the band was on. They started their set a little bit chaotic. During a
Breach and a part of a new
piece of music it was difficult to notice in which direction the music would take the listener. Their improvised parts didn't
|
Rik van Honk |
help either. On the other hand
the way they used the equipment, which was lying on the floor, to make some
noise from it was not something you will see and hear every day. However, as soon as they continued with
Wormholes
things seem to fall into place. This was also the case during the rest of their set.
That they now and then improvised more and more on their instruments made it
difficult sometimes for the viewers to stayed focused. Also, several times the
tuning of the electric guitars didn't make it possible that the set was going
on as one piece of music to enjoy. That the music wasn't easy to digest didn't
prevent the crowd to ask them back for an encore. During
Traveller's Last Candle it
was nice to see keyboard player
Rik van Honk perform on his bugel. Not an instrument you will hear a lot in
progressive rock music nowadays. But then again Sky Architect are not an
everyday prog act. Maybe that's why lead singer and guitarist
Tom Luchies, bassist
Guus van Mierlo
and the already mentioned Rik van Honk left their shoes off stage while they played on their
instruments. Well, with or without their shoes on the five musicians managed to
come up with a fine set of progressive rock tunes! What else could you ask for?
Henri Strik (edited by Astrid de Ronde)