Luxor Live is one of the many concert venues in the city of Arnhem. It is a monumental building in the center of this medium-sized Dutch city. What many do not know is that the building dates back to 1915 when the Luxor-Théâtre opened. Architect Willem Diehl designed and built many luxury buildings in Arnhem in the Art Nouveau / Jugendstil style. Luxor is no exception to this. Everything in and around the building is richly decorated; a fine example are the dancing nymphs at the entrance. At the time the building featured several groundbreaking innovations and was far ahead of its time, such as dimmable light bulbs in the lobby and the hall, 'a masterpiece of electrical engineering'.  

Erik Groeneweg (►more photos)

Nowadays it features two concert halls. There is a large hall with a balcony (max. 700 people, standing) and a small hall (max. 150 people for concerts/200 for dance nights, standing). This small venue is also very interesting for local bands. After all, they get the chance to introduce themselves to an audience for a fairly low rental price. One of the bands that has taken advantage of this is Paravane. Perhaps unknown to many. But maybe the name Nice Beaver rings a bell. Over a period of 25 years, they released three highly acclaimed albums: On Dry Land (2001), Oregon (2004), and The Time It Takes (2015, see review). With a changing zeitgeist and a line up adjustment, the band name was changed to Paravane. The new name and a new bassist brought new dynamics, resulting in the recently released excellent album Forever Is A Long Time Ago (2026, see review). Naturally, Background Magazine was very interested to hear how the band sounds live now. Therefore, it was decided to visit this reasonably nearby concert hall to see and hear if anything had changed musically since we last saw the band under its former name almost ten years ago during the NPF 2017 edition (see review).

The four musicians who took to the very small stage on this rainy Friday evening were the two original members Hans Gerritse (guitars, vocals) and Erik Groeneweg (vocals, keyboards), joined by the drummer Ferry Zonneveld who had returned to the fold and the new bassist Erwin Scheijgrond who had replaced the previous bassist, Peter Stel. The latter was also present himself, along with his wife, to support his former fellow musicians. This cost him two hours of travel time, as he had to come all the way from the north of the country.

Erwin Scheijgrond (►more photos)

That he likely did not regret it became apparent later. The band was in top form, even though this was only their first concert since the new album was released. It was clear that the majority of the new album was going to be played. Only That Girl was not done! Of course, this was not enough to fill two sets with music that largely originates during the weekly rehearsals. Consequently, there was clearly a lot of improvisation during these gatherings. Naturally, this was clearly audible in the compositions played. Compositions that also came from the three previously mentioned Nice Beaver albums. Albums featuring a lot of soloing, but also catchy choruses. All of this makes for very catchy music in which influences from progressive rock, hard rock, metal, fusion, and blues are clearly audible. The guitar parts and the soulful vocals, in particular, create the common ground with the aforementioned blues influences. But at the same time, those same guitar parts ensure that influences from hard rock or metal are occasionally audible as well. Don't get me wrong; we are not dealing with a metal band here, but with a progressive rock band that integrates influences from this musical genre into very tasteful compositions. Compositions that remain captivating from beginning to end. Compositions that are also performed very well on stage, sometimes with a rawer rendition. Something I always greatly appreciate. For me personally, the music from an album doesn't have to be played perfectly. It just needs to have a nice swing, and this is clearly the case with what these four musicians achieve on stage.

Paravane on stage (►more photos)

The mix of songs from the current band name and the earlier work of the previous funny band name worked perfectly. That is why it is difficult to single out highlights. Especially since every composition presents something different and offers a different musical interpretation. Nevertheless, I must confess that the songs in which the Dutch Andy Latimer (Camel) excels are my particular favourites. In doing so, I do not want to shortchange anyone regarding the other excellent musicians on stage. But Gerritse's guitar playing, which sometimes reminds you of Latimer, allows you to enjoy it with your eyes closed at times. This, of course, makes it even harder to hear who is actually playing the guitar: Latimer or Gerritse! And of course, the other songs played are neither less nor better. But when Gerritse plays his strings in a melodic way, just that little something extra happens. Like from the new album Forever Is A Long Time Ago, Miserable With You, And I Love You and the encore Space Cadet! As for the old stuff my favourites might be Culley On Bleecker Street, River So Wide and Waiting For The Bell To Toll! But as mentioned earlier, it was simply a joy to listen to every song that was played with great verve.

Of course, it is a shame that a great Dutch band like Paravane gets to play on stage so infrequently. And in a small venue at that, which still attracted a fair number of people. They mainly saw a driven band on stage that performed their studio-recorded compositions excellently. As with many concerts, only those present know what those who weren't there missed. This was naturally the case again this time. And I have no doubt that those who were present with me and our BM team thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Hopefully, we will admire this excellent Dutch band more often. Because this only leaves us wanting more. Thank you, gentlemen, for making it a perfect evening and ensuring I didn't miss the Dutch national football team match on the same evening at all. This was simply much better than watching players run after a ball for about ninety minutes! This was more than two hours of pure enjoyment with real live music by an amazing live band!

Henri Strik (edited by Dave Smith)