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IGNOREMelkweg, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
20th December 2006
Corvus Corax

 

On a cold day in the Netherlands it was time to heat things up and dance around the Milky Way (which is the translated name of the venue). What band would be better to supply the music for such an evening of dance and fun then Corvus Corax. A band filled with musicians who have only one purpose: have fun!



Music
Tonight I saw two new instruments used on stage, little bells held in the hand making a light clinging sound. It is funny to see these big guys with such little instruments but it sounds great. There was another new instrument, namely a rattling chain of bones. Maybe not the loudest instrument they own but it had a nice visual effect as well. While rattling these bones Castus made some ghostly sounds to add to the spookiness of the music. The sound was good during the performance. Some instruments were not amplified. Such as a huge pipe which Ardor blows, providing a low humming sound. Also the Roman trumpets do not need amplifying because they are loud enough themselves. It is always great to see the variety of instruments they play. 5 bag pipes at the same time can be such an overwhelming sound, it brings you back to ancient times. Their beats get you in a trance, dancing till you drop. When playing their second encore there was suddenly a serious tune to the music. Ardor then kneeled and hit himself with a whip, whipping fake blood on to his back. While they were playing the audience was quiet and held their breath. So even if Corvus Corax is a fun band they can hit a serious note as well. They brought the show to a quiet end.

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Performance
Tonight was the first evening the band played in the Netherlands with their new band member, Jordon. When they were one member short they remembered that once a guy had interviewed them about the Cantus Buranus and he had very interesting questions and he could also play the bag pipe and trumpet (which comes in handy for al the flutes they use). So they called him and since this summer Jordon is the new addition to Corvus Corax. Quite a successful addition I might say. He has the same passion to play as the rest of the band and is just as enthusiastic and crazy on stage as the rest of the guys. Although he does have to practice a little with dancing around with a bagpipe, he can head bang with it but when turning around things can get a little bit dangerous (one of his pipes swung very closely past Teufels head).
Every time I see Corvus Corax it is clear to me again, these guys are the troubadours of today, with another lover in each town, flirting with all the girls in front of the stage and telling everybody to get drunk and naked and they will play the tunes to match it. While playing ‘In Taberba’ they showed us how to do this by
 
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pretending to drink from their flutes and get drunk. There was dancing all around me from the beginning to the end of their performance, when asked to clap or shout along, the audience was happy to oblige. The band kept on playing and playing and playing, they were shouted back for encores and they came and played again.  At the end of the concert the venue was less crowded then at the beginning because people had to get their last trains and busses home but no one left unsatisfied, I am sure.  This night in the universe of Corvus Corax was (again) a definite success. Since they are the ‘Köninge der spielleute” they are kings and thus they gave us the next day off so we could party all night long because they liked the Amsterdam audience so much.

Rating
Music 9
Performance 9
Light 7
Sound 8
Total 9 (8,6)

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Photography and copyright: Monica Duffels 

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