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Boerderij, Zoetermeer, the Netherlands
16th December 2006
Mostly Autumn

Finally, it was time for Mostly Autumn’s annual pre-Christmas concert at Boerderij in Zoetermeer! I sadly had to miss last year’s gig, which was especially regrettable given its special nature. Fortunately, I was able attend this time around, with special thanks to the band.

The music of Mostly Autumn can be described as powerful atmospheric rock with a Celtic flavour, influenced by Pink Floyd, Deep Purple and Genesis. They incorporate flute, violins and vocal harmonies into a band comprising keyboards, two guitars, bass and drums. Mostly Autumn was formed five years ago in York, England, by guitarist/vocalist Bryan Josh. The intense power, sincerity and emotion of their performances meant that they soon began leaving a lasting impression at every venue they played. The vocal talents of Heather Findlay were an important factor in this respect. Their albums ‘For All We Shared’, ‘The Spirit of Autumn Past’, ‘The Last Bright Light’ and ‘Music Inspired By The Lord Of The Rings’ received extremely positive reviews.


Music
I was told that a DVD would be recorded during this show, but didn’t notice any cameras. Still, playing a perfect gig is easy for a band like Mostly Autumn, as every member is truly multi-talented. The rhythmic ‘Fading Colours’ was a perfect opener, which saw the audience immediately pick up on the mood and ambience that the band was trying to set. Tonight’s gig featured three sets. The first comprised a variety of Mostly Autumn songs from a number of albums, ranging from beautiful ballads to up-tempo tracks. After a ten-minute break, vocalist Heather Findlay reappeared on stage and began the second set with the serene Christmas song ‘Silent Night’. This was so beautifully executed that Heather’s voice alone was enough to captivate the audience. Following this a cappella performance, the rest of the band returned to the stage for a number of Christmas songs and Mostly Autumn material. The third and final set continued the Christmas theme in style with a solo performance of ‘The Spirit of Christmas Past’ by guitarist Liam Davison, complete with ‘snow’. Following Liam’s solo, it was Bryan Josh’s turn to sing a Christmas song and joke around on stage. He had already proven to be an excellent vocalist during the first two sets. After bringing the evening to a close with ‘White Christmas’, Mostly Autumn wished the audience a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. A fitting end to a wonderful early Christmas gift!


Performance
For this show Mostly Autumn were joined by two additional guest musicians: Olivia Sparnenn (backing vocals) and Troy Donockley (Uilleann pipes and flute) from the progressive Celtic rock band Iona. Almost every band member treated the audience to a solo performance, and at one stage Olivia (backing vocals) and Bryan Josh tried to get the audience to sing along in tune, much to our amusement. As you all know, Dutch audiences are not the most talented (but certainly the most enthusiastic!) singers. However, according to Bryan we had a very high range. Thanks for the compliment! Towards the end of the gig it started snowing, which made Heather cough during one song. She later explained that you can choke on fake snow! During his improvisation, Bryan showed the audience that he could drink while holding a note. Heather fed him some more beer to stop him, but couldn’t prevent him from singing out of tune. The whole band was clearly thoroughly enjoying the performance. Towards the end of the final set the band members were introduced individually, and when the last song had finished they all walked to the front of the stage and bowed to the applauding audience. The evening was made all the more enjoyable by an excellent sound and good lightshow – a little dark here and there and difficult to photograph because of the red light that was used, but very well suited to the show.

Setlist
01. Fading Colours
02. Dark Before Dawn
03. Caught in a Fold
04. Last Climb
05. Evergreen
06. Silver Glass
07. The Spirit of Autumn Past II
08. Walk with a Storm
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09. Silent Night
10. Carpe Diem
11. Close My Eyes
12. Broken Glass
13. Never the Rainbow
14. Ghosts
15. "Let's get mental, oi oi"; Out of the Inn, Shinding, Whichwood
16. Shrinking Violet
17. Dreaming
18. Heroes Never Die
19. Finlandia
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20. The Spirit of Christmas Past
21. Merry Christmas/Slade
22. Fairytale of NY/The Pogues + improvisations by Bryan Josh and the crowd; White Christmas.

Rating
Music 9
Performance 10
Sound 9
Light 7
Total 9 (8.75)





More pictures can be found on www.llukygallery.nl
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