Castle Fest - Lisse 2006

The second year of Castle Fest and again with Rosa Crux. This band from France gives the audience a unique experience. This year they had brought a large entourage. Not only in people (15) but also in machinery.         

Music    
How can you describe the music of Rosa Crux? Maybe it is just something you have to experience. They use an electric guitar, a drum computer (with actual drums on stage), a carillon, piano, chord, double bass and a choir. Their lyrics that are sung are not always words, they can just as well be sounds. Olivier (vocals/guitar) sings the main vocals and both the choir and Claude (carillon, piano, chord) support him. Many lyrics are in Latin, some appear on the video screen while they are sung. There is a lot of passion in the voice of Olivier which is also in their music. This is music you can’t rationalise; you just have to feel it.

Performance
When standing in the audience you realised this was not going to be just any show. All around small stages were placed and two large installations. During the first song there immediately was action all around. On three small stages there were people waving huge flags with the Rosa Crux logo on it, some green, some red. This was an impressive start of the show. On stage there are constantly video’s and photo’s projected on a screen at the back of the stage. At the end of the show more and more things started to happen in and around the audience. First there was a large ball with a man in it which was swung between two trees and crashed into a large metal plate every time, this represented the element of air. Then there was the ‘Danse de la Terre’ during ‘Eli-Elo’. 5 dancers had taken place on 3 different platforms and 2 dancers were carried around in between the audience, it was a shame there was not enough light to light all the different dancers at the same time. This act represented the earth. After this there were two more elements to cover. First there was water which was represented by a man who pumped water into a large ‘bucket’ which then came down and he had to start over again. The final element, fire, was represented by two men who were attached to each other through a stick and then sprayed smoke at each other, a fight with no escape. All in all many were surprised and in aw after seeing this show. A wonderful way to end the first day of Castle Fest 2006.

Set/performance list
01. Invocation
02. Abbrasax
03. In Tenebris
04. Terribilis
05. Arcvm
06. Hel Hel
07. Tonitrvi
08. Aglon
09. Venite
10. Svrsv, C.
11. Omnes
12. Qvi Non
13. Sacrvm
14. Cage
15. Eli-Elo
16. Incendere
17. Pedalier
18. R115

Rating
Music 8
Performance 9
Sound 8
Light 6
Total 8 (8,1)

This German band is a common guest at this kind of festivals in the Netherlands these days. They have built quite a fan base here and their performance is a sure success. They performed on the second and third day of Castle Fest. At times they also performed together with Omnia, at the end of the festival it was hard to tell which band was on stage for they were constantly mixed.

Music
Faun brought us a mixture of all their albums, but mostly from their latest ’Renaissance’.  There are always many instruments used, such as the hurdy gurdy and many flutes. Some of the songs they have written themselves, others are old folk songs. They adapt every song until it is a Faun songs. Some songs are full of deep emotion, others are light and happy and danceable.

Performance
As always Faun starts their performance with the lovely voice of Lisa, who is then joined by Fiona and then the rest of the band, all on a smoke covered stage. ‘Iyansa’ is and invocation to the goddess of wind. It is great to see Oliver during this song, he is fully in to the beat, taking wide steps and almost banging his head while Rüdiger is banging his large drum. During their performances it was clear that they were having fun. They were dancing around each other and all had smiles on their faces.

Rating
Music 8
Performance 7
Sound 7
Light 7
Total 7 (7,3)

One of the Dutch bands of these days. Omnia has even helped with the organisation of this festival. Omnia also has a large fan base in the Netherlands and it is fun to see them turn up at every performance. Besides the fact that it is good for them to have all these fans it adds to the show as well, for these fans know how to dance to their songs and can teach new visitors.

Music
Neo-Celtic music, that is how they call themselves, but they play music from the heart. You can hear this when they play. Several songs were played together with members from Faun. The wonderful voices of Lisa and Fiona were a great addition to their music because vocally they are less strong then Faun, even though they have some great lyrics (which can really get stuck in your head).

Performance
It seems as if the members of Omnia never have a bad day, they are the ever lasting optimist and especially Steve. He is can talk to the audience and cheer them up and take them along in to their show. There are several dances integrated into the show, such as a Jig (both the French and the Irish one) and a magic circle. There was a lot of enthusiasm from the audience. When they were asked to sing (or shout actually) along to ‘Morgan, crone of war’ they were all happy to oblige.

Rating
Music 8
Performance 7
Sound 7
Light 7
Total 7 (7,3)

When this band is playing, you know you are in for a party. These men play to have fun themselves and share this with their audience. It is as if you are all together in a bar somewhere in the highlands, enjoying a beer and a dance or two in between, which was true of course except for the bar in the highlands part.

Music
Rapalje has just the tunes to lift your mood. They tell the audience what they sing about, such as the barbarian conquering of women. Their songs are sung in both English and Dutch. Some songs are well known, even if you have never heard the band before, like ‘The Drunken Sailor’ which starts with a grunting intro after which the lovely tunes of the song set in. With their guitars, bag pipe, harmonica and even violin they know how to show everyone a good time. They are good musicians and singers as well; William even showed us how fast he could sing (very, very fast).

Performance
On the first day of their performance Rapalje started earlier so they could play longer. They asked the audience who knew them, who didn’t know them and who didn’t want to know them and to the last question there was of course a loud cheer. The tone was set for Rapalje, they were there to have fun and so was the audience. During their performance they get a bottle of Mede from the audience. There is a lot of dancing and clapping going on in the audience.  The band is always flirting and making contact with the audience. It is hard to resist their charm.  On the second day they had a special surprise for the audience, being a stage diving pineapple! (aka Johannanas). They ended the show with a loud and cheerful “That’s all folk”.

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

Thirsty Dog

Thirsty Dog is a young and enthusiastic band from Utrecht which has been around for two years now. They love to perform, love the stage, love the music and love their audience. As they say themselves they are as Dutch as can be but the Celtic feeling is flowing through their veins like a glass of whiskey on a cold winter night.

Music
Their performance must have been good for the bars for they were singing “To The Bar” and their music made you want to oblige immediately. It is music which sets a great mood, cheers you up and makes you want to party. At times their songs sound like they come from the 60’ies. They have good male vocals, which also sound great when singing together.

Performance
They play full of conviction and dance to their own melody. It was fun to see them enjoy themselves on stage, making jokes about slippery flutes and so. Every member was dressed in their own way. Marianne for instance was dressed in a beautiful green dress for as the men were dressed more casual. All in all this might be one of the bands on their way up in this scene.

Rating
Music 7
Performance 7
Sound 7
Light 7
Total 7

Morning

Morning was the strangest band in this line up, or perhaps the most normal and thus strange. In a line up of folk and pagan music, this metal band stood out. There was only a small audience when they performed and there was little reaction from them.

Music
The sound was very bad during the Morning performance, perhaps the equipment was just not ready for this heavy sound. Saskia is a versatile singer, she sings, tells and at times almost grunts her lyrics. Especially the spoken end of the performance was great. They played their cover of Queens ‘The Show Must Go On’ which is not a bad cover at all, they bring it as if they are really feeling it.

Performance
The band didn’t look that cheerful, perhaps they had expected more from the audience. The men did make bad ass faces at each other and that fits the music of course. Saskia never seems to be sad, she was cheerful as ever and did her very best to entertain the audience and get them to join in on the performance. Unfortunately they were not up for it. I don’t believe it to be the fault of the band that their performance was not welcomed that much by the audience, it was just a wrong band for this festival.

Rating
Music 6
Performance 7
Sound 4
Light 7
Total 6 (6,2)