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_faun2004triganda_sa005.jpgEvenementenhal, Rijswijk, Netherlands
October 23rd and 24th 2004
Faun, Omnia, Silversign

The big fairground halls of the ‘Evenementenhal" in Rijswijk, the Netherlands are for two days the territory of all those who are interested in Fantasy and Gothic. Lots of stalls packed with clothes, armour, weapons, bijou, books, incense, games etc etc are nicely lined up in the big hall. At the centre, right opposite of the entrance is our target for the day: the stage. On this stage the following two days three bands will give several shows either alone or together, the stage will also be used for a fashion show featuring amongst others Annatar's guitarist Micha.





Concert report

The bands for this year's edition are the German folk band Faun, the Dutch folk band Omnia and the Dutch cyber gothic band Silversign.

A small stage, however large enough for the bands to play, is situated against the hall's back wall. No special effort is made to make it look like a real stage, it more or less resembles a fashion show catwalk, and that's exactly what it's used for in between the bands. Although the bands have performed more then once during these two days I will write one report per band.


Omnia

Omnia is quite a well known name within the folk scene in the Netherlands and even in Germany. The band was helped out by a member of a Belgian band because the third member had to cancel the show due to his wife having given birth. The band further consists of the husband and wife Jenny and Sic who have been playing this music together for quite some time now. The band displays a tremendous amount of instruments; most striking is the harp which is gently played by Jenny. Sic changes from drums to flute to an improvised didgeridoo and back, while stand-in musician Joe sticks mainly to his acoustic guitar.  

Music
The music played is a quite slow form of folk music, the band calls it neo celtic and who am I to argue with that? The instruments are played rather well and it's clear they have mastered these sometimes extraordinary instruments. The vocals are not exceptional but most definitely clear and in tune. All in all technically a nice performance, however that's where it ends for me. The music is too slow and lingering to really capture my attention for the duration of the set. I'm sure they will be considered to be a great band by many others however. The sound of the show  was very nicely balanced by the sound engineers of the sound equipment company, not too often those guys manage to get such a well balanced sound. So, most certainly well done sound crew!

Performance
They keyword here seems to be: talking, and not just a bit, no there was too much talking by Sic to the audience or his fellow band members. The English born artist tries his best to do all conversations in Dutch and manages to do so quite well. Somewhere along the way he however forgot that his audience not only consists of teenagers but also adult. His tone is childish and patronising at times, definitely splitting the audience up in those who like them and those who don't. They are however constantly busy trying to interact with the audience even organising and joining a circle dance with the audience. I'd say a bit too much of the childish stuff, if they would cut back on that it would sure be a more appropriate show for adults as well. All in all the show was kind of disappointing to me. The lightshow was not really existent though the light engineer has done his best to at least create a nice atmosphere with plenty of light on the band. Due to the fact the light was not part of the band's show it's not been taken into account for the total rating.

Rating
Music    7
Performance    6
Sound    8
Light    7
Total 7 (6.8)

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Silversign

Silversign is a co-operation between guitarist/composer Johan van Reede (Black tongue tribe, Superspade), singer Antoinette Legel (Malochia/Danse Macabre) and keyboard player Paul van den Heykant (Fallen Serenity). Normally a combined show with a fashion show but this time they had the stage all to themselves. The music can be described as cyber gothic with all the typical elements like actors on stage performing some form of show in PVC outfits and a singer in a striking dress.

Music
The music was not really rich in instrumental variety but it most of all lacked the bass that many of the cyber gothic bands use. The vocals were clear and the musicians handled their instruments with skill. This however was all within the limitations of the rather shallow music. The lack of depth and ingenious however didn't lead to a boring show. I think this is at least a band that should try and evolve a bit more and do a small tour, there is potential, now it needs to be developed further. The sound during the show was a bit too focussed on the high tones and lacking bass which could have been compensated by the PA crew, too bad.

Performance
These kinds of bands really show their entertaining potential when it comes to the show. The show was suitable for all of the audience though to some of the parents it might have all looked more strange then to most of the youngsters in front of the stage. Three actors were used to perform all sorts of small acts closely linked to the domination and submission theme. Men crawling on stage wearing not much more then the collar with which they were leeched to their mistress. The glorification of the dominant female seemed to be the main theme of the show, and to be honest, she did make quite an impression with her appearance. The same however could not be said about the two musicians who were not really into the picture but this made sure all the attention went to the singer and the actors. The light was used well, enough light on stage with the occasional use of stage smoke led to a good performance.

Rating
Music    7
Performance    8
Sound    6
Light    7
Total 7 (7.1)

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Faun

Faun is one of the newer German folk bands who in their own right try to give it just a touch of their own. Their older music was mainly focussed on medieval folk songs but on their latest album the Munich based 5 have added an extra dimension. Niel Mitra joined the band with his laptop thus adding some extra beats and sounds to the already rich music. The band's founding members all play different instruments. Both the ladies master their instruments as well as having wonderful voices which work in great harmony. The instruments range from bagpipes to strange ancient string instruments and from all sorts of percussion to the Hurley gully. Although the slow songs are nice, they really got me enthusiastic with songs like Punagra and Unda.

Music
These medieval instruments hardly seem to be precision instruments, playing them seemingly effortlessly as Faun does, sure shows the level of skill the band has reached. The instruments sound nice, not too loud and in close harmony and are never disturbed by the beats coming from the very recent laptop. Even though they are playing and swinging on stage the female vocalists manage to sing very well, clear voices that drag you into the songs even though you don't understand any of the medieval dialects they sing. As before the PA crew did their job really well which made sure the sound was light and open with plenty of room for the computer bass to fill in the songs.

Performance
Maybe it's the music, maybe it's the performance but this music just makes you feel very happy. The women are dancing on stage, swirling around while playing their instruments. The men are playing their part intensely; this band shows they are highly motivated to give the audience a good time. While this is no metal their 'laptop master' seems to feel head banging to folk music is no problem. His enthusiasm and that of the rest of the band is really contagious. The audience and band have regular eye contact and as the gig goes on I think most people had problems standing still. All in all a very energetic performance by a band with honestly kind looking members. The light was bright as it should be when you are building a party like this on stage but it did still manage to get some atmosphere in the stage area.

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

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Festival Report
 
Triganda is an annual 2 day fair for the Fantasy and Gothic enthusiasts in a big fair hall in Rijswijk, the Netherlands. Main goal is the fair but there are also displays of medieval fights a fashion show and music performance.

Food and drinks
Two bars served drinks and some sandwiches at reasonable prices, for those who had a need for something else the fair hall also houses a Chine restaurant. For those brave enough there was a travelling bar where they served Absinth, but somehow the green colour of the people selling it made me doubt whether this was a good idea (considering absinth is green as well)

Stage
The stage was not really high but sufficient for the purpose it was built for. The high was about 0.60m but because the area around it was big enough and the audience not too big everybody could get a good view.

Audience area
The hall has a flat surface, there was plenty of room for the audience to stand and watch the show. Apart from the stage area the whole area was lit by tube lights. Accessibility for everybody was good as expected in a fair hall and the temperature was nice enough to take of a coat while walking around or watching the shows.

Staff
The staff was very friendly and helpful as were the organisers who all allowed us to do our job.

Rating
Facilities    7
Accommodation    6
Staff    8
Total 7 (6.7)


More pictures at ConcertvisionS

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