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de Kade, Zaandam, The NetherlandsFebruary 11th 2006
Angels & Agony, XP8, Minerve, Misery
When people from the Zaandam area decide it's time to have some more gothic at de Kade their bodly start organizing a series of evenings with live acts and a couple of DJs to get a real party going. Tonight they gathered quite a few nice bands but unfortunately less than 20km away the legendary Bauhaus were doing their only gig in the Netherlands. The venue didn't quite fill well at the beginning but as the night progressed it got more crowded.
Misery
The band has been building up a reputation in the past few months and is becoming a more familiar name in the Dutch scene. The fact that their new album Nexus has been co-produced by Angels & Agony makes the support for tonight's show no surprise.
Music
Misery has grown since the show at Terra Gotha, they seem to be much more confident. The music they make seems to interest the audience but it doesn't seem to get them all dancing. It can't have been anything else than the fact they had to start their gig early in the party. When entering the main hall of the venue freshly arrived visitors are treated with smooth and flowing tunes of this bands electrowave music. Alain's keys were well in the mix and so was the sweet voice of the beuatiful singer Lies. Even after moving back to the front of house it was still hard to distingish the guitars which Edwin was playing. A gentle start of the evening, a promising band which deserves more shows to grow further.
Misery has grown since the show at Terra Gotha, they seem to be much more confident. The music they make seems to interest the audience but it doesn't seem to get them all dancing. It can't have been anything else than the fact they had to start their gig early in the party. When entering the main hall of the venue freshly arrived visitors are treated with smooth and flowing tunes of this bands electrowave music. Alain's keys were well in the mix and so was the sweet voice of the beuatiful singer Lies. Even after moving back to the front of house it was still hard to distingish the guitars which Edwin was playing. A gentle start of the evening, a promising band which deserves more shows to grow further.
Performance
When you are the only band that night with female vocals it's not really hard to stand out from the rest. But even without that, the tender moves of Lies and her eye-catching outfit would most certainly have drawn enough attention to this band's performance. The lights being a bit dull means all comes down to the band and especially Lies seems to take this seriously. If the rest of the band would have been a bit further to the sides they might have easily been forgotten. Next time they need some more daring lights; show off that lovely front lady! The rest of the band could try and get in touch with the audience a bit more if only the people wouldn't have been this far away from the stage. Oh and one word of advise, that mic stand, use it or loose it; it was blocking the view on this nicely moving singer.
Setlist
01. No Place To Hide
02. Being Watched
03. Coma
04. Wanted
05. Freedom
06. Panorama
Rating
Music: 7
Performance: 7
Sound: 6
Light: 5
Total: 7
Minerve
Synthpop form the former singer of Paradise of Fear singer Daniel Wollatz. They have released a single 'My Universe' and are just finishing a short tour at tonight's The Grave.
Music
The band kicks off like there's no tomorrow and all they can do is prove themselves today. Some powerful songs are exchanged with more synthpop-like tracks. With lots of sound coming from the two keyboards manned by the band's mastermind Mathias Thürk and their live band member Marko Klappstein the band makes some decent music. The vocals of Daniel however sound very well and most certainly his clean vocals are something different from all the effect filled vocals normal in the scene. No wonder because this singer just has a great voice to listen to so why alter it? Louder parts, softer parts in both cases the sound in the venue was okay.
Performance
If you thought Misery had a hard time on stage; Minerve seemed to have even more problems to get the audience to join in. Unfamiliar with the music people just stayed far away from the stage and only minimal movement, hardly worthy to be called dancing could be seen. No matter how hard Daniel tried to persuade the audience with Grande gestures like he was pointing out capitals on the huge map, the response was limited. And no matter how demotivating this might be for a band they just kept trying hard without looking silly. Contrary to bands who keep calling for clapping hands when nobody joins in this band just did their show and nobody could stop them. Just like with Misery the lights were dull and not nearly as dynamic as the band.
If you thought Misery had a hard time on stage; Minerve seemed to have even more problems to get the audience to join in. Unfamiliar with the music people just stayed far away from the stage and only minimal movement, hardly worthy to be called dancing could be seen. No matter how hard Daniel tried to persuade the audience with Grande gestures like he was pointing out capitals on the huge map, the response was limited. And no matter how demotivating this might be for a band they just kept trying hard without looking silly. Contrary to bands who keep calling for clapping hands when nobody joins in this band just did their show and nobody could stop them. Just like with Misery the lights were dull and not nearly as dynamic as the band.
Rating
Music: 7
Performance: 7
Sound: 7
Light: 6
Total: 7
Music: 7
Performance: 7
Sound: 7
Light: 6
Total: 7
XP8
Italy has a great history, the eternal city of Rome however hosts more than just some beautiful architecture. Way more modern than the likes of Enio Moricone, Eros Ramazotti or Luciano Pavarotti and more electronic than Lacuna Coil Italy's XP8 plays in Zaandam instead of giving the Olympics a real opening.
Music
As the guys of XP8 enter the stage the mood in the venue changes, the audience in high anticipation awaits the show of Paul Toohill, Marko Resurreccion, and Marco Visconti. With their very powerful and vibrant music they really get the people dancing. Their music is a mix between EBM and trance and involves the entire band on vocals throughout the show however it's Paul who does most of the singing with Marko having his few minutes of singer fame on lead vocals. No matter who is singing, it just sounds good, apart from the few hick-ups with the microphone. In front of the stage the beats out-power the vocals but a bit further back the mix is good. The beats and melody lines coming from the keyboard and laptop fill the venue dragging the dancers deeper into the music, right where they belong.
As the guys of XP8 enter the stage the mood in the venue changes, the audience in high anticipation awaits the show of Paul Toohill, Marko Resurreccion, and Marco Visconti. With their very powerful and vibrant music they really get the people dancing. Their music is a mix between EBM and trance and involves the entire band on vocals throughout the show however it's Paul who does most of the singing with Marko having his few minutes of singer fame on lead vocals. No matter who is singing, it just sounds good, apart from the few hick-ups with the microphone. In front of the stage the beats out-power the vocals but a bit further back the mix is good. The beats and melody lines coming from the keyboard and laptop fill the venue dragging the dancers deeper into the music, right where they belong.
Performance
Straight from the start the friendly guys from Italy take over control of the party. With their white contact lenses both Paul and Marko look futuristic, mechanic, while on the other side of the stage the mowhawked Marco is almost tearing his keyboard off it's stand from time to time. The whole band is involved into making the show. At times Marko just is fully focussed on his laptop only to start jumping right after he's done again. The interaction within the bands as well as with the audience is nice, these guys enjoy themselves and it sure reaches out to the dancing crowd. The light were finally picking up pace during this concerts, many changes in colour and as vivid as the music itself. No matter if the people want another song, the band has to stop, but an encore for this band would have been deserved.
Setlist
01. Muv Your Dolly
02. Dreamt of Blue
03. Cuttin' 'n Drinking'
04. Das Licht
05. Flatline
06. Bleed and Shout
07. Lies
08. Let Your Body Learn
09. Seed
10. The God Particle
Rating
Music: 8
Performance: 8
Sound: 7
Light: 7
Total: 8
Music: 8
Performance: 8
Sound: 7
Light: 7
Total: 8
Angels & Agony
After the other bands have made way for tonight’s headliner the audience has grown a bit bigger. It seems like there are some people who went to see Bauhaus before have entered the party after all. Just in time to see this 11 year old band of Reinier Kahle and Erik Wieringa entertain the dancing audience with their music.
Music
The band starts their show with three musicians on stage. Beside the versatile Erik, who is now on keyboards, the live band is completed by Fried Bruggink on drumpads and Marco van Belle on keys and backing vocals. Once the catchy music kicks in it's a flow of a combination of electro with a darker side to it and a rougher side of the band where the guitar kicks in . Deep vocals combined with the use of the vocoder express the band's thoughts on a variety of spiritual and philosophical topics. Never a dull moment though, the music of Angels & Agony is most certainly very danceable and that's exactly what the people are here for. A well balanced sound produced by The Dreamside's bass player Roman Schönsee at least provides the finishing touch when it comes to the music.
Performance
Covered in increasingly thicker clouds of smoke we see Marco and Erik on both sides of the stage while Fried is in the back on a raiser behind his drumpads. Reinier is casually walking back and forth on stage interacting with the audience as well as his fellow band mates. Most of the time Erik is in the dark behind his keyboard or while playing guitar. On the other hand some bright lights do focus the attention of Friend while he's ferociously beating the electronic drumpads. Marco is really enthusiastic tonight trying to cheer the audience to the next state of mind. The very colourful and lively lights certainly add to the show's intensity however there was way too much smoke which made the backlight too bright at times compared to the foggy bits of white light at the front. When the band returns for a 2 song encore at least they can look back at a good show and mix with the crowd for a party that lasted just a bit longer.
Rating
Music: 8
Performance: 7
Sound: 7
Light: 6
Total: 8
Music: 8
Performance: 7
Sound: 7
Light: 6
Total: 8
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