P60, Amstelveen, The Netherlands
22nd March 2012
Anneke van Giersbergen, The Jacks
After being the singer of Dutch metal band THE GATHERING for over 13 years, Anneke van Giersbergen successfully started a solo career. In different formations (with her band AQUA DE ANNIQUE, solo or in collaborations with several other bands and artists such as Danny Cavenaugh from ANATHEMA, WITHIN TEMPTATION and Devin Townsend), Anneke managed to stay in the spotlights and show off her musical diversity. Over the years, she transformed her musical style from female fronted metal to singer songwriter and sometimes even folk-like songs. And the beauty of it is; without losing power and energy in her beautiful voice. Anneke’s new CD ‘Everything is Changing’ was released at the start of 2012. Since the release, Anneke and her band have been touring in the Netherlands and several European countries to promote the album.
The Jacks
THE JACKS’ founders Marcia Savelkoul and Estelle Stijkel grew up listening to Led Zeppelin and Guns N Roses, and from that moment on, they knew where they wanted to go. The early JACKS started out with a recognizable Rock’n’Roll sound and over the years became more mature as the band members finished their education at the conservatory and the Dutch Rock Academy. With the addition of bass player Joost van Haaren (ex-KREZIP) and Dani van Gaalen (drums), THE JACKS were ready to go. So far, the band released two EPs, the latest one entitled ‘Raw & Gorgeous’ which was released this year. Furthermore, they released the single ‘Now or Never’. THE JACKS are Marcia Savelkoul (Lead Vocals), Estelle Stijkel (Guitar & Backing Vocals), Joost van Haaren (Bass & Backing Vocals) and Dani van Gaalen (Drums & Backing Vocals). http://www.thejacks.nl/
Music & Performance
Almost female-only band THE JACKS provided the warming up for tonight’s show at P60 and they did a decent job. Drummer Dani and guitar player Estelle enthusiastically show off their rhythm skills, successfully inviting the audience to move a bit closer to the stage. Singer Marcia has a whisky & cigars flavoured voice that fits both the more punk rock songs (Go!) in their repertoire as well as the ballads (‘Stars are Forever’). Although the heavy Dutch accent in their English pronunciation does not go unnoticed, the jacks provide a steady set of quality pop rock with catchy tunes. Their set consists of both songs from their first and their latest EP and an occasional cover such as Donna Summers’ ‘Hot stuff’. If they would take it up a notch (or two), they would be suitable material for a sequel of the movie ‘The Runaways’. All in all a bit too mainstream for my personal taste, but I am confident that THE JACKS will reach a broad audience with their catchy and contagious sound. 
Setlist
01. SPW
02. So should you
03. Light up the night
04. Overrated
05. Gimme all your lovin’
06. Raw & Gorgeous
07. Kids
08. Stars are forever
09. Go!
10. Hot stuff
11. What you want me to say
Rating
Music: 7
Performance: 7
Sound: 7
Light: 7
Total: 7 / 10
Anneke van Giersbergen
ANNEKE VAN GIERSBERGEN had been the face of Dutch metal pioneers THE GATHERING for over 13 years before she took off with her solo career in 2007. With her band AQUA DE ANNIQUE she released several albums in a short period of time. The earlier rock sound she was renowned for made place for the style of singer song writer with a so called trip-rock sound. In the mean time, Anneke was also involved in several interesting co-operations with the likes of WITHIN TEMPTATION (‘Black Symphony’ 2008), DEVIN TOWNSEND (‘Addicted’ 2009) and long-time friends ANATHEMA (‘Falling Deeper’ 2011). In 2008, together with Dutch A-list bands RACOON and BLøF, she recorded a song in her native language: ‘Als je ooit nog eens terug kan’ (‘if you could ever go back’), which shot straight to #1 on the Dutch charts. Recently she captured the eyes and hearts of a huge audience through her version of U2's ‘All I want is You’ at the popular daily Dutch prime-time television show ‘De Wereld Draait Door’.
ANNEKE VAN GIERSBERGEN’s album ‘Everything Is Changing’ was released in January 2012 on PIAS Recordings. The first single ‘Feel Alive’ preceded the full-length disc in September 2011, and the accompanying video became an Internet sensation. ‘Everything Is Changing’ was recorded mainly at her home studio in the Netherlands and at Ultrasound Studios, Braga (PT) with production done by Daniel Cardoso. ANNEKE VAN GIERSBERGEN is Anneke van Giersbergen (vocals), Rob Snijders (drums), Ferry Duijsens (guitar), Gijs Coolen (guitar), Joost van Haaren (bass) and Annelies Kuijsters (keys). http://www.annekevangiersbergen.com/ / http://www.youtube.com/user/AguaDeAnniqueMusic?gl=NL&;hl=nl
Music & Performance
When Anneke enters the stage, it becomes clear that most of the audience consists of long-time fans. She’s given a warm welcome as the first tones of ‘Feel Alive’, the single from her latest album, sound through the speakers. Two more new songs follow (‘My Boy’ and ‘Take me Home’) before she takes a step back in time with ‘Beautiful one’ from her album ‘Air’ (as Agua de Annique). The new album clearly has more rock influences than her previous solo work and this fits her marvellous and strong voice very well (in my personal opinion I would even say better).
The new album is not just a step back to her previous work though, but also leaves more room for some serious grooves. Anneke invites the audience to dance with her while she flows from one song to the next (imo she is one of the few female singers who can actually keep a decent rhythm when dancing on stage, very much appreciated!). Tonight, the band apparently had to do without their keyboard player Annelies. Fortunately, the electronic part in their show is not really a big miss (or very well compensated). While Anneke keeps almost all eyes of the audience on her, it should be noted that she has some seriously qualified musicians behind her as well. Bass player Joost van Haaren took a double shift tonight (also from THE JACKS). Responsible for the wicked grooves is drummer Rob and guitars were properly taken care of by Gijs and Ferry. The setlist is well balanced with danceable grooves (‘Slow me down’), some hard rock (‘Hyperdrive’), catchy pop songs (‘Hope, Pray, Dance Play’) and some beautiful and modest ballads (‘Circles’ and ‘1000 miles away from you’). 
Only one song from THE GATHERING era was dusted off for this live show, ‘Saturnine’ …. ah… those good old times! Anneke sings, dances and takes up her guitar during a couple of the songs: never a dull moment. After the main set, Anneke and her band treat the audience to four more songs and therewith, a nice evening with great music comes to an end.
Setlist
01. Feel alive
02. My boy
03. Take me home
04. Beautiful one
05. Fury
06. You want to be free
07. Circles
08. Down so low
09. Saturnine
10. Stay
11. Slow me down
12. Too late
13. 1000 miles away from you
14. Everything is Changing
15. Hope pray, dance, play
16. Hyperdrive
17. Witnesses
Rating
Music: 9
Performance: 7
Sound: 8
Light: 8
Total: 8 / 10
All pics by Ruth Mampuys (www.ruth-less.nl)
