P60, Amstelveen, The Netherlands5th October 2007
Focus
When you speak to people about the band Focus, the 3 words you hear are Thijs van Leer, Jan Akkerman and/or ‘Hocus Pocus’. Well the second one is not part of Focus anymore, but Thijs van Leer is still at full speed with Focus and still know how to ‘Hocus Pocus’ his audience.
With their unique progressive rock Focus manifested themselves at the start of the seventies as the most successful and the most appreciated of all the Dutch pop-rock exports.
The band were fronted by the much admired duo of Thijs van Leer on the Hammond organ/flute and Jan Akkerman on the guitar. Their hit potential came in the form of a couple of instrumentals, "Hocus Pocus", "House of the King", and "Sylvia", but we shouldn't forget their timeless albums "Moving Waves", "Focus 3" and "Hamburger Concerto". But like all good things, it couldn't last and internal wrangling ended this legendary group.After an initial careful comeback which resulted in a well received album "Focus 8", the band are now back on the frontline, with a fantastic line-up! Of course the founder member and musical genius Thijs van Leer is still holding the fort. Also back in his old spot is Pierre van der Linden, the drummer who is internationally renowned for his rhythmic skills, and who was and still is a defining factor in the whole Focus sound.
Together with Bobby Jacobs who stems from a well acclaimed Dutch jazz family, they are responsible for the rhythm section and that unmistakable Focus groove. The talented Niels van der Steenhoven, who without any shadow of a doubt can hit the mark when it comes to the guitar completes the band's line-up. A new Focus era has arrived. There is a rejuvenated passion in the new compositions, that adorn the new album "Focus 9 / New Skin", which has been released on the famous Red Bullet label of Willem van Kooten. This album -and the following gigs- will surprise the loyal fans. They will hear once again all the classic Focus tunes and they will be surprised at the strength and depth of the new material. (source: www.focustheband.com)
Music
Jut right on time Focus entered the stage for a nicely filled venue. Focus is a band that has been on the ‘Progressive rock’ map for many years now. During those years a couple of changes were made: Jan Akkerman was replaced by the young talent Niels van der Steenhoven and their latest album "Focus 9 / New Skin" had been released. Tonight in the P60 new material has been played, but also a lot of old hits, which were still known and sung along by the fans. The new song from "Focus 9 / New Skin" still have that typical Focus sound; bluesy parts followed up by catchy progressive parts, which glide into that moody blues sound again. Music to dream away by. Tonight Focus played 2 sets and an encore. During the first set Sylvia’s Stepson, Focus 7, Aya-Yuppie-Hippie-Yee, House of the King, Sylvia, Tamara’s Move and of course the masterpiece Eruption. After the first set a 15 minute break was held. After that the band came back for another set which was closed by the good old hit, known by everyone ‘Hocus Pocus’. That the audience wasn’t ready to let go of Focus was very clear. A very enthusiastic, screaming audience got the band back onstage for another encore: Brother and a fragment of Sylvia. During the whole show the instruments were tuned at each other and the sound was very steady.
Performance
During all those years Focus has been onstage a couple of members have developed a couple of tricks. For example during ‘House of the King’ Thijs always puts up his flute when coming to the end of the song. This is often recognized by the true fans. That Focus is a very relaxed band can be recognized by two things: there always room for something new and the songs are introduced and explained by Thijs; La Cathédrale de Strasbourg is a song composed by Thijs for he was so impressed by the sound of the Cathédrale, he just had to write a song about that. Eruption is a composition of mixed emotion packed into one song was explained by Thijs.
That there is always room for new and fun stuff was shown when suddenly Mirjam van der Loo, a still unknown singer, came on stage. Just before the show we had already met up with her and during the show it was decided that she could perform one of her own songs, called Moon. I was really very impressed by her! A voice so strong, with a tendency to Anouk’s sound, and brought with so much emotion. The interaction between the band and the audience was to be seen during the whole show. The band is still have proud to have gathered their own group of fans during all those years. Also the interaction on stage is very nice to see ; all members seem to have a lot of fun with each other and they all adjudge each their own space with their enthusiasm for their solos. During the whole show a beautiful and alternate lightshow was shown. It was beautiful to see, but surely great to take pics of!
Rating
Music: 10
Performance: 10
Sound: 10
Light: 10
Total: 10
More pictures can be found on www.llukygallery.nl
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