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CONCERT REVIEWS

 

A September Day in Holland – Arjen Anthony Lucassen’s Star One concert in Tilburg, Sunday September 29th.

 

It was early on Sunday, the 29th of September when I took the road to join Veldhoven, Holland, where Rosie our talented webmistress lives. 430 km and a lot of good music to keep me awake ! From there,  we headed with Alexis and Sandra, who was our chief driver,  towards Tilburg.

It’s a long road to see Star One and Damian, but the concert initially scheduled in Paris has been cancelled for a stupid reason. That’s a good excuse to see Holland again and Arjen playing his music in his own country - and to see Damian for the first time ! -  <in this excellent venue called the « 013 ».  

I’m familiar with the place, having already been here in February for a concert by IQ. The stage is deep and wide and the acoustics usually excellent from what i had heard, which was very true with IQ indeed.  

 

The place is packed with people this time and all what I’ve been told about Dutch security rules for music venues compared to French ones in the past is apparently forgotten ! We’re really packed like sardines in a can !

While waiting for the band to come on the stage, we can hear a few songs by the bands featuring some of the Star One members, like Symphony X ands After Forever. There is no support act.

The concert, the second of the little 8 dates tour, will start no earlier than 8h50, maybe because there are so many people arriving. Noise effects and lights going on the screen on the left side of the stage point out the beginning of the concert, and we hear the music of « Lift Off » starting… A roaring in the crowd welcome the musicians coming across the stage in obscurity with little blue lights on them.. the projections on the screen on the left and finally the lights exploding show us Arjen in a silver costume playing his guitar reminding me of the angulous shapes of the heavy metal guitars back in the early eighties. Without any singer on the stage yet, they play now the introduction to the fast and furious « Set Your Controls ». The lightshow is great and soon welcomes Russel Allen, Symphony X’s  singer, definitely in great shape, that will be confimed for the rest of the show ! What an energy and what a voice ! Then arrives Damian in astonishing silver grey trouser and shirt ( !)  who jumps  on the stage through the « Stargate » on the right side, just between the two female backing singers : After Forever’s Floor Janssen and her sister Irene (who is also a singer in a new band).  

The projections on the screen completing the light show are really nice. yes, we are definitely very lucky because  Arjen has had the delightful idea give the fans such a wonderful stage set, worthy of major bands, for only 8 shows !

The sound is loud, VERY LOUD and definitely VERY HEAVY as well ! Unfortunately, we have got there the disadvantages of most heavy metal concerts : that means too much bass, distorted trebles, not enough keyboards… But the sound will sensibly improve during the show.

Next song is « High Moon », still from « Space Metal ». Damian is also in  a very good shape and obviously very dynamic. We have Robert Soeterboek who took the place of Dan Swanö for the tour. He does his best even if Swanö’s very low voice is almost impossible to emulate…  

 

Then we had a nice surprise with the beautiful short ballad ‘Dreamtime’ from Ayreon’s « The Final Experiment », sung by special guest for the night Edward Reekers, an old companion to Arjen, familiar to those who have the Ayreon albums  !  This short but beautiful interlude was followed by the dramatic and majestic excerpt from « The Final Experiment » : « Eyes Of Time ». Initially sung by Lenny Wolf, the song reaches new heights with Damian who gives us an incredible performance on this difficult song !! Then it’s the very melodic and catchy « Songs From The Ocean ». This song has got an excellent chorus sang by everybody… Great one, and it could be a hit !

Russel Allen has got  his « solo spot » with the epic « Dawn Of A Million Souls » from « Flight Of A Migrator ». The giant Arjen then takes the stage by storm with the young keyboard prodigy Joost van den Broek : it’s the intro section of The Dream Sequencer with an extended spacy, Floyd-like guitar solo… Excellent surprise !

Then, it’s Damian highlight : the long epic « Into The Back Hole » from  « Flight Of The Migrator » again, initially sung by Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson. I don’t regret Bruce… Damian is even better that night than on the « Ayreonauts Only » version of the song… He is purely amazing… His voice never weakens… the way he pushes it to high notes with all his heart but without ever screaming is awesome… a lesson for most heavy metal singers.

We then have a song from « Actual Fantasy » that I don’t recognize as being the very short title track but rather « To another Horizon ». Anyway, then follows another sweet ballad, the marvelous « Valley Of The Queens » from « Into The Electric Caslte », with an unknown  young woman playing flute and Floor Janssen singing the lead part in a magnificent way. It’s definitely a wonderful ethereal ballad. And we have another excerpt from the same album, the long and very catchy « Isis and Osiris » with Allen singing the part initially sung by Fish !! And he does a great job on it, singing in a more mellow range… This man has really so different sides… that’s uncommon… Still excerpted from « ITEC », we’re treated to one of the best songs written by Arjen, the highly melodic and catchy « Amazing Flight In Space » followed by a short solo by Peter Vink (bass) and Ed Warby,  a great drummer using indeed quite a limited amount of drums… But he know how to use every one of them… Then it’s the fast and heavy « Intergalactic Space Crusaders » where Russel and Damian plays their role and almost fight against each other ! ! Funny to see Damian,  who is far from being a small and fragile guy,  in front of the massive singer from Symphony X ! ! Both of them are really wild  - and talented ! Another very melodic song from ITEC, « Castle Walls » with a wall of harmony vocals and more guitar and keyboard duelling, and then it’s already the end of the main part of the concert with the long and epic « The Eye Of Ra » maybe the best song from « Space Metal », featuring all the singers in the end…. creating a wonderful choir. Russel Allen appears sunddenly and jumps with his two feet joined together across the stage ! ! Impressive,  to say the least.. Damian is also like a human bomb and dares to make some  « stage diving » (but has hurt himself only !) and we will see him later climbing like Spider-Man onto the metallic frames of the stage !  

We won’t have to shout and clap our hands for too long to see the musicians reappearing for a powerful version of the other masterpiece of Arjen’s latest effort : the lengthy and over-dramatic « Starchild » followed by « The Two Gates ». The singers are really working perfectly together and this version of the song is another highlight of the concert !

We finally had a second encore with Arjen coming back alone in his silver suit, for an acoustic hilarious number :  « The Intergalactic Laxative » (« hidden track » on « Space Metal »  special edition) ! And the whole band comes on stage once more for a unique rendition of Deep Purple’s classic, « Space Truckin’ »… whose title is perfect for the tour !  Every singer sings his own bit on that one and the chorus is held by the whole crowd !! A wonderful moment in time !

After 2 hour and a quarter, that’s already finished… Time has passed so quickly, as we had a little bit of every side of Arjen Lucassen’s talent, from very heavy works to peaceful acoustic ballad, Wagnerian  progressive songs and catchy melodies that could be hit singles if the music industry was more fair nowadays…  

After the show, we waited a « few minutes », and eventually managed to see Arjen and Damian, who were literally besieged by fans.  

 

We won’t have to shout and clap our hands for too long to see the musicians reappearing for a powerful version of the other masterpiece of Arjen’s latest effort : the lengthy and over-dramatic « Starchild » followed by « The Two Gates ». The singers are really working perfectly together and this version of the song is another highlight of the concert !

Arjen is incredibly tall and thin !! God knows  I’ve almost never had to look UP at somebody to talk to him in my life, but with Arjen I had to indeed ! And his height is equalled by his kindness and talent, definitely. The way he looks happy that I made the journey from the suburbs of Paris to see the concert is heart-warming. I think I am not the only one coming from a foreign country it seems though… This opportunity was too exceptional to be missed and some other people made some longer journeys to see one of the shows, from what I have heard afterwards. We finally manage to get hold of Damian for a couple of minutes, at last I’ve met him ! !  It’s just a short but firm handshake and the time to have a traditional signature on one of my copy of Disciple and a photo… Thanks Rosie, but you’ve  cut my hair, how could you do that  !!

I’ve had the opportunity to meet and talk to our mysterious Landlady who is running the main Damian website and who’s been very nice to me over the last year, and came over from England for the whole tour, having to get herself used to the euro at the merchandising desk ! Not such an easy task !

It’s time to leave, with shiny and vivid memories from that night and the new Damian CD sampler as a consolation :  unfortunately indeed, the « Live in rehearsal » CD by the Damian Wilson Band was not ready when The Landlady left England…

I am more than happy to have come to Holland for the concert, but it’s frustrating not to be able to see the final show at least… Some others than me  will have to report about that night !

It is so nice to meet such talented and friendly musicians ! Some lucky women mentioned somewhere in this page have seen  not only the first show in Zoetermeer but also the ending show on the 5th of October in Rijssen ! Aah,  why couldn’t I be there as well ?!!
I think that we will have to insist after Arjen to have him released the whole show on CD, it is really a unique experience and there were wonderful versions of Ayreon songs. He says he wanted to thank his fans with those concerts and have some fun, but I think a double live CD would be a wonderful souvenir for those attending the concerts and a good idea of what the others who could not
make it to these concerts have missed !!

Anyway, it was a wonderful time and something that Arjen should repeat in the future. And seeing Damian singing live at last is another dream of mine...

Well-done… See you soon hopefully !


Marc.

 

Rick Wakeman and the ERE, Cornwall May 17th 2001

 

The Daphne du Maurier festival is an annual event held in Fowey in Cornwall. The setting for the concert events was a marquee set in beautiful grounds overlooking the harbour of the town.
Having seen Rick for the first time a couple of weeks ago in Bussem in the Netherlands, I was really looking forward to seeing him again and having the ERE with him this time was the icing on the cake.
I had booked tickets in the third row which at the time I thought was clever of me, but once in the marquee realised it had been a mistake. We were sat about a meter away from the speakers and right from the first note realised that we were going to get distorted sound all evening.
The show started on time and opened with parts of 'Journey'. The festival programme had advertised the show as 'An Evening with Rick Wakeman' and failed to mention he would have the band with him. Rick had to improvise a bit and tell some stories which he would normally do in his solo appearances. The stories went down very well as usual. Even though I heard them only two weeks before, they still made me laugh and seemed to delight the audience.
I would have liked to have been able to see more of the band. We were sitting quite low and had a great view of Ant and Damian but never saw Tony the whole evening.I can't remember the exact order of play but I know they played the two Catherines which Damian was not involved in. The real highlight for me was 'No Earthly Connection' which Damian sang as if it was a song he had written himself. He used all his acting experience in this one and this is a song I would love to get on CD or DVD.
I think the first half closed with 'Merlin' which is one of my favourites and Rick went out into the audience as he usually does.
The second half included 'The Visit', 'Catherine Parr' and an old Yes number, 'Starship Trooper'. Damian started to whip up the audience during this by encouraging people to clap and stand up. He then started running up and down the auditorium and generally building up the atmosphere. He did say afterwards that two old ladies tried to make their escape as he came nearer to them, but the rest of the audience loved it. This was the end of the show but they came back to do 'Eleanor Rigby'. I had heard this recently but it was much better with Damian doing vocals in my opinion. 
The concert lasted for three hours at least which was very good value. It was a fantastic experience for me being a new convert to Rick's music and to see Damian again after two years. I only wish that I could get to Poland and to experience the atmosphere of a concert in South America where the audiences really go wild. 
Although the concert was long, it was over far too quickly for me, but the night ended with a few hours in the pub with Damian appearing with guitar in hand. A perfect ending to a perfect evening.
Rosie

                      

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South America

 

I was fortunate to see the April 19th show by Rick Wakeman and the New ERE at Via Funchal in Sao Paolo Brasil.

What a great performance by everyone involved wiith the band.  The video was quite clear and the production and presentation - the camera angles, etc., were impressive.  I think this is fueling optimism for a DVD in the future.

I picked up the webcast during the Recollection part of Journey.  There were some great moog parts (-: and the whole band arrangement was pretty good.
Usually, I find the band arrangements kind of lifeless, but not in this show.

Never is a Long Time gave us a chance to see what Ant can do with a guitar, and he did not disappoint.  I enjoyed his performance more than the original.  It ROCKED!  

 This was followed by an up-tempo drum solo by wop, leading right into Arthur.

Arthur was done very nicely!  Damian's voice is wonderful for this kind of work.  At this point I am realizing he is more at ease with the band and material than when he was in Argentina last year.  Of course, Arthur had a good share of great moog & digital keys, all sounding really good to my ears, considering it was a webcast.  I heard another hot solo from Ant and eventually we were at The Last Battle - BEAUTIFULLY done, everyone in the band deserves a lot of credit for a job well done, and for being so cohesive, but loose at the same time.

The Visit was next and again, it was well done, similar to the Buenos Aires show last year.  More hot licks on guitar, solid bass.  The band reallyrocked, they kicked @$$

2 Catherines...  The piano was so beautiful, it could make me cry.

Classic performance of Howard and Aragon.

It's at this time I realize that we haven't noticed Adam, yet he is heard.

Ahhh the 1984 segment. Starting with The Hymn, just Rick and Damian - Very Nice! Impressive performance!
Then The Overture - Dynamic! Finishing with Robot Man, excellent, a bit "funky".  We finally saw Adam, Lee has his solo here.  It's a fun song and we see that these guys can jam!

Jane Seymour - Simply Incredible!  I wish I was there in person for this one!  It was like JS Bach in the 21st century.

Merlin - Done with vocals, with all due respect to Damian, I don't care for this with vocals, and to Rick too, it seemed a bit long, BUT finally they got to the good part - Adam came out from his pigeon hole with an energetic solo on the keytar.followed by a long, but quiet jam by the band [ sans Rick].  Of course, Maestro was strapping on his keytar during this time.  The duel was classic, but still exciting to see and hear, I thought they were having a lot of fun.  Of course, the excitement builds as we know whats next.  Rick and his solo, walking into the audience. The fans there in Sao Paolo went wild!  People were reaching to touch Rick, as if he were a god. They were not mauling him, just touching gently as if to be blessed or something.  These people really love the man.

The NEC medly..  phew!  you really need to see this for yourself.  Everyone did well.  I thought The Prisoner was a bit longer in scale than the other tracks in the medly.  The Maker did seem just a bit too fast, but then most tracks are faster done live...

 

          

                             
Catherine Parr - Classic; pure enjoyment for me.

Then Rick does "some YES" - The beginning of Heart of the Sunrise, followed by a lengthy version of Starship Trooper.  This was a bit long for my taste, but again, finally, they got to the good part, and it was worth the wait. Adam had another good solo, Ant really outdid himself, ending up in the VIP section seating, sitting in someone's front row chair [ Jacintho's? ]
Again, the people went wild.

Buried Alive. -  Damian, once again, did an excellent job.  His vocals were better than Ozzy's [ IMO, of course ] and the arrangement without the mutedstrings worked quite well.  It's a great song live, done in this fashion.

Eleanor Rigby, well, as Jon says, I'm getting tired of this track, and I don't care for the Prokofiev style.  I will say Adam did a nice job on the intro...

Overall, I rate this band as being very good, and really quite "tight", or cohesive.  Each of the musicians are talented, and I think Rick did a great job putting this band together.

I  can't wait to see him again, this time in person!

Bruce  Visit Bruce's Rick Wakeman site

Photos -  Adriano Busson -http://www.fotonota10.hpg.com.br/index.htm

Adriano now has a site under construction for Ant Glynne (see Links page)   

 

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Rick Wakeman and The English Rock Ensemble
Teatro Coliseo, Friday  20th April, Buenos Aires – Argentina

 

The show was brilliant! It started around 10:00 pm and  finished at almost 12:30am. Damian is great! His voice, his charisma and his strength made him steal the show quickly.

One can not explain  what one feels when listening to Damian singing Wakeman’s classics. It is a unique experience.

I believe that he must be one of the few singers able to interpret songs previously recorded by Jon Anderson, Paul Mccartney, Ozzy Osbourne, Trebor Rabin, etc...  without imitating any of them! He is the best singe I have ever listened to!

As everybody  knows Damian is not only a great singer, he is also a great person. When Lee Pomeroy went towards the center of the scene to perform his bass solo, he had his bass cable disconnected. Immediately, Adam Wakeman tried to reconnect it without success, Damian entered the scene, making the public encourage Lee until his difficulties were over.

The best moment of the show arrived: the duel between Rick and Adam... After that, as customary, they came down among the spectators. Unlike the others, Damian let people approach him, greet him, hug him, kiss him... and not happy with it, he also visited, one by one of the levels of the theater, greeting the spectators. I hope to be able to see this singer again... at least once more in my life!

Thanks! Thanks Damian for so much satisfaction.. Thanks Rick, for bringing Damian!

 

SEBASTIAN – 23rd April 2001 - Buenos Aires, Argentina  

 

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photos from Brazil

More photos - CLICK HERE

Even more photos - CLICK HERE

Visit the site below to see a video clip of the Sao Paulo show:

Solo de Damian, "No Earthly Connection"  

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Rick Wakeman and the  English Rock Ensemble

South America 2000

Adam Wakeman - Keyboards 
Damian Wilson - Vocals 
Tony Fernandez - Drums 
Ant Glynne - Guitar 
Lee Pomeroy - Bass 

 

Rick Wakeman y The English Rock Ensemble en vivo en el Estadio Chile, Santiago, Chile
9 de Septiembre del 2000

Rick Wakeman and The English Rock Ensemble in the Chile Stadium, Santiago, Chile September 9th 2000 

 



Saturday September 9th , 9:25 PM, a starting drizzle in Santiago city did not hinder more than 2500 people in the Chile Stadium of enjoying listening to one of the greatest musicians that has integrated into the English progressive musical scene.

There's no doubt, it was a night full of emotion and fascination by Rick Wakeman who has already been in the music industry for almost 30 years, delighting us with his creations. From the appearance of his first work titled " Vibrations Piano " (1971), to his more recent album " Preludes to a Century " (2000), live presentations and compilations.

For years, he's been appreciated for the honest passion that he gives to his thousands of fans around the world. He is known for music ranging from progressive and symphonic rock to gospel, but also classic music, pop, new age, and the soundtracks for films. During his show he was completely absorbed in the atmosphere, maintaining a rapport  with the audience through his music at the concert which lasted two hours. 

 


At the beginning of the show, under dim lights, a voice  introduced the subject of what would be the beginning of the show: a selection of themes from the album " The Myths of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table ". 

Unlike his first visit to Chile in 1993, this time Wakeman was with a much better structured band, in which it was possible to emphasize the work of percussionist,  Tony Fernandez,  who was very precise in his execution, even though the drumset on which he was playing this time, is not the one that he usually uses.
The inclusion of Rick Wakeman's son Adam in the band was no doubt remarkable, since an extraordinary musical communication between father and son occurred, emphasizing memorable moments like that " conversation " between the portable keyboards that both used during " Merlin the Magician". It is highly probable that soon we'll hear from this young musical talent in projects similar to those of his brother Oliver Wakeman (" Jabberwocky " along with Clive Nolan).


 

We must also emphasize the quality of the vocal registry of the singer Damian Wilson (Threshold, Landmarq) who with enough audacity and security, stood on the stage providing vocal registries for all the songs.
The remaining members of the band, the bass player Lee Pomeroy and the guitar player Ant Glynne, were not less remarkable in making this performance one of the best of the classic themes of Wakeman, crowned and attentively followed by the Chilean public, who enjoyed each moment.
There's nothing else to do than to say "Thank You Rick", for your talent and contribution to the world's progressive scene, and as he said to me personally in an informal conversation that we had in the lobby of his hotel: " See you next Time ".......I hope so, then we'll have Rick Wakeman again soon.

 

Set-List:
First Part: King Arthur Overture, King Arthur (Song), The Last Battle, Lancelot and the Black Knight, Never is to Long Time, Catherine Howard, Catherine of Aragon, The Visit (From Phantom Power), Journey to the Center of The Earth (Overture), The Journey (Song), The Hansbach, The Battle, Hall of the Mountain King.
Break
Second Part: Catherine Parr, Eleanor Rigby, Buried Alive, The Hymn, 1984 Overture, Man Robot, Merlin the Magician, Heart of the Sunrise Intro, Starship Trooper, Ride of Your Life, The Jig.

Review from ARPROCH  : www.unete.cl/arproch


Thanks to Sueli Matsumoto for the translation

 

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