Introduction and Friday 30th September

And so we’re back. I have come to this event most years since 2006, and always have a great time. Travelling across Europe to this delightful and largely unknown part of the Netherland is straightforward, and on arrival there are great people, great bands and great everything, including copious laughter. And yet there was a certain trepidation on my part. This wasn’t over viruses, but about attitudes. Reflecting on my own, I realise that musically my tolerance level is lower, and in fact whilst I’m fine with commercial stuff what I’m looking for is the unusual, the extreme and the alternative rather than just prog, which is kind of the point of this thing. The power bit of it all but disappeared in recent years, often to be replaced by the oddball stuff that I like. Unlimited credit goes to the organisers who not only organise the event so well but also manage to attract such a list of diverse bands. I guess that my evolving line of thinking comes from the fact that I have spent so much time in Asia, where life is just struggle for most people, who just get on with it, and musically no-one would have time for namby pamby snowflaky old cobblers like prog. Such self-realisation itself sounds terribly prog, I suppose. This year’s line-up was a relative rarity in that I was familiar with a number of the bands, and as ever there’s aways the risk that this year’s edition could turn into ProgFlake Europe but it never does thanks to the organisers and the bands themselves. Even so I was on my guard for the extra-curricular conversation that sought my gushing approval for some piece by Dream Theater, for me to respond that out of curiosity and following the recommendation of a Progperson I once bought “Systematic Chaos” and was subjected to 78 minutes and 41 seconds of abject boredom. Even worse than 90 minutes of a terrible football game, and I’ve seen plenty of those. In some ways I am perhaps the wrong person to be writing this review, but then in the same way as there are people around who use fake news to reaffirm their own view, then there are a few devotees in deep prog spaces who are so entrenched, po-faced and unbalanced that they’re not a reliable source either. But leaving such misanthropy aside, one of the many attractions of this event is its wonderful people, and it’s no coincidence that I was now embarking on my 13th edition of ProgPower Europe with great gusto and enthusiasm. In fact the nearer we got to it, the more I was insanely and irrationally excited about it. So here goes with my personal take on it all.

Before it all got going, there was a pre-festival concert by Dutch progressive sound artist Abraham Sarache, whose name I confess to reading incorrectly every time as Abraham’s Earache. This in fact was musical stimulation for the ears with an acoustic set aided by a cuatro and comprising a mobile mix of unique and Latin-American style sound patterns, and a strong folksy element. Not my cup of tea really but it did bring us together as one of my fellow attendees observed in a more positive vein. So too would a beetle drive have been a method of bringing us together but I guess on balance that this was more enjoyable.

ProgPower Europe kicked off officially on Friday with Mother of Millions from Greece. What a very prog band name. Not to be mixed up of course with Millions Die in Pain, which is a Hypocrisy lyric. A long intro was followed by a bass-heavy rhythm. The vocalist provided a well executed emotive touch.

This was all out of the prog metal playbook, and so it continued with moody passages, long intros and samples, and vocal gymnastics from a large gentleman in a coat. At one point the man in the cost took the knee, not for Black Lives Matter but in accordance with prog etiquette. The presentation didn’t help with the vocalist saying little but at least showing warmth when he did. It was as if his vocal histrionics were deemed a substitute. The bassist looked like he had millions of worries meanwhile.

Only one song was announced so it all became a succession of prog posturing. The set lost its way mid way through when the transformations between an instrumental section, a sad ballad and djenty heaviness were bewildering instead of being profound as I suspect was intended. “There was something missing”, commented a fellow ProgPerson to me afterwards. For me that “something” was a lack of purpose in the songs, and a disconnection between the singer, the instrumentals and the samples.

It seemed a case of prog metal for the sake of prog metal. Yet in spite of the lack of obvious progression, the instrumental sections were moody and powerful, and although at times this seemed to be about the vocal show, the range and intensity of those vocals were outstanding, with the man in the coat at times having the vulnerability of the guy in the Old Dead Tree, and at others sending echoing and piercing roars through the room. What I remember most of all was a devastatingly epic instrumental passage at the end of the second song but I don’t know the story nor the name of the song because they didn’t say.

Breaking news: Von Hertzen Brothers has nothing to do with car rentals. They are actually brothers. Three of them actually, supported by a synth player and a drummer. So are they Finland’s answer to the Bee Gees? Well no. Art rock is the name of the game. What’s that, you may ask? Whatever it is, I’d like more on the basis of this performance. This was the complete package thanks to the quality of everything in every sense. First the presentation was more than explanations and quips from the tall red-trousered front man, good as they were. The band were mobile and energetic for the whole of this set which lasted more than 90 minutes without a break.

They were visibly enjoying it, and it was infectious. Warmth, fun and humility surged from the stage. Then there were the songs. Now if I was ultra picky, I could criticise the opening song “Day of Reckoning”, which was the only one I knew prior to this, for its repetitive chorus line but it was clear was that this band was taking us to higher places. What I didn’t foresee was the multi-coloured journey. At one stage I just wrote “fantastic songs” in my notes. The songs all had direction even when they went from rousing rock n roll to mysteriously dark passages. At one stage I half expected a snake charmer to appear. Some of the songs were folk-oriented.

Many were catchy and commercial in their structure. Every song had its story and there were serious messages in them too. “Peace Patrol” typified this. But we were never weighed down as the band bopped and we hopped and looked on in wonderment at the power, the harmonies, the transformation of shapes and the sheer energy. The whole set was a triumph. It came to the encore, and as if to sum up the show in two songs, there was a rumbustious one and a moody one. I had no idea that Von Hertzen Brothers were going to be this good, but I’m thrilled that they were.

Review: Andrew Doherty 

Photos: Alex Blokdijk & Mattias Norén

Part 2