Introduction and Friday 6th October
And so we’re back. It continues to puzzle me why I like this progressive lark, and in fact I’ve been coming to the conclusion that I probably don’t. Yet I keep coming to ProgPower Europe – unlike some, I don’t keep count of my visits but I’m in double figures for sure. I sense that for some, progressive music is like religion, for others it’s escapism, some see it as therapy, while for others it’s splurging out feelings without reservation. I fall into some other camp. If we’re solely concerned about the music, then I guess we’re all looking for something to stimulate and touch us, but then I’d say that Finnish sound art, black metal and even modern metalcore – now there’s a combination – are more likely to do that for me. Credit here must go to the organisers, as through the choice of diverse bands the term progressive remains fluid and always potentially interesting. This year is no exception. Furthermore live performance in any context creates sometimes unforeseeable visual expression. Aside from the music, this event is remarkable for the environment of the tranquil and welcoming Dutch village of Baarlo where it is held, and for the people who attend it. I was certain that I was going to meet great people, some of whom I already know and some I don’t, share stories, experiences and laughter, and hear about life and music from a different perspective.
In order to maximise the benefit from a 15 cent reduction for booking on line, I attended the pre-party on the Thursday. The musical turn was Novena, or to be precise three out of their usual six band members playing an acoustic set. A well- spoken English gentleman wore a ridiculous bunny suit and was in charge of flat banter and vaudeville. Clapping along to “Radio Gaga” merely validated my non-membership of the party scene.
The lady had a lovely smoky-jazz voice, mind, when they weren’t doing cover songs. At the interval I was discussing this set with a Dutch audience member who thought carefully about what I said and astutely concluded “You don’t like fun then”. Hell no. There were many appreciative audience members, so the fact that I was indifferent to it was immaterial. For me it was like a band providing a form of entertainment in the background of the splendid setting of the Kasteel de Berckt while I took the opportunity to catch up with people I hadn’t seen for a while.
The serious stuff began on Friday with Earthside. In a venue which could at a stretch hold 700 people, most parts were full. A jangling melody filled the air. A drama was unfolding. Amid an explosive scene, “We Who Lament” usefully appeared on the screen behind the drummer to tell us what we were listening to. A haunting voice arose above the dark clouds that we imagined. The keyboard player gesticulated wildly, feeling everything and playing every instrument virtually. This music of the mountains could mundanely be described as post metal. Power and magic prevailed.
The keyboardist fell to the ground and seemed to be wetting himself in every sense. An electric storm threatened. This was “Mob Mentality”. An orchestra appeared on the screen and played. The vocals came from the screen too. As the band on stage pumped out dark patterns, surging up and down, the result was a mass of complex and heavy prog. The keyboard player was at it again, swinging his copious locks and struggling to contain himself. “The Dream in Static” once again featured a sampled vocal performance from the screen. I had mixed feelings about this. On the one hand it was distracting, while on the other the vocals were coming from a distant place which reflected the mood and provenance of the songs.
In any case it was all about high intensity emotion, wherever it came from, as the band reached to the skies. We rose into space. The atmosphere was dynamic and threatening. The power and strength enabled a period of gentle head banging. “The Closest I’ve Come” sent us through cosmic waves as the instrumentalists carved a smooth path above a tingling whistle. Cosmic post metal with a sense of direction? Yes, I think so. Back they came, even heavier than before and without the distraction of the activities on the screen. I witnessed raw power, emotion and passion from Earthside although it was strange, if logistically understandable, that some of it was presented remotely. In the final outcome, the band’s performance captivated me.
Friday’s headliners were Wheel. Controlled and sophisticated, the icing on the cake was the singer whose voice was outstanding. To an extent Wheel fulfilled the unwritten statutory obligation for prog band songs to be lyric-heavy but this was clearly also a band who had thought about the structure of their songs and executed them well. Bass-rich throughout, we were treated to calm hypnotic passages before the singer got himself into a lather and the music was aggressive and heavy.
Wheel are a class act. The singer’s bright and breezy presentation helped in all along, even when introducing songs with the darkest themes, but the magic lay in the songs themselves, which could be sad, dreamy, exciting, angry or tense and sometimes a number of these. The passages and transitions were managed in such a way that they demanded attention and wonderment.
Wheel are a set of highly accomplished musicians who know how to create and deliver thoughtful and controlled songs. The logical and common comparison is with Tool, but I give Wheel more credit than that. This set was a pleasure to witness and a delight to the senses.
Review: Andrew Doherty
Photos: Conny Myrberg www.artrock.se & Alex Blokdijk & Mattias Norén
Leave a Reply