Legends of the Sun Pig

The Cool Quest were one of my favourite gigs of 2016 (and I went to a lot that year). They released a new track “Runnin'” in the autumn of 2017, and then followed up with two more singles in the lead-up to the release of their second album VIVID last week. As soon as they announced they were playing a special album launch gig in their home town of Zwolle I bought a ticket.

Zwolle is about an hour and twenty minutes away by car, depending on traffic, but I figured it would be worth it! I left the house a little later than anticipated, but I still made it to the venue by 19:45. This was, of course, far too early. I had seen the venue’s timetable of “Doors 19:30, show 20:15” but missed the bit about the support act. When I got there, a DJ was playing music in the foyer with around 20-30 people milling around — all of them reluctant to be first into the completely empty auditorium.

I don’t know if this is commonplace at Hedon, but it was new for me: around 20:15 an actual human promoter/MC came on stage and introduced the bill for the evening, including opening act De Alliantie. They’re a local (to Zwolle) hip-hop trio with a decent following in the Netherlands, and a second album (Mooi Toch) under their belts as of February. They played a 9-song set of their fun-time rap with a lot of gusto. Not quite my thing, but they’ve got good stage presence, and their enthusiasm was infectious.

I don’t think the venue was completely sold out, but by the time the MC brought them on stage, it felt nicely packed. (Aside: if I ever get arrested at a gig, it’ll be because I finally boiled over with rage at getting there nice and early to secure myself a good spot close to the stage, and then having loud and tall latecomers elbow their way right in front of me, congratulating themselves on managing to get to the front.) The MC made a big deal of how they fit into the small space at Hedon when they launched their first album, and now they’ve moved up to the next level. The main stage at Hedon is much bigger than that of the Oude Zaal at Melkweg where I saw them last time. This gave them a big light display behind them to play with, and it gave frontman Vincent a lot of space to move around in, but it also made the band members seem more spread out and more isolated.

Don’t get me wrong — the band is tight, and that’s one of the things I love about them. They’re not just playing beats for Vincent to sing and rap over. They are seriously musical, and to my ears the vocals are “just” the fifth instrument in the group. (I would happily watch Vadim Neef on guitar and Sander Moorlag on the keyboard play off each other all night.) Maybe I’m just nostalgic (already) for the time when they were still playing smaller venues.

They started with last year’s lead single “Runnin'”, and played through most of the new album, with a few old favourites thrown in. Some of the new songs (“Spacious”, “Level Ya Head”) they were playing live back in 2016 already. And every song they play is different and more elaborate than the recorded version. I really get the impression that they build their music first and foremost to be played as part of a show in front of an audience. The recordings are fantastic, and will get them streams and downloads, but the full live Cool Quest experience bursts with ten times the energy.

Because this was a special occasion, after the main set the band took a short break and came back on stage with four backing singers and four horns to fill out the lineup as The Cool Quest XXL. The backing vocals and horns feature prominently on their current single “Storm”, and they sounded great live. The encore is where the band go wild and really extend every song, giving every musician a turn in the spotlight and a chance at a solo (or two, or three).

The downside of going to see a gig so far away is the drive back afterwards, and not being able to have a wee drink during the show. Worth it, though. If you get the chance to see the Cool Quest near you, take it.

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De Alliantie set list:

1. Je Favoriete Boyband
2. Vergeet Niet
3. Connecties
4. Sieradenkist
5. Annelize
6. Camembert
7. Gazelles
8. Plan B
9. Mooi Toch

The Cool Quest set list:

1. Runnin’
2. Goodlife
3. Get Involved
4. Push Up
5. Dark Matter
6. Fallin’
7. Spacious
8. Level Ya Head
9. Full Throttle
10. Rain
11. Shine
12. Heatwaves

Encore, with Cool Quest XXL backing singers and horns:

13. Storm
14. Hesitate (extended + medley + solos)

I’ve raved about the band Thumpers before, and I love both of their albums. But last week they sent out a sad email saying that they were going to call it a day, and that they would be playing one final gig at The Lexington in London. They sent the email on Tuesday 20th, but I didn’t read it until the following morning. And as soon as I did, a plan started to form…

My travel schedule had me flying over to Edinburgh that evening (Wednesday 21 Feb), and coming back home on Friday evening — the date of the gig. Fortunately (?) I have racked up enough travel with Easyjet that I am in part of their “Flight Club” programme that allows me to change flights easily and without paying an administration fee. This is great for me because it allows me to book my travel more speculatively and further ahead, so that I can take advantage of lower advance prices, knowing that I can change the flights if my plans change…like now.

Step one was, of course, checking with Abi to see if it was okay for me to stay away for longer than expected:

With that approval in place, step 2 was getting a ticket for the gig. The Lexington is a small venue (200 capacity), and the booking site said there were still 33 tickets left, so I snapped one up quickly. After that it was just a matter of calling Easyjet to put me on a flight down to London instead of Amsterdam on Friday evening, and use some of my accumulated hotels.com reward tokens to bag a room for the night! I’d figure out transport back home again later…

So I left work a little earlier than expected on Friday afternoon, took the bus out to Edinburgh airport, plane down to Stansted, train from Stansted to London Liverpool, and then walked the rest of the way to my hotel near Kings Cross. I had enough time to grab a bite to eat before checking in, and have a quick shower before setting out. My hotel was just ten minutes walk away from the Lexington. It’s a pub downstairs with a well-regarded music venue upstairs. This was the first time I’d been to an actual gig in London, and I was super excited!

Para Alta from Hartlepool came on shortly before 21:00, and played a five song opening set. They were good, but they were amped up really loud. I don’t normally wear earplugs at gigs, but my hotel was on a noisy street, and there was a pair of foam earplugs on the bedside table when I arrived, and I had brought them with me just in case. This was a good thing.

The venue filled up nicely while John and Marcus (Thumpers) were setting up their gear and tuning up. I had a spot right up close to the stage, and was able to watch them work, concentration writ large across their faces. At about 21:55 they kicked off with a pounding rendition of “Boundary Loves” from their second album (Whipped and Glazed), and it sounded fantastic. I had been worried that I’d need to use the earplugs again, but they had dialled in the volume to be absolutely perfect for the space. The drums were rich and muscular, but without a ton of booming sustain. The guitar was crisp, and their voices were mixed in at just the right level. The first two times I had seen them they were accompanied by two backing vocalists/keyboard players and another woman just on vocals, but this evening it was just the duo themselves. They triggered other instruments and loops electronically, and they sounded amazing.

They just put all of their hearts into the performance that night. They didn’t talk much between numbers, but when they did it was clear they were full of emotion. I was particularly delighted when they played “Bray”. It is one of my favourite tracks from Whipped and Glazed, and apparently it is one of John’s as well. They dedicated it to their manager (Jen?). It’s not a happy, four-to-the-floor sing-a-long pop track. It’s brooding, with synthesized vocals used as rhythmic counterpoints to the drums, and an unusual (6/8?) time signature.

While they were setting up before the gig, I noticed that they carefully positioned three stand microphones at stage left. They didn’t touch them during the main part of the gig, and when they left the stage after “Life All In” I wondered if they would. And yes! When they came on for an encore, they brought out the same three members that had played with them on their first tour! They played four more songs with full backing vocals. “Devotee” was beautiful, and “Unkinder” is almost unimaginable without those overlapping voices. The last song they played was “Together Now”, which was nothing but bittersweet and poignant. I had tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat.

Set list:

1. Boundary Loves
2. Dancing’s Done
3. 99
4. World Removed
5. Caramel
6. Bray
7. Tame
8. That Waterfall
9. Gargantua
10. Sound of Screams
11. Life All In

Encore:

12. Devotee
13. Velveteen
14. Unkinder (A Tougher Love)
15. Together Now

I stayed around for a little while after the gig to catch John and Marcus at the merch stand and try to tell them how much I enjoyed the gig, but…you just can’t put that kind of thing into words. Earlier in the week I had been talking to a colleague about regrets, and how I associate regret more with things I didn’t do than with things I did. Making the effort to get down to London to catch Thumpers one last time was a good decision. No regrets. Just great memories of a fantastic gig.

See also:

• The dancing’s done: Thumpers, Live In London (The Line of Best Fit)

Last time we saw Imagine Dragons was almost exactly two years ago, also at the Ziggo Dome. We did things a little differently this time!

The concert was on a Monday evening, and Alex and Fiona both had school the next day. Also, we had general admission/floor tickets rather than tickets for seating. According to the venue schedule, doors were due to open at 18:30, with opening act K.Flay on from 20:00 – 20:30, with Imagine Dragons themselves on from 21:00 – 23:00. With standing room tickets, there was no way we’d be anywhere near the front of the stage unless we got there by mid-afternoon, and that just wasn’t going to happen. We like the band, but not enough to spend eight hours on our feet. So: strategic concert planning!

Having been to the Ziggo Dome many times before, and knowing that the band are experienced stadium rockers, we knew there was going to be a significant light show with multiple huge video screens behind the stage. Even the good seats at Ziggo Dome put you further away from the artists than the worst standing room at the back of most small venues. This means that unless you’re deliberately chasing the thick-of-the-crowd experience, there is very little difference between a spot half-way to the stage and a spot quite far near the back. In fact, the edge of the crowd makes it easier for you to escape the auditorium if you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed by it all (Fiona), or if you want to be first in line at the merch stand at the end of the show (me).

Our plan therefore was: skip the opening act entirely. Eat a leisurely dinner at home, and leave around 20:00 to arrive at Arena around 20:30. Park at site P1 (we had a pre-booked parking voucher). Get to the venue around 20:45, giving us enough time to clear security, see what kind of merch was available (plenty), grab a drink, and find a nice spot at the edge of the crowd. Then as soon as the last song faded out, make our sharp exit. This worked out great, and we were back home shortly before midnight.

The gig itself was fun. The band sounded great, the light show was good, and there were confetti cannons and giant balloons dropping from the ceiling. Before the gig I had looked at Setlist.fm to get a feel for what we could expect, and I noticed that at their previous two concerts, they had played a selection of songs from a B-stage. The Ziggo Dome has plenty of space for them to do this as well, and I’ve seen other artists do it. (Most spectacularly Taylor Swift with a second stage that rose up and swung around the whole interior of the space.) Sure enough, about two-thirds of the way through the band made their way to a small stage near the back of the hall and played slowed-down acoustic versions of three songs out there. This was pretty close to where we had positioned ourselves, so we got a great view for this part of the show.

1. I Don’t Know Why
2. It’s Time
3. Gold
4. Whatever It Takes
5. I’ll Make It Up To You
6. Mouth Of The River
7. Yesterday
8. Start Over
9. Demons
10. Rise Up
11. On Top Of The World
12. I Bet My Life (acoustic, B-stage)
13. Amsterdam (acoustic, B-stage)
14. Bleeding Out (acoustic, B-stage)
15. Thunder (with K.Flay)
16. Believer

Encore:

17. Walking The Wire
18. 1 slow vocal verse from “The Fall” + 1 slow vocal verse from “Polaroid” as a final intro to and extended version of: Radioactive

Fiona has had long hair for as long as she has had hair. But recently she decided that she wanted to break with the past and make a radical change. This weekend, she went to the hairdresser and got it cut short. (We accompanied her for moral support, and to take pictures of the momentous event.)

Fiona wants to donate the old hair to a charity that makes wigs for sick kids. Right now the two braids are sitting on our dining room table, and they look really strange. They’re very recognisably still Fiona’s hair — thick and fluffy — and it’s like there’s a piece of her head on display right next to the vase of flowers.

2017 was much more sane year for me and concerts than 2016. 8 was much more manageable:

1. 29 January 2017: Sabaton at Heineken Music Hall, Amsterdam
2. 10 February 2017: The Naked and Famous at TivoliVredenburg, Utrecht
3. 18 May 2017: Marianas Trench at Tolhuistuin (Paradiso Noord), Amsterdam. (Rescheduled from 2016)
4. 22 September 2017: Maxïmo Park at Melkweg Oude Zaal, Amsterdam.
5. 3 November 2017: Wolf Alice at Melkweg, Amsterdam
6. 14 November 2017: Thundercat at O2 ABC, Glasgow
7. 23 November 2017: Average White Band + Hue and Cry at Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow
8. 3 December 2017: Dar Williams at Tolhuistuin, Amsterdam

Favourites: Thundercat, Dar Williams, Average White Band + Hue and Cry. Not a single trip to the Ziggo Dome!

Alan introduced me to Dar Williams a few years ago. (Not personally — we went to see her play the Voodoo Rooms in Edinburgh a few years ago.) She was back on this side of the Atlantic in December, playing a few small venues including the Tuinzaal (Garden room) at Tolhuistuin. I’ve been to gigs at the Tolhuistuin before, but never in the Tuinzaal. It’s an intimate space with big windows, big enough to hold maybe 100 people seated, small enough not to need much in the way of amplification. Nice for an author reading, or a singer-songwriter with a guitar. It was a late afternoon gig, but at that time of year it was mostly dark outside already.

She played songs, she told anecdotes, and talked a little about her book What I Found In A Thousand Towns. I find her songs very affecting, and when she played “When I Was A Boy” at the end I couldn’t hold back my tears. As a parent of a couple of teens, the theme of growing up and innocence lost kicked me right in the feels.