Ben Christophers, the angel and Ekko

What an angelic voice! Ben Christophers is a true revelation for me. I worked on his monitors in Ekko and I was so impressed by his music, that I went to the Paradiso gig the next day as well. That was today, in the afternoon as a matter of fact. Both concerts were fabulous, with a packed audience. I think the Ekko gig had much better lighting, and we dressed up the stage more beautifully. But in the end it didn't matter. The music is what counted.

I have never heard such a voice before, and his timing is right on! I can go on for ever about his music, but I won't do it. Just check him out in Rotown on Wednesday...

I'll post the setlist he made for me later on.

Blof and Block

Last night I worked for Blof with the Metropole orchestra, in the Heineken Music Hall. Funny Belgian road crew. I didn't see anything of the show, although I do have a detailed schedule of the show for the television crew. They made DVD recordings of the show.

During the day I recorded a poem of Robin Block. It's called "24 hour economy" in English. But the poem is in Dutch. That's going to sound very good. Me on djembe and Robin reciting the poem and doing all kinds of extra sounds. Someone will make a movieclip for the poem as well.

I'm trying to arrange a distribution deal for Bearsuit, because I think they deserve it. It's such a good band! I hope their record label is in for it as well. It doesn't matter to me who arranges the distribution, as long as it's done. But no one seems to come forward, so I guess it's up to me to give it a try.

By the way, I found a nice link on Carmenkata: the poster of our latest gig in the UK!

The Album Leaf and Helio Sequence: my first day at EKKO

I just came home from my first day at EKKO. I'm going to be a sound engineer there. The Album Leaf and The Helio Sequence were my test rabbits. I think I did alright. My colleagues were happy and above all, the bands were happy with the sound on stage. Although the singer of The Helio Sequence could not hear his vocals... This was due to the volume of his guitar amps on stage. He later told me they were not his own, and he didn't know what to expect.
Next up will be Ben Christophers with J Perkin (Solo). I'm looking forward to it!
Although I enjoyed The Album Leaf, I particularly liked The Helio Sequence. More of a Rock & Roll feel, with just a guitarist and a drummer. They had some loops running along with them. But the drummer... fantastic! Jon Bonham has resurrected! And he quit drinking... ;-)
You can read a review of the show at VPRO's 3voor12/utrecht.

Honeybees touches audience

Last night was the second gig ever of the Honeybees, the acoustic band from Utrecht. We played in Café De Stad with Pondertone, for the "Utrecht Plugt Uit" festival. The Honeybees are quite unknown, but people were very impressed. I'm not a core member of the band, but I do intend to play live every time.
Never have I played in a pub with a dead silent audience. There's always someone not getting it who chatters away, but not this time. Someone dropped something and people were actually angrily asking for silence. So something good must be going on within this band. I don't really understand, but sometimes you just have to accept reality. Also when it's good ;-)
I'm sure people will hear more from the Honeybees. Music this good can't be overlooked.

Posted the rest of the Norwich bands pics

I know Magoo wants to use them for their site, so here they are: the rest of the best of the pics I took. They are again of Norwich bands in the process of becoming quite famous indeed. At least in the Netherlands, that is. Anybody who wants to use these pics: I don't mind. As long as you mention my name somewhere (Ro Halfhide). Or buy me a pint of Guinness.

Norwich bands are cool

Tonight was the first time three Norwich bands played in the same venue in the Netherlands. Legendary, especially if you take into account what bands showed up: Magoo, Bearsuit and Fiel Garvie! All bands gave an excellent performance. If you want to see it, there's only one more chance in your life and that's today in Paradiso. There are some pics to give you a feeling of what you missed. You can see them here. Yes, I got myself a new Nikon D70! Will I be able to add 'photographer' to my activities some day?

Driving 500 km in one day, and working on the side

Last Saturday I had a rough day. I started at 1 AM, breaking down gear in the Groenoordhallen in Leiden. I worked until 6.30 AM, then I dropped off a colleague of mine in Rijswijk, which is further away from Amsterdam. I wnet back to Amsterdam to get 45 minutes of sleep. When I woke up, I was far from awake... But I had to go work at the Military in Boekelo. Playing music in the VIP lounge with Moon About. When I got finished at 6 PM I nearly got finished as well. But there's nothing a few espresso's can't solve. So I drove back to Rotterdam, where my brother lives, to pay him a visit. I had not seen him in a long time.
How come I still had energy left at the end of the day? Because I'm doing what I love, and I get payed for it too!

Some stuff I did also last few days

1 Oct - It was an intellectual crowd in Perdu, where I played with the poet Robin Block. It's our third gig I believe, and we are finding the groove. It's strange to play for people that are trying to understand the deeper meanings of your artistic actions, like the kind of trousers you wear. I was wearing orange trousers by the way, that I bought in Madrid a week ago. Madrid is an excellent place for shopping clothes. Especially in the gay area.
2 Oct - Another gig with Salsa Verde. Excellent crowd. They started dancing during the second song, and they never stopped. They didn't even ask for Hazes too much. I love Hazes, but we don't play it. Which is a shame, because you could easily make a nice bolero out of his tour de force 'De Vlieger' ('The Kite' in English). I have been to the wake of Hazes' funeral, by the way. Very impressive. I cried a lot.

Avril Lavigne knows what to say

When I worked for Avril last Thursday, I saw some notes for her on stage, next to her setlist. The notes contain stuff to say when in Paris, like "Sa va Paris?" (sic). They were presumably left behind after the Paris gig. How spontaneous! You can see a picture of the notes to the right.
Come to think of it, it's pretty weird since she's from Canada and has a French name. So she should be able to speak French, or not? Probably, not. Just like not all Dutch peeps walk on wooden clogs. Yep, that's the stuff I think about these days. I know, it's pathetic...