Prog-Nose

I have seen Gazpacho quite of few times now, but every time, it was a perfect evening with great music and it was not different in De Boerderij on February 5th, 2011.
First of all, the punctual program is an example of how it should be. The progressive crowd is getting older, although I saw a lot of young faces amongst the audience and they don’t want to wait for long delays and they don’t like too many support bands. Nothing against support bands, but we came for Gazpacho and we got Gazpacho!! Starting right on time at eight thirty and playing for two hours is the perfect amount for a perfect evening. (Yeah, I know, I’m getting older too ;-))



Bart Jan, already told me before the gig that this was a special evening with some extra tracks they didn’t play during the rest of the tour. And what a treat we received. And also, what a treat the band received. They couldn’t believe their eyes when they saw the big crowd in front of them and they were over the moon with it. Jan-Henrik said to his fellow band members: “I told you this was going to be a good one!”.
The whole band was smiling all the time and this happiness reflected on the audience. Jan-Henrik has grown a lot, not only as singer, but also as a performer. He interacts with the other musicians and the public and makes jokes between the tracks. For example: “You liked this one? Let’s do it again ;-) “
Almost the whole new album was played, even more from “Tick-Tock” and a lot from the blue album, “Night”.



The mix was perfect. Every single note was audible and the complete volume was not too loud, even without ear plugs.
It’s obvious that the fan base of the band is growing fast and so was the crowd in De Boerderij compared to their last visit. Of course, that’s not a miracle, because their shows are so good, the whole audience is back the next time, bringing along some friends and new fans.
Mikael, with his electric violin, steals the show in a lot of tracks, with some very sensitive violin melodies. Every musician plays his vital role and the new drummer proves to be a major new asset for the band. What a steady rhythm this guy has. His steadiness made me think of Gavin Harrison from Porcupine Tree.
This band deserves a lot more than they get, but they signed up with HWT Records from Sony and get promotion from Kscope, so their career is definitely going upwards. Let’s hope they get some attention from the mainstream music world.