Periphery kicked off. All through their set, I was wondering if they really needed three guitar players. The answer to that question is pretty simple, and let me explain it to you in a flowchart:

Flowchart: Do I need three guitar players in my band? (click to enlarge)
photo credits: IMG_4322 by Dr Chino CC-BY-NC-SA, and Iron Maiden en Costa Rica by adels CC-BY

Dream Theater was great. Lots of tracks from their latest album A Dramatic Turn of Events and still quite a lot of old stuff. To showcase new drummer Mike Mangini, he got to play a drumsolo. If he can do the same amount of hits per minute on a keyboard as on his drumset, he would be the best data typist. Still I could help but wonder whether drumsolos are necessary. Again, the pretty simple answer is best explained in a flowchart:

Flowchart: Should I play a drumsolo? (click to enlarge)
photo credit: Blue drum set by Frank Tellez CC-BY-NC-SA

Sorry, but I still think that instrumental wanking for no apparent reason is completely uncalled for.

Seen live: Dream Theater + Periphery on February 1st, 2012 at the IJsselhallen, Zwolle.
Setlist: Bridges in the Sky / 6:00 / Build Me Up, Break Me Down / Surrounded / The Root of All Evil / Mike Mangini drum solo / A Fortune in Lies / Outcry / The Silent Man / Beneath the Surface / On the Backs of Angels / War Inside My Head / The Test That Stumped Them All / The Spirit Carries On / Breaking All Illusions // Pull Me Under

En waarom mij dat niet verbaast? Marinus de Goederen kan nu eenmaal hele fijne liedjes schrijven. En die speelt hij niet onverdienstelijk. Zoals gisteren, in het Papenstraattheater in Zwolle, met hulp van Tim Coenen op piano. Ten opzichte van de eerste show van de tour, in Zoetermeer, was de setlijst ietwat gewijzigd (bijvoorbeeld geen "What the World Needs Now is a Killer Storm" maar wel "They've Shut Down Marks & Spencer", die ik nog niet eerder live gehoord had), waren er meer en langere verhalen bij de nummers (en na twee jaar nog steeds geen post-it's in dat boek over Jackie Kennedy), en een beetje acrobatiek danwel gestuntel met wegglijdende vloerkleedjes. Voor, in de pauze van en na de voorstelling heb ik nog gezellig met wat mensen staan babbelen, en tot slot heb ook nog een hip t-shirt met pornosteropdruk aan mijn collectie kunnen toevoegen. Puike toestanden allemaal.

Seen live: mr. a balladeer, "Save Your Drama for Your Mama", in het Papenstraattheater, Zwolle op 26 januari 2012.
Setlist: Herbst / Plan B / Rumor Had It / They've Shut Down Marks & Spencer / Noah / A Little Rain Has Never Hurt No One / Sirens / Oh, California / Superman Can't Move His Legs // More or Less the Sort of Shit Ex-Lovers Get Restraining Orders For / Why Hitler Loved His Dog / When a Heart's Been Broken / Mary Had a Secret / Nightmare on Elm Street / Where Are You, Bambi Woods? / 10 Things to Win You Over / Swim with Sam / Fortune Teller // Jolene (Dolly Parton cover)

And then, finally, last friday, I was sitting in a small theater, in a small town, somewhere up in the snowy, desolate wastes of Finland,* and the house lights went down and the music started. Nearly three hours later, I was pretty euphoric. It took some effort not to jump up and down going all, like, you know, ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygod.

But that's par for the course. I've made similar trips to Hamburg, Vienna (twice), Budapest, Oberhausen and Antwerp to see Tanz der Vampire, and it's a pretty freaking awesome show, whichever way you turn it. This time I was told to be prepared for some changes. Not changes in the Broadway Dance of the Vampires-sense of the word, but changes due to the smaller size of the production. The sets are completely new, as is most, if not all, of the choreography. It's a completely fresh take.

Oh, and beware! Here there be spoilers and rambling.

As it turns out, most of these changes work out really well. The most noticeable changes in the characters are the way Rebecca and Koukol are portrayed. Rebecca (played by Leena Rousti) isn't the ugly old hag she usually is, and this changes her relationship with Chagal completely, and for the better. While she usually leaves me completely indifferent, now she seems a much more sympathetic character. Koukol (Antti Railio) also is played quite different. He was not his usual hunchbacked self, but reminded me of Danny de Vito in that one Batman movie. He gets to sing in Carpe Noctem, too. The role of Professor Abronsius, as played by Esa Ahonen, was different too, but that much. He wasn't the old, slightly incompetent academic-type, but he seems more confident. It suits him.

The first act stayed pretty close to previous incarnations of Tanz. Apart from the new interpretations of the characters, no drastic changes come to mind. The staging of some scenes is different—most noticable, Von Krolock (Jyri Lahtinen played him very well) doesn't come in through the auditorium for Jumala on kuollut/Got ist Tott—but that's fine with me. The only nit I have to pick is with Voimakkaampi meitä/Starker als wir Sind. In every version I've seen and heard, Krolock doubles Sarah's last line, as if to convince her to give in to temptation and leave her dreary gray life behind. That very part is always the part the gets me, as it's so increddibly powerful: there's all these voices praying for strength to overcome the dark powers, and then this big, booming voice comes it. I missed that.

The second act has always been my favorite one, this time it was truly excellent. The most noticeable change is doubtlessly the crypt scene. It's my least favorite section of the entire show, as it goes on for way too long, isn't particularly funny or touching: it seems to be there just to help the plot along. This time, it felt a lot shorter, and the set design was great—I mean, a crypt rising up from the orchestra pit, how awesome is that? We were sitting in row three, and I almost got the impression that we were going down instead of the stage coming up. Along with some other little touches, like Krolock and Herbert almost waking up when Alfred drops the hammer and stake, it's a much better section.

As I said, the choreography is (almost) completely new. The only case where it didn't work for me was in the finale. Any show should go out with a bang, and having just a few dancers with the rest of the cast rocking out on the side of the stage just doesn't deliver that. The final bows, with the entire cast on the edge of stage was nice though.

One of my favorite scenes was Kun kaikki pimenee/Totale Finsternis. It was staged simple but very powerful: Sarah (Raili Raitala) is center stage, and behind her, on the top of the stairs, we see Krolock watching her, enchanting her, luring her into his web. He stalks up and down, watching, waiting for the right moment to strike. She is entranced by him, daydreaming about the wonders he promises. Yet she never looks at him, until he is right next to her, ready to seal the pact with a deadly bite. That act almost breaks the trance, but then he calls her again, and as if by magic a door opens and together they disappear into the castle.

The biggest complaint is a minor one: for a musical about bloodsucking fiends of the night, there isn't nearly enough blood flowing. When Chagal bites Magda, they get away with it because of the lighting, but when Krolock finally sinks his fangs in Sarah's neck you'd figure she'd bleed. But she didn't have a drop on her.

Oh, what a wonderful bite. (© Ari Ijäs / Seinäjoen kaupunginteatterissa)

There's just two more actors that do need a mention: Ville Salonen was excellent as Alfred, and his Sarah'lle/Für Sarah was very pretty. And Jouko Enkelnotko's Herbert was, well, everything you'd expect a campy gay vampire to be. Quite good.

Walking out of friday's show I had to conclude that Dance of the Vampires Finland is an excellent adaptation that can rival any other version that I've seen. It was certainly worth the trip, and I'd love to see it again.

Luckily, the next day we got to see the matinee show before heading back to Helsinki. That performance was equally awesome. Furthermore, we were invited by Laura of Eclipsis to join a very informative and enjoyable backstage tour led by costume designer Leena Rintala. And thanks to her, I also got to be, as Dave keeps calling it, a star on Finnish television.*

The trips to see Tanz der Vampire are great ways to meet up with friends and like-minded people I haven't met before, they're great excuses to go and see new places, and as an added bonus, you get to see a great musical.

Now, if I could only find out what the deal is with these vampires in St. Petersburg. And since it's kinda in the neighborhood, it's tempting to swing by Seinäjoki again.

* This is a slight exaggeration, but probably better for the story.

Apart from my seat — there is no legroom on the first row of the balcony — it was a marvelous experience. Given that I was not at all familiar with this particular play, three hours seemed a little daunting. But exactly the main reason I went to see this particular play made it so rewarding: the integration of Tom Waits' music. Not that I'm at all familiar with his work, but the combination worked effortlessly. You see, Richard III is about obsession with power and descend into madness. And for that, Waits' songs, in all their sprawling chaos, is a great fit. Sure, the singing wasn't top notch, but then again, Tom Waits isn't a great singer. So the acting was great, the music was great, and visually it was sparse but effective. The stage ended up a grandiose mess. It was a great way to spend an evening.

Seen Live: Orkater, Richard III at Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam on August 16th, 2006

Last night I went to the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam (related item on the list — #70: see a concert in the Concertgebouw) where the Orkest van het Oosten performed Beethoven's choral symphony. And by the beard of Wodan, how epic was that? Well, imagine seeing something incredibly epic, triple that, add an additional dose of awesome and then you're halfway there.

And while I am so totally not downplaying the first three movement—they are completely awesome—how totally off the charts is it when in the fourth movement everything just stops, and a single voice implores you not to sing those tones, but rather something more joyous? And then, another voice starts Schiller's An die Freude, an ode to joy:

Freude, schöner Götterfunken,
Tochter aus Elysium,
Wir betreten feuertrunken,
Himmlische, dein Heiligthum!
Deine Zauber binden wieder,
Was die Mode streng geteilt;
Alle Menschen werden Brüder,
Wo dein sanfter Flügel weilt.

Try stop whistling that. I dare you. I've got several parts of that stuck in my head, on repeat. There are worse things to have there.

This was such an excellent experience, that I might just need to do that again someday.

Incidentally, last night's concert was broadcasted live on Radio 4, and is available for streaming.

Seen Live:
Orkest van het Oosten, Consensus Vocalis, Jan Willem de Vriend (conductor), Ronald Brautigam (fortepiano), Annemarie Kremer (soprano), Wilke te Brummelstroete (alto), Marcel Reijans (tenor) and Geert Smits (bass) at the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam on July 19, 2011
Setlist:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Piano Concerto No. 17 in G major, KV. 453
Ludwig Van Beethoven - Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125

(This song wasn't my first choice and it cuts out early, but it's the best I can do at the moment. I would have loved to include "The Truth Will Set You Free", but the best version I could find is with the American band—with Mike Portnoy on drums—and the audio isn't all that. There are some nice photos in this set, but I'm not allowed to embed them—natch.)

Finally, and it really isn't much of an issue, but yes, Neal Morse is indeed a reli-progrocker. He's found Jesus, sings about him and his dad, hallelujah, praise the lord. And no, it didn't bother me a bit. (Okay, well, during the encore it got a little too Kumbaya, raise your hands if you love Jesus for my liking, but overall it wasn't too preachy.) You see, for me someone singing about Jesus and all that is just like some other artist singing their about their dicks just barely fitting in their pants, seeing rainbows in the dark, offering cute little puppies to Satan, and Thor knows what else: sure, lyrics I can relate to would be a plus, but in the end I'm there to be entertained.

Seen live: Neal Morse at Hedon, Zwolle, on June 2nd, 2011.
Band: Neal Morse: vocals, keys, guitar; Paul Bielatowicz (Carl Palmer): guitar, vocals; Nathan Brenton: guitar, cello, vocals; Kristoffer Gildenlöw (ex-Pain Of Salvation, Dial, Lana Lane): bass, vocals; Ola Hedén (Flower Kings): keyboards, vocals; Collin Leijenaar: drums; Jessica Koomen: vocals, keyboards, percussion; Ben Mathot (Ayreon/Arjen Lucassen): Violin
Setlist: Beware of Darkness (George Harrison cover) / Levitahan / The Seperated Man / Sola Scriptura Medley [The Door: Introduction / In The Name Of God / All I Ask For / The Conclusion: Come Out of Her] / Testimony, Part 5 [Overture no. 3 / Rejoice / Oh Lord My God / God's Theme] // Testimony 2 [Mercy Street / Overture No. 4 / Time Changer / Jayda / Nighttime Collectors / Time Has Come Today / Jesus' Blood / The Truth Will Set You Free / Chance of a Lifetime / Jesus Bring Me Home / Road Dog Blues / It's For You / Crossing Over / Mercy Street Reprise] // Encore: Reunion

Seen Live: Rush, Time Machine Tour, Ahoy' Rotterdam on May 27th, 2011
Set List: The Spirit of Radio / Time Stand Still / Presto / Stick It Out / Workin' Them Angels / Leave That Thing Alone / Faithless / BU2B / Freewill / Marathon / Subdivisions // Tom Sawyer / Red Barchetta / YYZ / Limelight / The Camera Eye / Witch Hunt / Vital Signs / Caravan / Drum Solo / Closer to the Heart / 2112: Overture/The Temples of Syrinx / Far Cry // La Villa Strangiato / Working Man

Van de zeven waren er drie min of meer verplichte nummers. Daniël Lohues (5 maart) is een held, om het Trans-Siberian Orchestra (26 maart) kon ik ook niet heen, en sinds ik anderhalf jaar geleden het ge-ni-a-le Philip Freriks ik ben je bitch niet van het Monica da Silva Trio (31 maart) tegenkwam stonden ze hoog op mijn verlanglijst.

De andere vier kwamen er min of meer tussendoor gefietst. Zo kreeg ik een mailtje met de vraag of ik iemand van een kaartje voor We Will Rock You (9 maart) af wou helpen. En op zich is dat een zeer vermakelijke musical, zolang je er niet meer van verwacht dan een vehikel voor de hits van Queen. Via een alleen voor echte insiders te volgen weg stond ik op 12 maart (of all fucking places) in Hoogmade bij een Pink Floyd cover bandje bier te tappen. Vier dagen later was het weer raak. En hoewel Devin Townsend met zijn Project niet het beste optreden wat ik deze maand gezien heb gaf, was het wel een overdreven buitengewoon puike avond. Tenslotte, omdat ik mezelf niet bepaald stupid vind, zat ik me afgelopen maandagavond in Theater Kikker af te vragen waarom ik niet veel eerder eens aandacht aan Solo besteed heb. Zo freaking goed.

Voor de rest van het jaar heb ik vier concerten in de planning staan. Maar gezien mijn streven minimaal een keer per maand cultureel verantwoord de podiumkunsten te ondersteunen—actuele tussenstand: drie jaar en zes maanden op rij is het gelukt—zal daar vast wel verandering in komen.

Seen live: BLØF at Paradiso, Amsterdam on February 28th, 2011
Setlist: Maan en sterren / Wijd open / Hou vol, hou vast / We doen wat we kunnen / Beter / Iedereen / Wat jij denkt / Wachten op de dag / Hoe warmer de zon / Punt / 21 gram / Was je maar hier // Mens / Hart tegen hart / Harder dan ik hebben kan / Blauwe ruis // Donker hart / Aanzoek zonder ringen / Holiday in Spain / Alles is liefde // Helder / Hier

So last weekend I went to Antwerp and saw the show twice. And while it's not the best version I've seen—it's a smaller production than those I've seen in Germany and Vienna, and very close to the one in Budapast—it's absolutely worth checking out.

Before I had heard anything from the show, my main concern was the translation. For me, it had to be top-notch. I know the story and most of the original German libretto by heart, but I wouldn't notice it if the words don't work. That also goes for the Japanese, Hungarian or Polish translations. But when the Dutch words are a mess, I will notice it. After transcribing the single I had good hopes for the rest of the show, and the whole translation seems to be very, very good indeed. There were a few things I couldn't quite hear or didn't really like, but no mayor complaints. My biggest issue is probably the translation of Tot zu sein ist komisch (Death is such an odd thing, as it was called in Dance of the Vampires) as "Dood zijn is ironisch" (Being dead is ironic). From the lyrics I didn't quite get how death would be ironic, but I can't quite say how I would have done it differently. (Ironically, though, in the program the song is called "Dood zijn is grappig"—being dead is funny.) Hopefully the cast album will include the lyrics.

Speaking of the cast: I hadn't heard of Hans Peter Janssens before his casting, but I think he was a good Krolock. Maybe his playing lacked a bit of flair, but he certainly has the voice for the part. If you didn't know that this is the first time that Anne Van Opstal (Sarah) and Niels Jacobs (Alfred) play a leading role in a big production, you'd be none the wiser. The entire cast was quite good, but Sébastien De Smet (Abronsius) deserves a special mention as he sprained his ribs during saturday's performance.

For me, this was the second time I saw the same show on consecutive nights. When I saw Whistle Down the Wind earlier this year, the first night made the biggest impact. This time it was the other way around. During the saturday show I was being distracted by paying attention to all the little changes, the translation and the lack of space to put my legs in. It was a good performance, but I didn't seem to be in it. On sunday I just sat back and watched the show. And I enjoyed it quite a bit more than the previous day.

And as always on these Steintrips, the company was excellent.