RPWL September 2010.
RPWL Live @
10-sep de nieuwe Nor Heerlen www.nieuwenor.nl
11-sep de Kade Zaandam www.dekade.nl
12-sep Poppodium W2 Den Bosch www.w2.nl
2010 saw RPWL’s 10th anniversary, and the band wanted to celebrate this with a second small tour in the Netherlands.
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Kalle, Yogi & Vivian. |
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At de Nieuwe Nor they played a regular set at the usual evening time, but at W2 they had an afternoon show. A strange slot for a prog-rock gig, perhaps, but it worked well.
Both gigs had the same structure, starting off with “Sleep”. This a good song that represents the band’s oeuvre - catchy prog-rock songs with a twist. Here, the guitar solo of Kalle Wallner was unbelievable strong, it went on and on in an orgasm of electricity! People often compare him with Sir David Gilmour, but no, this solo was a Kalle Wallner trademark. Very, very impressive.
The band had a new man in their lineup, Werner Taus on bass. It was amazing to see how quickly he’d learnt the loops and tricks, filling them in with some of his own riffs, and how Marc Truaux on drums was already working well with it all. Truly amazing. I would have thought that we would miss Chris (Postl) - his charisma and showmanship were valuable additions to the RPWL live presence - but no (sorry Chris), this band lineup worked excellently. Kalle becomes more and more the musical director of the live band, he is the one who gives hints to the others, he is the one who nods and winks. Yogi is the band’s face - making jokes, telling little stories.
The band was on fire, as if they had a point to prove: “We’ve survived, we can deal with disappointments.” Every single one of them was ‘in the zone’. The band was tight, very tight, and sparkled on the stage; it looked like they won the lottery 5 minutes ago, smiling faces and fun!
As surpise Bine Heller joined the band with some extra vocals. Bine is their black bone, she runs the merchandise the tour, the everything and she's a fantastic
enthiosiastic singer aswell. For me this worked very well.
The sound was in both venues excellent, clear, cd quality. There was time for solos for everyone, but all in the spirit of the songs, no freakie stuff, very nice arrangements, some new changes here and there and that makes it very interesting for the fans.
Yogi and his guys would like to change the world to a more peaceful one, so some lyrics have a very strong social meaning and others are so funny, like “This is Not a Prog Song”, a medley of all our heroes from Asia, ELP, Genesis through to Floyd, but of course with the band’s own lines. The changes in the song are so quick and so smooth that it’s almost impossible to follow it, absolutely brilliant. The crowd was singing along, of course. A highlight of the evening and a good song for a laugh.
A selection of the whole 10 years passed through the quadraphonic sound system and led us to the final encores with “3 Light” & “I Don’t Know”. Kalle closed the show with yet another stunning guitar solo; this man is a genius too.
 Sound check with the new guy.
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 Band & projections. Pictures from Poppodium Nieuwe Nor 10-Sept-2010 by me. Kalle was in flames. |
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| 10-Sept-2010 by Joost Doensen. More beautiful shots.  |
I’ve seen this band many times, but this weekend was one of their best, musically and stage-wise. I think it will be a while before they’ve back again; they want to record a new album and hearing them talk about the plans, I guess this could take some time.
So to sum up: RPWL is an act that is well worth making an effort to see live; they’re craftsmen who can play with passion, who interact and make fun on stage and make fun with the audience. Everybody left the venue smiling - I think that’s a wonderful compliment.
Nick from the lovely South of the Netherlands
@ www.mostlypink.net.
Thx to Stuart for the editing!
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@ De Kade Zaandam More amazing shots. |
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we could together build a new world
sharing a unified vision
a giant leap for mankind
om jai, i believe that e will start the fire
By Arthur Haggenburg of the fantastic Backgroundmagazine.
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By me ;-)
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Setlist: Sleep Breathe in, breathe out Start the Fire Silenced Stranger Gentle Art of swimming This is not a Prog Song Trying to kiss the Sun Day on my Pillow Wated Land Roses Hole in the Sky 3 Light I don't know
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Energetic, fun, serious, smooth and awesome. CU the next time!
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New: tour dates:
With Beardfisf & Lazuli.
Return To:
RPWL
Updated September 2010 by Nick Gielkens
from the lovely South of the Netherlands,
at
www.mostlypink.net