STREAM OF PASSION
AUTUMN
Sole support band of the evening are Dutch rock/metallers Autumn, a band I last caught live some five and a half years ago in Utrecht when they opened for Within Temptation. I recall not being overly impressed back then, and with a significantly altered lineup since, I also failed to be won over by last year's 'Altitude' album which I dismissed as a rather bland collection of rock/metal tunes that lacked any real punch. However, with all that said, I never make any definitive judgement on a band's worth until I've seen them live and Autumn, in 2010, are proof that this is a wise strategy. For tonight, in the P60, they inject each of their compositions with a dynamic, raw energy that I've previously found lacking in their recorded form and vocalist Marjan Welman, with the band since 2008, has a powerful voice on the live stage that seems not to have been captured too effectively on 'Altitude'. Opening in down-tempo, subdued fashion with the ballad-esque 'Synchro-Minds', band members slowly wander out onto a smoke filled, dimly lit stage. Offsetting the low-key start with up-tempo bombast, 'Paradise Nox' follows and Autumn transform into a full-on energetic rock band as Welman headbangs centre stage and the P60 bursts into life. With their nearly hour long setlist comprised of material from only 'Altitude' and its predecessor 'My New Time' with the likes of 'Blue Wine', 'Forget To Remember (Sunday Mornings)', 'Satellites', 'Skydancer', 'The Heart Demands' and set closer 'Altitude', only drummer Jan Grijpstra and guitarist Jens van der Valk remain in Autumn's lineup from the pre-'My New Time' era so I'm guessing it's a statement of "this is who we are now". And who they are now, based on tonight's show, is a far superior live band than they are recorded.
DATE:
VENUE:
Thursday 30thSeptember 2010
P60 in Amstelveen, Netherlands
Reviews & Photography by Mark Holmes
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AUTUMN
STREAM OF PASSION
Tonight's show has been billed as a "request the setlist" performance whereby Stream of Passion invited fans to put forward songs they wanted to hear live. With only two albums to their name thus far in a career that has seen the band transform from an Arjen Lucassen led side project back in 2005 with the release of 'Embrace the Storm' to a revised lineup for last year's 'The Flame Within', it would be a fair assumption that a headline set would incorporate most of the tracks from said releases anyway. Not so actually as the Dutch/Mexican ensemble only play for not much longer than an hour so it's just the most requested tracks that are aired tonight. However, while some might construe this to be a little short for a headlining band, Stream of Passion are quite simply stunning during their time on stage so compensate for a shorter than expected set with a thrilling ride of sympho-flavoured prog-tinged metal through every song played, and with a ceaselessly energetic performance to boot. Opening with the first two tracks from their debut, 'Spellbound' and 'Passion', it's evident the band are on fine form from the off and the largish crowd gathered in Amstelveen's P60 lap up the music with evident enthusiasm (after all, it is many present who would have requested the tracks!). A couple of 'The Flame Within' numbers follow, 'My Leader' and the melodically sublime 'When You Hurt Me The Most', which are just as well received as the earlier songs. It's also refreshing to hear multi-lingual Mexican Marcela Bovio speak in English between the songs as she acknowledges the international attendance at tonight's gig, unlike Autumn's Marjan Welman whose Dutch ramblings were quite lost on me with my limited vocabulary of the language (so "dank u wel" Marcela...or should that be "gracias"...). She's also in fine voice this evening, exercising her wide range and powerful voice with a note-perfect display of singing. A duo of tracks from 'Embrace the Storm' are up next, 'Out in the Real World' and 'Wherever You Are' before returning to the latest release for 'Burn My Pain' and 'Games We Play'. What strikes me about all the material this evening is just how much heavier it sounds in a live context. A perfect mix through the PA and pleasingly resonant sound undoubtedly affords the music more weight but everything sounds just that little bit beefier than on record. That's also true of the band's innovative Radiohead cover, 'Street Spirit' which appears here as a pre-encore set closer, with Marcela seemingly chuffed many had requested the song for tonight's show by saying "we liked how it turned out and, apparently, so did you because you voted for it". Stream of Passion wrap up proceedings with encore tracks 'Nostalgia', 'The Art of Loss' (which Marcela states is odd playing so late on as they usually open with it), and 'Calliopeia'. Now they have evidently proven themselves a fully-fledged live band in their post-Lucassen guise, I predict Stream of Passion will flourish within the scene over the next couple of years in terms of popularity. Based on tonight's performance, they certainly deserve to. A stunning set from an immensely talented band.
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