Friday 18 December 2009

Rocking All Night



A double bill with Drive Like Maria and Triggerfinger! That can only mean one thing: Let's rock all night! And so I made sure I got my tickets on time and we headed down to the Melkweg to catch some heat from these steady rock bands. Two bands that play heavy 70s inspired rock and stoner rock like tunes and have a good live reputation. So we should expect some fireworks tonight.



Drive Like Maria at the Melkweg Amsterdam, December 11 2009 (Ronald Says 7 out of 10)
I've mentioned this band a couple of times before since I like them a lot. They play no nonsense rock and the band is tied. Their songs sound catchy and so does their album. Unfortunately drummer singer Bjorn Awouters broke a couple of ribs only a few days before this gig. But they didn't want to cancel this tour so they found a replacement drummer. Awouters still played the first songs behind the drum kit while singing but it was obvious that this was no picknick. Then he moved to the front of the stage but some moves still looked pretty painful. Respect for this die hard musician. I still think despite how good a drummer he is that he should be up front on the stage and let someone else play the drums. It makes the performance a lot more lively. And now it's time for them to come up with their own sound and take this rock train to the next level.


Triggerfinger at the Melkweg Amsterdam, December 11 2009 (Ronald Says 8 out of 10)
Although it was a so called double bill it looked like Triggerfinger certainly was the main act. A big shiny red curtain hung from the back of the stage while all three band members including the drummer where up front on the stage. These are experienced musicians that can play some heavy songs. They were knocking them out one after another easily in a killer tempo. Singer Ruben Block is a charismatic person that looks like he walked straight out of a TV soap. Together with the distinct looking bass player Monsieur Paul aka Paul Van Bruystegem and very active drummer Mario Goossens, all dressed in stylish black, they are the perfect rock band. They give each other lots of space and seem to be fully adapted to each other. After a very tight set the last encore is a creative version of "Sweet Dreams" with Paul and Goossens both playing a cymbal that has been stuck in an empty beer crate. This band once more lives up to it's killer live reputation.

And so this turned out to be an excellent night with two hard working bands that can please a crowd anytime. Hell yeah!

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