Lords of the Backstage - Amsterdam, 26-01-2013

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After a year with virtually no prog - as far as buying albums, and visiting gigs and meetings was concerned, I started this year with a visit to a Marillion tribute band, the Dutch band Lords of the Backstage. Having a distant friend in the bass player, and the backing vocalist (who also plays bass, in Dutch rising prog star Incidense) made it a double fun evening, at 't Oude Gasthuis in Amsterdam.
I spent most of the evening in front of the 'stage', taking around 200 pictures - partly to practise with my new camera, partly because the bands wanted some new pictures of themselves - and enjoyed some great Marillion moments. The set included material from both Fish and Hogarth era, with excerpts from all great albums. I remember the energy of Marillon when I saw the in the 90s, with newly recruited Steve Hogarth, and on this evening, the Lords equalled that level of energy, albeit for a smaller audience. 
Singer Rich Harding played the audience like a pro, which to some extend he is. He sings in this band, but also in a Norwegian Marillion tribute band and at least on one occasion he filled in for Steve Hogarth when the latter caught a flue just before a gig in England. He has no trouble with any note, be it high or low, that was ever put on record by Fish and Hogarth. In fact, we concluded that at this time, he's probably in better shape to sing the old Fish-era material than Fish himself.
Of course, Rich was not on stage by himself. Bass player Peter, keyboard pilot Dennis, drummer Henri and guitarist Ivo are all very much capable of reproducing their part of Marrilions material. Ivo played a couple of great solos, and Peter and Henri are living metronomes and Henri brings not only stings and organs but also a lot of humor to the stage. At one point, he spotted an elderly lady sitting on the floor in front of the audience ('t Oude Gasthuis is a small pub) and offered her his stool. Everybody laughed, and the lady gladly accepted this slightly more comfortabel seat.
The backing vocals by the other Rich, were a first for the Lords, and given that so many Marillion tracks (certainly Fish era) do have some backing vocals, this really worked out quite nicely.

The audience had a great time, and so did the band. If only this band would come together and gig more than once or twice each year. That won't happen quickly though, with Rich living in the UK.

Edited by Angelo - January 27 2013 at 10:16

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Angelo Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin Joined: May 07 2006 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 13244	Topic: Lords of the Backstage - Amsterdam, 26-01-2013 Posted: January 27 2013 at 10:08
	After a year with virtually no prog - as far as buying albums, and visiting gigs and meetings was concerned, I started this year with a visit to a Marillion tribute band, the Dutch band Lords of the Backstage. Having a distant friend in the bass player, and the backing vocalist (who also plays bass, in Dutch rising prog star Incidense) made it a double fun evening, at 't Oude Gasthuis in Amsterdam. I spent most of the evening in front of the 'stage', taking around 200 pictures - partly to practise with my new camera, partly because the bands wanted some new pictures of themselves - and enjoyed some great Marillion moments. The set included material from both Fish and Hogarth era, with excerpts from all great albums. I remember the energy of Marillon when I saw the in the 90s, with newly recruited Steve Hogarth, and on this evening, the Lords equalled that level of energy, albeit for a smaller audience. Singer Rich Harding played the audience like a pro, which to some extend he is. He sings in this band, but also in a Norwegian Marillion tribute band and at least on one occasion he filled in for Steve Hogarth when the latter caught a flue just before a gig in England. He has no trouble with any note, be it high or low, that was ever put on record by Fish and Hogarth. In fact, we concluded that at this time, he's probably in better shape to sing the old Fish-era material than Fish himself. Of course, Rich was not on stage by himself. Bass player Peter, keyboard pilot Dennis, drummer Henri and guitarist Ivo are all very much capable of reproducing their part of Marrilions material. Ivo played a couple of great solos, and Peter and Henri are living metronomes and Henri brings not only stings and organs but also a lot of humor to the stage. At one point, he spotted an elderly lady sitting on the floor in front of the audience ('t Oude Gasthuis is a small pub) and offered her his stool. Everybody laughed, and the lady gladly accepted this slightly more comfortabel seat. The backing vocals by the other Rich, were a first for the Lords, and given that so many Marillion tracks (certainly Fish era) do have some backing vocals, this really worked out quite nicely. The audience had a great time, and so did the band. If only this band would come together and gig more than once or twice each year. That won't happen quickly though, with Rich living in the UK. Edited by Angelo - January 27 2013 at 10:16
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