Stream of Passion @ Bibelot Dordrecht
Stream of Passion @ Bibelot Dordrecht
The Netherlands - Friday 18 April 2014
Finally the day arrives that would be the great finale for a lot of Stream of Passion Legion members. All songs from the fourth album A War Of Our Own (marked 4 in set lists) will be played live on the main stage of the (new) Bibelot. It’s also the official release date for the independent, crowd funded release. For the Legion Members this was totally not relevant, as they had already their copy either by digital download, regular mail or for some lucky ones by personal delivery by band members last weekend. Being part of the party was the thing.
Being at the Sandlane Recording Facilities for the press / special crowd funder listening session (1 March) and the try-out show in in de Peppel (Zeist, 8 March) I already knew a little what I could expect. At the studio I got also a press copy to be able to review the album, so the songs are more or less familiar now. At the Peppel SoP played only a couple of new songs, but Marcela was not feeling very well and the songs felt still a little uncertain.
The party in Bibelot already started in the corridors of the venue. The situation there is that if you are early (not exceptionally early) you can wait in the corridors inside the building until doors open. With the early bird Legion members (some to be recognized on their special Legion member T-shirt) and also the usual suspects at Stream of Passion gigs we had already great fun. One member already distributed sheets for something special in the show. More on that later.
Finally doors open. On stage there is a big white screen. At 8:30PM the video clip of the title song “A War Of Our Own” is projected. After that the recording of the acoustic set in Sandline Recording Facilities of 1 March went in première. In the next days all crowd funders will get the link to this intimate version of 4 songs.
Set List:
My Leader (2)
A War Of Our Own (4)
Don’t Let Go (4)
The Curse (4)
After a reprise of the video clip, the white screen was removed and the back drop from the “Darker Days” shows became visible. This video presentation replaced a support act. As the focus was on the new release and being present at the recording of the acoustic session I didn’t mind this setup. There are always people that prefer a real support.
The show starts with an intro with various samples followed a shooting sounds. The back drop falls and reveals the new “A War Of Our Own” back drop as the bands comes to the stage. The open track “Monster” from A War Of Our Own is also the opening song. It might be that the missing of a support was felt. It started a little quiet. But with the old well known “Passion” from Embrace the Storm (1) the crowd was on steam. The energy and fun on stage was the catalyst.
Marcela Bovio (vocals) announced the song “A War of Our Own” as representing their struggle (and in her county of birth, Mexico) of getting into a new direction. With the help of the Legion it was possible to realize the band’s dream. In the meantime this has become a familiar song as we already heard it three times. This was followed by another new song, already for quite some time on the regular set list, “The Curse”. Marcela asked to crowd to join in with “We will follow” and “I will follow”. At the chorus the crowd held high the upfront distributed sheets with the text “I will follow,” which caused at the first instance a little hilarious disruption in Marcela’s singing. It was indicative of the relaxed atmosphere.
The band really enjoyed being on stage again and to be able to show their “baby” to the world. The dynamic moving Johan van Stratum (bass) made a lot of (high) jumps on the relatively small stage. His moves don’t influence the straight and dominant bass lines. Stephan Schultz (guitar) joined in the jumping. The new songs have fewer guitar solos, but the live performance is excellent. Less dynamic in moves but more with his hair is Eric Hazebroek (guitar). His guitar work is solid with great heavy riffs and subtle solos. Martijn Peters (drums) is a little hidden in the back. His drums are the varied basis for the Stream of Passion songs. In the new album keys are quite present. Jeffrey Revet (keys) plays very well and especially in the more quiet songs it’s impressive. The key word in all is passion. The name of the band Stream of Passion is very well fitting to their performance.
As said all songs from A War of Own are played and some older songs from The Flame Within (2) and Darker Days (3). Highlights are the ballad “For You”, “Delirio” and the already an all-time favourite for me “Don’t Let Go”. When announcing the last song “The Distance Between Us”, the bonus track, the crowd already indicates they want more. When the band leaves the stage immediately the shouting and cheering starts. When Marcela returns and says that they will do some more under two conditions. The standard one was more noise and the second one was she allowed to take of her shoes. Of course all was granted.
The encore opened with a song that is almost a classic on their set list. Stream of Passion gives their own twist to “Street Spirit” such that it hardly can be seen as a Radiohead cover. It’s definitely a crowd favourite. The final song “This Endless Night” fits the emotion at that point and make the crowd ready for the after party.
Set list:
Monster (4)
Passion (1)
A War of Our Own (4)
The Curse (4)
Autophobia (4)
In the End (2)
Burning Star (4)
For You (4)
Broken (3)
Exile (4)
Earthquake (4)
Delirio (4)
Secrets (4)
Collide (3)
Don't Let Go (4)
Out of the Darkness (4)
Lost (3)
The Distance Between Us (4)
Encore: Street Spirit (Fade Out) – [Radiohead cover] (2)
This Endless Night (2)
The show was great. Sound and light excellent. All enjoyed the new and old songs. And after the show all band members were present for a long time to meet the fans, chat with them, have a drink and pose in a lot of fan photos. A great evening with a great band.
