Establishing her beautiful voice with The Gathering in the nineties and noughties, Anneke van Giersbergen went solo to be able to spend more time with her family. She has collaborated with Devin Townsend and Anathema, among others. Having seen the lady with the crystal clear voice before last year in a solo acoustic set, I’m looking forward to seeing her perform with her full band this time. The gig is sold out to capacity and a decent local and very loyal following arrives so early there is a significant line outside the greenroom of the 013 venue.

Before Anneke takes the stage Kinkobra are to warm up the anticipating crowd. This dutch rockband had been working on it’s career with two albums under their belt and a “working your ass off” mentality. The first things we notice is the heavy sauce of 90s rock. Flashes of Skunk Anansie, the dutch Kane and U2 all change and mix in the sound. Personally I find the vocalists vocal style somewhat grating after a while, as he skips between registers a little much, but since he drowns in the mix, especially in his higher registers, or the louder parts of the music, it doesn’t bother to much. The most enjoyable parts to me are definitely the general show, though it suffers a little as they’re all 5 cramped on the front of the stage. It’s obvious they wish to move more than they can. Also the bass and drums are nicely done, which really moves the whole show along. It’s an opener that makes me feel like a teenager again, but I’m not sure how many of the older crowd in tonight can appreciate these youngsters making the music of their youth.

And then after a brief changeover it’s time for Anneke herself to take the stage. First the band emerges and an intro is played. From the corner of the room I’m standing I can see the door to the side of the stage and see Anneke herself compose herself before she gets on stage. The butterflies and joy are visible on her face, and as she walks out on stage she is just a complete natural. The show moves fluently from big rock songs, active and happy power anthems to eventually a darker tone and even a few acoustic solo songs. The set is speckled with some older work from the Gathering, in a new coat of varnish. That Anneke’s voice is impeccable is something I don’t need to express more, and tonight is no exception. Her charming and disarming banter between songs is well timed and never too long. The chemistry of the band as a whole is itself wonderful, especially the harmonies with their key player.

The crowd this evening is mixed in ages and backgrounds, some are clearly previous Gathering fans, some are younger people taking their first steps into alternative rock and others are more of a spunky middle aged variety. The crowd clearly enjoy the show, and even the occasional wanderer who came to see the show if thoroughly convinced. The only pity is that a small clique of young people who clearly came with the first band end up in the back of the room goofing with the member of Kinkobra. But this minor nuisance cannot kill the pleasure that is hearing Anneke sing, with her deep timbre in her lower registers and the crystal clear bell sound of her high registers. The music itself is touching and very emotional, the only thing missing was some songs of Anneke’s children’s project De Beer die Geen Beer was (The Bear Who Wasn’t a Bear), but it’s a minor thing I only noticed because the songs touched me at her 2013 acoustic show.

If you can catch Anneke on her tours the rest of the year, it’s sincerely recommended.

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Anneke van Giersbergen on Facebook

Words and Photos by Susanne A. Maathuis