Review

Fertile Reality

Both bands were eager to play on this night. Especially Fertile Reality, as they hadn't been on stage for the last 5 months and were determined to deliver a good show. And they did!

Just after 9 o'clock the venue was sufficiently filled with visitors to start the gig. The openingsong "Terabyte" set the tone for the rest of the show: modest and atmospherical. The subtlety and fragility of the sound of Fertile Reality made the audience listen to the songs attentively. The songs appear to be slow, but they are in fact quite danceble. After the eastern tinged "Allah al Ahkbar" they play a brand new song called "Evening land". This song is in the same vain as the songs from their last album "The dune of the mill".

"1990" is a song on which vocalist Paul Broekhuizen attracts the attention with his emotional, slightly dramatic voice. "Dark horse" and "Bring out your dead" of the previous album "The longfield battle" sound well and keep drawing the attention of the audience. The comparisons to Joy Division and Wire are very well in place, the compositions and the way the band plays them make for a distinct post-punk sound.

The intro of "Plan B" recalls the guitarsound of "The Jesus and Mary Chain" and The Primitives". The synthesizers in this song create a special mood. "Justin time" has become a fan favourite and the enthusiastic reaction of the audience proves this again. It's a catchy song with strong lyrics.

With "Alcoholic junkies" they return to the minialbum "Micro" from 1998. This album marked the new direction the band was heading for after the spacerock sound of their early years. After "Morgendammerung" the quiet "Injury" finishes this fine show. Regarding the current post-punk revival and the quality of the band they deserve more.

Setlist "Fertile Reality"

The Cold

Last year the German band The Cold had already performed in the Netherlands as support act for The Mission, but this time they were the headliner. Comparisions to The Cure are common, but they sound significantly rougher on stage. They had a fill-in drummer who did his job very well. The bulk of the songs they played were from their last album "After all".

The Cold plays a firm kind of waverock, with atmospheric intermezzos. A remarkable song during their show was a song by Pink Floyd: "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun". The final song of the show was a cover of Joy Division's "Shadowplay". The Cold has made a very fine impression with this gig. We'll hear more about this band! The Cold gets along very well with Fertile Reality as they are planning to arrange a gig for Fertile Reality in Germany.

Setlist "The Cold"