Live: EPICA / AGUA DE ANNIQUE / LOLLY JANE BLUE @ Eindhoven Effenaar, 17th October 2008

And so, 24 hours after entering the Paard van Toje in Den Haag I find myself in line for Epica once again, this time in the wonderful and busy city of Eindhoven. Outside the Effenaar, its already clear that whilst last night was busy, this venue is over twice the size and with the queue building behind us there’s no worry that tonight was going to be another full one as well. The reason for Epica being able to play such a larger venue tonight? Well it being Friday might have something to do with it, but a set from Agua de Annique probably added to it as well!

The Effenaar is a great venue, wide and spacious. There’s no worry about not being able to get a decent spot and whilst tonight must have been close to selling out, there didn’t seem to be that much crowding. Still, unlike the Paard van Troje, this venue only sold beer in half-pints – something that this British drinker struggled to come to terms with. Hell, I’m not sure the locals liked it much either!

First up today are Lolly Jane Blue. If The Gathering were a step or two away from metal, and Agua de Annique are a few steps further, then Lolly Jane Blue may as well be at the end of the road. In other words, the opener weren’t metal-related in the slightest, instead being an alternative country/folk act – I kid you not! Whilst the crowd seem a bit confused, Lolly Jane Blue and her band perform a decent set with some good songs – and whilst I’d have not sought out a band of this style, I’m glad to have seen a great band doing something a bit different. Hopefully some people in the crowd will have got what they were doing, too.

Of course, while Lolly Jane Blue might seem like an odd opener for Epica, she isn’t a bad choice at all to play before Agua de Annique, the new band featuring former The Gathering singer Anneke van Giersbergen. I was devastated when Anneke left The Gathering last year, and was concerned that nothing she did after would be as good as her accomplishments with them. However, the debut CD by Agua de Annique sounds just as good as The Gathering’s more recent efforts and hasn’t strayed any further from their sound than you’d expect The Gathering to do themselves!

As soon as the band come on its clear that a lot of people have turned up for them, as the response the band get is much better than the other supports so far during both Epica shows. Quite rightly so too, as Anneke is on fine form and her voice really needs to be seen and heard live rather than on record – there’s just something more awe-inspiring about her voice in a live situation. The rest of the band are lively as well, showing that this isn’t just Anneke’s solo project. Songs like ‘The Day After Yesterday’ and ‘Beautiful One’ and ‘Witnesses’ are spine-shivering stuff, and the band even manage to do well covering Faith No More’s ‘Digging the Grave’. As the set closes, the fact that Anneke left The Gathering last year doesn’t feel like such a blow, as its quite clear she’s moved on and done very well at it.

Finally, Epica play yet another great set to a rapturous crowd in Eindhoven. Though playing the same set as they did at Paard van Troje, the band do make a few changes for the better, most notably dropping the drum solo and bringing in Medusa for a second song, ‘Solitary Ground’. Even without Agua de Annique’s supporting set, Epica would’ve made tonight worth the extra trip, with a set that’s very hard to fault.

Despite finishing at midnight, the Netherlands has a wonderful and organized transport system and there is no problem getting back to Rotterdam for a few hours sleep before the journey to Brussels in the early morning. It seemed a shame to say goodbye to such a great country full of such friendly people, good music and great atmosphere. I hope to be back there soon.