I entered the venue in Rijssen at a quarter to eight. It came as a pleasant surprise to see that prog-minded Holland found it`s way to this fine venue once again. It was nearly sold out. After fifteen minutes the lights dimmed and a spotlight was put out into the audience. The first notes came out of the speakers, and Neals warm vocals filled the room. There he was, standing in the crowd, with his acoustic guitar. I was great fun watching all the smiling faces as Neal passed his fans and slowly made his way to the stage. This man knows how to create a great atmosphere, I had no doubt that this would be a remarkable night.

The stage was filled with eight musicians, among them Dream Theater’s Mike Portnoy. The two things that would make this rock concert different from all others was the presence of a cello player and violist. With eight people on stage, playing nearly fifteen different instruments one might expect that the sound-man needed some time to get the sound right. It was amazing to hear that it did not even take one minute. The sound was absolutely fabulous.

As suspected, Neal played the entire Testimony album. CD one was played before the break. Although this is my favourite disc from the double album, it did not make up to my high expectations. There was nothing wrong with the music, but the musicians seemed too much focused on the complex music (I for one can`t figure out how they were able to learn this music on such short notice in the first place). The vivacious Neal Morse did barely get any response from his musicians, with exception from Mike Portnoy.

When the band returned from their break they were all dressed in white. This was not the only change in the band. Everybody on stage seemed so much more relaxed which had a clear affect on the crowd. There was much more interaction between the musicians and there even was some room for some foolishness. I was surprised that the song I despised most on the album, was the one that made the deepest impression. I hate the gospelesque "sing it high, sing it low" chorus in "Part 3". But Morse and band played it with great lightness and extended it with fantastic violin solo`s (more violins at rock concerts!). This song really kicked in and made the crowd go mad.

Of course there had to go something wrong during the gig. During "I Am Willing", Mike`s mic malfunctioned and caused a horrible buzz in one of the most emotional songs. With the exception of the perfectionist Portnoy everybody could laugh about it and the band simply started over. After almost two and a half hour, Testimony came to an end. Those who thought the band would call it a night were wrong. The band returned and played "June" as an encore. The next song played came as a surprise, since it lasts over thirty minutes. It was the epic of all epics, "Stranger In Your Soul": a Transatlantic song. It was incredible to hear this song live with violin and cello.

After three hours of music, the band thanked the fans and walked back- stage. The crowd cheered and applauded for about ten minutes before the band got back on stage for their final song (At least I hope it was the last song, because I left the venue afterwards) "Bridge Across Forever", another Transatlantic song. Tonight the people in Rijssen saw a remarkable show, they were really a part of. Lucky & Co is growing out to be one of my favourite venues in The Netherlands.

(Review: Geert Oldenmenger
Pics: Nico Vink)