Transition # 1
The final train back to Hengelo would leave at about 23.30 o’clock. We would have to stray from the venue at about 11. After STR the clock had moved up to 22.40 p.m., I really hoped that Transport League would play second, so I could at least see them. It would be too bad to miss End of April, but one sometimes has to make certain sacrifices.

Band number two
After STR, I saw End of April guitarist Marcus walking on stage testing stuff. That’s when I knew the train would have to leave without me if I wanted to see Transport League. And I did. Boring myself for hours in Amsterdam didn’t seem all that attractive, so I made a preposition to accomplice Friso. We made a pact to take the first train instead of the last and hoped End of April would go on until two in the morning and Transport League would do the same all the way to the time of departure of the first train on Sunday.

End of April (EoA) started with the brilliant anthem ‘Crushed’, which rightfully got the public moving. Now, there were some more people then with STR, and now they gathered closer to the podium. EoA played a great, energetic show. Most songs of the ‘If I Had A Bullet For Everyone’ came along, and they played them smoothly, with great professionalism. Singer Allen really gave it 200% (hardy fucking har): he was jumping, screaming, falling to the ground, and damn angry. It is a miracle he didn’t break the microphone. Great performance. Adding to that was guitarist Allard, who had exactly the same (backing) voice as on the album, very nice. Unluckily EoA’s performance was quite short; 30 minutes. RATING 8.5

Transition # 2
It was about half past eleven and any illusions about reaching the last train were out the window. On stage, the giant ‘00 Transport League’-flag hung behind the drums. Twenty minutes later the band came on.

Transport League
Singer Tony Jelencovich had a beard the size of Kansas, which surprised me, for in the album libretto he was without any facial hair on certain pictures. The black-haired singer wore a cool dress with about ten buckles, which looked quite impressive and made him seem taller than he is. Bald-headed guitarist Dan J. also wore a strange dress. And was it not William Shakespeare who said `One is only truly of great coolness when thou weareth a dress and do not look queer`? Well no, but still.

They started with Lobotomico, the first song of ‘Multiple Organ Harvest’. After that they played a blend of new and older songs, some of which from the debut album Satanic Panic. These songs I found to be less good than the new, but still, you could hear the same intense vibe, low-key riffs and good melodic breaks. Yet, these songs are less cunning and thoughtfully constructed, they are simpler. Still, better than your average metal song.

Goddamn
Tony Jelencovich must have an iron throat, because all the variations between grunt-like singing and clean vocals went so smoothly I thought there was a second singer at work, but there really wasn’t. You could only see Jelencovich’s lips move more when he was screaming: great. Instrumentally they were very good. I couldn’t hear one mistake and they managed to create the same atmosphere and sound as on the new album. The stage-show wasn’t all that impressive. Only Dan J. hovered around at times, but somehow, it all didn’t matter, they got the intensity through anyway. I feel that towards the end they should’ve have gone on for five more songs, but well, I guess after playing an hour for eighty people who don’t really move (except for me, Friso, and some guy who knew all the lyrics to Satanic Panic) it’s enough.

All and all just a really, really good performance. The vocals were most impressive, the guitarplay by Dan J. was intense, the drumming pretty much flawless and the bass, well I don’t know, I never really hear the bass in most music. Yet there are minor weak points. The less good Satanic Panic-songs and the fact that they didn’t play a couple of songs of Multiple Organ Harvest - Slack Wrists Smack’ and ‘Sick Scum’ for instance-, are on their behalf. But the most important factor was the goddamn stupid audience who didn’t really do a fuck besides applauding harder to show their respect, while they should’ve at least moved. RATING 8.7 (a better audience would’ve made it 9.4)

Transition #3
At about 1.30 a.m. they were done. My wallet concluded that the beer was either really expensive or we just drank a lot, and so the advantages of paying zero bucks to get in were obliterated. Oh, well, sometimes you gotta pay the cost to have a degree of fun.

And indeed we did. After dancing like idiots to dance music, two bars, the whole friggin’ city of Amsterdam shut down at f*cking 3 a.m. Luckily the first train back to Hengelo drove at 7.13 a.m., which gave us some time to feel what a hobo’s life must be like.

(Review: Frank M. Horsthuis)