Rockezine.com concert review for Bospop - Part 1 on Jul 02, 2005 in the Bospop/Weert

Bospop - Part 1

Bospop-Weert

Jul 02, 2005

V-MALE
The opening act started off at twelve o’clock sharp. V-Male won their spot on the main stage at the local ‘Weerter Amateur Festival’. This Saturday the band proved to be the justified winner of the contest. Although most of the songs could have been slightly more adventurous, all proved to be quite solid popular rockers with a slight nu-metal edge. By the stage performance one couldn’t tell that this band had never played a stage of this size before. I have no doubt that this foursome was nervous but clearly the adrenaline superseded the nerves. V-Male had some bad luck with the weather, after four or five songs the rain started pouring down from the sky. The fact that half of the crowd defied the rain could well be considered the best possible compliment on this fine performance. V-Male proved to be one of the best opening acts of the last couple of years.

VIDO
My first real Bospop surprise played the tent stage at two o’clock. The local band Vido was invited to give a solid sequel to their Bospop debut twenty-five years ago - yes, this band played at the first ever edition of Bospop! Listening and watching this ‘we’re young of mind’ band made me wonder why these men never made it big in the seventies. Their music is very appealing and boasts energy. The youthful sound and the nice performance with plenty of jokes and interaction make Vido an excellent festival band. Bospop, make sure to book this act for your fiftieth anniversary!!!

Steve Lukather
I think that Steve Lukather had higher expectations of his Bospop gig than the Bospop crowd had of Steve Lukather. Lukather and company absolutely gave all they had, but hardly ever got anything back from the crowd (there was of course the bunch of Toto diehards on front row). I must admit that it’s not all that easy to immediately appreciate the improvising “weird” instrumental stuff played by this Toto guitarist. This might be one of the reasons why the Hendrix covers “Freedom” and “Little Wing” were welcomed with more enthusiasm. For those not too familiar with this man’s work or not too much interested in the music, there was at least plenty to see on stage. It was very nice to watch Lukather treat his instrument and seeing his colleague Oskar Cartaya on bass not being inferior in any way.

THE SHEER
Every year Bospop invites a national band on the verge of breaking through nationwide. Last year the organisation contracted the teenagers of Di-rect, this year it was the twentiers of The Sheer to blow the roof off with their energetic pop rock. It was the first time I saw this band play and I can’t say otherwise than that they impressed me with their excellent performance. They really got the crowd going, something that hadn’t happened on Bospop up until now. The Sheer is a very balanced band where the four members are equal performers giving you plenty to watch on stage. Every member has its distinctive ways of expressing his music, all sharing the same factor; 100% rock ‘n roll! The faces of Bart, the hammering on the keyboards by Jasper and the energetic drumming of Gert-Jan, it all adds up to a sheer experience. Looking at the pictures might give you a nice impression of The Sheer’s main power. Next year’s promising Dutch band is going to have a hard time topping this performance!

(Review & Pics: Geert Oldenmenger)

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