Prog rock at its best
I have a confession to make here, I have never heard a single song by Vanden Plas before this gig, I have often seen their albums advertised on the flyers that fall out of CD cases and idly wondered what they were like but never followed it up, what a mistake I made.
Vanden Plas kept everyone waiting for twenty minutes and eventually came on without any intro music due to technical difficulties, I'd just seen Onslaught and about twenty minutes of Deathstars before this, so it was a sudden change of pace to hear Rush / Dream Theater style progressive rock. That doesn't mean they're clones of their peers though, Vanden Plas have their own sound and it came off the stage in waves carrying the audience along with it.
Sprawling song structures showcased their accomplished musicianship and I could have stood and listened all night even though my legs were hurting after eight hours of Bloodstock bands, they were that good. Andy Kuntz, the singer, said it had been seven years since the band had played England which is a shame as they seemed to have a lot of fans in the room this evening, there had been a queue outside the room to get in and I hadn't seen that for anyone else.
Andy has a great voice and this cut cleanly over the songs due to excellent sound. The instruments all had their own space but still gelled together into a coherent epic sound of rising and soaring crescendos. Blimey.
Unfortunately I had to cut short my stay due to the band starting late as I had to be in the main hall for the headline act, I stayed until the last minute and then grudgingly left but I managed to see about twenty minutes which passed like it was five. Don't leave it another seven years guys I want to see a full length concert.
Now excuse me I have a back catalogue to buy.