have a lot of fun on the stage. This is lovely to
see. At times, the band has been over acting a
bit, but it didn’t bother me. The band had the
crowd waving to the music, as one gigantic
organism. Heads were bobbing, hips were
swaying. The natural effect of good rhymem
and melodie on the human body.
And the award for ‘Best Album From The
Year 2015’ goes to… ANNEKE VAN
GIERSBERGEN with ‘The Diary’ from THE
GENTLE STORM! Awarded by Io Pages
itself. After the ceremony and speech,
ANNEKE VAN GIERSBERGEN blew us
away with her acoustic set. It was wonderful.
With her beautiful voice she sung a few love
songs, for example ‘Circles’. She ended her
performance with the song ‘Wish you were
here’ from the theater show she is playing in
theaters all over The Netherlands right now.
‘De Nieuwe Madonna’ (The New Madonna) is
an accoustic show, packed with songs from the
80’s, all brought by ANNEKE. The show is
loaded with humor and is selling out fast.
ANEKDOTEN is a Swedish band that is
around for 25 years. They started their set with
the quote ‘rock ‘n roll is not supposed to be
smooth’ which created a funny atmosphere in
the pop hall. I guess that’s another way for a
musician to apologize for coming on stage
when the whole band is waiting already. The
public was enthusiast but I didn’t like it that
much. It wasn’t my style and for me they didn’t
play as a band. They are all good musicians, all
playing a different act on the stage. And the
pianist was not amused. She looked like she
hated what she was doing. But maybe it’s their
style of performing, I don’t know. Iff this was a
one time bad set, that’s too bad. Iff this is how
ANEKDOTEN usually preform, I just don’t
get it. There’s a difference between playing
timide and playing uninterested. I felt today,
we were served the last option.
I AM THE MORNING WITH TIM
BOWNESS AND FRIENDS. A lot of
different people on one stage in the theater
hall. To me, this show was a bit confusing.
They hadn’t prepared their performance and
sometimes you saw this, which gave a weird
impression. Sort of like a jamsession. It was a
special show with special music, and I liked the
violins a lot. The music TIM BOWNESS
made was overall adventurous. Sometimes
with rock elements and a little bit of fairy dust.
When I AM THE MORNING made their
official entrance, somewhat halfway through
the set, the stage was decorated with little
lights, flowers and all kinds of frivolous
ornaments. It looked like we walked into a
fairytale. With a female vocalist of this caliber,
the band had no problem in completing the
picture of fairytales and elven infested stories.
Iff anything, to me as a rock-enthusiast, this all
sounded a bit wooly. Strong music, definitely,
but by the end of the day I was longing for
some guitars and some well placed distortion.
GAZPACHO was the last band on stage. They
played an exclusive show to celebrate the 20th
anniversary of the band and the 10th
anniversary of their album ‘NIGHT’. They
created a fun and chill atmosphere during their
performance. The music was very accessible
and the public sang along. Once again I loved
the violin. It made the numbers more melodic
and happy-sounding. Definitely a good ending
to a nice first edition of the IO PAGES
FESTIVAL.
I’d like to congratulate the organization. Some
minor hiccups left aside, this was a fun day.
Both our photographer and our reporter were
out of their comfort zone by miles. We both
love the more powerful, more aggressive kinds
of rock and metal. But still, we were welcomed
with open arms, in a world that wasn’t ours.
The concept with the workshops, and a great
photo display by KAY R. JOACHIM, made
for a great day out.
TEKST: CAROLINE NEVENS
PHOTO’S: WIM OP DE BEECK