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Het Bos is quickly becoming one of the most interesting hangouts for underground music fans in and around Antwerp. The venue, run by volunteers and the Scheld'Apen crew, is situated in an ugly part of the city, certainly if you knew that Scheld'Apen was surrounded by gigantic trees and lush green. Het Bos lies next to the Konijnenpijp (rabbit-pipe), a tunnel under the Schelde river, next to other concrete buildings. Cars are passing almost continuously, making it a bit unsafe to smoke outside if there's 200 other people smoking outside.
Nonetheless, the fine people at Het Bos work very hard to make this place become a landmark. Multiple great gigs a week, workshops, a bar with honest prices and excellent beers, .. these people certainly pull out all the stops. Usually, the main ingredients of those gigs are ripping guitars but once in awhile the area in front on the stage becomes a dance floor. It's pretty much the same with me. I've been a rock and metal fan all my life but sometimes I just can't resist the beats, certainly when they're as good as they were yesterday.
First things first. There was a support act, a dub producer named Jah pke. When we entered the venue, he was already showing his skills but no one was really listening. Well, some people were. We, including my wife and Marc (who gave you a nice lounge playlist yesterday) got a bit worried about the sound when the basslines became too intrusive and too loud for our fragile little ears. So we went outside for a smoke, again.
However, when we got back inside, the place was filling up, the sound was perfect and Jah pke's beats really started to become effective. Here and there people started dancing. Even the artist himself was deeply getting into it. Yet, all good things must end and often make place for even better things. We watched someone from the organisation make a friendly and subtle gesture towards the maestro on stage, the maestro nodded and worked his way towards the grand finale, much to the delight of a now full room.
By now, nobody seemed to be interested in going outside to smoke. That aspect, combined with a nice DJ set, seemed to lift everybody's spirits. It wouldn't be long before this whole thing started feeling like the glory days of indoor concerts. The kids, or adolescents among you really miss out on concerts these days. Today, all kinds of rules and regulations have taken a lot of fun out of a gig. Hell, some concerts even feel very sterile and dull. But this was different, this was going to be a brilliant evening.
Zion Train have been doing live dub shows for over twenty five years, which is plenty of time to learn how to entertain your audience. So, it shouldn't be a surprise that these Brits sent wave after wave of musical ecstasy over an outrageous audience. Aided by two brass players and the vocals of Dubdadda, Zion Train simply set the venue on fire. By now, the place was packed and people were still trying to get past us. I never felt so many boobs and asses rubbing against my body. At one point, it almost felt like I was secretly entering a massive orgy. Luckily, everybody kept his/her clothes on.
Zion Train went on and on and on, it never seemed to stop. Pretty tired from an hour of dancing, we moved towards the back to have a seat and a toilet break. Marc and I never got back inside but my wife did. When Zion Train started playing 'War In Babylon' I tried to get up but my ass really seemed to like the physical contact with the couch. By now, the whole thing felt like one of those illegal raves in squatted buildings and caves I enjoyed back in the nineties. It was absolute heaven.
I'll be back in Het Bos soon, first to watch Hemelbestormer and Conan, and I'll be going to a lot more shows in 2016. But they are going to do their best to kick Zion Train out of my best-of-2016 list. I need some sleep now...
Serge
Nonetheless, the fine people at Het Bos work very hard to make this place become a landmark. Multiple great gigs a week, workshops, a bar with honest prices and excellent beers, .. these people certainly pull out all the stops. Usually, the main ingredients of those gigs are ripping guitars but once in awhile the area in front on the stage becomes a dance floor. It's pretty much the same with me. I've been a rock and metal fan all my life but sometimes I just can't resist the beats, certainly when they're as good as they were yesterday.
First things first. There was a support act, a dub producer named Jah pke. When we entered the venue, he was already showing his skills but no one was really listening. Well, some people were. We, including my wife and Marc (who gave you a nice lounge playlist yesterday) got a bit worried about the sound when the basslines became too intrusive and too loud for our fragile little ears. So we went outside for a smoke, again.
However, when we got back inside, the place was filling up, the sound was perfect and Jah pke's beats really started to become effective. Here and there people started dancing. Even the artist himself was deeply getting into it. Yet, all good things must end and often make place for even better things. We watched someone from the organisation make a friendly and subtle gesture towards the maestro on stage, the maestro nodded and worked his way towards the grand finale, much to the delight of a now full room.
By now, nobody seemed to be interested in going outside to smoke. That aspect, combined with a nice DJ set, seemed to lift everybody's spirits. It wouldn't be long before this whole thing started feeling like the glory days of indoor concerts. The kids, or adolescents among you really miss out on concerts these days. Today, all kinds of rules and regulations have taken a lot of fun out of a gig. Hell, some concerts even feel very sterile and dull. But this was different, this was going to be a brilliant evening.
Zion Train have been doing live dub shows for over twenty five years, which is plenty of time to learn how to entertain your audience. So, it shouldn't be a surprise that these Brits sent wave after wave of musical ecstasy over an outrageous audience. Aided by two brass players and the vocals of Dubdadda, Zion Train simply set the venue on fire. By now, the place was packed and people were still trying to get past us. I never felt so many boobs and asses rubbing against my body. At one point, it almost felt like I was secretly entering a massive orgy. Luckily, everybody kept his/her clothes on.
Zion Train went on and on and on, it never seemed to stop. Pretty tired from an hour of dancing, we moved towards the back to have a seat and a toilet break. Marc and I never got back inside but my wife did. When Zion Train started playing 'War In Babylon' I tried to get up but my ass really seemed to like the physical contact with the couch. By now, the whole thing felt like one of those illegal raves in squatted buildings and caves I enjoyed back in the nineties. It was absolute heaven.
I'll be back in Het Bos soon, first to watch Hemelbestormer and Conan, and I'll be going to a lot more shows in 2016. But they are going to do their best to kick Zion Train out of my best-of-2016 list. I need some sleep now...
Serge
