FOCUS

(Caracas - Teatro Santa Rosa de Lima)

In another night to remember converted the concert that gave FOCUS the night of Thursday 14 of November in the Teatro del Colegio Santa Rosa de Lima of Caracas, once again the Venezuelan public he received the visit from another of the legends of all the times of the symphonic rock - progressive. The concert began with the special companies Pig Farm on the Moon, it evidences of the high level that has reached the progressive rock in Venezuela who you/they impressed the public with its style that unites influences of classic bands as Yes, next to more modern tendencies as those of Dream Theater. They played three quite long topics, opening up with “Awaking from reality”, one of the most complex and heavy pieces in the band, full with changes of time (where Gilberto Finol's work in the drums had a lot of merit), with a brilliant work of keyboard effects in charge of Salomón Lerner and a formidable work of guitars with Alexis Hernández taking the rhythms and of Darío Sosa discharging the alone ones. They continued with the interesting adaptation of the third movement of the “Suite Breve” of the Venezuelan author Inocente Carreño that got the public's attention a lot to unite the Venezuelan contemporary music with the rock, was very well an experiment fact, where we could see to the band working in cohesive form for the complexity of the work, especially to guitarists Alexis Hernández and Darío Sosa. They closed their performance with “Qui mae”, a theme full with charming melodies where the public could delight with Luis Valbuena's voice who juice to pleasure with different song techniques. In this topic also juice an important paper Salomón Lerner exchanging different sounds and taking the melodies with their keyboards. A great future waits to this band that is prompt to use for the first time its first disk and that this confirmed to play next year in the noted festival of BajaProg that takes place every year in Mexico and that it gathers to several of the best progressive groupings in the world. The expectation grew to every minute until FOCUS appeared in the scenario, lifting the public's applauses, quickly they began to play and from the first minute the public realized that the renovation of FOCUS was not simply the fact of having 3 young musicians, it was "the renovation of FOCUS", since they were not limited to play to the finger the classic themes, if they played classic topics but with a different sound (without losing the essence) and they also played themes of its extraordinary last album “FOCUS 8". Thijs Van Leer has a great spirit, with a very noble soul, he is a great person, a man full with energy that apparently it is accentuated with the time and it demonstrated it during the whole concert, it will be very difficult of forgetting the memory to see him playing the flute with great personality and master, it conserves that style that so much it identifies it and that so many doors have opened him, its performance with the Hammond overcame you at the 70, with everything and that the sound of the organ that was using was a little plane, but equal I believe that Van Leer he is able to transmit its personality and charisma to all that plays, he gave pleasure to listen and to feel all those atmospheres that it is able to draw with the Hammond, its voice it continues there, he doesn't have the same Qualities of before neither the same registrations, but the feeling continues there. That that more it impressed they were the moments in those that played flute and Hammond at the same time, to see to believe, but he made it and the charmed public didn't give credit to his eyes, the same thing happened when he whistled and the Hammond played for that was a whistle that transmitted feeling and melancholy.

Guitarist Jan Dumé was the great one incognito for the Venezuelans, since he was Jan Akkerman's substitute and very few people had listened to it in the “FOCUS 8”, but since he pulled up the first chord to her sculptural Gibson the incognito one I am clear and he began to demonstrate that she was a guitarist outside of this world. Dumé in some topics sounded the same as Akkerman for that had this way to be, but in other themes Dumé dressed its own shoes, the same as in the new themes. He shone with their masterful alternating style of blues and jazz, their blues sound is impeccable, its alone ones surrendered cult to the virtuosity, he also gave a good example of what means to combine sound - image - attitude, since each note that he played went to chord with its posture and corporal expression, always with the body forward and its warm sound went very well with the color of the shirt that took setting… the result: a capacity to transmit the musical feeling in 100%. Bobby Jacobs, stepchild of Van Leer with a shyer presence he gave a recital of bass, inherited from their father (an important one against - bear) and servant in the atmosphere of Van Leer the result it could not be another. The man wore out each arrangement that made me to open the mouth and to say "this type in silence it is an animal", some arrangements were evident, other perceptible ones nothing else that for the most educated hearings. Their alone one of bass to the free - jazz, shows of its creative capacity he lifted the astonishment of the spectators.
Brent Smacks showed to be the own drummer of Jazz - jive, a drummer that takes out him a range of sounds to its main resource the redoblante, during the whole night executed all class of chiming full with acrobatics and power with its redoblante and it took out him as much as sound could to its basic Sep of drums (basic but it seemed a Sep of the most complete). as for the Sep - list pleased its followers of several generations, they opened up with “FOCUS I” to make him see the public that was not a dream, then themes like “House of the king” they came where Van Leer it shone with the flute and Dumé it emulated Akkerman, then melancholic themes would come as “FOCUS”, making that the audience threw away some tears and other full with power and it discharges to the style of “Eruption” that he surrenders honor to its name because it served so that the whole band discharged an eruption of virtuosity. One of the most moving moments in the night would come when Van Leer he asked to the public “there is somebody here that Sylvia calls herself"… immediately applauses and screams of emotion were listened and the band would begin to interpret “Sylvia”, shining Dumé with the guitar, emitting the chords and melodies that point identifies to this song. They played other classic themes as “Harem Scarem”, “FOCUS II” and “The Cathedrale of Strasbourg” that possesses some melodic tints a dark point, something atypical in FOCUS. The shift of the new material would come, beginning this session with a topic (whose name could not listen) that it will be part of the last disk, but finally it was not included, which was a slow point and he/she went for the current of the jazz. The interesting thing is that closing this theme Van Leer it presented once again to the band to begin in an accidental way with their Hymn “Hocus Pocus”, crazy with the energy always and that the public enjoyed of he tweets. In the vocal parts of the theme Van Leer he made a great effort and it shone quite well, receiving help vowel of the Dumé that he also sings. The encore would come, quickly the band would return to the scenario to play two themes of its recent one “FOCUS 8”: “Brother” with a work of memorable guitar and “Neurotika”, piece enough moved that well it could become a classic. The magic exists they assure many, and it becomes present in the music of FOCUS, but it seems that this magic takes possession of the same musicians, since it is curious to see the small accidents that they have happened to the band in the South American tour, in Brazil a microphone stopped to work and Jacobs slid falling to the floor without more consequence. Venezuela could not lack, since Van Leer to sit down very on the edge of its seat it finished sliding to fall put to bed, but the man immediately you rises to continue playing as if anything. Regrettably the show arrived to its end, at the end the musicians left to share with the public that refused to give end to the veiled one, they signed autographs and they took some pictures affectionately with their fans. The band was charmed with the Venezuelan public, they even commented that it was one of the warmest audiences with those that have shared lately.

Roberto Palmitesta
www.Escenarock.cm