Ed & Iris Discuss… Erm… Mahoney! No… Wait… Live gigs!! We discussed gigs!

The second episode of Ed & Iris Discuss…

IQ, Live At The Boerderij Zoetermeer, 12 December 2015

Every year IQ comes back to the Boerderij for a special Christmas show, named ‘Christmas Bash’. This would be the second Christmas Bash show I attended, making this the third IQ gig I ever went to. This band is always worth to watch because those guys know how to make a brilliant show. The first time I went to a gig was quite some years ago, they just released their album Frequency. Despite the fact that the band exists for quite some years I never really heard any of their music. I went to my first IQ concert with a friend and we both had no clue who they were, how they would perform live and what to expect. That first IQ concert is still one of the best gigs I’ve ever seen. I was totally flabbergasted by their performance. This band knows how to entertain the audience and be professional musicians at the same time. They are passionate when they play songs from both their older and more recent albums. I interviewed the band right before their gig, you can listen to the interview here.

The Aristocrats Live At The Boerderij Zoetermeer, The Netherlands, 9 December 2015

I never had the chance to see drummer Marco Minnemann and guitarist Guthrie Govan perform with The Aristocrats, although I’ve seen them perform live as members of Steven Wilson’s solo band. I was also very curious how bassist Bryan Beller would play and sound like because this would be the first time I would see him live. I had the honour to interview all members of the band right before their gig, you can listen to the interview here.

Operation: Mindcrime, Live At 013 Tilburg, 27 November 2015

I know the band Queensrÿche for quite some years, sadly I never had the chance to see the band live. Geoff Tate, the former singer of Queensrÿche, was going to play the band’s well known album Operation: Mindcrime in its entirety at 013 in Tilburg. Since Geoff isn’t the current singer of Queenrÿche anymore he made his own band, carrying the same name as the mentioned album. Geoff surrounded himself with wonderful musicians for which some are very well known; Kelly Gray (Queensrÿche/Slave Of The System) on guitars, John Moyer (Disturbed) on bass guitar, Simon Wright (AC/DC, Dio) on drums, Randy Gane on Keyboards and Scott Moughton on guitars.

Isn’t It Quiet And Cold (An Update From Your Gentle Reporter)

No, I did not miss the bus**, I’m just writing this blog post while I’m busy with writing a review for Background Magazine and replying on emails. This is just one of those days that you want to accomplish a lot, but somehow it doesn’t work out at all… Anyway, I’m glad that I have some great news to share with you guys!