january 22th 1999
de nachten festival
de singel
antwerp (b)
at the drop of a hat
Dead man ray was ‘main act’ in the red hall of De Singel at that year’s De Nachten. The biggest hall of De Singel was practically completely full, I was glad to have chosen to sit there early enough to get a decent spot.
The band made a calm impression, although this was the premiere of their live soundscore. The originally planned premiere would be a month or so earlier, but was postponed because the band wasn’t ready. Now it seems they were, and certain of their act.
All of the members were tucked away on stage with no lightening whatsoever, only occasionally did Daan turn on a lamp on the desk before him, probably to check the lyrics or guitar tabs, or an overview of the script, or whatever.
Everyone in the venue was quiet and paid close attention to the film. Most of
the music was instrumental, occasionally Daan crawled on his desk and started singing.
The combination of the original soundtrack and Dead man ray’s addition worked perfectly, the guy behind the soundboard had a crucial role in whether the whole set-up would work or not.
Over an hour long, everyone in the hall relaxed with the amusing kitsh-film, and enjoyed the music with it. Rarely have I seen so few people leave during a performance at De Nachten.
Everyone was hugely enthusiastic after it was over, it was a great premiere to a cool project. |
