VanWyck live. Rotown, Rotterdam Friday 1 November 2024

Photo: Wout de Natris

With albums filled with extremely soft and delicate songs made for intense listening experiences and a new album 'Dust Chaiser' with a more Americana / country rockish approach, what could I expected live? I truly wondered but either way I was looking forward to my first VanWyck show.

I was prepared for a lot but not what I mostly got, a great energised show with a lot of rock influences interspersed with soft ballads with just a guitar. VanWyck, singer Christine Oele, four musicians and her daughter on background vocals, played a superb show from beginning to end.

I can imagine the singer in a nine to five job sitting behind a desk with her reading glasses on and typing serious pieces of text into her desktop. With ease even. In the evening she lets down her hair, drops the glasses and turns into a sensual dancer singing her beautiful songs. This is exactly what we got from her in Rotown. Oele knows exactly how to present herself and attract attention without having to overdo anything.

Her band accompanies her expertly. I loved the keyboard parts, listened in awe to the guitar changing from a purring cat to a roaring lion. The way the sound was mixed made sure that everything could be heard as if listening to the record. The sound was so clear and spacious. That is why I love listening to live music in smaller venues. Nothing but respect here for all concerned.

Photo: Wout de Natris

So, the surprise was that VanWyck played so much tougher than on record. I found myself dancing quite a few times. The contrast with the soft(er) songs was huge. They were there though. And things remained quiet, except when a group of people came in late into the show and started talking in the back. Someone must have put them in their place as it stopped very fast. Based on my post-Covid shows experience, I'm getting the impression that "The Dutch disease" has been cured with the vaccinations as well. Now that is a result the "wappies" did not see coming.

In the past I've made a comparison between VanWyck and New Zealand's Reb Fountain. (I know VanWyck longer.) Live, this comparison totally drops away, except for two of the soft ballads. Of which one made me think more of Leonard Cohen than the studio version does. Where Fountain keeps the mysticism in her music alive on stage, VanWyck decides to rock. She has the band to do so. The result? A great evening that really, truly impressed me.

Wout de Natris - van den Borght

You can listen to and order VanWycks' music here:

https://vanwyck.bandcamp.com/music