Club: Lava Lounge Patio
Address: 405 E. Seventh
Date: Thursday, March 16
Showtime: 10:30 p.m.
Look at today's biggest Dutch bands, sales-wise that is, they're all clearly under the influence of 'old school' the Gathering, the way they used to sound like around 1998. Listen to Goth rock bands like Within Temptation (Big in Germany), Epica and After Forever, the echoes of latter day the Gathering are obvious. They're all bands fronted by a beautiful, operatic female vocalist in a wonderful long dress. In a way these bands reap the fruits of the Gathering's groundwork. So now we already can tell that mainstream rock bands in the next decade will be more down to earth, wearing less loud dresses and providing a more ambient type of rock.
The idea is that at this point the Gathering should benefit themselves just as much from their hard labour being the perfect example to others. All parameters for a much broader success than before are looking better than ever. First there's the new album Home, which is slightly more rock than its trippy predecessor Souvenirs from 2003. The album (on the band's own Psychonaut imprint) will be out both in Europe through Sanctuary and in the US and Canada by The End Records. At SXSW the band, spearheaded by the lovely Anneke van Giersbergen, will appear at the The End label showcase night at the Lava Lounge on March 16 along with label mates Green Carnation, Unexpect and Giant Squid. The SXSW showcase will be part of US tour, which follows hot on the heels of an extensive South-American tour (Argentina, Mexico and, Chile).
The new album marks a reunion with renowned producer Attie Bauw, who helmed the legendary Gathering 1998 album How To Measure A Planet? Due to maternity leave of singer Anneke, the band took a sabbatical last year. The band only played two shows in 2005. These shows were quite something, as the band played to fans hailing from 30 nations in Paradiso Amsterdam. During these sessions the band, emphasising on its more ambient side, cut footage for a 2DVD. Dubbed A Sound Relief, it was released in the autumn. The second disc featured a tour film. This year another 2DVD will be filmed, A Noise Severe, emphasising on the band's louder side. Together the two twin discs are meant to make one set.
US TOUR UPDATE
March 16, Lava Lounge SXSW, Austin, TX
March 17, The Masquerade, Atlanta, GA
March 19, Jaxx, Springfield, VA
March 20, The Middle East, Boston, MA
March 21, The Knitting Factory, New York, NY
March 23, The Big Bop, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
March 24, Foufounes Electriques, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
More dates to follow.
BAND INFO
contact: Paulus Tops / Psychonaut Records
phone: +31 24 322 5715
cell: +31 6 2464 0817
e-mail: finance@psychonautrecords.com
website: www.gathering.nl
US contact: The End Records
Contact: Andreas Katsambas
e-mail: andreas@theendrecords.com