Concerts of the British band Mostly Autumn.
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Thursday, December 14th, 2006 ~ 'Bluescafé' in Apeldoorn.
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For a long time I had been looking forward to this night -- the night I would get to see the
band Mostly Autumn from
York (Great Britain) play live. The concert took place at
the 'Bluescafé',
a cosy bar in Apeldoorn. Together with my uncle I enjoyed this 2.5 hour long concert. We went to the
merchandise stand before the show started. My uncle bought some cool items, including a nice Christmas single
for me (thanks again!).
After the show I had the great pleasure to meet Heather Findlay. It was simply unforgettable to have a nice
conversation with this charismatic lady. My uncle also took a nice photo of Heather and me. I took more than 150
photos during the gig. In the Photo album you
can see a selection of the most beautiful photos. Enjoy them!
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Friday, December 19th, 2008 ~ 'W2' in Den Bosch.
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It's been two years since I went to a concert by the British band Mostly Autumn,
so this year I simply had to see them play live once again. Just like I did two years ago, I went with my
uncle to the venue, this time 'W2'
in the city of Den Bosch.
We left early so we would arrive in time for the concert. We ended up arriving at the venue an hour early,
but luckily the time flew by and at around 20:30 we entered the venue. In the meantime many more fans, who
were in for a great night, gathered at the door. Once we were inside we found ourselves a nice spot in the
first row, right between where Heather and Bryan would be.
Just after 21:00 the band started their show, which would last for over 2.5 hours. The first 8 songs really
created a great atmosphere. After a short break Mostly Autumn went into top gear with great rock songs and
some very sensitive songs, sung by Heather Findlay backed only by a piano. That was incredibly beautiful!
This show was the first time I saw Anne-Marie Helder (extremely versatile!), Livvy Sparnenn (wonderful
nightingale) and Henry Bourne (solid drummer), but I can say without any doubt that these people are very
good replacements for the people that had left the band.
The show ended with a few Christmas songs, hence it was a Xmas gig! The party with Mostly Autumn was complete
with the covers of the famous songs by The Pogues and Slade. I was able to take about 150 photos and I
selceted the 50 most beautiful and special photos so you can take a look at them in
the Photo album. I hope you like them!
After the show I had a brief chat with Bryan Josh, Iain Jennings, Liam Davison and Andy Smith. They're very
nice people!
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Thursday, April 2ndh, 2009 ~ 'P60' in Amstelveen.
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Mostly Autumn got back to the Netherlands for some gigs. This time no show with the typical christmas
atmosphere but a 'normal' show of Mostly Autumn.
The 'P60' venue in Amstelveen
caught our eye. We left home early in order to arrive early in Amstelveen, so we could first eat some French
fries with some drinks on a terrace. After we enjoyed the last rays of sunshine, we headed to venue.
We entered around 20:30 and found a nice spot at the front row. Just before nine o'clock Mostly Autumn
entered the stage to give their 2.5 hour show, including a small break. The setlist they played was quite
similar to the one the performed in December. The interesting thing was that they improvised a little more,
played a song they never played live before and a Genesis cover finished the set.
Contrary to the previous show where I've been to, Heather was able to get the crowd completely quiet during
the wonderful song 'Above the blue'. Serious goosebumps! Also this show you saw both the band and crowd
intensly enjoying the show. The more heavy rock songs got the feet of the ground and from time to time the
crowd sang along. The drum player who left the band got replaced by Gavin Griffiths, and he did a rather
good job! Anne-Marie showed us once again why she got her nickname 'Little red rock chick'. She's just
extremely enthusiastic! And don't forget about Livvy, who battled for the highest musical notes against
Bryan's guitar. Fantastic! Of course the solid band members Bryan, Heather, Andy, Liam and Iain did a great
job too...
After the show was finished I bought myself the solo-CD of Bryan together with Mostly Autumn's DVD 'At the
Grand Opera House' and a pinbutton. It was a pity the band didn't show up again after the show, but more
luck next time...Of course I would also like to show you a couple of great photos. Unfortunately the
lighting was poor in both timing and position, so I still hope you like the selection of photos in
the Photo album.
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Saturday, October 11th, 2009 ~ 'Fantastyval' in Wouwse Plantage.
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After a few club gigs of Mostly Autumn it was time to get to see them live on a greater festival. Our friends
from York came all the way over to the 'Fantastyval'
at the country seat Wouwse plantage in the far south of our little country. Their 1.5 hour performance started
around 4 o'clock and consisted mostly out of their classic songs. And it was definitely a success, even though
the crowd wasn't as big as I hoped for. Nevertheless the show was great and sounded good. The lighting was
good as well and it was clear the band had a great time and enjoyed theirselves. In
the Photo album you van see a selection
of the nicest gig photos. I hope you like them!
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Thursday, December 17th, 2009 ~ 'Perron 55' in Venlo.
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Also this year there are the traditional X-mas shows of Mostly Autumn. Already during this year's summer I
ordered a couple tickets for the show at
'Perron 55' in
Venlo and the day after at 'De Boerderij' in Zoetermeer. In other words this show will be some kind of warm-up
for the wellknown party of tomorrow...
Because of the snow and the freezing cold temperatures of the past days, and the fact that we have to cross the
main rivers in our country (which are always bottlenecks), we left home early today. Even with some slow traffic
we arrived early in Venlo. The venue itself was easily found though it was more difficult to find a parking
place. After some fast food we went back to the venue where we were still one of the first fans in the queue.
Right after we entered the venue we bought a couple CDs (Live 2009 - Part I and II and the compilation album
Pass the clock).
The gig itself started around nine o'clock and took, including a small break, till midnight. The set our friends
played was really amazing. Probably their best ever! The pure passion and emotions were there again to be
experienced. It was great to see that both the band and (unfortunately a little group of) fans enjoyed the
heavy rocksongs and tender lovesongs to the fullest.
Heather and Anne-Marie (due to private circumstances Livvy couldn't be here tonight) sung the famous song
'Silent night' straight after the break. It was quite a surprise, but definitely a success! The ended the set
with some wellknown Christmas songs like 'I believe in father Christmas' (Greg Lake), 'Fairytale of New York'
(The Pogues) and 'Merry Christmas everybody' (Slade). A great final of a wonderful night!
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Friday, December 18th, 2009 ~ 'Boerderij' in Zoetermeer.
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Mostly Autumn with an X-mas show at
the 'Boerderij' in
Zoetermeer.
To be translated.
Na het schitterende concert van gisteren was het vandaag weer raak: Mostly Autumn met een kerstshow in
de 'Boerderij'
in Zoetermeer. Deze show is langzamerhand uitgegroeid tot een jaarlijkse traditie en eigenlijk een must voor
elke fan van onze vrienden uit York. Ook vandaag zijn we weer vroeg van huis vertrokken, om zowel de files
als de sneeuw zoveel mogelijk uit de weg te gaan. Aangekomen in Zoetermeer bleek het een nogal dooie boel te
zijn, maar na een tijdje hadden we een tentje gevonden waar we een patatje konden eten.
Het concert begon vandaag al iets eerder, zo rond halfnegen, en was daarmee ook iets eerder afgelopen dan
gisteren. De setlist is ook nagenoeg gelijk aan die van gisteren, maar met een zeer enthousiaste volle zaal,
een spiksplinternieuwe geluidsinstallatie en Mostly Autumn op het podium ging het dak er echt vanaf! Zo goed
heb ik Mostly Autumn nog niet eerder meegemaakt. De sfeer was perfect en de band was enorm op dreef en dat
merkte je aan alles. Gedurende het concert droegen de engeltjes Heather, Anne-Marie en Livvy verschillende
jurken en bijpassende accessoires. Op het einde kwamen ook de kerstmutsen en hoeden voor de dag, waarna het
concert met een paar kerstnummers in grote stijl werd afgesloten!
Uiteindelijk zijn we na het concert nog even in het café blijven hangen. Daar kwamen we weer een aantal goede
bekenden tegen en ook was er even tijd voor een korte babbel met Bryan en Olivia. Rond een uur of twee 's
nachts gingen we weer richting het oosten des lands...
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Saturday, December 19th, 2009 ~ 'Hedon' in Zwolle.
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Mostly Autumn with an X-mas show
at 'Hedon' in
Zwolle.
To be translated.
Geheel niet volgens de planning, maar last-minute heb ik besloten om toch óók maar even naar de kerstshow
in 'Hedon' in
Zwolle te gaan. De shows van de afgelopen dagen waren me namelijk zó goed bevallen dat ik het gewoonweg
niet kon laten om toch te gaan. Gelukkig wist ik dat dit concert niet uitverkocht was, dus ik kon voor
mijzelf nog een kaartje aan de kassa bemachtigen.
Evenals in Venlo begon het concert rond een uur of negen. De nummers zijn inmiddels wel bekend, maar dat
maakt natuurlijk helemaal niks uit. De band had ook vandaag een paar nummers nodig om er helemaal in te
komen. Je merkte duidelijk dat ze al snel weer volledig op stoom kwamen. Helaas kwam er halverwege het
optreden wel een kink in de kabel door het zeer onvriendelijke gedrag van een aantal mensen achterin de
zaal. Deze maakten zoveel geluid dat Heather besloot om het zeer emotionele nummer 'Above the blue' niet af
te maken. Je kon duidelijk zien dat ze geraakt was door de situatie, maar ze kreeg de volledige steun van
het overige publiek. Na dit voorval pakten onze vrienden de draad weer op en gingen fanatiek verder. Het
laatste uur was weer ouderwets genieten van de klassiekers van Mostly Autumn. Wederom werd afgesloten met
de bekende kerstnummers.
Na een paar lange zware dagen heb ik het vannacht maar niet zo heel laat gemaakt, want dit was me het
weekendje wel zeg! Achteraf gezien ook wel een van de mooiste weekenden van het hele jaar, dus het was het
zeker waard. Ohja, ik heb nu alweer zin in de shows die voor april 2010 gepland staan. Komen jullie ook?
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Friday, April 2nd, 2010 ~ 'The Assembly' in Leamington Spa (Great Britain).
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For a long time it was my dream to see Mostly Autumn perform in Great Britain, preferably in their hometown
York. Because Heather Findlay announced in January to leave Mostly Autumn, this was just a perfect reason to
head to Great Britain. After some questioning around, I found someone else this 'crazy' to go with me to the
farewell gig of Heather. The special show was to be held at
'The Assembly'
in Leamington Spa, located close to Coventry and Birmingham.
After a trip of nearly 800 kilometers we arrived in Leamington Spa, where we checked in at the hotel and went
on to get some fast food. Straight after dinner we gathered with all the other fans in the queue that got longer
and longer every minute. Once inside the nice venue I found myself a nice spot somehwere near the seventh row
from where I had a nice view of most of the band members. The venue was provided with a couple video cameras as
the gig would be recorded for a future DVD release. This all made it even more special!
The setlist the band played tonight was pretty similar to those of the Christmas shows in the Netherlands,
December 2009. It actually didn't matter at all, as the set contains a nice collection of different songs of
the band. During the show you could feel the emotions more than ever before. Everyone had the time of their
life and performed really great. The atmosphere both on stage and in the crowd was perfect!
There were numerous lump-in-the-throat moments where I had to wipe some tears away. For example the way Heather,
supported by Iain and Anne-Marie, performed the song 'Above the blue' was more than beautiful. You could clearly
see how much this song means to her. During the song 'Mother nature' Bryan introduced the whole band to the
crowd. He introduced everyone, including himself, ending with Heather. The way he did this caused the venue to
explode in an enormous applause for her... Such a unique moment!
At the very end of the show Livvy entered the stage with a very nice and huge bouquet of flowers for Heather.
They gave eachother a big hug, soon followed by emotional hugs of the other band members. Heather herself ended
it all with a little speech, which was received once again by a huge applause of the crowd. That was really
touching!
A few moments after the show Heather and the other band members entered the room for some short talks, photos
and autographs for the fans. It was a pity everybody got asked by the people of 'The Assembly' to leave the
venue, so there was actually not much time to have a chat with the band. Nevertheless it was wonderful and
emotional which I will never forget. Heather, thank you for everything and I wish you all the best with your
solo career. Lots of love to you!
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Friday, April 16th, 2010 ~ 'Auw kerk' in Bunde.
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After the farewell gig of a couple weeks ago, this would be one of the first shows with Olivia Sparnenn as lead
vocalist of the band. The show took place at the
'Auw kerk'
in Bunde, located close to the city of Maastricht. The venue was previously in use as a church. It still has
some typical looks and there was a special atmosphere. The venue is located in the very south of our country,
so it was a long drive to get there. To get there in time we left our city early. Around 18 o'clock we arrived
in the small village that's called Bunde. We got ourselves some fastfood and went back to the venue. Some after
entering I bought a special issue of the official magazine of Mostly Autumn, Autumn Leaves. The issue was sold
out during our trip in England, so we were lucky to be able to buy it here.
At around half past eight the show entered the stage and started their set. It was quite a special thing to see
the band perform with a different face. During the first part of the set you could see that Livvy was still a
bit searching for the right direction on stage, but after the break she really got the flow! My compliments, as
you could see her grow. There were some more new things this time. The band played a couple new songs they
haven't played before, and Liam and Anne-Marie got the spotlights on them during their beautiful solos on
guitar and flute respectively. It was a real pleasure to see the band perform in this fresh new way. Different
then we were used to but still very good!
After the show has finished I took the setlist as a nice remembrance of this great night. Around 3 o'clock we
arrived back home after a fantastic night. I really can't wait for the next show of Mostly Autumn, which is in
fact already tomorrow...
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Saturday, April 17th, 2010 ~ 'Metropool' in Hengelo.
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This gig of Mostly Autumn is the tenth one where I am present. Who could have ever thought that at the end of
2006? Of course I wished for, but now the moment is finally there. The show is the second one with Livvy and
took place at 'Metropool'
in Hengelo. Most of the people coming to the venue actually came for another event that took place at the same
time. We expected not so many people coming to see Mostly Autumn but once we entered the venue it was already
full of fans to our surprise. That was certainly promising.
Just after nine o'clock the show started with the kinda similar setlist as the day before. During the first
part of the set they played a couple songs from Breathing Space (the band of Iain and Olivia): 'The rain song'
and a wonderful performance of 'Questioning eyes'. After the break the band continued their set with new songs
like 'Slow down' and 'Dreaming'. They ended the night with the Mostly Autumn classics 'Half the mountain',
'Evergreen', 'Heroes never die' and last but definitely not least 'Mother nature'. The atmosphere was just as
great as it was yesterday and the sound was actually even better! The gig ended just before midnight and soon
after we had to leave the venue. So there wasn't much time for an afterparty unfortunately.
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