Classics in Rock @ Ahoy Rotterdam / Holland
March 23, 2007

Concert Review by Paul Wijman

A day I was waiting for for a long time. I always wished to see John Waite as a part of Night Of The Proms, which is a big event over here in Holland (down here in Germany, too *grin*, Petra) where classics meets pop. Once a year it takes place, usually round Christmas.
The songs of The Babys are really suitable for being performed with a big symphonic orchestra. So I wrote and pushed a lot on the forums of the Night Of The Proms website. I even got a reaction of the organisation telling me that John was in the picture. They had contact with his management and they were just waiting for a good moment to invite him. I don't know what to think of this message. We all know it never happened.

Back to Friday 23th because this was even better, Classics in Rock. No classical music though, like Bach or Beethoven between the pop artists performances but only ROCK HEROES performing partly with and without orchestra. All of that in Holland's biggest venue, the Rotterdam Ahoy !!!!!! So a dream came true.

We arrived early because I didn't want to get caught in the traffic and I wanted to have dinner at the highly recommended Ahoy restaurant. I was in good companion with my good friend Martin and my brother in law Jos. Both hardrock fans and a bit older than me. I know bits and pieces about bands like Deep Purple, Rainbow and Manfred Mann's Earth Band but those guys are walking libraries. Jos is also a great musician. He plays all kinds of guitars, bass, and saxophone in his own band Shockproof which is an amateur cover band that is on a par with each professional band. Only one small word of critsism - no JOHN WAITE SONGS yet.

If Rotterdam Ahoy is sold out, about 8000 or 10.000 people would fit in. According to the Classics in Rock website there were around 850 tickets left. At 6:30 pm we entered the venue and admired the stage although it seemed to be a bit small. Watching all the people flock in put us into a really good mood. The audience was mixed in different ages. Behind us there was a father I guess in his "late 40's" with his son maybe 16 or 17 years of age. The young man was singing along with a lot songs. He knew a lot more lyrics than I did.

At 8:00 pm sharp the orchestra got on the stage. We had a good view to the entranceway where the artists came in. The show started with the Classics in Rock Anthem compared with a lasershow. The sound was great! After that Chris Thompson (Manfred Man's Earth Band) opened the show. The songs "Davy's On The Road Again" and "Blinded By The Light" in combination with this hyperactive singer gave the show a good start.

While Chris Thompson was singing his last tones of his first appearance I saw a blond beside the stage. It was Jimmy Leahey. Shortly after that a man, wearing a long coat and a short haircut like on the "No Brakes" album joined him. John Waite was ready.
John started off with "Missing You". After that he said, "You all might know me by this", and he played "Every Time I Think Of You". All this without the orchestra. Every artist could bring in one song to be played with the orchestra and some artist appeared more than once. John finished his first appearance with the acoustic version of "When I See You Smile". He dedicated this song to Herman Brood who was a Dutch rock star and later on well known for his paintings. He lived Sex and Drugs and Rock'n Roll to the fullest. Being only 54 years old Herman Brood killed himself on July 11, 2001 by jumping from the roof of the Amsterdam Hilton Hotel.
Now, don't get me wrong, I love the acoustic version but, according to me in a set up like this playing acoustic was the wrong choice. A missed chance to play this song in the original way from the Bad English period which is to my perspective the best version.

Graham Bonnet (Alcatrazz, Impellitteri, Rainbow, MSG) was next. This man told us he just got out of bed. I don't  know if that was a joke but, his voice wasn't that great. Maybe he had been sick. Who cares, "All Night Long" and "Since You've Been Gone" are great rocksongs. I remember Rainbow when they were with Ronnie James Dio. Now, that's a voice! Think of "Kill The King", or the beautiful ballad "Catch The Rainbow."

Jon Anderson (Yes, Jon & Vangelis) started with an acoustic song and after that he played "Owner Of a Lonely Heart" with the full orchestra. Fantastic! It was Jon Anderson's only appearance this night.

I know the famous Deep Purple songs. The names of band members? No. So I was compleetly blank about Glenn Hughes. For his appearance only one word - BREATHTAKING! What a voice! High, low, echoes, screams and all this crystal clear. He did a song called "Mistreated", just fantastic. It was a version of at least ten minutes. An impressive performance, really.

Before we knew it was 10:00 pm and we had a small break of 15 minutes. So we could take a breath and something to drink. After the break all the artists came on stage again.
John Waite began his second performance with the words "I'm back." Well my friends, he was. He played "Time Stood Still" fully live for the first time ever. This song was a big hit in Holland. It was high in the charts without a video clip or any promotion from the artists. It's still played on several radio stations in this country. The audience picked it up and the chorus was loudly sung by the crowd of thousands. Then John had his time with the orchestra. The song was "Isn't It Time", a great choice, although "Piece Of The Action" would have been great, too. No complains, a great performance anyway. After this John's time was up.

At the end of the show there was some time for a Dutch Invasion, a medley done with Dutch rockers like Arjen Lukassen (guitar player for Vengeance), Dany Lademacher (Herman Brood Band) and the probably most well known one, Bert Heerink (vocals for Vandenberg). Famous songs like "Radar Love", "Venus" and "Burning Heart" came by. Floor Jansen (After Forever) did Guns'n Roses' "November Rain", and it appeared to me that she had some trouble with the lyrics. My attention, however, was drawn by the guitar player. I've seen that guy before... could it be? Yes, Marcel Singor! This guy opened for John Waite in Zoetermeer in 2006. Petra (Miss waite4you) and I were impressed by his sound. So this night Marcel Singor did a guitar intro clash with Jamie Moses (Pretenders). Well known guitar parts came by and the crowd responded great on that. Even a 14 year old boy who won a radio contest played a small part in this clash. Chris Thompson came on stage again, sweeping up the audience with QUEEN's "The Show Must Go On", performed with the orchestra.
For the final song all the artist came on stage again and were backing vocals on "You're The Voice" from John Farnham, done by Chris Thompson with the orchesta. The evening ended with words from Spike Edney (SAS Band and keyboard player for Queen and Paul Rodgers). He was the band leader and presentor of this event. He said "Tell what you have seen tonight to those who couldn't be here". BY THIS I DID!