AYREON (Live)

Arjen Lucassen appearing on stage at Ayreon 30th anniversary show. He's wearing a bright red suit and he's pointing at the screen behind him which displays his name with the particle "Sir" a sign of him being a knight in the Netherlands. — Photo: Séverine Peraldino

An Amazing Flight Through Time, 30 years anniversary

Every two years or so, it has become a tradition for Tilburg to be transformed into Ayreon City. From the train station, where you are greeted by rows of flags bearing the band’s logo, it is clear that everyone has come to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Sir Arjen Lucassen’s project. While this was a significant milestone in Ayreon’s history, some of the most renowned musicians to have participated in the project were absent (Russell Allen, Jorn Lande, etc.). Some of them were not present at previous Ayreon shows, so their absence came as no surprise; however, a few were missed, including Floor Jansen, Hansi Kürsch, and Simon Simons. This made the event feel more like a reunion of close friends, and in some ways, it allowed a few new names to shine and some others to make stronger stage appearances.

Nevertheless, this might have been an indication that, for an anniversary show, things would not be quite as spectacular as they were for Live Beneath the Waves (2023). This does not mean that this reviewer found the show disappointing. Live Beneath the Waves was covering an entire album. This meant it had great inner strength and coherence. While this show focused on both hits and songs that had never been played before, some brilliant previously featured songs would not be played, thus weakening the set list in some parts.

Not counting the rehearsal, five shows were performed at the 013 Poppodium venue, while a multitude of smaller events took place around the city. Mike Mills, Marcella Bovio and Damian Wilson played their own small gigs at either the pop-up store or the campsite. To truly enjoy everything Ayreon-related, you had to spend at least two full days in Tilburg. There were also plenty of opportunities to see the cast members outside the venue, greeting fans and stopping for a chat. Word has it that if you did not see Damian Wilson in the streets of Tilburg, you must have been avoiding him on purpose…

ACT I

As usual, Mike Mills from Australia played host before the show, asking the audience to put their phones away, which they did. The show was also recorded, and a DVD should be released in about a year. Rather than alternating between Ayreon hits and songs that had never been played before, the team behind the show opted to divide it into two acts. The first act focused on new live songs, while the second act featured a selection of Ayreon’s most famous titles. Their idea was probably to create something dynamic and build on fans’ expectations. In this reviewer’s opinion, this was perhaps not the best idea, and the very few disappointing moments may have been the result of this decision.

Before the songs started, a digitalised android of Irene Jansen was displayed on the biggest screen that could be fitted inside the O13. Deliciously kitsch, it definitely set the mood for the evening wonderfully. Rather than opening with a massive blast, the show focused on a deeper cut from the Ayreon discography: the power ballad “My House on Mars.” Wudstik, a Dutch singer already familiar with the Ayreon universe, stepped in at the last minute to replace Edward Reekers, who sadly had to withdraw from public life due to terminal illness. Wudstik’s performance was nothing short of memorable, as he successfully conveyed the warmth and emotion of the original version. While Wudstik does not have many ties with metal or prog music besides Ayreon, one can only hope that he will one day steer his career in this direction, as he clearly has a knack for it.

Then none other than Maggy Luyten took to the stage to perform the catchy “Sail Away to Avalon” from the album The Final Experiment, which, in Sir Arjen’s words, turned out not to be so final after all. Maggy’s playful and energetic personality and stage presence were perfectly suited to the song. She has been a standout performer at all the Ayreon shows in recent years, and it was the case once again. It was also the occasion for multi-instrumentalist (every kind of flute and pipes you could think of) Jeroen Goossens to shine.

This year, the stage setting was simpler than for Live Beneath the Waves, with its multiple levels and scaffolding-like structure. The only decorations were some fake Martian rocks at the front of the stage, positioned next to Joost Van Der Broeck’s keyboards on one side and Ed Warby’s drums on the other. As the 013 is a relatively small venue with a capacity of 3,000, the screens were used only to display visuals illustrating the songs, not to show close-ups of the musicians. While the visuals remained tasteful for the first half of the show, it gradually became apparent that some of them (if not all) were AI-generated, which is disappointing as Ayreon usually works with real artists for each album.

The most dedicated fans recognised a shortened version of ”Green and Cream” from the Guilt Machine album. Arjen’s foray into very gloomy territory. This time, on vocals, it was Tommy Karevik, who was thus able to escape the epics of Kamelot and evolve into a more emotional register, which suited him perfectly. His voice was complemented by Irene Jansen and Marcella Bovio, who once again took on the roles of backing singers. These two wonderful ladies also had the opportunity to shine alongside the man himself on ”Days of the Knights.” It was wonderful to see these three together again, thirty years after the beginning of Ayreon, and to witness their long-standing collaboration. Irene and Marcella also performed an amazing rendition of ”Dragon on the Sea.”

Damian Wilson was everywhere around the city, but he took his time to show up on ”Sea of Machines,” which he sang with Tommy Karevik. Amongst Ayreon’s more recent albums, The Source is certainly one of the most popular. Perhaps in a few years it will be at the centre of another Ayreon weekend.

Another true highlight of the first act was Dino Jelusick’s rendition of the Star One song ”The Year of 41” from the 2022 album Revel in Time. While it was surprising to see him at the 30th anniversary event, given that he is quite new to the universe, one can certainly hope that Arjen has more in store for him! Even though Anneke van Giersbergen has also been working with Arjen for these past 30 years, she was rather more discreet at this show. She only performed songs from The Human Equation and The Theory of Everything in the first act of the show. These were some of the softest songs in Ayreon’s discography, and proved that she is still a master of this emotional range.

ACT II

As in the previous show, the band remained unchanged throughout the songs, and the consistency of Timo Somers and Ferry Duijsens on guitars and Johan Van Stratum on bass was impressive. Ed Warby on drums was flawless, as always.
The second act of the show (following another intervention by Irene’s android version) began, somewhat surprisingly, with the album The Theory of Everything, with Mike Mills and Tommy Karevik reprising their original roles. Maggy Luyten was also given some lines in a higher register, which was outside her comfort zone, and the result was slightly disappointing. Heather Finlay or Anneke might have been better suited to this short part.

Arjen reappeared briefly to sing the title track of Actual Fantasy before making way for more epic pieces. Contenders for the best moment of the show were both Dino Jelusick’s version of “Dawn of a Million Souls” and Damian Wilson’s “Into the Black Hole”. The singers’ talent was complemented by the excellent sound quality at the 013.

Many people were excitedly awaiting the ballad “Valley of the Queens”, which was a nice rendition. Unfortunately, it paled in comparison to the 2017 version featuring Floor Jansen, Marcella Bovio and Anneke van Giersbergen. Nevertheless, with your eyes closed, you could easily mistake Irene’s voice for her sister’s.

Mike Mills rushed onto the stage for the fans’ favourite, “Loser”, during which it was easy to sing along. This changed the atmosphere to that of a big party! Robert Soeterboek gave a powerful and dramatic rendition of the massive hit “The Castle Hall,” followed by a super-fun version of the event’s almost-title track “An Amazing Flight in Space.” The audience sang along to “Hey dude, you’re so uncool” while Arjen sipped tea and waved. Perhaps this indicates that he is finally overcoming his stage fright, or simply that Ayreonauts are the best crowd! Mills and Luyten once again killed it on “Everybody Dies” to finish this second act.

Sir Arjen, who was indeed very proud to be a knight, finally treated the audience to a rather long but fun and heartfelt speech alongside his friend Joose Van Der Broek, the mind behind the production of the show. They expressed their gratitude for and amazement at the community that these events create. The atmosphere in Tilburg over the weekend could not have been friendlier or more respectful.

After more than two hours of performances, Wilson and Jelusick delighted the audience once again with the Star One hit “Set Your Controls,” after which all of the musicians gathered for the final song. The final ensemble in Ayreon’s shows is always impressive and sends shivers down your spine. However, it was somewhat surprising to see them choose “Day Two: Isolation.” It did not quite match the epic endings of previous shows.

These minor disappointments could easily be overlooked, particularly if you were new to these festivities. Overall, an Ayreon live performance remains a treat, and if there is another one in a couple of years, it will undoubtedly be another amazing experience.

Ayreon – An Amazing Flight Through Time – Cast

VOCALISTS:
Wudstik
Arjen Lucassen
Robert Soeterboek
Damian Wilson
Anneke van Giersbergen
Marcela Bovio
Irene Jansen
Heather Findlay
Maggy Luyten
Mike Mills
Tommy Karevik
Dino Jelusick

BAND:
Timo Somers – guitar
Ferry Duijsens – guitar
Johan van Stratum – bass
Joost van den Broek – keys
Ed Warby – drums

ENSEMBLE:
Ben Mathot – violin
Jurriaan Westerveld – cello
Jeroen Goossens – woodwinds