Date of Performance: April 2001
Venue: Peter Pan Club, Linkebeek, BE
Put A Little Xang Into Your Life (or Xang Live In Belgium)
Only two weeks after a memorable concert with Mostly Autumn, youth club Peter Pan organized yet another prog concert, this time with French instrumental band Xang. Situated in the town of Linkebeek near Brussels, Belgium, the Peter Pan club (see www.peterpan.be) for more info) tries to give a new boost to the prog movement by occasionally organizing prog gigs. Main man behind this idea is Michel Andries, better known to his friends and relatives as Mich Prog! Already penned in thick red marker is the forthcoming gig with Flamborough Head later this year on October 6. It will also mark Flamborough Head's first ever Belgian gig with their new female singer, which, if the rumours are correct, is none other than keyboard player Edo Spanninga's wife. That's later this year. But how about Xang?
This was the second time I've seen Xang live and I must say it was a much nicer experience than when I saw them perform at Progfarm late last year. Drummer Manu Delestre told me that in Holland, because they were part of a festival, he had to wait a long time because of the soundcheck of Sylvan's drummer. 
In the end, Manu got too little time to have a good soundcheck himself. Also the language barrier proved to be a big problem for them. Xang are a French band that, sadly, have difficulty in speaking and understanding English let alone Dutch! So when the people who did the mix in Holland asked them certain questions, the band couldn't answer. So in the end they had no monitors, which meant that, for the first three songs, the band had to play everything from memory. In the case of drummer Manu, it was a very demanding experience. The set in Holland resulted in bad sound and a bad feeling from all of the band.
In Linkebeek however, the band only had to drive one hour and fifteen minutes from their hometown, plus they had the advantage in that everyone spoke French! So they were able to communicate perfectly, which resulted in a good mix throughout the entire concert. During the soundcheck, which I attended, the drums were way too loud which automatically meant that both bass and guitar followed his example, leaving the keyboards way in the background. Having discussed this over dinner, the sound during the actual concert was much better. Although, for my liking, the keyboards could have sounded a little more powerful in the final mix. 
Sadly, from the very beginning of the gig, something went wrong with guitar player Antoine Duhem's amplifier. So instead of nice clean sounds the rest of the concert, we were treated to heavy distorted guitar, almost resulting in a prog metal approach. Compared to the Mostly Autumn gig, very few people turned up, but as the gig was now held in the smallest part of the venue it resulted in a very intimate yet joyful experience.
Xang played all of their debut album Destiny Of A Dream but in a completely different order, incorporating also four new songs from their upcoming second album to be released in 2002. 
"As our debut album is based on the work of painter Jeroen Bosch, we normally project slides behind us," says Manu Delestre. "Here it was impossible to do so, hence the fact that we could also switch the songs around and meanwhile include some new material. The second album will be based around the First World War, a theme which has inspired me ever since I joined the army. It left me devastated! One of the songs is called 'Verdun,' which is a French city where 300,000 people lost their lives. What for?" Strangely enough the band kicked off with a new song called "Sacrifice." It's mainly an acoustic song with guitarist Antoine on acoustic guitar and drummer Manu in front of the stage on djembe, this to underline the presence of North-Africa within the First World War as well. Other new songs included "Roommates," a song about soldiers "off duty" and "Mud" by the band regarded as "Morceau Bourrin," which is about the atmosphere in the trenches filled with mud, debris and rotting corpses. It was clear that the new compositions are more thought about, much more detailed. This will even be enhanced during the recording as Xang wants to include extra acoustic instruments, not in the least the typical French accordion. 
We could also witness bass player Matthieu Hooge playing a five-string bass. "It's more a question of sound rather than something extra technical," says Matthieu. "The sound of a five string as opposed to a four string is much fuller. Of course you need to have a good balance between the various instruments to fully appreciate it, but to me it just gives a better sound. In a way you can compare it with the different sound bass players get when they use Moog Taurus pedals. The latter however does sound very powerful indeed, which sometimes might not match the Xang music."
The band played at ease and were asked back twice to treat us to some encores. The first encore consisted of "My Own Truth" and "The Choice," whilst the second and final encore was "Mud." The band was pleased, the organisation was pleased (but would certainly have been more pleased if more people turned up) and the audience was pleased being able to witness such an intimate display of technical prowess. Maybe live the music of Xang sounded less detailed than on their album, but then again, the problem with the amplifier might have been one of the main reasons why everything sounded more aggressive anyway. The only negative aspect for my liking is that the band, during soundcheck and during the actual gig, look alike. There is no show aspect involved, so it's as if you're witnessing a rehearsal rather than a "real" gig. Maybe they should consider this for future reference.
After the gig the band members mingled with the crowd to sign CD-booklets and have a chat. Keyboard player Vincent Hooge told me that apart from Xang, all of the band members are thinking of starting a second project, this time with a female singer. The idea is to deliver more poppy songs in a Porcupine Tree vein. The search for the right singer is still going on, so if you live in their neighbourhood and you think this might be a once in a lifetime opportunity, then give these guys a call. It'll be Xantastic!
An exclusive interview with Xang can be found in the brand new issue of the quarterly specialized magazine Progression (issue 38).
Sincere thanks to Michel "Mich Prog" Andries, Robert Belleford, the members of Xang and all the nice people at Peter Pan.
