FemME Club Tour

The FemME Club Tour – Birthday Show had his 6^th edition. In April 2013 was the first edition which triggered some other events with the Female Metal Event (6^th edition 11-13 October 2019) as biggest happening. The main activity of FemME is giving bands with female members a stage to play. For starting bands it’s even harder to get a slot somewhere. Female metal is not a genre (as it might have been maybe in the past), it covers the full range of metal options nowadays; from gothic to death metal, both clean vocals and grunts, can soft soft and brutal. It needs to get a fair chance.

The first band of the evening is really a starting one. In Eindhoven you do have education/schools like everywhere. Only there they have a regular school with specialization METAL. Part of that specific focus is the setup of a band. This “school” band has to show their progress at a public show case, 10 weeks later, by performing 3 own songs. Enter the Void impressed and when they confirmed to continue as a band they were asked to create a larger set and present that for the first time in outside school at the FemME Club Tour. With dual vocals (female – Evelin Szilágyi / male – Cezary van der Veen) you get both worlds. The other members are Ramses Donkers (guitar), Michael Damen (guitar), Lorenzo LaBas (bass) and Eise Bouma (drums). It was a first show but it exceeded expectations. They did a really great job; it sounded very well, with interesting musical layers and the theatrical approach by Evelin added a visual aspect. The show was wel received and appreciated by the audience.

Co-headliner Scarlet Stories is a little more familiar. They already played at an earlier edition of the Birthday show and at FemME. The full set started with some acoustic songs. Only Lisette van den Berg (vocals) and Bram te Kamp (guitar) on stage. Even ‘downsized’ their songs impress. When joined by Carmen Raats (guitar), Maarten Grimm (bass) and Tim Kuper (drums) it went full power. They are in the studio for recordings of their debut album, funded with a very successful crowdfunding campaign. Unfortunately they didn’t give a preview of new material except for the song ‘Vingt Mille Lieues Sous Les Mers’ already released end 2018. We had to do it with known songs of the EP “Resurrection” like ‘Nostalgia In A Closed Mind’ and the title song ‘Resurrection’. As Lisette said, the dark progressive metal is not very ‘happy’ but it was great to hear and see it tonight.

Vetrar Draugurinn closed the evening. Again no ‘happy’ music. Eric Hazebroek (guitar, at that time Stream of Passion) was at the first edition in 2013 and now back again with a new band. Although, not that new as they played already at FemME. Marjan Welman (vocals), Thomas Cochrane (guitar), Arjan Heijden (bas) and Jim van de Kerkhof (drums) complete the band. Most of the set was filled with the dark, sorrow-drenched metal  / melancholic melodies of the end of March released album “Hinterland”. An album that you should check when you like more dark doomy music.

It was a great evening with, definitely no easy-listening music. I know I’m a bit biased because it was my own Birthday Party. But who were there, bands and audience, enjoyed it. And that’s key at the end.

Larger set of photos: Vetrar Draugurinn, Scarlet Stories and Enter the Void.