OOSTERPOORT, Groningen, The Snow Goose

Tien jaar na de Farewell Tour gebeurde wat niemand meer had verwacht: Andy Latimer overleefde myelofibrose middels chemotherapie en een geslaagde beenmergtransplantatie en besloot na een jarenlang herstel Camel weer nieuw leven in te blazen. De uitverkochte schouwburg in Groningen ontving Latimer met gejuich en een staande ovatie waardoor de bescheiden muzikant zichtbaar aangedaan was.

Op het podium werd Andy Latimer bijgestaan door zijn vaste maatje Colin Bass (bas, zang) en de ook al eerder met Camel op Nederlandse bodem gesignaleerde Denis Clement (drums) en Guy LeBlanc (toetsen). Vanwege verplichtingen met Caravan kon Jan Schelhaas helaas geen deel uitmaken van de liveband, maar Latimer had een uitstekende vervanger geregeld in de persoon van de Amerikaan Jason Hart, die momenteel ook actief is in Renaissance. Hij speelde met name de orkestraties. Het vijftal bracht voor de pauze een nieuwe, wat uitgebreidere versie van The Snow Goose, die uiteraard veel bijval oogstte. Liet Latimer voor de pauze nog een paar snelle nootjes lopen, na de pauze kwam hij pas goed op dreef en stuwde de band naar een topprestatie met een keur van meesterwerken, waaronder een akoestische uitvoering van Never Let Go, enkele nummers van Moonmadness, het schitterende Wait, het zeer geëngageerd door Colin Bass gebrachte Fox Hill en een uiterst roerende uitvoering van The Hour Candle, opgedragen aan Andy's overleden vader. Latimer zong zelf meer dan tijdens de laatste tournees en genoot zichtbaar van het enthousiaste publiek. Hij gaf interactief blijk van zijn vreugde om weer voor Nederlands publiek te mogen staan. Guy LeBlanc ging helemaal los in de klassieker en tevens uitsmijter Lady Fantasy maar ondanks de tweede staande ovatie toonde de fragiele meester bekkentrekker tekenen van vermoeidheid en liet het daarom bij één toegift. Desalniettemin werd een droom bewaarheid en nu maar hopen dat het niet bij de bewerking van The Snow Goose blijft, maar dat Latimer ook nog aan nieuw werk begint. Dit was in elk geval een absolute topavond.

ENGLISH:

Ten years after Camel's 'Farewell Tour' nobody expected to see Andrew Latimer again, alive and kicking. Nonetheless Andy overcame a ferocious attack on his body and after a bone marrow transplant and a long period of doubts and physical problems he managed to recover and decided he was now ready to revive Camel.

He chose to work with the bandmates that accompanied him on his last tour: longtime member Colin Bass on bass guitar, acoustic guitar and vocals, Guy LeBlanc (Nathan Mahl) on keyboards and background vocals and Denis Clement on drums. With these musicians he re-recorded one of Camel's most successful albums in the band's history: The Snow Goose. dedicated to the late Pete Bardens. Andy Latimer carefully re-interpreted all the songs, changing little bits in several solos and adding music in the same vein. The orchestra was replaced by all keyboards played by Guy and Andy. This was the focus of the short tour Camel undertook, kicking off at Harrogate (UK), via Groningen (NL), Amsterdam (NL), London (UK) and ending up in Germany (Bochum and Mannheim). Firstly Andy had asked his former band mate Jan Schelhaas to join the live band but Jan had to decline because of conflicting tour schedules with Schelhaas 'own' band Caravan. Therefore the youngest addition to the live band was Jason Hart on keyboards and acoustic guitar, also playing in Renaissance featuring Annie Haslam.

As all other venues the lovely theater in Groningen had been sold out for this show and when Andy set foot on stage, he was welcomed by an audience giving him a standing ovation. Of course he was moved and upon someone shouting 'good to see you Andy' he replied with a grin 'yeah it's good to see you too!' One fan wore a T-shirt especially made for this occasion: albums covers and the text 'Good to see you Andy'. The whole atmosphere and vibe were extremely positive and the performance of the 'new' Snow Goose went very well in spite of minor imbalances in the sound at the very beginning. Making his usual faces Latimer seemed to playing at the same level as ten years ago, although he skipped a few fast notes during the early section of the show. Again a standing ovation and good deal of enthusiasm of all the people present who could make this wonderful trip down memory lane, hearing this exquisite music from 1975.

After the intermission Latimer returned with a lovely acoustic version of Never Let Go, primarily sung by the man himself. Several tracks from Moonmadness followed. Moving people to tears was the rendition of the The Hour Candle from the album Harbour Of Tears, dedicated to his late father. The audience was brought to ecstasy when Camel played Wait, also being one my personal favourites. Colin Bass, standing in the shadow most of the time, seemed to enjoy himself immensely bringing the story of the fox and bringing a superb version of Fox Hill. After another classic For Today the band waved goodbye, but returned after another standing ovation.

Andy had been playing really well after the intermission and although he looked rather skinny, he seemed to be on top of the game again. On more than one occasion he showed his fans his appreciation for their loyalty and support and he concluded that Camel was to play Lady Fantasy, a song they never played live before, which of course wasn't true. Camel must have performed this particular song over a thousand times. Still the enthusiasm of the version in Groningen must have been one of their best. The MIrage album brought me to become a fan of Camel and I never regretted that decision for one minute."

Although it seemed that the rest of the band would have liked to play another encore, Andy looked a bit tired and having recovered to such a great extent, he'd better not push it to the limit so wisely this magnificent show had come to an end. Surely everyone hopes this revival will last and we will see and hear more of Camel in the (near) future!

Set  list:

From The Snow Goose: The Great Marsh, Rhayader, Rhayader Goes To Town, Sanctuary, Fritha, The Snow Goose, Friendship, Migration, Rhayader Alone, Flight Of The Snow Goose, Preparation, Dunkirk, Epitaph, Fritha Alone, La Princess Perdue, The Great Marsh (Reprise).

After the intermission: Never Let Go, Song Within A Song, Air Born, Echoes, The Hour Candle (A Song For My Father), Tell Me, Wait, Watching The Bobbins, Fox Hill, For Today. Encore: Lady Fantasy.