19-03-2016 Night of the Militairy Music

[schema type=”event” evtype=”MusicEvent” name=”19-03-2016 Night of the Militairy Music” sdate=”2016-03-19″ street=”Nationaal Militair Museum” city=”Soesterberg” country=”NL” ]

A little bit different it is, the Night of the Military music. Not only for us as a magazine but for all visitors. Yet that is exactly what makes it so unique.

The event takes place in the National Militairy Museum in Soesterberg, Netherlands. Having various stages being set up in between the tanks and planes they manage to create an extraordinary scenery that suits very well. For us as a magazine you may not directly see us there, besides perhaps our personal interest being much wider than what is covered here usually, we could explain the link easily. How many metal songs do you know that have the word or theme of ‘war’ in there? Maybe you folk/pagan band tells you to conquer the enemy and drink a beer, is it your Death/Thrash favorite talking about wars and violence… and all its terror. We can mention Power Metal bands singing about ancient knights and warriors slashing their swords while Sabaton is having a massive tank on stage. It is unavoidable as a theme. With this night we go back to the basics and see the music of the soldiers being performed.

As soon as we enter we get a program. The F16 stage has something programmed called “Battle Music” and although we don’t have any information on what to expect we decided that is where we are heading for first. A good choice because when we found ourselves a good seat, many people who came five minutes later were less fortunate. Over the stage is a big screen where video footage is played during the performance, a great addition to the show. Where we listen to some known and less know pieces of music we must compliment the fanfare for picking a Hans Zimmer piece which is known from the movie Gladiator. It makes that connection between the music that does not reach beyond the military life and the music that is widely known. A bridge is created and so they can connect with the listener.

When they were finished it was time to see a 13 headed ensemble but they did not manage to make a deep impression for the music they played was not exciting. Walking through the planes we found our way to an old Mickey Mouse image painted on a plane, and while this toppiece of the museum’s collection is lighted very well, on the other side some music is almost ready to start.
In the restaurant the true party took place, a swinging band is entertaining an audience and we wonder if it would be appropriated to start a little dance. A dancefloor was not supplied though so we choose to get a drink and just watch. Their music seems to remember mostly to those moviescenes where marines are going out as soon as their boat has docked, 50s style. It brings in the mood.

Every act has only about 30 minutes to play so it is all about making choices. We were up for some sing-along songs and went to get a spot for that. These marches are introduced briefly before they are played and a large choir is there to sing for us. Unfortunately they have some trouble in syncing it up, which seems a sound issue but must be said just as well: they pick it up right away whenever they messed up. The audience was not really into singing, whether that was due to being unfamiliar with the lyrics (even though project on a screen), we would not be able to say for sure. Most remarkable was the Soesterberg song. As our own headquarters are located in that tiny town, we enjoyed it deeply.
Much more was to be seen that night, from jamsession to more comprehensive sets and a DJ in the restaurant as well.

So what did we get from an event like this? Well many of these melodies are very familiar. You see how many artists are inspired by music like this and how many people are enjoying to see this being played. About 2000 tickets were available and it was close to sold out as far as we know.

If you enjoy seeing old militairy planes and tanks the museum is open 6 days in the week. Not always there is this music event, but they have a diversity of events planned making that there is always something going on. For children there are so many things to do, see an experience. That makes the museum a great day out not only for the youngsters but also for the (grand) fathers.

Links:
Nationaal Militair Museum at Facebook