14-10-2010 Sivert Høyem

Supports: From The Balcony; Venue: Tivoli de Helling, Utrecht (The Netherlands)
By: Sabine van Gameren

A sold out show in Tivoli was on the bill tonight. Sivert Hoyem was the one performing.

As a support, the Dutch band From The Balcony came to play. They are a fairly young pop/rock band and they did not seem to have a huge fan base in the crowd besides a few fanatics that made their way to the front row. Perhaps the happier, open sounds of the band does not match too much with what the headliner would bring and so come that most of the audience does not give them too much of attention. Too bad. You can see the band is still in an early stage of their existence but what they bring is not something one should ignore. Sure, some fine tuning in the catchiness here and there, putting the accents on the right place and maybe a more existing performance are obligatory for further success but these guys are on the good road for now.

The Norwegian Sivert Høyem is from a whole different caliber. He got his fame as leadsinger of the band Madrugada. After a band member died this project stopped and Sivert went on with his solo project. His dark vocals have a mysterious impact on the crowd. When Sivert is playing the audience shuts up and listens. Of course the cheering after each song is there, but he gets into people’s mind and make an impression they won’t forget soon.

Already short in their set the song “Into The Sea” was played. It comes from his 2006 album “Exile” and is a perfect summary of what this music is about. Some of the songs are played solo, but Sivert has quite a band behind him to make a whole load of atmosphere in the music. Although each of these musicians seem to be quite characteristic on their own, they have the modesty to stay in the background far enough to not overcome their front man. Yet they know how to shine in the moments that it is perfectly appropriated. Clearly a band that knows how to put on a great show, built a good set where the calmer moments frequently are switched with some more energetic songs to keep everyone interested.

This performance rose far above expectations, so keep an eye on the local dates and go check it out yourself!