K's Choice was supposed to play Effenaar shortly before Christmas 2010, but I heard their American record company planned a US promo tour, which took precedent to their European one, so part of their European tour got postponed to a later date. I was informed the Eindhoven date was set for March 2nd, 2011. That was fine with me until I found out Serena Ryder and Melissa Etheridge were going to play Halifax Metro Centre the exact same day. Well, poop!
They kicked off the Eindhoven concert with “Favorite adventure”. And it was very clear that the audience showed up to see K’s Choice - even though they gave opening act Arid, fellow Belgians, a shot. I have heard of them, and the one song I recognized off their setlist was “Too late tonight” (which they played early on, but judging from the response from the audience, it might have been better if they played it towards the end of their set).
Singer Sarah announced at the start that this show consisted of two parts: an acoustic set and a full on “rock and roll” set. It’s very much like their latest album Echo Mountain of which the first disc contains uptempo songs, and the second one consists of the slower songs and ballads. I was glad they decided to turn that around for the show and start off with the acoustic set first to get everybody warmed up and ready to rock out later.
The acoustic set lasted about half an hour (it seemed shorter) after which the band took a quick break, allowing their roadies to ready the stage for a regular rock concert.
I was pleasantly surprised when the band also played “Virgin state of mind”: Buffy fans may recognize this song from an episode in which K’s Choice had a cameo. They, of course, played their biggest hit - worldwide - “Not an addict” as well.
I had a great time people watching: it almost felt like Pride. The audience consisted of people of all ages (anything from teenagers to your mom and dad), straight couples, lots of queer women. I eavesdropped on a conversation happening behind me where a straight guy introduced his lesbian friend to K’s Choice. (He, too, appreciated Sarah Bettens’s singing voice.)
K’s Choice came back for two encores. The first one was kicked off by Gert performing “Shadowman”, a song which (in a past tour) he had paired up with Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”. It’s a slightly haunting song, and in total contrast to the rest of the show, but a good indicator the show is coming to an end. Both encores consisted of songs that are slower and have a more intimate feel to them.
If I remember correctly they ended the show with “God in my bed”. People in the audience either hummed along, or were silently listening. And I was reminded of the fact there once was a time where smoking at venues and public spaces was still allowed: moments like these lended themselves to fish out one’s lighters and sway along to the music. Not anymore. People didn’t even took out their cell phones do to something similar.
Sarah thanked the audience for coming out (no pun intended), and playing at a sold out venue on their first date back in the Netherlands felt like wonderful welcome to them. I had a great evening.
