Siena Root
2015-10-18
Hedon (small stage), Zwolle, Netherlands

total time: 75:20

tracks:
1. intro
2. Between the Lines
3. Shine
4. Trippin'
5. Bhimpalasi
6. "-84" (new song, the setlist mentioned "-84")
7. Dreams of Tomorrow
8. In My Kitchen
9. Words
10. Coming Home
11. Until Time Leaves Us Again

lineage: AUD (by Jerry(19)70, 3 meters from centre stage, at the front of the top step so 30 cm above audience in front of me) > Aiwa stereo mic > M-Audio Microtrack II > WAV 44/16 > Audacity (hard limit on applause, normalize, fade-in at start, fade-out at end) > FLAC16 level 8

This was my first Siena Root gig as I only discovered their music a few months ago. Don't know why I didn't learn about them sooner, I love their music! I arrived when the opening act The Good Hand had just started. With only one melody instrument (guitar), some passages were a bit too thin to my tatse, but they did surprise me with their heavy song parts. I might actually go and see them again and buy their vinyl!

But I was there for Siena Root. It was the 'small venue' inside the Hedon building. It's actually a bar with a stage. I think it will hold up to 150 people when packed, but tonight there were about 50 people, I think. (A few more, including kids, during the opening act, who were locals so I guess they brough along some friends.) From the bar to the stage, the floor goes down three steps a few meters before the stage. I was standing at the front of the top step, so no one was right in front of me and the mic.

The sound in the venue was to be expected of a small venue like this. It was not that great. The vocals were buried in the mix. To my surprise, however, the recording turned out sounding much better than what I experienced live! Good sound, the keyboards and guitars are in a perfect mix. I guess something was wrong with my ears that night and the sound must have been better than I thought. In just a few places the vocals are too loud, distorting the sound as if overloading the sound system. This happened with the in-house sound, not only on the recording. But for the rest I am very pleased with the outcome.

Thanks to fellow dimer sjk20 for help with the setlist! Although Root Rock Pioneers was on the setlist, they didn't play that. The encore was not on the setlist. (Planned encores are fake, of course.) Considering it was a Sunday and the gig ended just before midnight, I guess they were not allowed to play longer? Although I enjoyed the opening act, now I wish they didn't run late so we would have heard more of Siena Root. Well, until next time then! Glad the band had all their LPs with them so I was able to support the band by buying a copy of each!

Enjoy!
Jerry(19)70

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