As promised, the review of last Friday’s Sugarbeat Session with Anton and the new material.

Because of the large number of people wanting to attend, the session was eventually moved outside. A wise decision, because there were a lot of people, but unfortunately it was also quite to very cold. So the very first thing that comes to mind when I think of last Friday, is ‘cold’. Luckily it is almost immediately followed by ‘cosy’ and ‘enjoyable’, which seems to become the trademark of Sugarbeat. There were soft cushions, a series of nice chairs, and wood fires (unfortunately still unlit) waiting for us when we entered the garden… It created a perfect atmosphere. If you want to see for yourself I did not exaggerate, check Facebook and see for yourself: (http://www.facebook.com/#!/album.php?aid=166143&id=76849223881&ref=mf)

But atmosphere is one thing, the main thing that night were the new songs. Anton was presenting his new songs to a select small audience, right on his doorstep, in avant-premiere, as the cd will be a little while longer. No wonder this was one event not to be missed  And I was not disappointed. I cannot say exactly how much songs we heard (forgot to count and no setlist) but there were quite a lot. We got a good idea of what will be on the CD, I guess. Anton, his guitars and some electronic help, who ever needs more for breathtaking songs? The good thing is now at least I know it’ll be worth the wait, however long it will take.. Some of the songs were announced to us as singles. It sounded like those decisions had already been taking, which is a bit weird to me, seeing as there is no CD yet to speak of really. That all doesn’t really matter as soon as he starts to play and sing. He does what he does best: magic. It’s like he’s taking you away from your seat in that cold garden to the world he creates in his songs, never mind that it is a bit down at times. His voice gives me shivers, and that was not due to the cold. Actually, quite the contrary, he has such a warm voice I felt I was sitting in a nice warm glow.. The first song (I only have titles for some..) didn’t really do it for me, but I’m putting that down to the cold, and the fact I hadn’t seen Anton on a stage for more than a year. Luckily there was no reason to panic, it only got better after that. I remember a song called ‘Hannah’, and ‘Love is blindness’, which had the typical Anton build up of starting slowly, and then brought into blossom, to be topped off by a grand finale. Particularly ‘(Wasted)Flower’ something made quite an impression on me. Anton told us he was thinking of recording it for the album, and I really hope he does.. (not that I have any say in the matter). Towards the end, I was re-acquianted with an old friend, ‘She can take you home’! Being able to almost sing along the entire chorus of a supposedly new song was a very weird feeling, until I realized it was an old one, one that was already there on the Shine try-out (setlist) and even played twice that night if I remember well.. I cannot really tell whether the lyrics have changed a lot over the years, but the melody sounded familiar. That is the nicest thing about following an artist so closely for a few years now: you get to see the songs grow, disappear in some cases, blossom (from only guitar and voice to the full band-sound) and come back, as was the case here. We also heard the title number of the new album, called ‘eyes’ or ‘Ice’, but judging from the moving atmosphere, I would go for ice.. ‘All you have to do’ has the same uptempo drive as ‘ready when you are’, but I’m not sure whether any of them were meant to be singles. It sticks in your mind easily, so would be a good choice maybe. ‘All you have to do is give me time’.. I’m trying..
In between all that beauty, around us in the Sugarbeat-garden the dark set in, night fell and it grew even more colder, but believe it or not, that atmosphere fitted the songs perfectly. When I looked up I saw stars shining in the sky above me, and believe me, they were not the only ones to shine that night. We even got a few extra’s: a new ‘forgotten song’.And then towards the end an old song, even though he was not planning on that in the beginning. And he chose ‘Every Night You Pray’, which is one of my favorites actually. It was perfect timing, an inspired performance… Goose bumps all over (not due to the cold this time). And then, of course, it had to end (unfortunately).
But not for long: Anton is playing try outs with his new songs around Vlaanderen, amongst others in Leuven and Ghent (see elsewhere on the blog). My advice: go go go! Let him work his magic on you live (there is no better way). The new album would arrive ‘after the summer’.. Well, I’m ready when you are!!