German progressive guitarist Yuval Ron had the unenviable task to open the proceedings on the third day of the Progdreams Festival in Zoetermeer, The Netherlands on April 9 at 3PM. Playing most of his latest album Somewhere In This Universe, Somebody Hits a Drum he managed to engage the audience and join him on his self-styled trip to outer space.
Ron is one of those rare players who can pull off two-handed tapping, using a string muter of his own design, and he can switch between the styles Tommy Iommi and Joe Satriani for a display of prog metal that is truly uplifting, with WiFi in Emerald City as the highlight of the set. The quieter passages allowed him to delve into his bag of tricks and effects to create an intimacy that went down well with the audience. Bass player Victor Nissim loosened up a bit during the set - he stared intently at his charts at first - and drummer Yatziv Caspi is a powerhouse who gave his own twist to the material, not trying to emulate Marco Minnemann who played on the record.
Ron will surely be higher on the bill next time. If anything he has convinced the small turnout who watched the show to spread the word about an artist who can make them clap in time and watch his every move with rapt attention.
Setlist- Somewhere In This Universe, Somebody Hits a Drum
- WiFi in Emerald City
- Kuiper Belt
- The Discovery of Phoebe
- I Believe In Astronauts
- E: Greetings, Earthling
- 04/21 Berlin, Germany @ Peppi Guggenheim
- 04/22 Haan, Germany @ RRC Prog Night
- 05/26 Berlin, Germany @ Karneval der Kulturen
- 06/01 Tel Aviv, Israel @ Tmuna Theater
- 07/06 London, UK @ Sci-Fi Rock Night
- 07/07 Abingdon, UK @ Prog For Peart
- 11/15 Göppingen, Germany @ Jazz in Göppingen
- 11/16 Jena, Germany @ (TBC)
- 11/17 Leipzig, German y@ naTo
- 11/18 Fürstenfeldbruck, Germany @ Subkultur
- 01/28 Berlin, Germany @ Berlin Prog Night
- 02/23 Hamburg, Germany @ Hamburg Prog Night
HCTF review of Somewhere in This Universe, Somebody Hits a Drum.