Finally the day had come, 16 Horsepower was back in our country (Belgium) again. Originally, they were scheduled to perform here in November but that show was cancelled due to personal problems. They did promise their fans to come back as soon as possible. David Eugene Edwards and his band kept their word and on 23 March they played the Ancienne Belgique in Brussels.

Botanica: dark and mystical
As with every good concert, the audience first had to endure the support act. Last year, at the Ghent Vooruit, An Pierlé (a Belgian singer-songwriter, famous for sitting on skippy-ball while playing piano), was their support act, but that turned out to be a bad choice!
This year, 16 Horsepower provided the support act themselves: Botanica, a group formed around Paul Wallfish. It was their first European tour. It has to be said, the audience really liked this American band. Their somewhat astonishing and dark mysterious music, more or less is a continuation of 16 Horsepower's music. They (Botanica) mix several styles and are certainly not scared of a waltz or a tango; Castration Tango. The singer also stressed that they didn't sing songs but tell stories, and that was what they were. Stories about problems concerning religion, beauty, death, art and magic. Dark but beautiful music.

Folk and rock hand in hand
Australian aboriginal music announced the arrival of David Eugene Edwards, Jean-Yves Tola, Pascal Humbert and Steve Taylor. A sold-out and extremely enthusiastic Ancienne Belgique welcomed the band with a deafening applause, which would be repeated regularly later on that evening.
They started off with 'American Wheeze', a song from their first album Sackcloth 'n' Ashes. The bandoneon (a kind of accordion) got into action immediately. That's what's so typical of 16 Horsepower. Next to using classical rock instruments they also use banjoes, bandoneon, double-bass and other folk instruments. It gives them a unique sound, which until now I haven't found with any other band.

How far is heaven?
Back to Friday night. The old and new songs alternated: 'Dead Run', 'Cinder Alley', 'Harm's Way', 'Straw Foot', 'Splinters', 'I Seen What I saw',... They were all present, but hell finally broke loose after 'Clogger', the opening track from their latest album, Secret South. It felt as if you were attending a heavy metal concert. They also added a beautiful cover of '24 Hours' (by Joy Division) to their set.

The first part went rather smoothly, except for some little technical errors. But the second part was even better, the audience as well as the band was carried away by the music. Edwards isn't much of a talker on stage, the only thing he says is "thanks", "thanks for clapping" and "We appreciate you've come to see us". How modest they are!
However in the second part there seemed to be room for more contact with the audience. For example, he sang "How far is heaven?" and stopped to look at the audience as if they were to give the answer. The second encore started with the touching song, 'The Partisan' (another cover), it is included as a bonus track on Low Estate. But all beautiful songs have to end sometime, and so unfortunately this one too.

It was a great concert, the atmosphere was wonderful. Also musically everything went well, Edward's voice is always good. To be brief, they're all experts who know what it means to make good music. Yet, I have the feeling that 16 Horsepower is a real festival band. They seem to feel more at home on a festival than in a concert-hall. So who knows where we might see them again this summer.

By Karolien C.

Click here to read a translated review from Belgian newspaper De Standaard.