Focus – Islington Assembly Hall – 30^th January 2013

Focus’s music at its best is a multi-faceted thing: you can rock out to it; it can lead you by the mind to far away places; it can wear its medieval influences on its sleeve (does that mean they’re to blame for Blackmore’s Night???). I am glad to report that each of these facets of their oeuvre are served well by the current line-up, who visit Islington to promote their latest album, Focus X.

The current line-up features Thijs van Leer on keyboards, flute and vocals; Pierre van der Linden on drums; Menno Gootjes on guitar and Bobby Jacobs (van Leer’s stepson) on bass. Perhaps Gootjes has the least enviable job when playing the older material in having to replicate Jan Akkerman’s guitar lines of yore while stamping his own identity on them. That notwithstanding, he plays the guitar hero with considerable aplomb.

The star of the show tonight however is Thijs van Leer. He directs proceedings from behind his keyboard like a kind of Gandalf figure. He visibly feels the music, and pulls magical lines from both his keyboard and flute whilst waving encouragement to his bandmates or reining them in occasionally with a gesture.

During Eruption Thijs steps out from behind his keyboard and walks to the front of the stage to play flute and scat sing before leaving the stage while various solos take place, attempting to walk through Bobby Jacobs (to his visible annoyance) in the process.

The new album Focus X is represented by All Hens On Deck and Birds Come Fly Over (Le Tango). Focus X is fits in well with the band’s back catalogue whilst avoiding aping it. However, good as the new material is, what the mostly forty-and-fifty-something audience have come to hear are the oldies, and they are not disappointed. The set started with Focus I and House Of The King, and after Eruption there is a scorching version of Sylvia. La Cathedrale De Strasbourg is followed by Harem Scarem, which Thijs helpfully advises us is about the evils of alcohol. Just say no kids.

The set ends with a vicious version of Hocus Pocus, which is followed by an apparently (but not obviously) shortened version of Focus III, as the band will be fined if they carry on playing beyond 11pm! An evening of Dutch prog from a band who have been in business for over forty years may not be perceived as an appealing prospect by everybody. However, this band ooze enthusiasm, vitality, inventiveness and humour from every pore, and really should not be missed. If you have the opportunity, go see ‘em next time – I certainly will!

                                                                                          Mark Kelly