The band’s name, Plan Nine, comes from ‘Plan Nine From Outer Space’ – a film widely regarded as the worst film of all time, making it a rather daring choice of name.
To find the origins of Plan Nine, we have to go back over 30 years. Singer Robert Soeterboek and musical jack-of-all-trades Arjen Lucassen started writing hard rock tracks together. At the time, grunge bands were popular, and hard rock bands couldn’t find a record label. The music was put on the shelf and forgotten. It remained there for decades, until it was rediscovered.
With a new line-up, the band carried on, which led to their debut album ‘The Long-Lost Songs’ about two years ago; this album received rave reviews. No wonder, as frontman Robert has a powerful, raw voice. Furthermore, Plan Nine gives blues and classic/melodic/prog rock a fresh sound. In recent years, Plan Nine have given several successful performances. On Friday 20 March, they played at De Bosuil in Weert, The Netherlands.
Let it ride
The lights in the venue dimmed, and as music played from a tape, the band members appeared on stage one by one in a low-key manner.
‘Doctor Roberts Medicine Show’ began instrumentally. Frontman Robert appeared just before he began to sing. He hit the high notes with ease. In terms of expression, he was energetic; especially during the instrumental sections, this powerhouse of energy was going wild in a lovey way. That formed a lovely contrast with his sharp suit.
The backing vocalists were absolutaly not second best: Irene Jansen (Ayreon) and Jane Goulding (Livin’ Blues). Their powerful voices were a wonderful addition. Marcel Singor’s guitar playing was brilliant. ‘Let it ride’ followed almost non-stop, with Willem Hoving tearing through it beautifully on his Hammond. Before ‘High speed chase’ began, Robert welcomed the audience. He did so in his own, humorous way, with a strong Rotterdam accent.
Drunker than whiskey
Between songs, Robert talked a bit, often throwing in some jokes. He appreciated reactions from the audience or from the band members. There was frequent laughter, and it was obvious that the band members were good friends.
Willem stood at the back of the stage, with only his head visible. That was enough to see that he was regularly dancing behind the keyboard, as he did in ‘Drunker than whiskey’.
Rhythm guitarist Storm van ’t Westeinde played a key part during the intro to ‘Before the morning comes’. This was complemented perfectly by Marcel. Joris Lindner’s five-string bass had a pleasantly noticeable presence. The atmosphere of the music was mellow, and Robert’s voice came through beautifully here too. His style of performance was appropriately calm. The same applied to Koen Herfst’s drumming. Where possible, he played powerfully, but here he modulated his force. The ladies’ wordless vocals blended seamlessly with the music. Just before the end, Robert sang almost as a solo.
Long cold night
Robert mentioned that ‘The Long-Lost Songs’ will have a follow-up, though the date is unknown. But ‘Texas Size’ will feature on it, as it did this evening at De Bosuil. You could see the band members were enjoying this rousing track. After the sudden ending, Koen played a varied solo, which was beautifully lit. The good lighting had been noticeable throughout the show, and the sound was well balanced for the entire performance.
Irene and Jane left the raised platform and sat on the bar stools in front of the organ. They poured themselves a drink, which went hand in hand with the cheerful ‘Long Cold Night’. When they didn’t have to sing, they took a sip of ‘the strong stuff’. During the vocal parts, Irene’s facial expressions were clearly visible.
Robert announced ‘Where do the wild things go sleep tonight’ in a funny way. This delightful rock track is also from the new, yet-to-be-released album. The twists and turns, just like the sudden ending, were played well. The atmosphere on stage became even more exuberant during ‘Ice on fire’. Jane and Irene didn’t have any of the ‘standard moves’ that many backing vocalists have. They danced very spontaneously and were really enjoying themselves. The same went for the other band members; it was a ‘lovely bunch of chaos’. It was wild, but controlled. In the venue, things remained a lot calmer, but the audience clapped enthusiastically.
During ‘Annie Moore’ too, the changes in tempo and volume were skilfully played. Robert sang “Annie” or “Annie Moore” in various ways; on his command, the audience sang along with him. Jane joked once with a Limburg accent, “Enne?”. This came across as very spontaneous.
‘Get Down to Bizniz’
‘Smoke Stack Lightning’ was the first song of the encore. Jane and Irene were dancing, half-jumping, and the other band members were also exuberant. The ladies left their raised positions for ‘Get down to bizniz’. Of course, Koen and Willem kept their places, whilst the other musicians stood side by side. All the band members were clearly having a great time. Robert and the ladies, in particular, were dancing and jumping. After about an hour and a half, the band left the stage. Quite soon, most of the band members came into the hall to sign autographs or socialise. As it wasn’t crowded, there was no hectic rush around the merchandise. And so this spontaneous, energetic evening ended in a very relaxed and cosy atmosphere.
