On 26 May 1995 was the first-ever concert by the Phil Miller/Peter Lemer duo, and again I made my way to Holland. In Uden, at the well-known De Nieuwe Pul, an evening was organised with the guitar at its centre. Originally, the Miller/Baker duo were to have played, but it was not possible for Fred, so the new duo was born.
After two bands who played rock of the hard kind, Phil and Peter had a somewhat difficult start. Maybe also the first two songs, Above And Below and Eastern Region, were, after this hard-rock portion, too smooth for the young audience, and the background noise overwhelmed the music. But then the two took hold of the audience. While they played A Simple Man, the audience became increasingly interested, the nervousness was gone and Phil and Peter started to practise their magic. From now on the audience was theirs. No Holds Barred and Second Sight followed, where Phil more and more unfolded his guitar art.
Interesting were the versions of songs normally played with Fred. Of course, Peter brings some other aspects to the music with his keyboards, his fast playing and swelling harmonies giving the pieces a totally new dimension and direction. Digging In is really a showpiece, covering all the possibilities of the duo. The last piece was the compulsory Green And Purple, which was the zenith of the evening, both letting all their inhibitions go and playing at full power. This was what the audience needed – and liked. They obviously preferred the hard sound and got it then. If you think of the short time they had to prepare, this debut appearance was a full success, and a convincing gig.
Manfred Bress
Great review!
And you can feel the energy build