The Flower Kings: Tour Kaputt!

Tour Kaputt! Official Bootleg Live @ De Boerderij, The Netherlands, November 2007 (2011)

Over the years, The Flower Kings have released a number of “official bootlegs” though Roine's (or Jonas's) own record label. There's 2002's Live in New York, 2008's Carpe Diem and 2004's amazingly-titled BetchaWannaDanceStoopid!, a collection of studio improvisations. Most of these had a pretty limited release and are hard to come by. Why haven't I talked about them? Because I don't have them, mainly.

The reason I did want to sit down and talk to you about Tour Kaputt is threefold. First, I happen to own it. Second, it's the only “official bootleg” that's a DVD rather than just a CD. Third, and most importantly, I was present at the recorded show, and I have vivid memories of the event. Yes, for the second time a TFK concert I attended has been filmed for posterity! And, lookie lookie, I've made the cut once again! In grainy black and white this time, but I'm definitely in there.

I'm the one with the glasses and the humongous nose.

The concert was held at De Boerderij, Zoetermeer during the Tour Of No Evil of late 2007. Ah, yes, the ill-fated Tour Of No Evil. Misfortune after misfortune plagued the band. Zoltán Csörsz had left the band, permanently this time, and his temporary replacement was none other than the legendary Pat Mastelotto of King Crimson fame. It sure was great of him to rise to the occasion, but he was also another new musician for the rest of the group to get used to in a short time.

This was peanuts compared to everything else that happened. Just after the band left Uppsala, the tour bus crashed into a moose that crossed the road (only in Sweden!). This led the German roadie to utter the immortal words “TOUR KAPUTT!” Although a new bus could be arranged and the tour wasn't quite as kaputt as all that, it didn't exactly go off without a hitch either. It took the band very long to settle into the flow of touring, especialy with another new drummer around. Jonas Reingold, meanwhile, was suffering from hernia and really shouldn't have been out on the road in the first place. When the time came to cross the English channel, Mastelotto found himself unable to enter the country as he was an American without working visa. The man at the border eventually did let him through, but it was a stressful time for all. Worse than anything else, though, there were struggles within the band. More and more, the unstoppable force that is Tomas Bodin and the unmovable object that is Roine Stolt were clashing. No wonder The Flower Kings went on hiatus after this.

Do not adjust your set. There is only one Roine Stolt!

I remember the concert to be a disappointing experience. There seemed to be a spark of life missing from the band. They played well, but they never soared. Also, the venue was not nearly as packed as I would like it to have been. I also remember having a lot of fun regardless. I was right at the front of the stage, pulling faces at Mastelotto and exchanging peace signs with Hasse Fröberg. Someone again shouted “Roine, you're fucking great!” which is now a tradition every time the band plays in Holland. It was a strange gig.

A mere four years later, well into the hiatus, the DVD finally arrived. I had really lost all hope to ever see it, but here it is. The fact that it remained on the shelf for so long, the fact that it wasn't released under the InsideOut label, the fact that it was billed as an “official bootleg”, the fact that it comes packed in a measly cardboard sleeve rather than the usual lavish digipak, the fact that it seems to have been edited by a five-year-old, all this makes it look like nobody involved had much faith in this product.

So… taking all that into account, you might think Tour Kaputt is completely awful. Suprisingly, it kind of isn't. If anything, I might like it better than being at the actual show. If both Meet The Flower Kings and Instant Delivery showed the band at career highs, there's a fascination to be had in seeing the band at one of their lower points.

The elephant in the room has to be adressed first. Pat Mastelotto is a great guy, a great drummer and it was swell of him to fill in for The Flower Kings, let's have no misunderstandings about that, but theres no denying that he doesn't fit the band. The Flower Kings are a grooving, spontaneous, loose band who are best served by a drummer with a light, gentle, swinging touch. Mastelotto, on the other hand, is a tight, steely machine of a drummer, something that is accentuated by the myriad of digital effect pads he has. He gives it his best, he obviously loves the music and he clearly has some fun, but this was never a match made in heaven. Listening to his interpretation of songs like “I Am The Sun” and “Life In Motion”, I must conclude that it just doesn't work.

It's not his fault, though. Nobody seems to be having any chemistry. Roine is nervous and restless and keeps looking worried about the sound. Tomas, having been moved to his own island at the very back of the stage, is almost invisible and has no interactions with anyone. The hernia-wracked Jonas makes the best of the situation and has some good moments with Mastelotto, but he can't quite hide the fact that he's on a boatload of painkillers. The ever-reliable Hasse Fröberg is loyally pulling his weight as always, but he can't save the concert all by himself.

The concert in a nutshell: Hasse is looking for a Rock 'n Roll moment with Roine, Roine is too preoccupied to notice.

Fortunately, the DVD comes with some great music. The playlist is strong enough. The Sum Of No Evil is played almost in its entireity, save for the opening number. The concert gets straight into “Love Is The Only Answer”, and it admittedly kicks major ass. It's a bold choice for a concert opener because it's such a slow burner, but once it gets going, it really gets going. That's one thing The Flower Kings figured out at this moment in their career: composing songs specially for the stage. “There Is More To This World” follows suit, and while it's a fantastic song, this version doesn't hold a candle to the one on Alive on Planet Earth.

If The Sum Of No Evil truly is a stealth sequel to Retropolis, as one of my readers holds, Roine uses this tour to give a few beloved songs from that old album a fresh outing. “Retropolis” itself is up next. This version is heavily spiced up by Mastelotto's big magic box of effects. Jonas gets a solo spot in the middle, and while not as spectacular as the one on Instant Delivery, he's still a god. Then, there's the matter of the editing. On the previous DVD's, the live footage was occasionally intercut with strange, miscellaneous footage of dancers, landscapes, or abstract art. It was pretty irritating then and it's gotten even worse here. During the jam session here, the view goes all wobbly for some reason, like a bad LSD trip. It really detracts from what should be an honest concert registration.

I don't know what medicine Jonas Reingold was taking, but it's some powerful stuff.

The band then proceed to kill the concert even deader by playing a depressing ballad (“Trading My Soul”) and a dreary jazz jam (“Hudson River Sirens Call”). I think I'm going to fall asleep.

“I Am The Sun” to the rescue, then. This song is pretty much indestructible and, indeed, one of the concert's highlights. Here, the band is working like more of a tight unit again.

The band take a break and open again strong with “Life In Motion”. The following “Flight 999 Brimstone Air”, or “Brimstone Flight 999”, or “Who keeps track of what our songs are called 999” gives us a little bit of fun. The next couple of songs are a medley of “Babylon”, a particularly weak, toothless round of “Stardust We Are” and a much better rendition of “What If God Is Alone”. The meandering “Blade of Cain” closes the main set.

It's only at the final encore that the band are really on fire again. “The Sum Of No Reason” was the highlight of the album and it's the highlight of the night. This one has the kind of mad energy and, more importantly, synergy that I want to see. For this brief moment, I see a band rather than a disjointed set of musicicans. It's a great track. Unfortunately, this is also where Per Nordin's editing gets really out of control. He seems to apply every filter he has and completely butchers the footage into blurry oversaturated nonsense. Maybe he wants to emulate the “psychedelic” effects seen in old 70's footage of Yes and ELP. Guess what? That was pretty awful, too. I came to see the band, please!

Pretty as a still, pretty annoying when it moves.

So yeah, this tour was a bit of a mess, the band were a bit of a mess, and the DVD's a bit of a mess, too. The footage is grainy and grimy and overlit, but the sound quality is crisp as ever. A lot of the songs are really worthwile, and watching musicians like Roine Stolt, Tomas Bodin and Pat Mastelotto play is never going to be not interesting to me.

Of all three concert movies of The Flower Kings, Tour Kaputt is the one I watch the least. However, don't let anything I say deter you from checking it out for yourself. It is maybe the most honest, straightforward concert registration these guys have put out. It's a reality check, really. The Flower Kings may be prog royalty, they are still very much an underground band.

And underground they vanished. Until, shortly after the releaste of Tour Kaputt, out of nowhere, good news came once again from Uppsala. The Flower Kings were back!

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