American guitar virtuoso Eric Steckel once again proved why he’s a fixture in Ulft.
With bassist Robbin van de Bor and drummer Elia Micheletto, he brought his uncompromising “blues metal” to the DRU Industriepark, where the audience was treated to over an hour and a half of pure energy, long solos, and tight interplay.
A performance full of power, passion, and craftsmanship – just the way his fans love it.
For the fifth time, the now 35-year-old American guitarist/singer Eric Steckel performed at the DRU Industriepark pop venue in Ulft, in the Achterhoek region.
He calls this venue his favorite Dutch performance venue and is therefore happy to return. His previous visit was in October 2023, when he brought along “our” Barend Courbois on bass, who had previously toured with Eric.
This year, Robbin van de Bor, an experienced Dutch bassist, will be playing bass. As in 2023, Italian drummer Elia Micheletto, originally from Milan, also joined him. The Ulft performance was the second with this lineup.
The first show of this European autumn tour was Friday at Paard, The Hague, and the third on Sunday at De Bosuil in Weert. After that, the band crossed the border to play the German shows, followed by Austria and Switzerland, and then four British shows until the end of October.
The show was well-attended; an estimated 200-plus people had come to Ulft and responded enthusiastically from the start. There wasn’t much Dutch Disease, but that may also be due to the rather high volume of the performance. It quickly became clear that the three men are already well-rehearsed.
Eric calls his version of blues rock “blues metal,” and he takes that very seriously. Literally every one of the ten songs he plays is packed with very heavy licks and long guitar solos, while the songs are all quite long.
If you’re not into that kind of music, it might seem a bit long-winded, but for the fans (of whom there were many), it was a real treat!
From start to finish, it was clear that Eric, Robbin, and Elia were having a blast. All three had broad smiles, and Eric’s many facial expressions displayed a great deal of enjoyment—grimaces, so to speak, that you might also recognize from fellow guitarists like Daniël Lohues, Angus Young, and Julian Sas.
Besides the numerous guitar solos, there was an excellent bass solo from Robbin, and of course, a drum solo was also a must.
There were few song announcements and few breaks, which might have made it sound like a single, uninterrupted performance. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the concert, which lasted over an hour and a half, thanks in part to the excellent sound, as always.
Several songs were played from the upcoming album, which will be released next spring. It was clear that the audience thoroughly enjoyed themselves and were practically worn out by the end, as there were hardly any calls for an encore.
Shortly after the end of the performance, the musicians went to the merchandise stand, where CDs, posters and T-shirts were sold and the men had their pictures taken with several fans.
