Band: Alberto Bravin (lead vocals, keyboards, guitar), Nick D’Virgilio (drums, vocals, acoustic guitar), Oskar Holldorff (keyboards, vocals), Clare Lindley (violin, vocals, keyboards, guitar), Rikard Sjöblom (guitars, keyboards, vocals), Gregory Spawton (bass, bass pedals, acoustic guitar/12-string), and Paul Mitchell (trumpet)

Setlist: Light Left in The Day, Oblivion, Beneath The Masts, Skates On, The Last English King, Transit of Venus, Miramare, Telling The Bees, Black With Ink, Last Eleven, Apollo
Encore: Love Is The Light

Paradoxically, there is perhaps no better time to take a break from work than when things are busy and overwhelming. They say when it rains, it pours. That seems to have had both a figurative and a literal meaning as of late. Work is overflowing with good and not so good, and it has been raining buckets across much of the American Midwest and South. Here in South Central Kentucky, we have had about 12 inches of rain over the last several days. Of course this rain had to come the week Big Big Train were playing their show at Sweetwater in Fort Wayne, Indiana. That wasn’t about to stop me, though. This concert had been one of the few things I was looking forward to over the last few months, and frankly I couldn’t wait.

Into my boat I sailed. Okay, land yacht. I drive an ’08 Mercury Grand Marquis. A 5 hour drive (made ten minutes longer than it needed to be due to my refusal to pay a $5.22 toll on I-65 across the Ohio River in Louisville) is merely a pleasant outing sitting in that living room on wheels. My first stop was to the vet to drop off my dog for an overnight stay. Sorry Éowyn. (I think she’s forgiven me since she’s half laying on me as I write this.) Big Big Train serenaded me the whole drive, beginning with The Likes of Us before going back to Ingenious Devices, Grimspound, The Second Brightest Star and I think some excerpts from Merchants of Light. The weather co-operated the entire drive, with only a light drizzle glazing my windshield in the last half hour. I could have done without the immense truck traffic, but it didn’t really slow me down much on the drive up.

Since I couldn’t check into my hotel until 4pm, I made the compulsory (for me, anyways) trip to Hyde Brothers books, one of my favorite used books stores. Their prices are good, and their selection is exemplary. Pick a topic and they have something to suit your needs. As usual when I visit, I spent too much money.

A trip to Fort Wayne for me isn’t complete without a stop at Portillo’s, which was a convenient 3 minute drive from the hotel. As a born and raised Chicagoan, Portillo’s has long been one of my favorites. They’re the king of fast food, since they’re actually quality. Italian beef (a Chicago favorite), hot dogs, burgers, fries, and exceptional chocolate cake and lemon cake. Since Illinois is an expensive cesspool, they have been expanding to places Illinoisans are fleeing to. Indiana is a popular spot for Illinois ex-pats.

After watering the local economy with my money, I headed over to Sweetwater. I got there early, allowing me some time to wander their magnificent retail store. I’m not a musician, but if I was, I’d be in heaven. They seemed to have everything, including a couple members of Big Big Train! I left Alberto and Rikard alone, though.

After that I made my way to the line, which was just beginning to form. Prog concerts are always a fun way to meet people, since we’re typically of like mind and they are one of the few places I can talk in-person with someone about my beloved progressive rock and not see eyes glaze over. I even met people who were familiar with Progarchy and had read my reviews over the years. Pretty neat!

I had paid for a general admission ticket between rows C-G, and due to my place early in line, I was able to snag a brilliant seat fourth row center. I believe this was two rows closer than my seat at last year’s show. As things got going, the next round of bad weather rolled in, although you wouldn’t know it from inside the theater. The dude who introduced the band, who started a little later than the advertised 7pm, perhaps giving a chance for latecomers to show up because of the weather, commented that the auditorium was Sweetwater’s designated safe space for storms, so the show would definitely go on. The auditorium never quite filled up, which I suspect was due to the rain. They are also playing shows outside Detroit and Chicago soon, which may have limited people who would have otherwise come from those areas. But since Nick works for Sweetwater as his day job, the venue makes a great warm-up show for a tour.

The band was met with applause as they entered the stage one by one. They opened with the instrumental “Light Left In The Day” (they left out Alberto’s opening vocals), a brilliant interlude to a show that leaned heavily on the band’s latest output. Alberto quickly showed he’s so much more than the band’s lead vocalist, playing some of the leading keyboard lines on this track. Paul Mitchell’s trumpet showed us we would be getting a full Big Big Train sound.

The band kept with the album tracklist for The Likes Of Us up through “Skates On,” which surprised me. It’s brave for a band to rely so heavily on recent output so early in a concert, but it goes to show how strong the material is and how confident the band are in their current identity. “Oblivion” rocks the house, while “Beneath The Masts” is one of the longer prog epics of the evening. The instrumental breakdown in the second half of the song is a particular hit for me, with Rikard’s guitar solo thoroughly entertaining to watch.

Since the band recently re-leased black-sheep album Bard, including a live version of “The Last English King” off last year’s tour, they included that song next. I was shocked at how much Alberto’s voice sounded like Martin Read’s. He really nailed it, and the current lineup’s interpretation of the song really elevates it. It ended up fitting right in.

Next they played “Transit of Venus Across The Sun,” somewhat of a deep cut off 2016’s Folklore. A moving song about love, it conjured up a lot of memories for me. For one, it reminded me of the celestial transit of Venus across the sun that happened back in 2012. It also brought me back to the time of release, right after I graduated college. It was a time of change and a time of frustration as I looked for work. And yet Big Big Train thrilled me with a brilliant new release, which was essentially the first full album they released once I became a fan. I was around for the release of English Electric: Full Power in 2013, but I was new to “third wave” prog at that point. I was reminded of writing reviews of the album, both here and at the Dutch Progressive Rock Page. All those thoughts swirled around at once as I listened to the band flawlessly perform the track.

I was really hoping the band would play “Miramare,” my favorite track off The Likes of Us. I was worried they wouldn’t after they interrupted their play-through of the album with “The Last English King,” but they pleasantly surprised me bringing it out after “Transit.” The opening vocal harmonies are brilliant, and they show just how talented the band are. In fact the multi-part vocal harmonies were exceptional the whole night. With everyone but Greg having a microphone, they had a lot of flexibility with how they re-created the vocal harmonies from the records. I absolutely love the bass-line on “Miramare,” and of course Clare Lindley’s violin shredding later in the song is fantastic, as was Rikard’s guitar solo near the end. Nick shows what a maestro he is on the drums throughout the show, of course, but this song in particular highlights his skill. He makes it looks so easy. He’s such a smooth player, even when he’s playing something incredibly complex.

Since David Longdon’s tragic passing, “Telling The Bees” has become the band’s tribute to him. For this song, Nick left the drum kit and donned an acoustic guitar, with Rikard staying with him on piano and the rest of the band leaving the stage for the first half of the song. Once they come back out, Alberto surprises the crowd and crawls behind the drum kit, where he looked rather like Mike Portnoy back there, beard, hair, and all. A fan jokingly told him so after the show as they mingled with the crowd. He did a fantastic job on the drums, showing how much flexibility this band has to surprise and entertain it’s audience. Nick was stellar on vocals, reminding me of his frontman days back in Spock’s Beard. At one point Clare joined in with Nick and Rikard on vocals, and the three of them nailed the vocal harmony. Nick paused in the middle of the song and exclaimed that was the first time they had done that song in three-part harmony, adding “I love this band.” His joy was palpable. It was also his and his wife’s 31st wedding anniversary that night, and his wife was in attendance. Every prog wife’s dream way of spending their anniversary, I’m sure.

“Black With Ink” was a fun pick off 2021’s Common Ground. This song is unique in how it shares lead vocals amongst the band, even on the album. On the studio recording, former keyboardist Carly Bryant sings one of the verses, but live it was Clare Lindley who sang. To my ear it was indistinguishable from the album. Rikard, Nick, and Oskar also get their chance to shine, not to mention Alberto. This song demonstrates that in many ways Big Big Train is a band comprised of frontmen – Alberto, obviously, but Nick has fronted a band, Rikard has fronted Beardfish and Gungfly, Oskar is the lead vocalist for Dim Gray, and Clare demonstrated frontman abilities throughout the show with her many contributions on violin, vocals, keyboards, and guitar. So much talent on display here.

The band close out with “Last Eleven,” a stellar track that was the band’s first new release after Longdon’s passing. It showed us what we had to look forward to with the new vocalist and a reformed band. Now it shows us who they are. For the encore, if I remember right they didn’t even bother leaving the stage. They closed with “Love Is The Light,” a moving track that shows the band can write a love song that can lure in people who might not listen to prog otherwise while still entertaining the prog snobs amongst us. With this track, the band played all of The Likes Of Us except for “Bookmarks.”

I was a tad surprised they leaned so heavily on the new album, but it was The Likes Of Us tour, after all. They played heavily from their back-catalog at last year’s show, which was unsurprising since it was their first ever show in America and they had a bit of catching up to do for us American fans. This year, though, the band is looking forward full steam ahead will still honoring important parts of their past. Sure, I would have loved for the encore to be “The Underfall Yard,” but we can’t have everything in life. Maybe someday I’ll get to hear that one live – maybe even next year. Hint hint nudge nudge.

After the last couple years of touring, this version of the band seems much more comfortable than at their show last year. They were great last year, but they were even better this year. Experience and time definitely have helped them as a live band. They all seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves. Oskar looked to be having a blast at his keyboard perch in the back, and Greg was the ever-present giant on the bass. here was a touching moment where Alberto came over to him as he sang and Greg played the 12-string and the spotlights shined on them. Greg’s use of the 12-string at points throughout the show reminded me of Steve Hackett in many ways. That definitely struck me as an influence this go-around.

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Afterglow

Not many bands stick around after a show to meet and greet with the fans without charging a fee for it. It is very generous of them. On my way out of the auditorium I stopped by the sound booth where mixing mastermind Rob Aubrey was still sitting. I don’t know of any other bands who have the person who mixes all of their albums also tour with them and mix their shows, but he does an absolutely fantastic job. It isn’t easy to have to create a mix for each venue, with every auditorium and club having its own acoustic challenges. Overall I’d say Rob nailed it. From my spot in the middle of the fourth row, the mix was very lush and not too loud. There was no crunchy distortion that too often happens at rock concerts from the sheer noise level. I didn’t need earplugs. In fact, knowing that Rob would be mixing the show, I didn’t even bring them. The only comment I would make is the violin could have been a little louder in the mix at points. I had brought my copy of The Likes Of Us on CD hoping to have the band sign it, and I asked Rob to sign it, which he graciously did. I told him it was one of the best-mixed concerts I had been to, and I really mean that. Steve Hackett’s shows are the only thing that even comes close.

After that I got to meet the rest of the band and get signatures from all of them, which was fun. I had met several of them last year, so it was good to talk to them a little again. I saw one guy had an original copy of Goodbye To The Age Of Steam that he had Greg sign, and even Greg was shocked to see that. After getting some signatures and heading towards the door, I saw the merch desk folks packing up, and a signed drumhead caught my eye for $50. I think it was the head from the soundcheck, as it was lightly used and I remember seeing the tech change it out before the show. I hemmed and hawed for a bit before exclaiming, “what the hell. I don’t have a wife to tell me no” as I handed over the $50 bill I had perhaps unwisely brought with me.

I marched to the door, now noticing the light rain and large amounts of lightning. I rushed to the car, only dropping my newly signed CD once (no damage done, mercifully – I had them sign the inside of it), where I lovingly wrapped my new drumhead in a blanket in the trunk. It made it home safely, and so did I the next day, despite the last ~1.5 hours of the drive being through a very heavy rainstorm. Voyager has come home. Here’s hoping Big Big Train come back next year.