The second album forthcoming from Eric Gillette. His first was absolutely stunning, and this one looks even better! Congratulations Eric and Chris Thompson!
Lake Street Dive @LakeStreetDive Live in Vancouver, Canada (March 1)
Lake Street Dive played live in Vancouver on March 1. Appropriately, they played at a Main Street dive in the sketchiest part of the Vancouver East side. Doors were to open at 8pm, and the line snaked around the block well before then, and even long after, since the show sold out. A bouncer greeted my wife with a friendly, “Welcome!” Okay, I don’t know if this was standard procedure, but my explanation was that she was looking so good. Anyway, the interior was a club that was mostly like an empty barn, pretty much geared towards standing around the bar at the back or dancing in the stage room up front. But we found a rare sofa and got a chance to chill out before the show, lying back as we surveyed who was to be seen in the crowd.
The Suffers was the interesting opening act that took the stage at 9pm sharp. As an eight piece that included talented trombone and trumpet players, they got the crowd worked up. The dance floor was full, ready for Lake Street Dive (LSD) when they took the stage at about quarter past 10pm.
Lake Street Dive was absolutely amazing and you simply should not ever miss the chance to see them live. They are stellar on their albums, but this is a band that excels when playing live. Their talent is so immense that they are actually that rarest of breeds: musicians who are even better live. This is how music was meant to be experienced!
The excitement and energy that they bring to their live show is quite astonishing. It’s hard to believe, but the live versions of their songs are even better than the recorded ones. There are sometimes extended bits, new improvisations, and — of course — delightful interactions with the crowd.
LSD vocalist Rachael Price remarked early on about the sea of faces on the dance floor and how they were sending an incredible energy to the musicians on stage. The band loved the crowd, and the crowd loved them back. It was a perfect show, almost two hours long. Take a look at the set list below. Notice where it says that the encore is at LSD’s discretion. Well, guess what they chose to do!
Because the band had had so much fun with the crowd, LSD gave their Vancouver audience, as the encore performance, a stunning live version of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Maybe you’ve seen the YouTube video version of LSD’s cover of this classic song, but the live version was even more entertaining — a truly amazing and impressive feat. It brought the house down, and the crowd freaked out and had a blast at every point during the song. We said goodbye to LSD with thunderous, roaring applause.
Besides “Bohemian Rhapsody,” the other great cover of the evening was Annie Lennox’s “Broken Glass” — which was a completely magical experience! The original song is mighty fine, but I dare say that this was the perfect cover, given that the cover was even better than the original. And that they pulled it off live with such an intricate and exciting arrangement! It was totally mind-blowing.
You can see from the set list below that the pacing of the show was a work of art. “Elijah” was introduced by a whip smart Michael Calabrese drum solo. By the way, why don’t more drummers set their drum kit up sideways like he does? Not only can the crowd watch the drummer better, he can communicate with the other musicians on stage much better.
“Elijah” also ended with a dueling bass vs. drums freakout session, as Bridget Kearney jumped onto the drum riser for some insane antics with Calabrese. I have to say that her amazing playing all night song was like a secret thread stitching everything together via an invisible dimension. What a talent!
Mike “McDuck” Olson played nimble guitar throughout the evening but also switched over to trumpet whenever required. McDuck simply slayed the crowd with his sweet trumpet tone — equally nimble with his brass work as he is on guitar. This guy is a connoisseur of rare sounds and I love how he has mastered the art of timbre.
Every song of the evening had special live features that caused jaws to drop. One example would be the way “So Long” was played, which won me over to appreciate its many underestimated beauties. “So Long” starts only with Rachael singing and also some tastefully spare accompaniment from McDuck on guitar, but then the song builds and builds until finally the whole band comes in and, more and more, generates unprecedented passion with LSD’s killer live dynamics.
If you ask me, did I enjoy the concert? I only got two words for you: “Hell, yeah!”
If LSD is coming your way, don’t miss the chance to see them live. They are one of the greatest live bands in the history of music. Each member of the quartet inhabits the upper echelons of musical talent. Each person brings so much to this ensemble — including superb vocals from every member, in order to harmonically craft a rich, and full, living wall of sound.
Rachael Price has charismatic vocal talent that has to be heard live to be believed. Some sound systems highlight how a merely mortal vocalist is really smaller than life; but Rachael’s magical voice is so much larger than life that it completely takes over the sound system and bends it effortlessly to her will. When you hear her sing live, it’s like a miracle is happening. It’s hard to describe the whole effect, but the total musical alchemy achieved by this quartet is something quite special. With rare style and grace they elevate even novelty songs like “Side Pony” into the most satisfying of musical experiences.
Three cheers for Lake Street Dive! Long may they thrive!
Review: Different Light – The Burden of Paradise
The fourth album of a Prague based art rock band calling themselves Different Light, ‘The Burden of Paradise’ is nothing, if not incredibly diverse. Taking the sounds of classic rock and a great many other styles of yesteryear, and compiling them in a twenty-one-track album, this is quite an ambitious project. Despite proving that the band is evidently very adventurous, the end result is an album that is masterfully crafted in the way it turns out, making for an inconsistently enjoyable piece of work.
Led onward by the vocals of singer Trevor Tabone, the music cycles through everything from classic progressive rock, to symphonic, to even progressive metal. Overall, while I understand that the band is testing the grounds quite a bit with this one, it does feel incredibly cohesive, and the songs as a result have very an excellent flow to them.
The songwriting is excellent here, it’s consistent. On top of the album feeling a bit too long for its own good, the album’s structure is in a state of greatness. Different Light deliver a very good impression with their newest material, and I really hope that they will embark on tour promoting it.
Buy ‘The Burden of Paradise’ from the official Different Light website.
26 Minutes with Steve Hackett
This afternoon, I had the grand pleasure of speaking with a man whom I have admired since at least 1978, Steve Hackett. Though I called an hour earlier than scheduled (by accident) and though I mislabeled Hackett’s latest box set, PREMONITIONS, as PROGENY, Hackett was as kind, as intelligent, and as interesting as one might possibly imagine.
I have a feeling that I could’ve easily talked with him for another hour or so, but I didn’t want to take advantage of his obviously gracious and easy-going nature.
We covered a lot of ground in our conservation.
I was mostly interested in how he wrote, structured, and reworked his own music. Growing up a huge Genesis fan, I have rather happily found that Hackett’s several GENESIS REVISITED II releases (live and studio) have reminded me yet again just how very layered and nuanced everything Hackett produces is.
His latest studio album, WOLFLIGHT, is no different. After all, it almost seamlessly incorporates classical, orchestral, ELO-esque pop, carnivallesque rock, and Brazilian-style guitar into a mythological whole. The lyrics, too, pull together Greek antiquity with the Norse Volsunga and shed light on modern psychological and personal dysfunctions.
Rather than take copious notes or record our conversation, I simply asked questions, listened with great interest to Hackett’s many excellent insights, and jotted down a note here or there.
As Hackett has become more comfortable with his own views on music and now willing to reassess many of his once strongly held opinions as a young man, he has come to love much of what he had once dismissed, he tells me.
He knowingly and sagaciously laughed about his “one-time prejudices.”
Now, while a certain style of music might or might not grab him at every level, he loves listening to how various peoples from various cultures use an instrument. What if one uses the guitar, for example, as a drum or as something primarily rhythmic?
Whether one calls his music “world or progressive,” Hackett doesn’t want a label or genre to narrow his own thinking or his own creativity.
He is, he says, “always looking for a good tune and a good lyric,” no matter where it is to be found.
At the moment, he tells me, he’s working on two new tracks for his forthcoming album (no time frame yet, as Hackett wants it to come as it comes). One track is influenced by flamenco playing and the other deals with his own recent (and wondrous) visit to Iceland.
In our conservation, he also notes how very interested he is in exploring how the smallest and most easily dismissed instrument can contribute to a larger whole. Imagine, he asks out loud, what “the humble triangle” brings to an orchestra. It’s critical, he explains, to see what color the triangle or any other instrument offers to the whole. Once we understand what the least obvious can do, we are ready to allow things to develop in a right “sort of way,” letting each thing breathe.
In my own enthusiasm, I told Hackett how much his various GENESIS REVISITED II releases reminded me just how very alive the music of Genesis was and is and always will be. I mentioned that the performances elicited not nostalgia from me, but admiration.
With GENESIS REVISITED II, he answers, he never “wanted to be slavish, but” he did desire “to be authentic. A perfect reproduction would” be nothing but boring.
Still, he says, some things he felt needed to be exact—such as certain parts of “The Musical Box.” They were properly written from the beginning and need to remain as is. It’s all a matter of judgment. The notes are just as right in 2016, he says, as they were in 1971. He sees the GENESIS REVISITED II project as “dusting off the exhibits” while presenting them in new light.
What more can one state? Hackett is a gentleman and an artist. How nice it is to find that’s one’s hero is fully human, but in all the glory that it attaches itself to humanity. Thank you, Mr. Hackett. I will be listening for years to come.
Here’s the press release and dates for the forthcoming 2016 tour: https://progarchy.com/2016/02/18/steve-hackett-north-american-tour-2016/
Review: Fatal Destiny – Palindromia
Verona-based Italian prog metallers Fatal Destiny are a new name on the international scene. Their debut album “Palindromia” creates a convincing case that other prog bands from Italy may just have a challenger in sight for their reign as the modern metal champions of the country. Essentially, Fatal Destiny embrace a similar modern metal culture flush with melody as Fates Warning and Dream Theater do in their respective soundscapes, but with an additional touch of modern take on the genre.
The band open convincingly with “Palindromia”, immediately making it known to the listener that this is going to be a melody-driven metal album. But once we get to “Beyond Dreams”, there’s only one word appropriate to describe the track: amazing. The interaction dynamic between the vocals and the rest of the mix is superior, and the instrumentals create an intricate, yet massively melodic landscape when they aren’t busy in dynamic riffage and pummeling percussion. The chorus is something else: an uplifting, elevating clean-vocal driven passage, instantly catchy and memorable.
Later, “Leave Me Here” provides another brilliant moment with more melodic approach which leads into yet another unforgettable explosion of clean vocal melody over a heavy instrumental landscape during the chorus.
“The Gate of Time” toys with straight up melodic metal at the start of the track but quickly counters with punishing metallic riffage. Here, too, the chorus doesn’t disappoint. “Feel Alone” leans on progressive metal more, which breaks up the album’s pace somewhat for additional diversity. “Human Factory” afterwards provides yet another highlight on the record.
One thing’s for sure: there are enough great melodies on “Palindromia” to push Fatal Desitny to the forefront of modern metal bands in Italy. They should be expecting much bigger crowds at their performances as word begins to spread. A new Italian metal star has been born.
Stay in touch with Fatal Destiny on Facebook.
Rush Interviewed on Sound Opinions
Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot put out their Sound Opinions podcast weekly, and the latest episode features an in-depth interview with Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson. It is one of the best interviews of them I’ve ever heard, primarily because -despite being professional music critics – Jim and Greg are both very big fans of Rush.
You can stream the podcast or download it here. The interview begins at 6:15 minutes in.
Review: Jusska – Tsuki
In the time span of just few months, Belgian prog metal band Jusska released two EP’s. After l’homme de l’ombre released in August 2015, the band is back with Tsuki — an EP which features ex-Monuments drummer Mike Malyan on the three songs it’s made of.
Tusk starts off with “Cascade,” a progressive metal number with superb djent hook. “Geisha” has it all — perfectly balanced vocals and music, it’s made of both slow and fast parts.
“Limbo” is a perfect example of the multi layered sound of Jusska. Complex drum fills courtesy of Malyan, subtle guitar riffs by Leander Verheyen, and excellent singing of Iason Passaris, and you get a winning formula.
Although short, there is so much to hear within these three songs on Tsuki. Even after hearing it more than 10 times, there is still more to be discovered.
You can get Tsuki by Jusska on Bandcamp here, and follow the band on Facebook.
Progarchy Interview with Nick Beggs
Nick Beggs spoke with Progarchy today! Listen above to this exciting interview, in which The Blonde Bombshell talks in detail about the tracks on The Mute Gods album, as well as his upcoming tour with Steven Wilson, and the nature of prog rock music.
We reviewed one of his concerts with Wilson back in June 2015 when he visited us in Vancouver, Canada.
Thanks again, Nick! We can’t wait to hear whatever Sir Nicholas does next. In the meantime, all Progarchists should do nothing until they hear this excellent new album from The Mute Gods…
Here’s a video for one of the songs we talked about:
Nick is also a talented illustrator as well as being a far-from-mute prog god:
Enjoy!
Review: Pontus – IV
Released February 12th, 2016, IV is the fourth solo release by New York based progressive rock musician Pontus Gunve, and second full band Progressive Rock release. Expanding and evolving the classic band format by including cello in the mix, IV makes Pontus as one of the most promising and impressive progressive metal bands on the scene today.
If you’re a fan of stellar guitar riffs and technical solos, IV is definitely going to interest you. The band’s sound established on those previous releases could definitely be defined as a happier kind of progressive metal, focusing on melodies in major scales. That signature sound can still be found here, but IV feels so much heavier than those other releases.
Gunve has really outdone himself with the guitar parts on this release. Tripp Dudley (drums, tabla) and Bryan Percivall form the rhythmic backbone of the EP and keep the songs on track but also have their time to shine, coming in clearly through the mix. The heavier sound of this album can definitely be attributed to the amazing mix of the album. Where this release really shines are the cello segments masterfully performed by Eric Allen. He is definitely what makes difference between IV and every other average progressive release today.
But now to talk about the music itself! IV opens up with a ten-minute piece named “Ten,” a journey through epic riffs and melodic solos and walls (courtesy of Eric Allen) that quickly touches on melodic themes similar to ones established on previous albums. “Ten” travels through some epic, technical territory, taking a brief sojourn with some classic rock-like passage towards the middle of the song, then re-exploding back into the frenetic pace of the earlier portions. What might seem like a strange combination of genres on paper turns out to be a pretty banger song when put together by the guys in the band.
Another standout track for me is the fourth song, “Red Silver.” It’s a catchy, bouncy, focused song with a great solo.
“Felix” has some massive atmosphere, with Allen absolutely killing it over some amazing groove work. Honestly, you can listen to any track off of IV and find something to enjoy. It’s an amazing release from an amazing progressive metal band.
Buy IV from Bandcamp.
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