In case you hadn’t noticed, the last quarter of 2018 has put paid to any perceived drought of new releases & reissues. Capsule reviews of what I’ve been listening to since the first of this month follow the jump; albums are reviewed in descending order on my Personal Proggyness Perception (PPP) scale, scored from 0 to 10.
Continue reading “Lightning Round Reviews: November 1-9, 2018”
Now available via Bandcamp!
I’m interrupting a summer (now gone) of digging deep into the recently-released Dave Matthews Band album, the two excellent Southern Empire albums (do pick them up), and my autumnal tradition of listening to all that is Big Big Train to report what’s been making the rounds on this midterm Election Day in America: Prog metal kings Dream Theater have announced a new album, “Distance Over Time,” which will be released 22 February, 2019.
The band will then hit the road for a North American tour starting in March, and while concertgoers will no doubt be treated to newly-released material from “DoT” (or, as a nod to Rush, should it be “d/t?”), the highlight of the tour will no doubt be the news of the band celebrating 20 years of their landmark album, “Metropolis Part 2: Scenes From A Memory.”
A short teaser from the forthcoming album, which was produced by guitarist John Petrucci and with sweet artwork by Hugh Syme, can be heard here:
Here are the “Distance Over Time” tour dates for America and Canada. The band also plans to follow the U.S. dates with a show in Mexico City in early May.
March 2019
20 – San Diego, CA
21 – Los Angeles, CA
22 – Los Angeles, CA
24 – San Francisco, CA
26 – Denver, CO
28 – St. Paul, MN
29 – Chicago, IL
31 – Milwaukee, WI
April 2019
2 – Detroit, MI
4 – Toronto, Ont.
5 – Montreal, Que.
6 – Quebec City, Que.
8 – Boston, MA
9 – Oakdale, CT
10 – Red Bank, NJ
12 – New York, NY
13 – Upper Darby, PA
15 – Washington, D.C.
17 – Nashville, TN
22 – Charlotte, NC
23 – Atlanta, GA
24 – Orlando, FL
26 – St. Petersburg, FL
27 – Jacksonville, FL
29 – Dallas, TX
30 – Houston, TX
May 2019
1 – Austin, TX
While I initially gave a solid review of their previous release, “The Astonishing,” I’ve since given it few listens when compared to the albums that came before it, especially the song-oriented releases (rather than concept albums). I don’t know that any information about the tracks on “Distance Over Time” has been made public, but I’m fairly certain that given the scope of “The Astonishing,” DT would likely return to a song-oriented effort on the next one, so I’m very much looking forward to hearing what’s next from the gang.
As announced on — appropriately enough — October 31, Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason will bring his new band Saucerful of Secrets (or, in an example of Mason’s typically dry wit, “Not The Australian Roger Waters”) to North America in the spring of 2019. The tour will mark Mason’s first live shows in the Western Hemisphere since Floyd’s Division Bell extravanganza prowled the continent’s football stadiums back in 1994.
With the blessing of both Roger Waters and David Gilmour in his back pocket, Mason is focusing on pre-Dark Side of the Moon Floyd; setlists for SoS’ shows have included tracks from Piper at the Gates of Dawn, A Saucerful of Secrets, Atom Heart Mother, More, Meddle and Obscured by Clouds, along with early Floyd singles and B-sides. In Mason’s words, “With the help of some like-minded friends, I have embarked on a voyage of discovery of the music that was the launchpad of Pink Floyd and my working life. It seems too early to retire, and I missed the interaction with other musicians.”
Debuting with four small London gigs this past May, Saucerful of Secrets completed a European theater tour in September. The North American tour will be similar in scope, with Mason and his cohorts (Blockheads guitarist Lee Harris, Spandau Ballet guitarist/vocalist Gary Kemp, post-Roger Waters Floyd bassist Guy Pratt and Transit Kings keyboardist Dom Beken) bringing their show to 2500-3500 seat venues.
Presales for the first block of shows have already begun, with public sales starting on Monday, November 5. Tour dates are listed below; more info is available at Ticketmaster.
March 12, 2019 – Vancouver, BC @ Queen Elizabeth Theatre
March 13 – Seattle, WA @ The Paramount
March 15 – San Francisco, CA @ The Masonic
March 16 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern
March 19 – Phoenix, AZ @ Comerica Theatre
March 21 – Denver, CO @ Paramount Theatre
March 24 – Dallas, TX @ The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
March 25 – Houston, TX @ Jones Hall for the Performing Arts
March 27 – Miami Beach, FL @ Fillmore Miami Beach at the Jackie Gleason Theater
March 29 – Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle
March 31 – St. Louis, MO @ Stifel Theatre
April 1 – Milwaukee, WI @ The Riverside Theater
April 3 – Minneapolis, MN @ Orpheum Theatre
April 4 – Chicago, IL @ The Chicago Theatre
April 5 – Indianapolis, IN @ The Old National Centre
April 7 – Columbus, OH @ Palace Theatre
April 8 – Akron, OH @ Akron Civic Theatre
April 9 -Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore Detroit
April 11 – Buffalo, NY @ Shea’s Performing Arts Center
April 12 – Wallingford, CT @ Oakdale Theatre
April 13 – Boston, MA @ Orpheum Theatre
April 15 – Montreal, QC @ Place des Arts
April 16 – Toronto, ON @ Sony Centre for the Performing Arts
April 18 – New York, NY @ Beacon Theatre
April 22 – Washington, DC @ DAR Constitution Hall
(And yes, having experienced The Division Bell-era Floyd in concert at the late unlamented Pontiac Silverdome — the only rock show I’ve ever attended where, even at full volume, I was able to go without earplugs for the entire night — I grabbed a ticket for the Chicago stop today.)
If you want a generous sample of what Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets has to offer, check out their recent Copenhagen show:
— Rick Krueger
Daniel James’ Brass Camel honours progressive rock legends tonight, underneath the unreal visuals of the HR MacMillan Space Centre’s 360 degree Star Theatre: Pink Floyd, King Crimson, Genesis, Yes, Rush, and more!
Video from the rehearsals is viewable here and here.
Buy tickets here.
Get the DJBC band’s new album here and also on iTunes.
Dave Kerzner’s In Continuum has unveiled “Crash Landing,” which features Steve Hackett of Genesis fame, and also Jon Davison of Yes, who sings on it with Kerzner.
It’s a prog dream come true! The excitement builds for the Acceleration Theory release…
…everyone’s entitled to at least one good scare.”
So quipped Sheriff Leigh Brackett in John Carpenter’s classic Halloween (1978). After seeing the new sequel to Carpenter’s seminal slasher film this past weekend, I find myself now recalling not the theme (good vs. evil) or the setting (small town Midwest) or the Shape (Michael Myers), but the music. Carpenter’s iconic score, reimagined for the 2018 film, appears to be the product of a “proggy” mind. Born to the chair of the music department at Western Kentucky University, Carpenter was certainly exposed to various genres of music from a young age. In fact, Carpenter has released three albums himself – primarily instrumental and definitely progressive. Take a listen below:
Happy Halloween!
Ran into this Scientific American article on Death Metal.
“Those positive emotions, as reported by death metal fans in an online survey that Thompson and his team conducted, include feelings of empowerment, joy, peace and transcendence. So far, almost all of the anger and tension Thompson has documented in his death metal studies has been expressed by non-fans after listening to samples of the music.”
Probably, psychologists should be studying the non-fans, on why they are unable to decipher that grand symphony.
From a related Progarchy post.
The most complex of patterns is comfortably buried beneath a wall of rich chaotic sound. So, in spite of being substantive, intellectually and physically demanding, the uninitiated simply may not have the ear. We can appreciate the textures and the grand symphony only with some ability to abstract away that pulverizing sound. Actually mandates higher levels of cognition – sort of the mark of an ageing and civilized genre.
By Äppelmos [CC BY 3.0 ], from Wikimedia Commons
As I exited the CTA Green Line on a crisp, clear Chicago Sunday, Reggie’s Rock Club and Music Joint beckoned with the promise of Progtoberfest’s final day: twelve hours of sixteen bands on two stages. Constantly unfolding delight or endless endurance test? Only one way to find out.
(Notes for after the jump: links are provided to bands’ online presence — website, Facebook or Bandcamp pages — wherever possible. An asterisk [*] by a band’s name means I bought one or more of their CDs at the event; A cross [+] means the band didn’t have CDs for sale — but their music is now on my want list. Here we go …)
Evership are probably a band that you’ve not come across before. If you have, you will know they represent a high watermark in melodic, richly-layered progressive rock.
With their debut, ‘Evership’ in 2016, a lengthy period of gestation of material was finally brought to fruition after ten or more years of development by the writer and producer Shane Atkinson. A real labour of love and devotion, Evership have since continued to thrive with their second album, Evership 2 following on with a more palatable waiting time of two years in-between.
Musically they one of the rare breed of bands in the progressive rock genre that successfully straddle the old with the new, producing something that is both fresh and feels like work of their own distillation. Much of this is in part to the quality of songwriting and musicianship as well as a real energetic immediacy in their material. In a world where there is so much content, and so little time to visit it all – music that grabs the listener from the off is king.
Atkinson wears his influences on his sleeve and fans of Rush, Kansas, Genesis and Queen will not be disappointed to hear echoes of them within the five tracks on Evership 2. Hailing from Tennessee (the home of Glass Hammer) there is a real distinctive hard rocking (and honest) American sensibility to the sound which also aligns itself with its peers in the U.S. too.
Firmly planted in the ‘epic’ camp Evership 2’s shortest numbers are over seven minutes long with the highlight being a half hour monster split down into six manageable chapters. ‘Isle of the Broken Tree’ is all that a progressive rock opus should be. Etherial and majestic tones give way to cinematic grandeur that can shake the speakers in a very satisfying way. The haunting vocal of singer Beau West is a real treat and his huge range throughout the song and the rest of the album is one of the elements that underpins their class in their field. The interplay between the piano and acoustic guitar is superb in the opening segments until the hard punch comes into play. Midway through the piece, gutsy guitar delights in its distorted 70’s edge, again backed by some superb keys. The intricate weaving of these structures has to be down in many ways to Atkinson owning the song writing and performing duties on much of the album.
As impressive as Isle is the real gem within Evership 2 is the emotional ‘Wanderer’ which tugs at the toughest of souls with West’s stellar delivery…`took a little time to work out what I lost.’ The song makes a number of emotional punches, which culminate in a powerful uplifting peak. Prog can sometimes (and rightly) be accused of being too remote and impassive but Evership have shown their power in bringing into play the moments that make the hairs on the back of the neck stand on end.
The sentiment that an album deserves more attention is one that is used often however in the case of Evership 2 is it thoroughly deserved. It’s a stunning second album that continues to delight with every play. There is no doubt this album will appeal to many if the aim of the album is good enough to hit its target audience. Hopefully there are good things ahead for Evership in the wake of this release.
Check out the new album on release now!
Available from the website – and via iTunes, Spotify and currently on Progstreaming
Track List
