Having just released their brand new album, after twenty three years going we see how Spock’s Beard still retain such a fantastic place in the Prog community as they bring their search for The Oblivion Particle to London.
[date]2nd October 2015[/date]
[venue]O2 Islington Academy[/venue]
[city]London, Islington[/city]
[support_bands]Special Providence[/support_bands
Ah the classic genre of Prog, seeing an incredibly early start tonight at London’s Islington O2 Academy unfortunately we miss first band, though for good reason, keep your eyes peeled for a forthcoming interview with Spock’s Beard. After our chat we welcomed our main support. Hailing from Hungary the band perform instrumental Metal with aplomb. The very modest announcements mid way through the set introducing members before yet another unabashed stroke of genius.
Nevertheless the Band are young in both senses of the word, perhaps not being quite prepared for if things go awry as bassist is left without a top string resulting in the song have to be started up again. After the slight speed bump though the band come together fantastically. Combining the slightly out of context use of the keyboard in the material along with Meshuggah esque grooves the band win over the older audience, no easy feat. Along with perfect crystal clear sound the band are a breath of fresh air. Creating interesting musical ideas instead of the usual proving of technical prowess, the band might be small for now but with the precision of seasoned session musicians, who knows we might be seeing more of Special Providence.
After the decidedly serious set from our European friends it’s a welcome breath of fresh air when our American friends in Spock’s Beard strut out, bursting into “Tides Of Time” the crowd lap up each moment, with singer Ted Leonard more than proving himself to be one of the integral sections of the band. With witty banter between songs the band keep the momentum up arching back momentarily for “On A Perfect Day” the band once more jump back into the modern times with “Hell’s Not Enough” where despite Alan Morse‘s charisma unfortunately encounters some slight sonic difficulties, though it doesn’t stop him and just seconds later he’s back to his usual self.
Among the fantastic performance of songs old and new, importantly Spock’s Beard are happy. Smiling from ear to ear as they rag on each other which along with digs at Kronenbourg keep our public happy. Keyboardist Ryo enraptures with his mystical muse like presence, on the surface a fairly loud and jokey individual yet when the curtain goes up you can witness th sheer amount of talent the man possesses particularly with his motherboard set up. Both bassist Dave Mero and Jimmy Keegan are completely in sync creating a tight sense of being in the pocket. Of course this wouldn’t be Prog without sprawling guitar solos yet before people are able to be bored the band return back to a strong chorus, with the likes of “Minion” working excellently anew the slightly more lengthy “A Better Way To Fly” where the band flex their progressive muscles and see’s Leonard’s brilliant vocals come to the fore.
As we move into the tail end of our set which see’s an acoustic rendition of new single “Bennett Built A Time Machine” being just as powerful as it would be with its electronic trimmings the band move into The Light classic The Water. Receiving more than just a nod of approval the band have proven that not only are the band still incredibly current in the world of Prog, with much of their set consisting of new material that it stacks up against the old classics. A triumphant performance from one Prog’s unsung heroes tonight which combining all different eras of the band would lead you to think that it wasn’t Bennet but Spock’s Beard who built a time machine.
