So after a long rest after last night, I feel I need to write down a few words after the gig. Last night took more out of me than I previously imagined possible. Its infrequent in life to find something that meets your extremely high expectation so I have to put this into some kind of words. Firstly, why did I have high expectations? Well Transatlantic have some extreme talent in the bunch of guys that form the band. Firstly Pete on Bass is from my beloved Marillion, in Marillion I think we find Pete admirably performing the function of a bass player in a songwriting team, hes never there as the one showing off at how technically competent he is, however in Transatlantic he has a lot more freedom to shine through as one of the most competent bass players youll ever see. Roine Stolt from the Flower Kings is another great guitarist, his songwriting skills are in no way kept secret either, this guy has been progging since the seventies and his experience really shows in this band. He really makes the guitar sing, sometimes to the point where its not obvious its a guitar solo, its really not what youd always expect, sometimes it sounds like hes playing keyboard parts. Previous to this gig his voice isnt my favourite of the four but live hes up there with the best of them. Any Dream Theater fan needs no introduction to Mike Portnoy, his drumming is second to none. Im frankly not a huge Theater fan but you cant deny the incredible talent this guy has. Just listen to any solo Neal Morse stuff hes done, its shaping up pretty good. And then we have Neal Morse. This guy has been a huge musical hero to me since I was a teenager and for good reason. This guy really has it all, incredible voice, amazing keyboard player (something I didnt realise when I was listening to Spocks Beard years ago), a great guitar player. Last but certainly not least, this guy can songwrite like nobody else on the planet, hes the best in the world at what he does, it may not be to your taste and for a lot of people I think he turns them off due to his christian roots throughout his lyrics, I wont be talking about this here however. So huge expectations to begin with, plus Id heard that they had a 3 hour setlist they were planning on going through. I got to the area around 7:30 (later than intended) and some friends were trying to persuade me to have a beer. Thankfully and probably uncharacteristically I said we should head for the gig. The usual discussion of do we care about the support band ensues but I figured, even if there is a support band I want to get somewhere near for this one. Ive had gigs at the forum ruined before by people who constantly chatter all the way through. Well we head to the gig and I fight through some small section of the crowd to meet a friend in the middle, this was the best decision that couldve been made. So at 8 PM sharp the graphics behind the stage turn to the Kaleidoscope image and the music turns to a TA medley, pretty sure I was right, there is no support band here. Then sure enough the five take to the stage and proceed to play the opening chords from their new albums intro Into the Blue. There was nothing in the world that couldve prepared me for what I was hearing here. Starts off very subtly with some lovely violins, then as Mike kicks in with the drums it takes off to a whole new level, just wonderful. Roines guitar is brilliant at the start of this song. Then we really kick off with some heavy prog that sets the stage for the evening, boy does this give the guys something to live up to. I think this has about a 5 minute (or so) introduction before we get anywhere near any lyrics, then the song itself totals about 25 minutes of pure bliss. Neals keyboard solo work in the intro really prove this guy means business as one of progs finest keyboard players. Im there with these guys at this point, absolutely belting out at the top of my voice THE DREAMER, AND THE HEALER, THEY WAIT FOR YOU, wow, just wow, Neals vocals really blow you away when you hear them. Basically these guys mean business. So by the end of this first song Im sold, these guys can bring it. So where can we go from here, next onto My New World from the first album. Well honestly, not expecting the same level of brilliance here frankly. Its not a bad song but its not their finest hour in general. I couldnt have been more wrong. They take something average here and turn it into something spectacular, when Ive finally comedown properly from this Im gonna have to revisit this track and rethink things. Then we move onto Shine, Neals acoustic guitar driven ballad from the new album of a similar vein of We All Need Some Light, a pretty little song thats not so heavily progressive in nature but quite a welcome change of pace from whats otherwise a really full on prog extravaganza. Then the Whirlwind, well not my favourite album but some incredible highlights in the album. They condense a 70 minute song (effectively) into about 30 minutes of pure bliss. Towards the end we get treated to Is It Really Happening?, this is one of the best things Ive ever heard live in my opinion. Dare I say it Im starting to question whether these guys are even of the order of or better than Marillion. How these guys manage to pull off the speed with which they perform this epic is beyond me but its mind-blowing. I nearly cried after this. So now Im thinking, wow I cant really ask for more than Ive got but still at the back of my mind, will I get to hear Kaleidoscope? After a brief stunning vocal of Beyond the Sun from Neal the answer comes stampeding towards me in a sound I cant find words for. The introduction to this track is breathtaking. Then we get a quick guitar duet, We All Need Some Light and finish with the fabulous and incredibly heavy Black as the Sky to finish pre-encore. Then were treated to one of my favourite TA tracks, All Of The Above and finish with Stranger in your Soul. All in all a sublime setlist. By this point Im frankly a broken man and have a while to go before I catch my train, but honestly, worth every single second, there is nothing I wouldnt have given to have seen this show. As I look up on stage I see Neal Morse is crying at the response the band is getting, and who can blame him, its almost Marillion Weekend levels of loud. That really finished the night off perfectly. Neal Morse, I love you, you are just incredible, simple as that. Other things I notice throughout, Mike Portnoy is hilarious, his drumkit keeps getting smaller throughout the gig as he proceeds to keep throwing symbols at Ted Leonard (fifth member for this gig). There are really six members to this band, Mikes drum tech (or whoever the guy is) works harder than any other guy in music, part of his job it seems is to keep Mikes kit from ending up being flung across the stage and making sure Mike has a microphone whenever necessary by just swinging it back round in his face. This includes at times having Mike steal his baseball cap and start stroking his head (mid song). Also theres a surprising proportion of the gig played with only one drum stick. At one point he throws his drumstick at Ted after which Ted throws it back and he catches it. Also hes got a great voice, in fact the vocals in general in this band are incredible. I think Neal would only ever choose to work with musicians who have great vocals, Ive never heard him play with anyone who cant pull off stunning harmonies and TA is certainly in this class. And speaking of Ted, this guy is brilliant, he really is amazing. Im excited to see what this guy does yet as the head of Spocks Beard, hes not Neal Morse, but wow is he good. His voice is so beautifully smooth, Im really a huge fan. And lastly the thing that impresses me the most. This band isnt really built on drums and bass like most bands are. This band is totally a keyboard and drums driven band. Constantly Neal and Mike are looking over at each other to work out where they are and the others follow. I think this is what gives Roine and Pete such wonderful freedom as musicians and it works brilliantly. So conclusion, well are they actually the best thing Ive ever seen. Honestly I simply dont know and dont think I ever will. I inevitably end up comparing it to Marillion (no surprise to most still reading this Im sure). Its just incomparable unfortunately. Its not the emotional rollercoaster of a Marillion show, its just pure unapologetic joy. Basically Transatlantic are doing something nobody else is and nobody else should because theyll be too unlikely to do it better. Anybody who even remotely thinks Neal Morses music is interesting should go and see this band at some point. If you dont youll miss out on something. If youre not a fan of his music and Im sure lots arent then this probably wont be for you, however I dare you to try it anyway and come back and tell me you think theyre bad, like literally not good at what they do, not that theyre not good at doing what you like, you wont be able to I promise you. Transatlantic, anytime you want to play the UK Ill be there :)
Posted on: Thu, 13 Mar 2014 19:55:20 +0000
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