|
As I was standing at
the bar before the gig I overheard a few people saying that they had
never heard of the Powerquest. However after seeing tonight
performance I doubt very much whether they’ll forget them.
As the majority of the crowd stood and wondered what they were about to
hear, the lucky few of us who have seen Powerquest before and know what
they are capable of, well we just waited in anticipation and shuffled
forward to obtain a decent view of the stage.
The evenings events started with an introduction by a representative of
the Classic Rock Society, looking every bit like he was on his way to
the local PTA meeting, and who made all the non-members there feel about
as welcome as a fart in a space suit. Inquiring why they weren’t
members telling them it just wasn’t on as they had members all over
the world isn’t exactly welcoming them with open arms now is it?
Not many marks on the people skills and selling persuasions there
matey I afraid. Think perhaps you need to try a new approach and change
your sales pitch banter.
Soon it was down to business for Powerquest who unleashed a set of pure
quality with a mix of tracks from their two albums ‘Wings of
Forever’ and ‘Neverworld’. Vocalist Alessio Garavello has to be
one of the most natural front men on the rock scene today. He
appeared relaxed and in control throughout and has a fantastic voice to
boot. From the opening flurry of ‘Wings of Forever’ his voice
was quite simply majestic.
Although the crowd seemed a
little unsure of the band at first they seemed to warm to them quickly
as the show went on. Once again clearly demonstrating that they
were more than up for the task and kept that all important energy
flowing between them.
The enthusiasm and enjoyment the
band were radiated from their performance soon spilled out into the
crowd and although tonight’s set was somewhat short than we would have
liked to have seen, it was certainly one of the highest quality gigs in
regards to musicianship and commitment to win over everyone in the room
with their music that I’ve seen this year. An excellent
performance which was thoroughly enjoyable to watch.
After a brief interlude the results of the raffle were announced!!! (how
rock n roll was that ?!?) Then Threshold were introduced.
As soon as Mac came on stage dressed in a kilt and New Rock boots then
you knew it was going to be a wild night. The band opened up with
a big favourite of the fans ‘Mission Profile’ from their acclaimed
new album 'Subsurface'.
I think perhaps Mac would have been a little more comfortable on a
slightly larger stage, as he wandered back and forth like a caged animal
on the small stage while the rest of the band looked on just slightly
more comfortable than their lead singer. Threshold might not be
the most animated band around, preferring to let the music do the
talking, but it was clear this mighty vocalist was feeling restless in
his stage environment tonight.
Mixing tracks off both their new album and some older tracks, Mac tells
us this is the first time on the tour that they have been able to play
their full set as they continued with the excellent 'Ground Control',
also off the new album. With Mac continuing to pace back and forth
in between vocal spots the rest of the band continued to play some of
the best Progressive Metal I have heard in a long time.
Continuing the set with 'Ravages of Time' and 'Freaks', it was only then
that Mac seemed to settle down and showed what a great front man he can
be by bantering and joking with the audience.
With a set that was just short of two hours and playing a lot more
tracks off the new album including 'Opium', 'Stop Dead' and 'The Art of
Reason'. These being some of the best off the album and the set
itself being a lot longer than they had played at the bands two previous
shows at The Underworld in London and the Bloodstock festival in
Derby.
With a few of the tracks reaching the ten minute mark in length they
certainly didn’t seem so as Karl Groom and Nick Midson were superb on
guitars without the need to show off. These two musicians seem to
work well together and the melodies flowed throughout every song.
Richard West’s keyboards were quite magnificent and the new boy in the
band bassist Steve Anderson filled in the gaps and seemed well a home
with the band. Keeping it all together drummer Johanne James
pounding beats couldn’t be faulted at all. Sat to the rear of
the stage he smiled throughout the whole set and looked like he was
thoroughly enjoying himself.
I wish I could have seen the band at Bloodstock the night before so I
could have compared the two gigs. Tonight’s gig was a far more
intermit affair, with the stage less than two foot high and the audience
just inches away from the band. The sound quality was a lot better
than I had expected after seeing the venue itself.
They finished off with a crowd favourite 'Long Way Home', which in my
opinion was in itself well worth the lengthy travel involved in getting
to the gig.
As this was my first experience of a live Threshold performance, I must
say I was greatly impressed. It’s just a pity that they were
only playing three gigs in the UK, as the prog metal genre really seems
to be finally receiving the exposure it deserves in more recent years.
I truly hope that this band will be doing a few more dates in this
country in the near future and that they receive all the recognition
they deserve for being such a fine band.
As a closing comment I would like to say how commendable it was to see
both Powerquest and Threshold’s Mac come out after their sets to chat
to the fans and sign stuff for them. Nice to see as not many seem
to bother these days which is a real shame. Also many thanks to
the Classic Rock Society for providing this opportunity to catch these
great bands in action. Your sales pitch might stink but your
intentions are commendable. Lastly, if you ever get the chance to
catch either of these bands live then do make the effort to go see them.
Both bands are well worth their weight in gold and it’s so good to see
bands that look like they actually enjoy what they are doing and not
simply going through the motions.
Setlist: Mission Profile,
Ground Control, Ravages Of Time, Freaks, Destruction Of Words, Opium,
Stop Dead, Falling Away, Echoes Of Life, The Art Of Reason, Pressure,
Fragmentation, Light And Space, Flags And Footprints, Long Way Home
|