SECTION ARCHIVES - 2006
CRITIQUES ET COMPTE RENDUS DES SPECTACLES À MONTRÉAL (et un peu partout ailleurs!)
December 29, 2006
In The Air Tonight at La Tulipe
Now what a cool concert that was! The group In The Air Tonight, a great Phil Collins tribute band, performed a splendid show at La Tulipe in Montreal on Thursday, December 28. Steve Gagné is the leader of this formidable group of 10 musicians, emulating Phil Collins brilliantly, singing, playing drums and piano, he is accompanied by a 3-piece horn section, two back (and lead) vocal singers, as well as an additional drummer, a keyboardist, a guitarist and a bassist. His vocal style is dead on on the mid to high range, and his drumming is dynamic and precise.
Around 8:00 PM, Steve stepped onstage with pinstripe suit and tie, and proceeded to blow our minds with a solid 2 hours of energy and skill! The setlist consisted of Phil Collins solo stuff and Genesis tracks, including Something Happened On The Way To Heaven, Against All Odds, Don't Lose My Number, Who Said I Would, Another Day In Paradise, Separate Lives, Misunderstanding and Mama, followed by a 20-minute interlude, and for the second set, In The Air Tonight, I Missed Again, Easy Lover, One More Night, I Can't Dance, Land of Confusion, Invisible Touch, a very cool version of the live Genesis Drum Duet, You Can't Hurry Love/Two Hearts and Sussudio, and for the encore, Turn It On Again and Take Me Home. Oh what a fun evening! That was a crazy cool set!
The first portion of the show concentrated on the smoother ballads and proggy tracks, putting more emphasis on the toe tappin' compositions and party tunes towards the end, where people were dancing on the floor during Easy Lover, You Can't Hurry Love/Two Hearts and Sussudio. Steve wore sunshades and a hat, «Blues Brothers» style, during You Can't Hurry Love. Francis, the guitarist, was simply brilliant, using a classic Telecaster throughout the evening. The keyboardist was superb, setting the tone for the evening, using a Yamaha Motif ES and a cool Kurzweil 2600. Kudos to the horn section, who did an exceptional job, with trumpet, trombone and saxophone, it's quite a challenge to sound like Earth, Wind and Fire! The light show was very well done, even though there are no moving lights at La Tulipe.
One of the key moments of the evening was of course, the interpretation of the hit In The Air Tonight, intense and powerful, and with a very original and unusual take on the famous drum duo. The eerie green background lighting on Mama was particularly effective and dramatic, with Steve drumming and singing simultaneously without effort on that number. The backup singer, Marie Josée, a lovely blue-eyed blonde, performed a wonderful vocal duo with Steve on Separate Lives... and she wore a particularly effective little black dress! Towards the end, both drummers performed a very cool and dynamic version of the Drum Duet, just like Phil Collins and Chester Thompson did in the late 70's... I was almost hoping that it would be followed by Los Endos, but I digress...
Overall, just a delicious performance from Steve, a dynamic and very talented individual, I just wish he would drop the fake Brit speaking French accent narrations because it doesn't work that well. If you have a chance to see this group, don't miss them, their show is just plain and simple fun from the first note to the last, and you'll leave the auditorium with a big smile on your face!
Text by Robert Dansereau (29-12-2006)
December 16, 2006
The Musical Box at the Bell Center
7000 people. That's how many people there were on Friday, December 15 2006 at the Bell Center for Montreal's own The Musical Box and their majestic re-creation of the legendary Selling England By The Pound tour of progressive giants Genesis in the 70's.
After meeting in the late afternoon with a group of 15 friends at the Sheraton Hotel pub, many of them from the Progressive Ears forum, we made our way to the Bell Center for this long-awaited event.
The evening began when around 8:00 PM, the opening band Vecteur-K stepped onstage for a short but sweet performance. Vecteur-K is a Repentigny-based band composed of Benoit Dalpé on bass, Éric Cournoyer on drums, Jonathan Cabot on guitars and Marc-André Noël on guitar and vocals. Their style of proggy rock is influenced by Rush, Queensrÿche and Genesis, kudos to them for singing in French. Their 30 min. set included among others their eponymous instrumental Vecteur K and La Dame Dans l'Escalier. A great young band with a rich sound. These guys will go far, and I was happy for them because it's one heck of a start to perform in front of such a big crowd. Great reaction by the audience, who cheered loudly.
Then on to the main event of the evening, TMB stepped onstage a bit before 9:00 PM. The Musical Box is composed of David Myers on keyboards and piano, François Gagnon on guitars, Martin Levac on drums, David Lamothe on bass and guitars and of course, the incredible Denis Gagné on vocals, flute and tambourine. Their setlist consisted of Watcher Of the Skies, Dancing With The Moonlit Knight, The Cinema Show, I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe), Firth Of Fifth, The Musical Box, Horizons, The Battle Of Epping Forest, Supper's Ready and for the encore, The Knife. Another brilliant performance by this stunning ensemble of talented musicians.
Highlights of the show include the glorious mellotron intro of Watcher of the Skies, and Denis Gagné's batwing Watcher costume. Denis narrated as per usual in French, imitating perfectly Peter Gabriel's thick british accent, just like Peter did when he came in Montreal as Genesis' lead singer (when Denis plays anywhere esle, he narrates of course in English). Other heart-pounding moments included the beautiful piano intro of Firth of Fifth and the wacky walk at the beginning of the toe-tapping interpretation of I Know What I Like, and the grandiose finale of Supper's Ready with the strobe light, the pyrotechnics and the black light that gave me goosebumps. After a long standing ovation, the group came back for The Knife, or as Denis called it, "le couteau"!
My colleagues Stephen, Jerry and I had box seats, which is fun because of the food and the free drinks, but on the other hand, you're quite far from the stage, which takes a bit away from the enjoyment of the show, whose visuals are so important. The other problem was that the skybox next to ours (of which I will not reveal the name, other than it's a well known Montreal newspaper) was full of drunken stupid idiots, who were more interested in talking and laughing loudly during the quiet parts instead of listening to the show, which was infuriating, and plain disrespectful to the fans all around. Good thing they left before the end of the show.
Over 7000 attended this show... That's a lot of people. That's a lot of prog fans. Gives us hope in our efforts to bring more good progressive music in Montreal.
There have been rumours that the band's existence as we know it is slowly winding down and this may be their farewell tour, or at least the one before last... I truly hope these are only rumors and that this magnificent band will go on. If not, well... they had a hell of a good run, perfecting these great shows over the past 12-13 years, and I feel privileged to have seen them over 6 times, and being blown away on every occasion by The Musical Box magic!
Many thanks again to Gillett Entertainment Group for bringing such a great show at the Bell Center and to The Musical Box for making us travel through time for just a couple of moments!
November 27, 2006
Trans Siberian Orchestra at the Bell Center!
On Sunday, November 26, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra performed one of their incredible concerts in front of a nearly packed audience at the Bell Center in Montreal. The group is renowned to put on a hell of a show, but I could never imagine how jaw-dropping this performance would be!
On a tour that includes over 100 performances in the space of two months (more on that later), TSO is a great rockin' band composed of highly skilled musicians, performing music from their Christmas albums and classically-inspired rock albums, accompanied by a light show of gigantic proportions.
100 shows in 2 months? How can that be? As incredibly as it may seem, TSO is actually composed of two complete formations, often performing on the same day at opposite ends of the continent! (There was a TSO show in Phoenix, Arizona on the same day as the Montreal show) The group(s) also occasionnally presents "matinees", putting on two complete performances on the same day.
The show began a bit after 7:30 PM. The setlist consisted, among others, of Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24, Good King Joy, Ornament, Old City Bar, Promises to Keep, This Christmas Day, An Angel Returned, Christmas Nights in Blue, Layla (Derek & the Dominos cover), Siberian Sleigh Ride, An Angel's Share, Christmas Canon Rock, Carmina Burana, Queen of the Winter Night, Wizards of Winter, Beethoven, Requiem and to conclude the show, a reprise of Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24. The concert was simply magical! Very good sound (a hard thing to achieve at the Bell Center) and a fantastic setlist that included their "Christmas story" for part one of the show, and for part two, all hell broke loose with a series of amazing rock compositions that included a fantastic rendition of Derek & the Dominos' Layla, with accompanying choir and mesmerizing light display and also a spine-tingling, mind-blowing version of Carmina Burana!
And then there's the light show to end all light shows! I can't begin to describe how impressive it is! It features gigantic moving arrays of spotlights that look like a giant version of the transformers bots! Added to the gazillion watts of lights, you also had the incredibly tight sychronism of the display, the lasers, the multi-colored balls of flames (I could feel the heat even though I was hundreds of feet away!) and other pyrotechnics. It's absolutely magical, and it supports the music oh so well! From the quietest ballad to the most exuberant hair-metal guitar solo, the light show conveyed with much precision the mood and energy of the music played. At one point during the show, it snowed! I don't know the particular dry-ice technology involved, but let's say that it looked like snowflakes and it sublimated instantly when it touched your skin... My friend Michel said "I'll never see a live show the same way after this!"... It was something to see indeed.
Other incredible moments were when the two guitarist ran into the crowd to the back of the floor area, stepping on a pneumatic platform that elevated a good 50 feet! ...Caffery wearing a Montreal Canadiens jersey had the crowd standing on its feet, he also pulled out a Gibson double neck on one of the heavier numbers of the show... the absolutely lovely ladies of the choir, just wonderful in their little black dresses! There was also a great Barber of Seville keyboard duel between Mee Eun Kim and Robert Kinkel that turned into a rockin' version of Charlie Brown's Peanuts theme, and the amazing Tany Ling performing intense operatic vocal acrobatics on the track Queen of the Winter Night. The fun part about a TSO show is that it's a great way drag your loved ones to a prog concert and to share a Christmas event that will appeal to the entire family, from the kids all the way to the grand-parents.
"But is it prog?" you ask... Let's say that it has the elements of progressive music in the complex chords and the multilayered harmonies, the addition of classical instruments and the bombasm reminiscent of the most exuberant Yes concerts of the mid-seventies and Pink Floyd shows of the 80's. Trans-Siberian Orchestra was originally formed by the members of prog-metal band Savatage in the mid 1990's, it would be accurate to say that their music falls in the category of "proggy" arena rock, grandiose metallic Christmas music on a scale you can't begin to imagine. It's like Mannheim Steamroller meets Kiss and Dream Theater with a good dose of blues, opera and classical.
Among the numerous musicians onstage, founding members Dave Z. on bass and Robert Kinkel on keyboards, were accompanied by over 20 fantastic musicians, including Alex Skolnick and Chris Caffery on guitar, Mee Eun Kim and Robert Kinkel on keyboards, Jeff Plate on drums, Mark Wood on violins, Steve Broderick, Jill Gioia, Kristin Gorman, Danielle Landherr, Tany Ling, Stephanie Linn and Jay Pierce, on vocals, and a wonderful string ensemble from Montreal. I just wish the string ensemble would have been a little higher in the mix, as you could barely hear them during the show.
Towards the end of the show, Chris Caffery, who had been the host of the evening, asked if the audience would be interested in having TSO again in Montreal next year, to which the crowd reacted with a loud cheer! So if any of you missed the chance to see this magical show, be sure to catch them next year, because for those who have never seen them, it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience not to be missed, and for those who have already seen them, it's a great Christmas tradition to be shared with the entire family! Again, a big thanks to Gillett Entertainment Group for the great promotion and for bringing at long last this great show to the Bell Center!
November 19, 2006
Crimson Sunset at the Cabaret Playhouse!
Montreal/Ottawa band Crimson Sunset, a Dream Theater tribute band, performed on Friday, November 17 at the Cabaret Playhouse on Park Avenue along with opening band Wishmaster, a Nightwish tribute band, to a modest crowd of around 40-50 people. A fun show by two great bands, in a not so perfect club though...
Around 9:45 PM, Wishmaster stepped onstage. The group is composed of Sandy on vocals, Étienne Lafond on guitars and vocals, Philip Charbonneau on keyboards, Fred on drums and newcomber Daniel on bass, on what was his first live performance with the band. Their setlist was composed of Planet Hell, Wishmaster, Devil & the Deep Dark Ocean, Feel For You, Wanderlust, The Pharaoh Sails to Orion, 10th Man Down, Dark Chest of Wonders, Over the Hills and Far Away, Wish I Had An Angel, Slaying The Dreamer and Siren. An excellent performance by a great band, Sandy has a powerful, melodic voice with great harmonies, an excellent approximation of Tarja's grandiose operatic voice...and the girl can hit the high notes without a sweat! Étienne is an amazing guitarist and his voice was intense and agressive, even though he mentioned that he had a bit of a cold. Daniel is an intense bass player, very exuberant and energetic. On the down side, Sandy seemed nervous and added quite a bit of unnecessary banter between the songs, unfortunately breaking the rhythm of the performance. But overall, a great show by a fun, dynamic band.
Around 11:30 PM, Crimson Sunset began their set. The band is composed of Isaac Dumont on drums, Marc O'Brien on bass, Sébastien Jutras on guitars, Johnny Maz on keyboards, Angie MacIvor on saxophone and back vocals, and Rick Neilson on vocals. Their setlist consisted of Metropolis, Overture 1928, Strange Déja-Vu, Home, As I Am, Ytse Jam (drum solo), Another Day, Under A Glass Moon, Learning To Live, Erotomania, Sacrificed Sons, and for the encore, A Change Of Seasons. What a tight band... these guys blew me away! Crimson Sunset is one hell of a good tribute band... and you can imagine that you need some serious chops to play Dream Theater stuff... this band has got chops-a-plenty! All the band members are highly skilled musicians and they know their stuff very well, from the insanely complex rhythms, the crazy time signatures and brilliant counterpoints right down to Isaac's drum solo in the best Portnoy-ish style, with strobe and all... Sébastien is simply awesome on guitars, Mark has a fine bass finger-tapping technique and Rick's voice is superb! This was a gorgeous performance, with an excellent setlist, by one of the most talented bands I've seen since Close To The Edge!
But what about the Cabaret Playhouse... what at terrible place! It's rather small, and when they don't do live shows, it's a strip club! My main peeve however is that the sound is absolutely horrible, it distorted intensely throughout both performances, and the incessant feedback was simply mind-numbing! The mix was also problematic, the vocals of both bands often being drowned-out by the drums and the bass. Sad to say but I can't recommend that place for live performances to any group, however modest it is...
I hope to see Crimson Sunset again soon, hopefully in better settings!
Text by Robert Dansereau (19-11-2006)
October 22, 2006
Close To The Edge at La Place à Côté!
After the the immense success of their last performance on September 8, that saw the Place à Côté packed with over 250 people, I had great expectations for the encore performance of the Yes tribute band Close To The Edge on Saturday, October 21 at La Place À Côté. All I can say is that it was one heck of a fun and satisfying show! A slightly more modest crowd than last time... about 100 people filled the pub. Sitting down with a couple of good friends, we shared a few beers and stories until around 9:40, when the show began.
The group, whose playlist concentrates on the 1971-1974 era of the legendary british band, is composed of Pierre Dragon on drums, Richard Lanthier on bass, Benoit David on vocals and guitar, Phil «Mandrake» Charmettant on guitars, lapsteel and vocals and Julien Valiquette on keyboards and vocals. Their brilliant setlist, divided in two parts with a 20 min. break, consisted of Siberian Khatru, Heart Of The Sunrise, Southside Of The Sky, Mood For A Day, And You And I, and for the second part of the show, Close To The Edge, Long Distance Runaround/The Fish (with bass and drum solos), a short medley that included excerpts of Tempus Fugit, introducing Gates of Delirium, Nous Sommes Du Soleil, The Six Wives of Henry VIII/Starship Trooper. For the encore, they offered the two old standards I've Seen All Good People and Roundabout.
A spellbinding performance, even better than the already amazing one they gave last September. The concert began on the sounds of Stravinsky's Firebird suite intro as the musicians stepped slowly onstage, then the group broke into a delicious version of Siberian Khatru. Great mellotron sound during Heart Of The Sunrise, (we only wish the real thing had been there if it wasn't such a delicate piece of machinery). Phil switched to an acoustic nylon-string guitar for Mood For A Day, and the group ended their first set with an emotional version of And You And I. They began the second set with their "title" track, Close To The Edge. On the track The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus), Richard offered a blistering bass solo that had people screaming in admiration throughout, and Pierre delivered one of those amazing drum solos that brought people to their feet. Benoit was just majestic during Nous Sommes Du Soleil. Julien's solo portion was a stunning version of Wakeman'sThe Six Wives of Henry VIII, with a cool bit on the Theremin. The group ended their show with a gorgeous version of Starship Trooper. The audience cheered with much enthusiasm, and was rewarded with an encore consisting of the two major hits of Yes, I've Seen All Good People and Roundabout. I clapped my hands so vigorously that they were hurting!
They offered a sensational show, just what you want from a good tribute band; a precise, clean reproduction of the music they pay tribute to, without being overly static or emotionless. Ben's voice is so absolutely perfect, it's just scary, and it's even a little bit eerie when he speaks in French between songs, because this is exactly what Jon Anderson would sound like if he were born in Québec! Phil's guitar work is much improved and he sounds more loose and relaxed than ever, great guitar solos from him. Pierre's drum work is intense and captivating, while still capturing all the subtleties of the ultra-complex arrangements of Yes, one of the top drummers in Quebec! Julien nailed Wakeman's Six Wives with great ease, and gave a grandiose symphonic dimension to the entire evening. Richard was simply magnificent, often offering a better Squire sound than Chris Squire would himself! The timing of the group is simply impeccable, the sound mix was also much improved, with a great balance between the keys and the vocals, without being buried by the drums and bass. It's pretty impressive to successfully adapt the big arena sound of Yes into a small club.
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photos courtesy of Bruno Lussier ©2006 All Rights Reserved. Visit Bruno's site at www.brunolussier.com
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It was cool to see the enthusiasm of the people there... prog fans out for a good evening of music, all wearing their "colors", from Yes t-shirts, Flower Kings and Iron Maiden t-shirts, even some proudly wearing the FMPM t-shirt. Nothing beats the atmosphere of a good prog show! Close To The Edge is truly a phenomenon, not unlike The Musical Box, in their precise reproduction of the music they play. All that's missing is a frizzy wig for Phil and a glittering cape for Julien! If you have a chance to catch a show of this group, please do so... they are simply out of this world!
Text by Robert Dansereau (22-10-2006)
October 16, 2006
Progtoberfest in Ottawa!
The second edition of Ottawa's Progtoberfest, organized by Gary Lauzon (of the Villa Strangiato radio show) and Rick Barkhouse (Widow's Walk's keyboardist), was a fun one-day event on a lovely autumn weekend! Held on Saturday, October 14 2006 at the Alumni Theater of the University of Ottawa, Progtoberfest II, featured the talents of Casse-Tête, Widow's Walk and Nathan Mahl!
A group of friends from Ottawa and Montreal, including us, had planned to meet at the Royal Oak pub in mid-afternoon, but unfortunately, we ended up at the right place, but the wrong address... we didn't know that there are several Royal Oak pub franchises in the surrounding area of U of O... oh well, we now know that the right one is just a street away from the Alumni Theater.
The evening began with Casse-Tête, a great band that plays a cool mix of progressive, jazz and gothic, featuring Gary Lauzon on bass, Chuck Ho on drums & percussion, David Campbell on guitars and vocals, Greg Kampf on electric guitar, acoustic 12-String guitar, Eric Robillard on keyboards, guitars and flute and the lovely Christina Abraham on lead vocals. Their setlist included Off Beaten Paths, Hiding in Waiting (which will appear on the second The Rebel Wheel CD), Leave That Thing Alone (a Rush cover), Balade De l'Araignée, Acquiring Glass Friends (A tribute to Gentle Giant written by David Campbell), Tectonic Plates, and ending with 1 Oz. (on the first The Rebel Wheel CD already released). Great set from these guys, Eric is just an incredible multi-instrumentalist, what a talented guy! Gary gave the tone of the performance with his groovy rhythms on the bass. The sound was a bit loud, according to many attendants, but I always come prepared with several earplug pairs, and I gave all of them away! A fun show from Gary and the guys (and gal) but sadly, this was to be their last performance, as Gary recently announced this new project, The Rebel Wheel, on which he's working with Alain Bergeron (Nathan Mahl's drummer on The Clever use of Shadows), Eric Robillard and David Campbell.
A group of us made its way to the real Royal Oak for a quick beer, and then back to the auditorium for the next concert of the evening, and around 8:30, Widow's Walk walked onstage... a brilliant young prog metal band featuring Rick Barkhouse on keyboards, Yves Richer on bass, Tristan Vaillancourt on guitar and Roger Verdon on drums. Their setlist included Suspiria (a Goblin cover), Whispered Messages, The Agenda, Working Day, City Of Embers, Mae Dae (an Enchant cover), Moonrise, Hell's Kitchen (a Dream Theater cover) , Dryad Of The Woods (a PoS cover), Third Person, Perfect Memory and Insignia. An amazing set from a very tight band, these guys are incredible!
And after a 15-min break, it was time for Nathan Mahl to step onstage around 10:00 PM. Ottawa's renowned symphonic prog quartet features Guy LeBlanc on keyboards and vocals, Dan Lacasse on drums, Mark Spenard on guitars and Guy Dagenais on bass. The setlist included Entrance, Without Words, Shadows Unbound, Moral Values part I, Crimen Excepta, Ad Judicium, Casual Seizures, Heretik part IV, No Vacancy, Beyond the Rims Of Despair, The Trial and ended with the classic Carpe Diem. An enthusiastic crowd cheered the four brilliant musicians, but they did not offer an encore, due to time constraints of the auditorium. The sound again was a bit loud, but the overall mix was much better than on Nathan Mahl's last performance at the same place last April. Dan Lacasse played on a real drum this time, none of that techno hobble gobble electronic drumkit stuff, and his performance was fantastic, very energetic. Guy blew the roof off on the bass, as well as a few woofers! A killer performance from Mark, with some unforgettable solos and inspired jams! He ran into the crowd on many occasions with his wireless guitar setup! And what can I say about the great keyboard master and birthday boy, Guy Leblanc... a stunning performance, what a formidable keyboardist, intense, precise, quirky and with a great sense of humour! Overall, a relentless show from beginning to end, powerful, elegant and dynamic!
According to the organizers, next year's event may include four bands! Thanks to Rick and Gary for a fun weekend of prog in Ottawa! And Thanks to Guy Leblanc and the whole Nathan Mahl team for the magnificent show!
Text by Robert Dansereau (16-10-2006)
October 14, 2006
Flower Kings in Montreal
Another great moment for prog fans in Montreal, on Tuesday, October 10 2006 at the Medley, the Flower Kings performed the most incredible concert we've seen in this city in a long time!
Coming to Montreal and Quebec city for their Paradox Hotel tour, it was again such a pleasure to have the Flower Kings on the stage of the Medley, one of the best and classiest bands in the world of progressive music. The concert preparations went on flawessly, the band arrived in their tour bus around noon. After a great sound check, everything was ready around 5:00 PM. By 6:30 as the doors of the auditorium opened, a modest crowd of 150 slowly streamed in. Around 8:00 PM, the band members, who were well-rested and in great shape, stepped onto the stage for a gorgeous performance.
The sound was great, although a bit loud (thank God for ear-plugs), and all five musicians were in top shape. The setlist included Paradox Hotel, Hit Me With A Hit, Psychedelic Postcard / Hudson River Sirens Call, Jealousy, What If God Is Alone, Just This Once, Pioneers Of Aviation, Touch My Heaven, Ghost Of The Red Cloud, Mommy Leave The Light On, End On A High Note, World Of Adventures / Silent Sorrow, I Am The Sun (short version) and for the encore, Life Will Kill You and The Flower King. The band offered a sensational performance, they were much more dynamic, exuberant and enthusiastic than on their June 2, 2005 performance in Montreal, which was already splendid... Tomas was enjoying thoroughly his new toy, a spiffy Mini Moog, which he used extensively during the jams and improvs. Hasse's voice was simply magnificent, this guy is just a fountain of energy, as always and it was fun to see Tomas and Jonas participate more actively in the vocal portions of the show, along with Roine. The track Pioneers of Aviation was the ideal moment for Marcus and Jonas to insert short and sweet solos. A cool medley of World Of Adventures with Silent Sorrow, was one of the highlights of the show. The other big highlights were two tracks from the new album, What If God Is Alone, which got a long standing ovation, and Life Will Kill You, a killer version of that incredible track, it really highlights Hasse's voice! One of the coolest things was the great setlist that included some old classics seldom played like Psychedelic Postcard, The Flower King and Silent Sorrow... Roine made some humorous remarks about the Iron Maiden concert happening at the same time at the Bell Center in Montreal, and thanked the audience for choosing wisely the Flower Kings instead, especially to the guy wearing the Iron Maiden t-shirt in the audience! Jonas sported a brand new fuzzy white hat that he bought in Montreal, as a replacement for the other one, who died... All five members were also sporting a relatively new, stubby goatee... a new trend? The concert concluded with the anthem of the group, the title track of Roine's 1994 solo CD, who is widely accepted as being the very first Flower Kings album. Just before leaving the stage, Jonas did the obligatory bass balancing act on his chin. At the end of last encore, the mighty Flower Kings had played a whopping 2 hours and 36 minutes of progressive bliss! After the concert, Roine, Hasse, Tomas, Jonas and Marcus mingled for a good while with the crowd, singing autographs and having their pictures taken, much to the delight of their adoring fans. A class act. The 150 or so people who were there were privileged to see this majestic performance, who will be remembered for a long time.
It's truly too bad that such a wonderful performance was seen by so few people! Are prog fans becoming again an endangered species? It is understandable that mid-week shows are always a bit harder to attend for some folks, we were also against the fact that it was the day after thanksgiving, Iron Maiden was also in town at the same time, but still, it was almost embarassing that such a quality act play in front of so few people. And who knows, the group hinted at a well-deserved break, so we might not have the pleasure to see them for quite a while. But those who were there enjoyed every second of the show, every perfect note. People had their money's worth and then some!
Thanks to Roine Stolt, Hasse Froberg, Tomas Bodin, Marcus Liliequist and Jonas Reingold for their generous and wonderful performance, thanks to Bob Snyder, the Flower Kings' excellent tour manager and to Brian Dorbuck, their stage manager and lifetime friend, Ray and Noreen Loboda for all their help, and to the entire entourage of the band for being efficient competent and most gracious. Thanks to Simon Fauteux of Fusion III for his constant support, a big thanks to Denis Jalbert for his precious assistance during the entire day, and most importantly, Thanks to Michel St-Père of Unicorn Digital for bringing this amazing act to Montreal.
Photos by Claude Dufresne © 2006 All Rights Reserved - Text by Robert Dansereau (14-10-2006)
October 2, 2006
Terra Incognita convention in Quebec City
Last year, in honor of the 2nd anniversary of the Terra Incognita magazine, a Quebec City-based french language prog magazine, its editor-in-chief, Michel Bilodeau, organized a one-day prog fest, the Terra Incognita convention, a cool event that gathered various local artists at the Impérial de Québec. With the success of that first event, Michel decided to go at it again with the second edition of the Terra Incognita convention. So on Saturday, September 30 2006, I headed to Quebec City for TIC2, again representing Unicorn Digital and ProgQuébec in the vendor area, with my colleague Jerry. This year's edition is held again at the Impérial de Québec and features four bands: Pangloss, Quartik, The D Project and Jester's Tear.
Around 3:20 PM, Montreal band Pangloss opened the festivities with their great performance. The group is composed of Jean Pelletier on bass, Peter Korbis on drums, Daniel D'Aoust on guitars, Richard Blais on keyboards and Jannick Tremblay on lead vocals. Their music is an excellent mix of symphonic prog with shades of jazz fusion and neo prog. The highly expressive Jannick Tremblay incorporates a theatrical component to the performance. You can hear elements of Pallas, Gong and even renowned Quebec band Red Sand in their music. Their set sonsisted of tracks from their their first album, entitled Joe Barr, released in 2002, as well as a preview of their upcoming album entitled Mensonges, and included Légendes Urbaines, Joe Barr, Le Local, Pouvoir, Hippocrate, Rose, Médias, Burn-Out and La Garderie. One of the rare prog bands in North America that sings in French, the five highly skilled and talented musicians form a very dynamic ensemble, alternating from delicate ballads to exuberant power rock compositions flawlessly. Their performance was simply wonderful, the sound was impeccable, thanks to the D Project's Stéphane Desbiens behind the console. A very fun show, and a perfect way to start the day!
And for the second musical offering of the day, the brilliant group Quartik stepped onstage at around 5:00 PM and simply blew the roof off the Impérial! The Lévis-based quartet is composed of Phil Binette on drums, Nicolas Couture on guitars, Jean-Félix Bélanger-Auclair on bass and Norbert Couture on the vibraphone. Their set consisted almost exclusively of tracks from their upcoming second album, entitled Progress By Demolition, and included 6/9, Bump and Jump, a wildly rearranged version of the jazz standard A Night In Tunisia, That Funk, the warm latin jazz La Salsa Di Quartiko, the highly improvised Guacamole, a masterfully rearranged Well, You Needen't and Progress by Demolition, and after a loud and enthusiastic standing ovation, they played Luck in Time from their first album. Quartik plays a blistering mix of instrumental contemporary jazz with elements of prog rock, or as they describe themselves... urban groove / alternative jazz / blues, latin, funk and prog. Also featured at the first edition of the Terra Incognita convention in 2005, the group, who was already quite impressive last year, refined its performance to near perfection this year! A riveting, passionate show from these marvelous musicians... the almighty Jean Félix delivered a knock-down set on the bass, Phil was explosive on drums, Nicolas was magnificent on the guitars, with his precision, his impeccable timing and his great sense of humour... and what can I say about Norbert, the Gary Burton of prog! His performance was a perfect mix of his skills, his creativity and his intensity... sublime! Again with Stéphane behind the console, the sound was superb. Bravo to Quartik, a group worthy of the best spot at the Montreal Jazz Fest, as well as on the stage of the finest prog festivals worldwide.
Then on to the main event of the day, and one of the most anticipated performances of the convention for many people, Stéphane Desbiens and the D Project stepped onstage at 7:30 PM. Stéphane, one of the most renowned guitarists from the Quebec region, is best known for his brilliant work with Sense and his contributions with Qwaarn, Red Sand and Ère G. We all recall his great performances at the Medley in Montréal and at the Impérial in Quebec City in November 2005 when Sense opened for british group Arena. His first solo work, entitled Shimmering Lights by the D Project, received much praise from the international prog community, featuring splendid contributions by legendary musicians like IQ's Martin Orford, TFK's Tomas Bodin and Fred Schindel of Glass Hammer. Stéphane gathered a brilliant team of musicians with him for this performance, including his old Sense buddies Mathieu Gosselin on bass, acoustic guitar, samples and Chapman Stick, and Dany Robertson on drums, completing his live band with Mario Paradis on keyboards and the lovely Sandra Poulin on violin. The setlist consisted of the entire D Project album, Shimmering Lights, a few excerpts from Mathieu's Jupiter 9 project and a floydish surprise at the end. They played Shimmering Lights, They Come And Grow, Hide From The Sun, What Is Done Is Done (Rat), Jupiter 9's Jupiter suite, That's Life and September Solitudes. The crowd cheered loudly and the long standing ovation was rewarded with the band coming back for a great encore, a cover of Pink Floyd's Sorrow, much to the delight of the audience. What a splendid concert!
Here are some of the highlights of this performance: The eerie e-bow sounds of Mathieu's 6-string bass gave a dramatic tone on They Come And Grow. The melancholic violin, the emotional guitar solo and the great vocals of Stéphane made Hide From The Sun one of the key moments of the show. High-spirited moments and powerful keyboard work from Mario during What Is Done Is Done (Rat), with a fun "audience participation" bit by Stéphane. Then, Stéphane left the stage to Dany and Mathieu, affectionately calling them "la pieuvre" and "le fou du roi", (The octopus and the King's jester) for one of Mathieu's Jupiter 9 tracks, the Jupiter suite, which featured great Chapman Stick licks from Mathieu and insanely brilliant drum work from Dany. Powerful and dynamic work from the band during That's Life, which featured one of Mathieu's most blistering bass solo, just mind-bending! September Solitudes was accompanied by a projection featuring poignant images of the futility of war... and featured a fantastic keyboard solo by Mario. People had high expectations from this group and all I can say is that they weren't disappointed, because Stéphane and the gang gave it all! See my review of Stéphane's D Project album, it's a grandiose piece of work!
And finally, to end the evening on an enthusiastic proggy note, the Marillion tribute band Jester's Tear presented a great performance. Composed of François Gobeil on guitars, Philippe Lachance on drums, Danny Lassiseraye on bass, Jean Sébastien Carrier aux claviers et David Chemm on vocals, the group presents a great hommage to Marillion. Their set included among others, White Russian, Tales From A Jester's Tears, and then, to conclude their show, the entire Misplaced Childhood suite. Truly spot on, the group performed the old Marillion classics with skill and precision, right down to David's face paint and Jean Sébastien's impressive collection of vintage keyboards.
We had to leave a bit before the end of their performance due to our long trip back from Quebec City to Montreal, but again the Terra Incognita convention was a success, with a great selection of bands and plenty of fun! Thanks to Michel Bilodeau, Stéphane Desbiens, Francis Foy and the entire team behind Terra Incognita 2, we had a great time and we look forward to the third edition of the fest!
text by Robert Dansereau (02/10//2006)
October 1st, 2006
Steve Howe/Martin Taylor guitar duo in L'Assomption
There are these perfects moments in time you just want to freeze forever... Friday, September 29 at the Théatre Hector Charland in L'Assomption was one of them for me. Steve Howe, legendary guitarist of Yes and Martin Taylor, renowned british jazz guitarist, teamed-up in 2004 and made a wonderful album called Masterpiece Guitars, featuring the two guitar virtuosos playing some beautiful jazzy / classical music on a variety of rare and exotic acoustic guitars. Presenting the only live performances of this show in North America right here in L'Assomption, Ste-Thérèse and in Beloeil, it was a privilege for fans of Yes and classical guitar fans in general to witness these two great musicians at work! Here now is a short review of the first of these three performances.
After arriving late afternoon in L'Assomption, I stopped at the lovely Bistro L'Ange Cornu (you must stop there when in L'assomption, it's a truly wonderful place), right next to the Théâtre Hector Charland for an exquisite meal (delicious bruchetta, followed by a veal/blue cheese burger... yum!) and as a great bonus, at the table next to mine, Steve Howe and Martin Taylor were finishing their supper so I was very happy to salute them on their way out!
The show began at around 8:10 PM. A very simple setup onstage with two chairs, a few monitors and a few mikes, the two master guitarists hopped onstage for a sublime performance. Two sets of 45 minutes with a 20 min. break, consisting among others of several tracks from their Masterpiece Guitars album, including Two Teardrops, All The Things You Are, Tailpieces. Of course, Steve couldn't get away without playing a few tidbits from his extensive solo career and his Yes repertoire... much to the delight of the numerous Yes aficionados, he performed a wonderfully reworked version of To Be Over, as well as the classics Mood For A Day and Clap. But what about that Martin Taylor... he performed some jaw-dropping guitar gymnastics, like playing multiple harmonies and rhythms while telling humorous tales! His superhuman guitar skills, associated with his brilliant, syncopated style and his compositional and improvisational talent made his solo part one of the highlights of the evening, especially when he dedicated one of his songs to his son, who passed away last year at the age of 21... very emotional, tender moment. During the second set, mister Howe pulled out an electric guitar (the crowd reacted with a few enthusiastic ooh's and aah's), and played a few of his solo compostions, heavily influenced by one of his idols, Chet Atkins. The evening ended with a fun, carribean-themed duo, and after a long and exuberant standing ovation, the two guitarists played a hot, lush big old blues duo!
After the show, the two musicians were available for an autograph session. I would have loved to see all three shows, but since I was covering the Terra Incognita convention on Saturday, I couldn't make it to the Beloeil and Ste-Thérèse shows. A delightful evening indeed for the lucky ones who had the pleasure to be there!
text by Robert Dansereau (01/10/2006)
September 24, 2006
FMPM 2006
Oh it has been quite a ride! The first edition of the Festival des Musiques Progressives de Montréal was a success. Many factors were involved, whether it was the time of the year, the comfort and the great acoustics of the venue, the selection of groups, many people who attended really enjoyed the entire thing. Pretty good for a newbie fest.
The Preshow
It all started on Thursday, September 14, the day of FMPM's preshow at the Place à Côté, on Papineau Street, near Mont-Royal, featuring Talisma and Hamadryad. Of course, The group Talisma didn't make it because of an unfortunate accident, Donald Fleurent, bass player of the band, broke his arm two weeks before the event, so we had to find a substitute band, and with much thanks for being available at the last minute, the group Signs of One stepped in the vacant slot left by Talisma.
Signs of One at La Place à Côté • Photo by Yves Dubé ©2006 All Rights Reserved
Around 9:35 PM, the festival officially began. I introduced Signs of One as the very first artist to grace the stage of FMPM, the first in what we hope, will become a long list of performers at our annual event, in the same tradition as NEARfest, ProgDay or RoSFest. Signs of One is a group from Quebec city, composed of Steeve Tremblay on guitars and vocals, Phil Prince on drums and percussion, Yannick Lapointe on keyboards and vocals, Dan Gagnon on bass and vocals and Dave Schram on lead vocals. Their material is a great mix of symphonic, melodic prog with more straightforward pop rock, inspired by groups as varied as Rush, Marillion, Arena, Radiohead and Jethro Tull. Their setlist was composed of Innerlight, Frantic Memories, Confusion, Innerland, Remember, Farewell Master, Ice Cream Silence and I, from their various studio efforts. Dave is a very energetic singer, very expressive and exuberant, Steeve is an amazing, talented guitarist. I would have loved to hear a bit more of the keyboards in the mix. The group was tight and really had fun onstage, setting the tone for the evening.
All the while, a bit of drama when the band members of Hatfield and the North arrived very late from their long trip from France and from England. Phil Miller and Alex Maguire had to endure a hellish trip; Their plane, scheduled to land at 4 PM, was delayed over an hour, they were held at customs for quite a while, and then got stuck in traffic on their way to the hotel for a solid two hours, poor Phil Miller was very tired and utterly uncomfortable, but around 8 PM, I got the news that everyone had arrived safely and my partner Stephen had treated them to a lovely meal at a fine steak house. I only started breathing again after that moment.
The atmosphere was at its peak at La Place à Côté as Hamadryad prepared to go onstage. Second group presented at the preshow, they really needed no introduction (but I gave them one anyway) as they are one of our most celebrated Montreal-based contemporary progressive bands. They didn't dissapoint, as they gave a triumphant performance, worthy of their immense talent. Hamadryad is composed of Denis Jalbert on guitars and vocals, Yves Jalbert on drums, Jean-François Désilets on bass and vocals and Sébastien Cloutier on keyboards and vocals. Their set was composed of tracks from their two highly popular studio albums, and consisted of Spark of Benign Magic, Self-Made Men, Anatomy of a Dream, Amora Demonis, Watercourse Hymn, 24, Nameless, Omnipresent Umbra, Sunburnt, One Voice, Polaroid Vendetta, Alien Spheres, Still they Laugh - parts 1 & 2 and Action. Reworking some of the tracks as instrumental compositions, the set was fantastic, the guys were full of energy and gave an all-out performance, much to the pleasure of their fans. Quickly back home to catch a few hours of sleep, we all needed the energy for the day after!
Day one
And so it begins... arriving early at the Gesu to drop equipment as well as one of our volunteers, Allison, and after going quickly to the airport ot Pick-up Leonardo, Hatfield and the North's agent, I finally made my way to the auditorium in the early afternoon to help in the setup, which was already well in its way. I caught a brief glimpse of the Hatfield and the North sound check, and even though they were unrehearsed, tired of their long plane trip and still heavy-hearted at the loss of their old friend, Pip Pyle a few days earlier, they were simply sublime. Mr. Sinclair had a bit of trouble with the bass amp head, so I quickly went to the Boîte à Musique for a substitute bass amp. By then the band members of Echolyn had arrived at the hotel from their long road trip from Pennsylvania, so I quickly greeted them and helped them setup their merchandise in the vendors area back at the venue. Poor Ray Weston realized much to his dismay that one of his tires was flat while waiting at the canadian border crossing, so he had to drive all the way to Montreal on his spare tire. More on that later.
As people started arriving in the late afternoon, it was time for Jérôme Langlois' sound check and setup. Again, it was a great, intimate musical moment, just watching these great musicians perform a few passages of the set they would present later in the evening. Sadly it was all that I would see of Jérôme Langlois' magical performance, as I had so many things to take care, including setting-up the after-hours party, so I had to miss the entire Molignak show with a heavy heart. Thankfully, John Kelman, of the All About Jazz website, saw the show and had this to say about the Jérôme Langlois set:
"The festival opened up with a performance by Jérôme Langlois, co-founder of Maneige, one of Quebec’s most beloved progressive groups from the 1970s. With his new Molignak project, clarinettist/pianist Langlois was accompanied by bassist Mario Légaré, drummer/percussionist Gilles Schetagne, violinist Bernard Cormier, flautist/pianist François Richard and clarinettist Romie de Guise-Langlois. Atmospheric lighting created a warm backdrop for Langlois’ classically influenced music. But the introduction of electric instruments and, on occasion, more propulsive rhythms make a case for this kind of music being classical music for the 21st Century.
Relying more on polyphony than counterpoint, Langlois’ music was approachable; complex in its episodic and extended nature, but not so in its more straightforward rhythms. While solos were kept to a minimum and always within context of the material’s structure, Cormier and Richard stood out—as did, of course, Langlois, who was often seen cuing the sextet from his place at the piano.
The appreciative audience was clearly familiar with the material and it was a lyrical way to start the festival, proving that two terms so often associated with progressive music—bombast and inaccessibility—need not be applicable at all." - John Kelman, Senior Editor - All About Jazz website (www.allaboutjazz.com) Read the complete review at: http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=23106 .
At 7:00 PM on day one of the festival, Jérôme Langlois played with the Molignak ensemble, composed of Mario Légaré on bass, Bernard Cormier on violin, François Richard on flute and keyboards, Gilles Schetagne on drums and percussion, Paul Picard on percussion, Romie De Guise-Langlois on clarinet and of course, Jérôme Langlois, on piano, clarinet and guitar. Their set consisted of Le Cri, Arrivée, Huard 2, Le Rafiot, Chanson des Îles, La Balloune, L'Envol du Papillon, Mars 97, Tango 2000 and for the encore, Rhapsodie Molinienne and La Molinie (from Jérôme's setlist). The magnificent performance was most appreciated by the audience, who left for the dinner break with smiles on their faces, as I was coming back from setting-up the after-hours party...
Jérôme Langlois and the Molignak ensemble at the Gesù • Photo by André Bazinet ©2006 All Rights Reserved
Bernard Cormier, Jérôme Langlois and Romie De Guise-Langlois • Photo by André Bazinet ©2006 All Rights Reserved
Then on to the next performance, the long-awaited first-ever performance of Hatfield and the North in Montreal. It was nearly never to be, when in the last days of August, Pip Pyle, Hatfield and the North's drummer for the past 34 years, died suddenly in Paris, just days after a gig in Holland. But the group decided to honor their fans, and found a replacement drummer that was quite familiar with the Hatfield material (Mark Fletcher is in Phil Miller's band In Cahoots, and substituted for Pip Pyle occasionnally on a few Hatfield gigs), so the Montreal show was on. And what a show they put on!
Hatfield and the North is composed of Richard Sinclair on vocals and on bass, Phil Miller on guitars, Alex Maguire on keyboards (substituting for Dave Stewart, who decided not to reunite with the band) and Mark Fletcher on drums (substituting for Pip Pyle). After a quick intro by our colleague Sean McFee, the guys put on a majestic show. When you think that Mark Fletcher pretty much had to "wing it", since he had very little time to re-familiarize himself with the Hatfield material, and all four musicians still reeling from the death of their beloved old friend Pip, it was an extremely emotional experience. Alex and Richard's banter lightened up the mood, and their contagious humour made the audience laugh out loud often. Their performance was subtle and melodic at times, with blistering jams and heavenly improvisations at others. A jaw-dropping set from these legends of the Canterbury scene. I felt privileged to witness this perfect embodiment of classy british prog at its best. Truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Their beautiful set consisted of Licks for the Ladies, Part Of The Dance, Rifferama, Calyx/Underdub/God Song/Lything and Gracing, Share it, Didn’t Matter Anyway, Halfway Between Heaven and Earth, the Miller/Wyatt classic Nan's True Hole, What's Rattlin' (from Richard's RSVP CD...lyrics by Pip), Gigantic Landcrabs in Earth Takeover Bid (titled 'Amsterdamage 11/19' on Hatwise Choice), Fitter Stoke Has a Bath, Psychic Warrior (an Alex MaGuire tune), Seven Sisters (from Pip's 7 Year Itch album). I do not recall the specific order and I may have forgotten a few numbers, but the setlist above is close to reality. The group was treated to a long standing ovation from the audience... nothing less was to be expected after such a sublime performance.
Hatfield And The North at the Gesù • Photo by André Bazinet ©2006 All Rights Reserved
Hatfield And The North at the Gesù • Photo byYves Dubé ©2006 All Rights Reserved
Day one went without a hitch, the sound was wonderful, and all the shows began in time. The technical crew of the Gesù, under the guidance of our great technical director, Michel St-Père, and the auditorium's Mario Lachance, was simply impeccable, and ensured the smooth flow of all the shows all day long. People came out of the auditorium happy and ready to take on day two the morning after.
The after-hours VIP artist's party was a great attempt at emulating the cool fun events accompanying the celebrations of great festivals like RoSFest and NEARfest, but unlike the aforementioned, our attempt never really took off the ground. With much fewer people than we had expected, tired attendees and musicians, the jam session took a bit of time to warm up, and ended prematurely. Next year, this formula will be reworked from scratch, probably moved to another day, and definitely another location.
Day Two
With a near-perfect day one under our wing, we felt confident that the second day of the festival would be equally succesful, and aside from a few delays due to our rather tight schedule, we were extremely happy how things went. It all started quite early with the Echolyn crew ready to setup and rehearse at 8:45 sharp! Their setup and reharsal went on impeccably. Soon after, Ray Weston, asked me where he could have his deflated tire repaired, and I directed him to the closest Canadian Tire store where we spent a few minutes discussing about Echolyn's trip to Canada and their various upcoming projects.
At 2:15 PM, we were finally ready for the first performance of the day with Karcius. It was for me a pleasure to introduce them onstage because i'm proud of these kids and how wonderfully they evolved over the years. Karcius is composed of Dominique Blouin on bass, Thomas Brodeur on drums, Mingan Sauriol on keyboards and Simon L'Espérance on guitars. Their unique brand of powerful, proggy jazz fusion really shook everyone awake! Their set consisted of a great mix of tracks from their two brilliant studio releases, and a few surpises! They played Destination, Tunnel, Highway to the Moon, Back to Earth, Epilogue, a Led Zeppelin medley featuring cool excerpts of Black Dog, The Ocean and Kashmir among others and to conclude their set, they played the Hypothèse A, B and C suite. Simon awed the audience with his virtuosity, and his contagious enthusiasm, great showmanship and intensity from this guy. The stoic Dominique really let loose during the show and offered some stunning jammy bass riffs throughout the set. Thomas is a powerful and precise drummer with soul and an impeccable technique. Mingan just wowed the audience with his great improvisations, he was simply brilliant on the keys. Standing ovation for this young band of prodigious musicians from Montreal. That was a perfect way to start the day, and the guys were literally assaulted by the crowd at the signing table after their set! One final note, you might have noticed the drumkit used for most of the bands with the FMPM logo on it... that was Thomas Brodeur's kit, who courteously offered it to us for the duration of the festival. Dominique Blouin also kindly offered his bass amp to the other invited artists! Thanks Thomas and Dom!
Thomas Brodeur of Karcius • Photo by André Bazinet ©2006 All Rights Reserved
Karcius at the Gesù • Photo by André Bazinet ©2006 All Rights Reserved
A great article in the Journal de Montreal was published on that Saturday, which was posted in the lobby of the Gesù. It featured a great interview with the Guys from Karcius and a cool overview of the entire festival. Thanks to the Journal's Philippe Renault for the great thumbs-up!
Due to the church service mid-afternoon, there was this very long break from 3:30 to 6:45 we had to live with, so it was the ideal time for the FMPM sympozium on Quebec's progressive pionners, hosted by Sean McFee and Stephen Takacsy, featuring Yves Laferrière, André Duchesne, Alain Bergeron, Tom Rivest and Gary Green. The format was a panel with a Q & A session, a truly fascinating journey through the history of progressive music in Quebec in the early 70's. Gary had the pleasure of playing with many of the artists sitting on this panel during his time with Gentle Giant, as many of them opened for the legendary british group.
The very tight changeover period between Kaos Moon and Miriodor would have made it nearly impossible to respect the schedule, but thanks to the highly competent Gesù crew, and the fact that we organized for Miriodor to partially set-up their gear while the Kaos Moon crew were setting-up and rehearsing, we were actually able to make it work. Both bands have an insanely complex setup (the two most elaborate setups at FMPM this year), so we were lucky that we had so little delays. The Kaos Moon performance was 10 minutes late, the Miriodor set was 20 minutes late and the Echolyn set was 40 minutes late... We'll make sure to shuffle the bands next year in a way that this time period accomodates groups with a relatively simple setup. But as I mentioned, if not for the amazing efficiency of the bandmembers of Kaos Moon, Miriodor and the Gesù crew, it could have been much worse.
Close to 7:00 PM, the Kaos Moon set began. The group is composed of Denis Mailloux on drums, Norman Lachapelle on bass, Jean-François Bélanger on violin, nykelharpa, sitar and bouzouki, Sylvain Provost on guitars, Denis Boulanger on keyboards and of course, Bernard Ouellette on vocals, keyboards, guitars and percussion. Their musical style is a wonderful mix of symphonic prog with elements of fusion, celtic/Middle-East, Arena rock, a bit reminiscent of Jadis, RPWL and the likes, even hints of Echolyn at times. Their set consisted mostly of tracks from their latest album, Circle of Madness and included Presidency, S.O.A.B., Crawl, The Cold Fish, Groove in G minor, Say to Me, The Wall of Silence, The Waves and Eternal Light Avenue. The guys just performed a wonderful, elegant set, their performance marked by great musicianship and emotion. The key of their set was variety, from the most delicate ballads to the most enthusiastic jams! It was also sort of a reunion for Kaos Moon and Echolyn, since they performed together several years ago. Jean-François was responsible for the exotic sounds of the group, with his selection of unusual instruments like the complex nykelharpa, the sitar and the bouzouki, a brilliant multi-instrumentalist. Sylvain really blew away the crowd with his chops on guitar, with captivating solos and caustic riffs! Denis Boulanger really gave an awe-inspiring performance on the keys, putting the ol' B3/Leslie to good use! Bernard was magnificent and sang admirably well, considering that pollen allergies had bothered him much of the weekend, just a dazzling performance.
Bernard Ouellette of Kaos Moon • Photo by André Bazinet ©2006 All Rights Reserved
Kaos Moon at the Gesù • Photo by André Bazinet ©2006 All Rights Reserved
A bit before 8:30, it was Miriodor's turn. The group is composed of Pascal Globensky on keyboards, Rémi Leclerc on drum and percussion, Chantal Bergeron on violin, Nicolas Masino on bass and keyboards, Marie-Chantal Leclair on saxophone and Bernard Falaise on guitars. Their setlist consisted of tracks from Mekano and Parade, plus a few new things, and included Écart-type (a new track), Scarabée, Mille-pattes, Toutes proportions gardées, Tartine, Boîte à surprises, Polar, Avanti (another new never-played number), Contrées liquides, Pas à ce que je sache, Sacha, Cruciverbiste, Uppsala, and for the encore, Le règne des termites. The group was treated to a long and well-deserved standing ovation. Many times during their set, people stood up and cheered loudly, their performance was one of the highlights of the festival, a true killer set from one of the world's most renowned ambassadors of what is known as Rock In Opposition. The only thing I can say about Rémi Leclerc is that he has an atomic clock in his body! The level of precision and the insane time signatures of his work on drums is beyond anything you've ever seen! It is pure delight. Marie-Chantal was amazing on the clarinet, delivering a blaze of blistering passages throughout the show, Nicolas was brilliant during the splendid bass duo on Cruciverbiste, the audience laughing at his humorous banter between tracks, Bernard simply rewrote the book on guitar playing, what a splendid, imaginative guitarist, with such a remarkable tone and a fine technique. Chantal shredded our souls with her sharp violin tones and her exquisite virtuosity. And what can I say about Pascal, the gracious leader of this joyful orchestra, just perfect on keyboards ans synths. The group is very inventive and offers brilliant, captivating music on CD, but seeing them live is something even more amazing... the precision, the grace, the world-class virtuosity, the intensity, it's just a whole new level! I truly believe that Miriodor is responsible for making the whole RIO genre more accessible to the general population, blending the unusual rhythms and melodies of RIO with their own brand of alternative, truly unclassifiable harmonies and beats, resulting in stimulating, enthusiastic, exuberant, clever music. A live DVD of this group would be simply incredible. Pascal is hinting at the release of a new album, but nothing before 2008. We will be waiting in anticipation!
Miriodor at the Gesù • Photo by André Bazinet ©2006 All Rights Reserved
Chantal Bergeron of Miriodor • Photo by André Bazinet ©2006 All Rights Reserved
Time flew by so fast, that it was already time for the final performance of FMPM, featuring one of the most beloved american progressive bands, Echolyn. Again, a race against time to set-up the equipment and gear of the group, while Miriodor were breaking-down their setup. At one point, Paul Ramsey was a bit stressed out as the drumkit he had carefully set-up earlier in the day was nowhere to be found... pulling on a cord revealed his drumkit intact, behind the curtains, as well as the entire keyboard setup, thanks to the Gesù's very deep stage area! A humorous moment backstage before the show with all the members of the band singing, and Ray performing some sort of rain dance... precious, intimate moments of a group getting psyched for their upcoming set. An efficient changeover permitted us to be just 40 minutes late in our schedule, not bad for such an elaborate setup. The Echolyn crew quickly made a final line-check and all was ready for the show. At 10:40 PM, Yves Dubé introduced the group onstage. Echolyn is composed of Ray Weston on lead vocals, bass and guitar, Tom Hyatt on bass, Chris Buzby on keyboards and vocals, Paul Ramsey on drums and percussion and Brett Kull on guitars and vocals. They performed a highly dynamic, energetic set that included tracks from most of their albums, with Georgia Pine, The Cheese Stands Alone, Arc of Descent, The End is Beautiful, Mei, One Voice, Those that Want To Buy, Suffocating The Bloom, So Ready, Brittany, As The World and for the encore, Human Lottery. What can I say, a sublime performance with all the intensity and majesty for which they are renowned for, just perfection! Ray's voice was fantastic, going from the softest whisper to the most powerful death-metal growl effortlessly. All of the musicians were equally perfect, one of the tightest bands to see live, just plain fun! Paul's drumming rattled the auditorium walls, what power and precision! Probably the most amazing live performance I've seen in decades! As Echolyn were taking their final bow, our team stepped onstage to thank everyone, and we finished with these words: "See you next year!"
Echolyn at the Gesù • Photo by André Bazinet ©2006 All Rights Reserved
Ray Weston of Echolyn • Photo by André Bazinet ©2006 All Rights Reserved
The list of people to thank is long, to the kind people who volunteered their time, their resources and so much more to make of the first edition of FMPM such a resounding success. Many thanks and our deepest gratitude to our photographers, Claude Labrecque and Claude Dufresne, Allison Rich and Nadine Benny, Béatrice and Martin Maheux for their help at the boxoffice and vendor areas, Gérald Laurion for his work at security and hall coordination, Thomas Brodeur and Dominique Blouin of Karcius for lending us their gear during the festival, Pascal Globensky for his invaluable input in the organization of the festival, Mario Lachance, Technical Director of the Gesù and the whole Gesù technical staff for their competence and efficiency, making our festival such a success, Martin Siberok of Hour, Philippe Renault of Journal de Montréal and Réjean Beaucage of Voir for their interest and support of the prog music scene, and ttheir great newspaper articles, Alain Lalancette of CKIA FM in Québec, Tom Gagliardi of the Gagliarchives, Michel Parent of QuébecPop, Jean Doyon and Réjean Charbonneau of La Filière Progressive for their unwavering support, Rob LaDuca and Chad Hutchinson of NEARFest for their kind help and support, Stéphane Desbiens of Sense for being our guest, Michel Bilodeau of Ipso Facto and Terra Incognita for his support and friendship, Guy Leblanc and Daniel Lacasse and Nathan Mahl for being our guests, George Roldan and Tom Smith of RoSFest for their support, CD Mélomane from Québec city for their great selection of prog CDs in our vendor area, Yves and Denis Jalbert, Jean-François Désilets and Sébastien Cloutier of Hamadryad for their help and technical assistance, as well as being among our guests, the incomparable Gary Green for being our guest of honor and star panelist, Yves Laferrière, André Duchesne, Alain Bergeron, Tom Rivest for the great afternoon of musical history 101 at the symposium. A big thanks to Groupe Geloso for the great sponsorship and providing to our festival attendees, musicians and staff the great new Gros Cochon beer! We wish to thank all of our sponsors, including Cannacord, Belair Direct, Seagrams Coolers, CG3 Communication, Pharmacies Jean Coutu, and of course, Unicorn Digital for their commitment to the FMPM team and their financial support, and finally, thanks to everyone who bought tickets and made this festival a reality.
See all the great pictures of the inaugural edition of the festival on the FMPM website "picture book".
July 16, 2006
Rick Wakeman at the Quebec Summer Festival
Quebec City is host to a very popular annual music festival, known as the Quebec Summer Festival, covering all styles of music, from pop to metal and blues, and yes... even progressive music! This renowned festival attracts literally hundreds of thousands of people yearly. And this year, Saturday July 15 was THE prog event of the fest... and dare I say, of the year!
Imagine a sensational outdoors show with the California Guitar Trio, Tony Levin, Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman, presenting great acoustic sets, followed by a world-class multimedia presentation of Rick Wakeman's famous 1999 solo album Return to The Center Of The Earth...
Here are the festival's description of the day's events:
"Freely adapted from Jules Verne’s novel, Voyage to the Centre of the Earth, and composed in 1999 by the incomparable keyboardist of prog-rock group YES, Rick Wakeman, this genuine musical and visual panorama is a multidisciplinary extravaganza bringing together on stage:
Rick Wakeman and Jon Anderson of YES (together they will also provide the first portion of the show at 8:00 p.m.) and the English Rock Ensemble, The Québec City Summer Festival Symphony Orchestra and Ensemble Vocalys (20-person choir), Annie Villeneuve and other soloists, Guy Nadon as narrator.
The 40-metre-high (130’) Scène Bell Stage will be the backdrop for gigantic projections designed and screened by Souverbie Projections Géantes, whose list of accomplishments includes, most notably, major creations for Vangelis, Jean-Michel Jarre and Ex Machina (Robert Lepage). Special effects, pyrotechnics and other effects will be created by Concept FiatLux, winner of numerous prizes at international and national pyrotechnic art competitions, including that of the Loto-Québec International Fireworks Competition.
Exclusive world appearance, Saturday, July 15, 2006 at 9:30 pm on the Scène Bell (stage) on the Plains of Abraham."
THE SHOW
I can honestly say that I haven't seen anything like that ever! It was grandiose, and completely mind-blowing!
The day itself had started on a sour note, after a long drive to Quebec City, and the afternoon being horribly hot and hazy, it started raining just before the gates to the main outdoors Bell stage opened to the public, the torrential downpour ending about an hour before the show, with raindrops here and there during the CGT set.... thankfully it cleared completely for the Wakeman show.
The show started a bit after 7:00 PM with a wonderful set of the California Guitar Trio, who played some of their classics and a few of their new compositions, then the legendary Tony Levin joins them, adding his classic bass fingerstick tapping sound... among the material they played was an impressive version of Lynyrd Skynyrd's Freebird , soon followed by Jon Anderson joining CGT for a few numbers, and then it was Jon Anderson doing a solo acoustic set, Jon was then joined by Rick Wakeman... all these transitions were all very gradual and subtle... the setlist consisted of Yes favorites like Owner Of A Lonely Heart, Nous Sommes Du Soleil, And You And I, Soon, Roundabout, but the absolute highlight being Heart Of The Sunrise performed by Anderson, Wakeman, Levin and the CGT crew together... Wow! Another highlight of that set was the moving interpretation of The Beatles' Eleanor Rigby by Rick Wakeman on the grand piano... Although life has been hard for Rick, he has not lost one bit of his amazing dexterity, his musicianship is better than ever... just like the finest old wine!
By this point, the crowd had swelled to a staggering 10000-15000... hard to evaluate with so many people on the vast plains of Abraham. There was a 40-min. break to set up the stage for the extravaganza, including the large symphonic orchestra.
The show started with the grandiose sounds of the symphonic orchestra and the mesmerizing choir, flawlessly mixed with the powerful sound of Rick's synthetizers, and an absolutely captivating narration by well-known Quebec actor Guy Nadon, en français of course! The absolutely sublime big screen projection spanning hundreds of feet, associated with the fireworks, the colorful fireballs, it was sublime! Jon Anderson even sung one of the compositions! Everyone was simply blown away by the grandeur of this show, even those who were there just because they live close by and had never heard of Yes or anything prog for that matter.
At the end of the evening, Rick Wakeman and Jon Anderson were available for autographs... but sadly, people who wanted autographs were obligated to buy merchandise available at the table to have autographed... which I found to be unfortunate and unnecessary.
Overall, I came back to Montreal mesmerized by what I had just witnessed... my favorite style of music, presented on a scale of which I would have never imagined! No... I never saw the legendary shows like ELP in 1977 at the big-O... this was my first monster show, and what a show it was!
Click on the banner below of a few pictures taken at the event:
