The Duchess and Neverland

Tuesday 16 October – We’ve not been out to a live gig in quite a while, so, sorry about that. Still we managed to get down to The Duchess for a bit of prog rockery this week. Support came from MarcAtkinson. I once knew a chap called Mark Atkins and we called him Kram Snikta, just thought I’d share that with you. Anyhoo, Marc was well underway by the time we arrived and we only managed to catch about four of his songs. He was playing them acoustically and one was introduced as coming from his time with the band Nine Stones Close, with the rest apparently from his album Out Of An Ancient World which was recorded with a full band under the name Riversea. We’ve seen Marc before, playing covers in various places around York, so it was refreshing to hear him playing original music and, indeed, I was so impressed that I bought a copy of OOAAW.

The main acts for tonight had been co-headlining on a European tour and I don’t know if this was an extension of that tour or something separate as The Reasoning seemed to be playing a support slot. Anyway, it makes little difference, the band are currently touring their latest album, Adventures in Neverland. Describing themselves as Cardiff-based, The Reasoning consist of Rachel Cohen (vocals & hand shakey percussion & virtual trampoline), Tony Turrell (keyboards & vocals), Keith Hawkins (guitars & backing vocals), Matthew Cohen (bass & backing vocals), and Jake Bradford-Sharp (drums & backing vocals). I already have a two of their albums and recognised a couple of the tracks, especially Dark Angel. They introduced a lot of new material, notable Omega Point, No Friend Of Mine and the outstandingly good title track Adventures in Neverland. The second half of the set was plagued by feedback gremlins which forced Rachel to remain fairly static when she really wanted to bounce around the stage a lot more. The vocals were a bit muddy and indistinct but at the time I put that down to my ancient ears and unfamiliar lyrics. However, I was very impressed with the new material and promptly forked out for copy of the new album from the merchandise table.

For the final act we managed to get within inches of the barrier and had a superb view of the stage and all the players on it. Touchstone I had seen before and was pretty familiar with the material from the latest two albums. Formed back in, I think 2003, by Rob Cottingham (keyboards & vocals), the current line-up also includes Adam Hodgson (guitars), Andre Moorghen (bass), Kim Seviour (lead vocals), and Henry Rogers (drums). I’m not sure what it is about their songs, but sometimes Kim seems quite awkward in her movements and singing, and at other times she really gets into it. Whilst this time there was little evidence of feedback, there was still muddiness in the vocals and Rob’s keyboards were definitely too low in the mix. Sound issues aside, they made a stonkingly good job of tracks like Wintercoast, When Shadows Fall, and Strange Days. The less than capacity crowd were enthusiastic in their applause which brought back both bands and Marc for the finale, a rousing sing-along of the classic Tears For Fears track Mad World.

Both bands play a form of theatrical prog-rock, with a touch of heaviness, which owes a lot to the influences of Pink Floyd, Genesis, Yes and a sprinkling of Dream Theater. A great night out, but from a sound point of view, keyboards and vocals are much better represented on their respective albums.

Touchstone

Friday 30 March - to quote a friend "Good gigs are like buses, you wait for ages and then two come along together." Sadly, he missed both. Life sucks sometimes. Anyhow, tonight we pitched up at The Duchess for the first of said gigs, Touchstone. I've heard the name of the band on the periphery of my senses; the odd track on a Classic Rock compilation CD, a mention in magazines, winners of the Classic Rock Society Best New Band 2007, and they fall into the "prog" genre. I have none of their albums so really tonight was going to be a bit of a stab in the dark.

Not so the support band, The Heather Findlay Duo, which comprises local talent Heather Findlay (Mostly Autumn, Odin's Dragonfly, and now a solo artist) and Chris Johnson (Hazzard County, Evernauts, Mostly Autumn, Fish, Parade ...). Their set consisted of a range of material from their various projects, quite a lot taken from their own Live At The Cafe 68 album. Heather's voice was in fine form and Chris' acoustic guitar playing was up to it's usual very high standard, but somehow they managed to disappoint me as I was expecting / wanting something a bit more rock to set me up for the headliners. The one highlight was The Dogs from Parade's album The Fabric which segued into Iggy Pop's I Wanna Be Your Dog.

As previously mentioned, I had no real idea what to expect from Touchstone, but was immediately captivated by the first track, really quite heavy. The set comprised about a dozen songs, of which I think I managed to work out The City Sleeps, Joker In The Pack, Wintercoast, When Shadows Fall, Strange Days, and The Witness Pt2. They play a melodic prog rock style, sometimes quite heavy, with lyrics that are obviously full of grand stories. The bass lines are fantastic with Paul Moorghen swapping seamlessly between two Thumb NT 5-string instruments, almost identical except that one was fretless, a sound that I just love. Which is not to denigrate the excellence of the other band members; Kim Seviour has a voice both poised and brittle, that breathes life into their lyrics. Rob Cottingham is superb on keyboards with a style that does more than nod in the direction of early Genesis and Yes. Adam Hodgson is effortless on guitar, pulling his influences from Pink Floyd, Yes, and Joe Satriani. Top marks also go to Henry Rogers on drums evincing a Mike Portnoy feel to proceedings.

I hadn't intended to, but I purchased their Wintercoast album at the gig and, for my birthday, I got their latest, The City Sleeps. Two highly recommended albums and a band that I would definitely see again.