Caught In The Whirlwind
Posts tagged transatlantic
Caught In The Whirlwind
Apr 26th
So…Transatlantic was this weekend and if you’ve been watching my twitter feed at all, you’ll have noticed that the show was absolutely awesome. I just really don’t have the words to describe what a magical show it was and it’s going to be VERY, VERY hard to top. Such a special evening…
Just a small intro to Transatlantic. They’re a progressive rock super group made up of Mike Portnoy from Dream Theater on drums, Neal Morse (ex- Spock’s Beard) on keyboards and guitar, Roine Stolt (The Flower Kings) on guitar and Pete Trewavas (Marillion) on bass. They play progressive rock music, influenced by the old school 70s prog rock days, along with a heaping spoonful of Beatles influence (all 4 guys are beatles fans). They were joined on stage by Daniel Gildenlow (Pain of Salvation) to fill out their sound. He did everything from percussion to guitar to keyboards to singing. Sometimes all at once.
I began the drive up at 8am, stopping to grab some breakfast at a McDonalds on the way and lunch along the Pennsylvania turnpike. On the drive down, I was baffled by some guy randomly honking his horn at me (confusion which would be cleared up later). I arrived at the hotel in Philadelphia around 1pm and hung out for a couple hours before heading out to locate parking.
The parking situation was the most anxiety causing part of the deal for me as the parking in the area of the Theater of Living Arts on South Street is…horrific. I ended up grabbing a spot at a lot on the end of South Street near the waterfront and walking 3-4 blocks down south street to get to the theater. I grabbed myself a Philly cheesesteak (of the chicken variety) and hopped in the already forming line.
Soon after I stopped in line, Pete Trewavas (the bass player for Transatlantic (and Marillion)) wandered out to take pictures of the line. I knew he was short, but man…I didn’t realize how short he was until he was standing right next to me. So that was really cool. That was the first indication I had though, that the showtime had changed from 8pm to 9pm (as I found out later, due to a ticket printing screwup that had some tickets listed as a 9pm start time). It was around 4:30 at this point and the doors would not open until 8.
To make the 3.5 hour wait bearable, I ended up striking up a conversation with two guys who were waiting in line in front of me. I never actually caught their names, but they were really nice and we were joking back and forth about stuff. It was a fun experience. So if you’re out there guys, thanks for letting me join in! We talked about the likelihood of the streets resident pigeons supplying us with an unexpected aerial present as well as random prog bands. They were from the DC area so we chatted about that as well. Eventually as the hours went on we ran out of topics and resorted to critiquing the parallel parking skills of drivers trying to get parking spots on South Street in front of the theater.
Finally, around 7:45ish the doors opened and we went into the theater. I headed up to the bar upstairs to briefly grab a seat and then, once the floor started filling up, I wandered down that way to get a good spot. I ended up about 7 rows back.
9:00 came and went and still no band. At 9:10 or so though, the house lights went out, the intro tape to The Whirlwind started playing, the band stepped out onto the stage and the show had begun.
And what a show it was. The Whirlwind is an aweesome track live. They played all 78 minutes of it, straight through with no stopping. I was blown away by the emotion that Neal Morse (on keyboards mostly but he also played guitar too) plays and sings with. Amazed with his voice that sounded just like it did on the albums, and amused by his goofy antics on stage. You can tell that he’s genuinely happy to be there, making live music on stage with his friends. That went for the rest of the bad as well. They were all smiles all night, and not fake smiles either. You could tell they wanted to be there and were having as much fun as the audience was.
After a near perfect rendition of the Whirlwind (Oh my god…the ending of The Whirlwind was so freaking powerful. Neal absolutely sold it), they took a 15 minute intermission. By this time I had move back closer to the rear of the theater because the sound where I was at was kinda iffy. But I had a great position with great sound for the rest of the set.
The intro music to All Of The Above started played and the crowd went wild. From here on out the crowd was singing along with every word. The atmosphere was totally amazing. The band having a blast, feeding off the crowd…the crowd so into it. It was like what all good live music should be, a communal experience being uniquely created right there in front of you. The best way I’ve been able to explain what it felt like was like the musical equivalent of a religious experience. I’ll never forget it.
After the 30 minute All Of The Above, Mike remarked that it’s already been over 2 hours and they’ve only played 2 songs which got a huge cheer from the audience. Then Roine and Neal did a special version of their shorter song We All Need Some Light where Roine took over lead vocals from Neal who did the song in studio. It was a very cool rendition.
And after that the opening to Duel With The Devil started playing and the crowd went wild again. The highlight of this song to me was the new Roine guitar solo in the quiet part in the middle. It was jaw droppingly amazing. So much emotiveness and improv packed into one solo spot. It needs to be recorded because it was just…perfect. After the end of that song they had the standard fake ending. At this point it was closing in on midnight.
After a quick break they came back on stage for a very powerful version of the ballad Bridge Across Forever with Neal and Roine again, Neal singing this time and Roine adding some very cool guitar harmonies to the song.
And immediately after that Mike started playing the iconic opening to Stranger In Your Soul on drums and we were off for the most amazing ride of the night. Stranger In Your Soul is another 30 minute song, but probably their best recorded work (in my opinion) And it didn’t disappoint one bit. The coolest part was, somewhere in the middle of the song Neal ran over to where Mike was on drums and actually took over the drumming for him. Pete headed over to Neals keyboards (with his bass still on) and started playing the keyboard part of the song. Daniel Gildenlow came over, reached around Pete and started playing the bass line. Meanwhile Mike took off and stage dived. After that was over Mike came back and seamlessly took over the drums again and they all rotated to their normal positions.
The ending of Stranger In Your Soul was no less amazing. When it was happening I realized something. That I had sung along so many times with Neal to this song and now I was actually doing it when he was singing it live. It was one of those moments at a concert where you remember “Wait a minute…these guys are actually making the music right here in front of me!”
The show was over with at 12:40ish and I headed out of the theater, down South Street (a walk I would never like to do again at 12:40am, by the way. It’s not a BAD area of town but it’s slightly scary that late at night….) to my car and headed back to hotel. I eventually managed to get to sleep around 2am, and woke up around 5:30-6 and decided I wasn’t going to get any more sleep, so I made preparations to leave.
After a quick stop at the Dublin Bakery in Willow Grove, PA for a buttercake, I wound my way home. Fairly uneventful drive. I got home, had a piece of butter cake and basically took a 2 hour nap to help clear my headache.
Sadly, it wasn’t all fun and games. Saturday, while driving there, I heard a sound like a small rock or something hit my windshield. Low and behold, a couple days later, I notice a crack forming, and me without full glass coverage on my insurance (a situation that has since been corrected). But it means yet another costly car repair. Sigh.
The show was still worth it.
Looooong Time.
Apr 20th
Ok, It’s been absolutely forever since I posted anything up here. Like I mentioned before, I’m trying to keep the small random stuff more on Twitter/Facebook than trying to write about everything that’s happening in my life. But some stuff has happened that deserves a longer form entry.
First off, an opportunity has come up to work on a real live design project. We’ve got a local, smallish brewery in town, FX Matt, maker of the semi-known line of craft beers, Saranac. They run this event every summer called Saranac Thursday’s where they host bands in the parking lot of the brewery and, obviously, provide beer. They’re looking for a logo and they offered it up as a competition to the students at MVCC of which I am one. Over the past month I’ve been going through the process of creating a logo, from thumbnail sketches all the way now to working it up for real and it’s been a very fun and educational process.
I’m sorta sitting in on the class of the instructor that’s been responsible for the project and working through it with them. It’s been a great opportunity and I’ve learned a lot.
Today specifically, we were talking after class and we got to talking. I know I’ve been told this by other people but he mentioned that I had a good design sense and that he hoped I could continue going to classes to refine it. Which, to me, really made my day. Like I said, I know others have mentioned it, but hearing an instructor that’s been doing this sort of thing for a while say it makes it seem more…real.
I really, really hope I can figure out a way to keep going with this. I want to do it more than I’ve wanted to do anything else. It just feels…right. Which is frustrating when I come off of a fun, challenging and engaging morning and into work doing the same ol’ same ol’ as usual. Blargh.
In other news, the week has finally arrived. I’m headed off to Philadelphia on Saturday to go see Transatlantic perform live. I’ve been waiting for today since I first discovered the band and now it’s finally arriving. I’m EXTREMELY excited to have the chance to see this show. I had the setlist spoiled for me, unfortunately , but at least now I know that the show is going to be epicly awesome.
I’m sure I’ll be back with a full review on monday. And later next week I’ll post up my Saranac Thursday Logos once they get all finished.
Top Albums of 2009
Dec 23rd
Traditionally, this is the time of year where I pick my favorite musical releases of the past 365 days (366 on leap years). This year will be no exception. And…man was this year a gigantic change from last year. Whereas 2008 was kinda slow for music, 2009 was a flood, especially the second half of the year. Quality release after Quality release just kept right on coming.
So without further delay, lets get right into it:
#1 – Transatlantic – The Whirlwind
Transatlantic - The Whirlwind
My number 1 this year is one of my most anticipated albums of all time, which is a followup to my absolute favorite album of all time (Bridge Across Forever). After spending most of the decade on hiatus after Neal Morse turned his energies to writing christian inspired music full time, The members of Transatlantic got back together and came right out swinging again with The Whirlwind.
It’s not nearly as good as Bridge Across Forever, and the sound has progressed from what it used to be, but honestly so have the members of the band. The lyrics, too, have evolved, from being simply spiritual to actually having some religious overtones. I don’t find that distracting enough to count it as a knock on the wonderfuly constructed musical content of this album.
The best parts are when the guys just seem to jam. There isn’t a band out there that has the writing chemistry that this guys do. the 77 minute title track feels cohesive, with themes introduced in the Overture coming back again and again through the song.
Transatlantic is back in busniess and I’m immensely excited to be seeing them live in April.
#2 – Dream Theater – Black Clouds & Silver Linings
Dream Theater - Black Clouds & Silver Linings
If you asked me at the beginning of the year whether the upcoming Dream Theater album was going to be making my top list this year, I would have been doubtful after 2007′s Systematic Chaos fell (very) flat. After it was released though…wow. I was taken totally by surprise, often randomly saying to Wassy things like “Man, I can’t believe the new DT album is so good!”. It was my surefire number 1 until Transatlantic came out.
What we have here is a continuation of the sound of Systematic Chaos but with the missing elements of the Dream Theater sound and, more importantly, song structure added back in. John Petrucci owns this album with his solos, especially The Best Of Times. And Jordan Ruddess, prone to overplaying, reins himself in and plays for the song, not to see how many notes he can squeeze into a bar of music.
That’s not to say the album isn’t technical. It is. But it’s renewed focus on song structure and melody are what makes it work 1000x better than Systematic Chaos did. The only song that falls flat for me is Wither, which just sounds like a dated power-ballad. The Piano version is much better.
I want to specifically mention The Best Of Times which is a song written by Mike Portnoy as a tribute to his father who has recently passed away. Just hearing it for the first time gave me chills (and I even teared up towards the end). The epic guitar solo is one of the best solos I’ve ever heard. Ever. There’s so much emotion and feeling that was poured into the song and it really shows.
#3 – Muse – The Resistance
Muse - The Resistance
This album was a sleeper for me. Released the same day as the latest Porcupine Tree release, I expected it to get passed by as I spent most of my time with The Incident. However…that’s not how it turned out at all.
I loved it on first listen, and every listen after that caused it to grown on me even more. I find it very interesting that Muse is a mainstream band, and yet their sound (especially on this album) has so many progressive rock elements to it. They’re geniuses. They’ve managed to trick the mainstream into listening to prog!
Muse wears their influences on their sleeves on The Resistance, inspired by bands such as U2 and Queen. But instead of a straight up copying of their influences sound, they take it and add to it something that’s uniquely Muse. The United States of Eurasia is clearly Queen inspired, but it’s also very Muse like.
Also they’re not afraid to throw even classical influences into the mix, including the likes of Chopin. Not to mention the Exogenisis Symphony that closes the album. The entire thing feels like it’s Muse sticking it to the entirety of mainstream music, and they’re being embraced for it.
#4 – Long Distance Calling – Avoid The Light
Long Distance Calling - Avoid The Light
This album was also a bit of a surprise for me. I’m not normally one for purely instrumental music as I feel a lot of the time the song structure isn’t interesting enough to really differentiate one song from another. But on a tip from the members of Mike Portnoy.com forums, I went and checked this band out.
What I found was quality instrumental progressive rock, with definite song structure and pacing. They understand how to build a song up from the beginning to a climax and make it interesting. Furthermore, the drumming is really good, probably my favorite part of the album.
It’s not entirely instrumental though, as there’s one song with lyrics which is also enjoyable. The vocalist sounds a lot like the guy from Katatonia, actually.
My only complaint is that it’s a very short album, but I’ll take quality over quantity any day. If you’re a fan of instrumental rock, you own it to yourself to check out these guys.
#5 – Redemption – Snowfall on Judgement Day
Redemption - Snowfall on Judgment Day
Redemption was one of my discoveries from 2007 after seeing them open for Dream Theater in Buffalo, NY. I’ve had my eye on them since. These guys are a progressive metal band fronted by Fate’s Warning’s Ray Alder, backed up by a quality group of players. I really like Ray’s vocals on these releases as I think this type of music fits his style more than Fate’s Warning.
Anyway, this particular release is nothing really new or pushing the boundaries of the genre or even their previous releases. What it is, though, is a rock solid progressive metal album in a genre full of dream theater wanna-be’s who are very much not putting out interesting or quality music. Redemption clearly is influenced by the giants in the Prog Metal field, but they put their own spin on it and make it their own. This album also features some excellent lyrics, another thing that’s hard to find in the Prog Metal genre.
Throw in a track featuring a Duet with James LaBrie of Dream Theater and you’ve got a great album. Don’t mistake me when I say it’s nothing new. It’s still quality material.
Other Releases
- Porcupine Tree – The Incident
A solid, if disappointing release from PT. It clicked after seeing it live, but I need to be in a certain frame of mind to really listen to it. - Epica – Design Your Universe
A little too reliant on the growling, but this is one of Epica’s strongest releases Musically yet. - 3 – Revisions
A collection of redone and re-recorded songs from 3′s past, this release is good, but not great. The new version of The Game is a bit dissapointing, but I’m really happy with the rest of the songs. - Jordan Ruddess – Notes on A Dream
Jordan records his own piano versions of several Dream Theater songs. I like his focus on the songs that pre-dated his joining the band. His versions of Another Day and Hollow Years are stellar. I love having this on in the background. - OSI – Blood
The weakest of the OSI releases. Just didn’t grab me like the other ones, but it’s got some good songs too it. I think they tried to be a little TOO heavy and that’s not where OSI shines. The best parts are the more ambient songs like Terminal and Radiologue. - Umphrey’s McGee – Mantis
Part prog, part jam band release. This group was one of my new discoveries this year. Very nice for when I’m in the right mood. Some songs lose me a bit, but the first half of the album is very good. - Riverside – Anno Domini High Definition
An album that’s a lot less dark than their previous efforts. Some good stuff here, but it doesn’t quite capture the magic of Second Life Syndrome. Feels a little too short too. - Trans-Siberian Orchestra – Night Castle
The instrumental parts are awesome. The lyrical songs are terribly, terribly generic. Lots of filler here. Somebody needs to make a TSO lyric generator. It’d be pretty easy. Just throw in lots of children, dreams and people singing “on this night” - Scale The Summit – Carving Desert Canyons
This one is good in small doses, but all of their songs sound very similar after a while.
Honorable Mention
Bigelf – Cheat The Gallows was an album that was released last year, but one which I discovered this year. Take The Beatles, Pink Floyd and a liberal dose of evil and throw them in a blender and you get Bigelf. Really cool retro sounding music with a modern twist. Go see them live for full effect…the studio recordings just don’t capture them adequately.
Transatlantic. Live. Wooo!
Dec 16th
The day I had been dreading/looking forward to has arrived. Transatlantic tour dates have been announced! I knew they would play New York City but I was worried that would be the only north east location they were going to be playing since it’s a fairly expensive trip there.
But they’re playing the Theater of Living Arts in Philadelphia too! Located just south of the historical district (like, within walking distance of everything). The show is on a Saturday (April 24th 2010), so I can get down there and get back without losing any time at work.
Now I just need to work out the small details, like figuring out the parking situation and where I’m going to shack up for the night…
I’m so glad I’m able to go to this show. This tour with this group of guys has a really good chance of never happening again, ever. Although I hope that’s not the case.
Caught In The Whirlwind
Nov 2nd
Transatlantic - The Whirlwind
As I mentioned, my most anticipated musical release of the year has arrived in my hands as of last week. And since then I’ve had the time to dig in and digest it a bit, so now it’s time to review.
If you’ve missed all of my previous postings on Transatlantic, let me describe the group a bit. They’re a progressive rock super group consisting of Mike Portnoy from Dream Theater on drums, Neal Morse ( Ex-Spock’s Beard) on keyboards and most of the vocals, Roine Stolt from The Flower Kings on guitar and the rest of the vocals and Pete Trewavas from Marillion on bass. Their music is in the classic era progressive rock sound, like from the 70s when prog was starting to really pick up steam. But it’s very modern as well. They’re influenced greatly by early Genesis, Yes, and The Beatles among others.
So after an 8 year gap between albums, does Transatlantic still have it? My answer is: Yes! As soon as I started listening to the album for the first time I got a grin on my face that didn’t go away for quite a while. The overall sound is a bit different, but the guys are in different places musically now than they were 8 years ago so a shift is to be expected. The writing chemstry is still in place and that’s what really counts.
The album is basically one giant 77 minute song. And as opposed to the most recent album in my collection that tried this approach (Porcupine Tree’s – The Incident), The Whirlwind succeeds in making it feel like a single piece instead of songs strung together with some transition bits thrown in. Recurring lyrics and musical themes weave through the piece and tie everything together.
The fact that all 4 of them were excited to be back together and producing music shines through clearly in the playing and musical composition. Of special note are Pete Trewavas’s bass lines in this album. He’s always been an exceptional bass player, but he’s outdone himself on this release. I don’t usually sit there and listen to the bass specifically in a song, but here I often find myself mesmerized.
My only complaint with the album revolves around the lyrics. While generally really good, Neal Morse’s dive into overtly Christian/religious music after he left Spock’s Beard has left it’s mark here as well. In a few spots, I find the lyrics to be slightly uncomfortably preachy and what was once spiritual overtones that were subtle in the past albums became much more distinct here. It doesn’t detract much from the album for me, but it’s there and it’s something I could really have done without.
The production and mix are perfect. No loudness war crap everything sounds amazing. Even Mike and Pete’s vocals which can be shaky at times are really impressive here.
Is it better than Bridge Across Forever? Well…no. But Bridge Across Forever is, as far as I’m concerned absolutely perfect in every way. Be that as it may, Transatlantic is back and The Whirlwind is a worthy addition to their musical legacy. This is probably my #1 album of the year, in a year with some incredible albums.
On The Edge
Oct 23rd
It just hit me that I’m anywhere from a few short hours to a few short days away from holding in my hands my most anticipated musical release of the year, Transatlantic new album, The Whirlwind.
Hopping into the way back machine here, to September 2002. At this point, I was already on my way with the Progressive Rock/Metal conversion and I was eagerly branching out from Dream Theater into other bands such as Spock’s Beard and Symphony X. I was going through and checking out some of the side projects that the bands were involved in and came across Transatlantic’s album Bridge Across Forever. I instantly fell in love.
Transatlantic is a Progressive Rock super group, featuring Mike Portnoy from Dream Theater, Neal Morse from (at the time) Spock’s Beard, Roine Stolte from The Flower Kings and Pete Trewavas from Marillion. Their music is hard to explain. It’s very complex progressive rock, with heavy beatles influences (not surprising since all 4 members are HUGE beatles fans), with bits of Spock’s Beard and The Flower Kings and Marillion thrown in there for good measure too.
Bridge Across Forever quickly became one of, if not my absolute, favorite albums in the history of all times. I still spin it regularly and every note of every (long, long) song has been burned into my brain. After buying their first album, I became anxious to hear more new stuff. That wasn’t to be though.
Fast forward one month, and in October of 2002, it was announced that Neal Morse had become a Born Again Christian and was, at the direction of God, quitting both Spock’s Beard and Transatlantic to focus on more religiously influenced music. Spock’s Beard continued onward, although changed signifigantly as Neal was the driving force in their music. I’d go so far as to put him up in the list of Musical Geniuses along with Steven Wilson. Transatlantic, however, couldn’t continue without him. He was just too big a part of the band and the guys felt it would be weird to continue without his input. I had just discovered Transatlantic, and just like that…it was no more.
As the years went on, I continued listening to the roughly 2 hours of music that they produced. For the past couple years there’s been some rumblings of a potential Transatlantic reunion but I wasn’t holding my breath. Last year, 3 of the 4 members of Transatlantic played together at a prog festival, sparking more rumors of a reunion. Then, in April 2009, Pete Trewavas was spotted in an airport in Montreal headed to Nashville (where Neal Morse lives) and the rumors started flying even more.
Then the album was announced for real. Almost 8 years after their last release and 7 since I had known about them, Transatlantic was back together and recording a new album. And people who preordered the album have started getting it in the mail today.
So needless to say, I’m on the edge of my seat waiting for my copy to arrive. Soooooon!!!
Vox Hunt: Music – Hurry Up Already!
Sep 14th
Show us an artist who you wish would hurry up and put out a new album.
As much as I hate repeating myself with these vox hunts, I've got to re-mention a band I mentioned in the past.
Transatlantic. Hands down, Transatlantic is my answer.
After I got into Dream Theater all of those…uh…5 years ago, I started branching out and finding other progressive/progressive metal groups that I liked. The members of Dream Theater are involved in a lot of side projects and such when they're not on the road with with their main band. Transatlantic is one of the many side projects that Mike Portnoy is involved in.
I picked up Bridge Across Forever and was blown away, so bought all the rest of the albums which, as it turns out, was really cheap because there was only one other studio album they had put out.
Transatlantic was my gateway into the other member's bands. I got interested in Spock's Beard, The Flower Kings and Marillion because I liked these guys in Transatlantic.
Unfortunately, as with many good things, it was short lived. After two studio albums, Neal Morse became a Born Again Christian in 2002 and left both Spock's Beard and Transatlantic to concentrate on music with more of a religious message. Spock's Beard continued onward, but Transatlantic, being a side project and not a real band, was put on hold.
Recently though, there's been some rumors about Neal Morse becoming more interested in doing another Transatlantic album. It wasn't a definite, but the door has been left open. That's the hope I'm clinging to…
|
The Independent Music Store Lives!!
Sep 10th
Just made an interesting discovery today. Wassy had noticed a small local music store out in Clinton as she was passing through a few months ago, and since we have our newfound similar musical taste, we decided to journey over there today.
We arrived at a small little house in the middle of town, a sign out front proclaiming that it was "The Melodic Revolution" and that there was going to be a live band playing there later that night. I started feeling a little worried because it was so small. My first look in the door wasn't that promising either. It was basically a small room with some CD racks set up. But then my friend noticed the Progressive section. It was as if I had died and gone to progressive rock heaven. There were CDs and bands on that shelf that I've never seen in a music store ever.
They also had a really good selection of music DVDs too. I ended up picking up Transatlantic – Live in Europe because I've been looking for it FOREVER. We went back to her place and gave it a watch/listen. Neal Morse is such a dork.
Anyway, their website is located here. If you're anywhere in the area and you're interested in some lesser known/independent bands…make sure you check them out. Gotta support the little guys.
Vox Hunt: This Album Is All Good
Aug 8th
Audio: Share an album in your collection that's a classic from the first to the last cut (no need to use the skip button). Submitted by Cortadito.
This one I had to think long and hard about since I have so many albums that I enjoy from start to finish. But I think, the most classic album in my collection is…
Transatlantic had a very special sound and it carried across the feeling that these people loved to create music together. The album is classic and epic, and don't you dare skip a track since you'll miss 1/4th of the album if you do, considering there's only 4 tracks. The two main 30 minute epics, a short 15 minute piece and a ballad-ish song. Through the entire album, there's interwoven ideas, moving from song to song, connecting each piece to the one that came before it…
I can't say enough good stuff about Transatlantic or this album. Go check it out if you like progressive music, or if you like the later Beatles albums, as all 4 members of the band are huge Beatles fanatics and it shows.
|
Recent Comments