Saga Gave Their Singer an Emotional, Heartfelt Farewell in the Best Possible Atmosphere (2007)

Author: Peter Podbrežnik

Venue: Muffathalle / Munich / Germany
Concert date: December 4, 2007
Attendance: 3000
Ticket price: €30.00

Munich hasn’t exactly been a frequent stop on my gig-going map lately. A big part of that is the considerable distance, which ties straight into my rather limited finances. When I do make it to the Bavarian capital, it takes a really good reason, usually an act appealing enough that I’d go to the other end of the world for them if I could. This time that’s exactly what happened: one of those concerts came around that I couldn’t miss for anything, because this time the chance, once missed, would never have come back. At long last, my audiovisual senses were in for some heavenly manna in the form of my first encounter with the legendary Canadian art rockers Saga. Alongside Rush, they are without doubt the most important and also the best Canadian rock band, and one of those bands I’d wanted to see up close many times, but there was never a favorable opportunity for such an undertaking. One reason is that there weren’t enough interested people to split the travel costs and pay their respects to this widely overlooked band, which still gets its only real recognition mainly in Germany and on home turf. This time, too, only two of the biggest fanatics showed interest and set off on the long, grueling trip to Munich to see these indestructible heroes of yesterday, who don’t give an inch when it comes to their musical vision, built mainly on a progressive rock blend of melodic symphonics, punchy guitar riffs and the distinctive vocals of singer Michael Sadler.

On this tour Saga weren’t just presenting their current album “10,000 Days“. It also carried quite a bit of symbolic weight, almost dramatic proportions even, because after this tour ends, the band’s road ahead will never be the same again. This was the last tour with charismatic frontman Michael Sadler, who, after 30 years together through thick and thin, is leaving the band to devote himself to his family, especially the baby they’re expecting. The Munich show was even Michael’s very last European show (the band will wrap up the tour in Puerto Rico), so it was fair to expect something truly special that night. Saga are still an extremely respected name in Germany, despite being largely ignored by most of the rest of the world, which the jam-packed Muffathale proved beautifully, with people crowding in even before the entrance. They filled every nook and cranny, from the stage all the way back to the bar. It’s a sight you don’t see at every show of a legendary band, one whose very existence most people outside the generation that lived through the 80s aren’t even aware of. Fittingly, the crowd was mostly forty- or fifty-plus. Even though I’m no fan of concert crowds, I had to admire such devotion to the band, which the audience more than justified during Saga’s set. As for band merch, everything except the new album and posters was sold out before the show even started, which didn’t bother me much, since I come to a gig purely for the music and not to pad my collection of “souvenirs”, although I’ve got nothing against it when prices are fair and the selection is good.

After British support act The Urge, who bored most of us stiff with their heaping dose of kitschy showmanship and downright soul-crushing imitation of every recognizable musical and visual cliché of the Rolling Stones legacy, wrapped up their set, which was way too long for my taste (at least they thanked the Saga guys for being willing to take them on tour), everything was set for the start of a show that will stay with me as one of those unrepeatable concert experiences you only get once in a lifetime. The members of Saga marched onto the stage after a short taped intro. Then, quite surprisingly, they opened with Michael’s solo take on the main chorus of “Always There” (House Of Cards, 2001), making it clear right away that this would be no ordinary Saga concert but one charged with special atmosphere and magic. After that short, rather mellow warm-up, they hit us with an excellent rendition of “Interview” from their most successful album “Worlds Apart” (1981), which, as expected, supplied most of the material that evening. Song after song, Sadler confirmed his incredible stage charisma, fully comparable to what I’d experienced a week earlier from Fish. For his age the man is in excellent shape, his voice was at an enviable level, and he pulled off individual songs better than I’d expected going in. Not once did his voice waver, so there was nothing to suggest this was his last European show with the band or that melancholy feelings were churning inside him. He gave more than a hundred percent of his energy. His in-between speeches, though, were packed with emotion and endless thanks to the crowd, who breathed as one with him and his band. Saga balanced the set nicely between older material from their classic albums, a few unusual surprises, and newer songs. The latter were first represented by “As Far As I’ll Go”, which appears on the album “Trust” (2006).

The first peak of the night came with the classic “You’re Not Alone” (Images At Twilight, 1979), where the crowd sang every single chorus and could have sung the whole lyrics if Michael had asked. Incredible, but most of the audience knew every word by heart. I’ve never seen a crowd so fired up, breathing with a band so completely, at any other show. Of course the other members deserve a mention too, even though this was entirely Michael’s night. Guitarist Ian Crichton, for many years one of the best guitarists in progressive rock, took the crowd’s breath away with some lightning-fast guitar work. Sadly, despite the constant energetic grimaces and the fact that he’s grown his hair long again after a long time, the years have caught up with him as well, so now he’s only growing wider, and looking more and more like Steve Rothery (Marillion). One of the band’s special traits is that two, sometimes even three members swap around on keyboards at the same time. The ever-relaxed and friendly keyboardist Jim Gilmour, with whom we’d had an extremely colorful interview before the show, was occasionally joined behind the keys by Sadler and by bouncy bassist Jim Crichton, clearly the band’s chief joker judging by what he showed that night. When he wasn’t “dancing” around the stage, he was having a blast on his mini moog synthesizer, especially when Sadler joined Gilmour on keyboards.

After “I’m OK” from “Trust”, two songs from the new album “10,000 Days” followed: “Can’t You See Me Now?” and “Book Of Lies”. Both got almost as enthusiastic a response as the classics. Interesting that Saga played only three songs from the excellent current album. Most of the crowd loved all three of the “10,000 Days” songs and would have liked even one or two more, but some older classics needed their chance too. Among them was definitely “Pefekcionist” from their self-titled debut “Saga”  from 1978. Before it, the always playfully upbeat Jim Crichton pulled off a funny sketch: Michael had sat down on a chair for a moment to catch his breath, and Jim pushed a crown into his hands so he could crown himself king of the evening in true Freddie Mercury style. Michael couldn’t get over the bassist’s antics, and after a long hesitation, at the crowd’s demand, he finally plopped it on his head for a few seconds. Clearly he never saw himself as a king, but he slipped into the role of perfectionist far better, and together with his band delivered an exceptionally emotional rendition of that classic, once again sending the crowd into mass delirium.

The drum seat was filled this time by a not-so-familiar face. Saga haven’t had any luck with drummers in recent years. After longtime drummer Steve Negus left, his spot was briefly taken by American Christian Simpson (he played only on the album “Network“, 2004). Within a year he had to give up his seat to Brian Doerner because of illness. But that poor guy, too, had to undergo a serious operation after a stroke right at the start of this tour. Steve Negus filled in for a while, who in my opinion fits best into the band’s usual sound, and then Doerner’s spot went to Chris Sutherland. He’s known for his powerful swings, which we saw for ourselves during his drum solo. After wrapping it up artfully, he moved into a build-up leading into the hit “The Flyer” (Heads Or Tales, 1983), one of the nicest surprises of the night. Here too the crowd more than convincingly stood in for Michael’s usual contribution in the choruses. Jim Gilmour did mention in the interview that the show would have a few surprises that don’t usually make it into their live repertoire. I’d definitely count the two songs from the album “The Security Of Illusion” (1993) in that category: “Mind Over Matter” (together with the taped intro “Entracte”) and “The Security Of Illusion”. Michael did the latter in a solo version, meaning without accompaniment. As usual, the thrilled crowd helped him out on the choruses.

Next came a special rendition of “Time’s Up” (Worlds Apart), played in an acoustic version, with Michael helped mainly by Ian on acoustic guitar and Jim Gilmour on electric piano. The crowd’s enthusiasm showed no sign of letting up when Jim Gilmour stepped into the spotlight. Up was the emotional ballad “Scratching The Surfcace” (Heads Or Tales), one of the rare Saga songs featuring Jim’s vocals and one of their most beloved. One of the bigger surprises of the night, even though they’d played it on the previous tour too, was definitely “We’ve Been Here Before” from the album “Wildest Dreams” (1987), a record they don’t exactly return to often because of its rather pop-rock nature. They went back to newer material with “On The Air”, one of the better songs from “Network”. Then it was time for two more classics. When they started playing “On The Loose” (Worlds Apart), the crowd’s heads were spinning with excitement all over again. Next they remembered the cult album “Silent Knight” (1980) and played “Careful Where You Step”, the icing on the cake of their most beloved songs. During an incredibly heartfelt rendition of “10.000 Days”, the title ballad of the current album, with Ian once again picking up the acoustic guitar, the band handed out lighters to the crowd. When the little flames lit up, the magic in the hall beat even stronger. The main part of the show was slowly nearing its end. For that moment Saga picked one more unforgettable classic from “Worlds Apart” – “Wind Him Up”, the story of an addicted gambler, which heated the hall’s atmosphere to the boiling point. After the main set ended, the roadies, assorted friends, family members and even Michael’s pregnant wife came onstage and handed the visibly moved singer bunches of flowers, which the band later piled around the base of the drum kit. A thoroughly dolled-up young lady, whom I assume is Michael’s daughter judging by how much she looks like her mother, took photos of the crowd at every opportunity, which I’d say was more or less a substitute behavior so she could strut up and down the stage and wave at us. She’ll probably have more than enough time now for her dad to take her to some rave party or a fashion show.

Before the encore, which didn’t take long to arrive, most of the crowd was handed two sheets of paper reading “Michael” and “bye”. When they came back for the encore with the classic “Humble Stance” from their debut, the hall went completely wild again, and Michael couldn’t hold back his emotions at the sight of the whole hall saying goodbye to him through written messages. At that moment he slung a bass guitar around his neck, the one he played on the studio version of this song. What kind of Saga show would it be if it didn’t have “Don’t Be Late” (Silent Knight) as the finale? Sadler noted as much before playing it, switching between bass and keyboards again, and by the end both Crichton brothers had fully come alive too. “Don’t Be Late” ended the encore, and after thunderous ovations the band bowed to the crowd and left the stage.

Some people thought the show was over and headed for the exit, while most of the crowd still stood their ground under the stage, trying to call the band back with roaring ovations. Their patience was rewarded, and the band came back onstage for one last act of the night, to repay such enthusiasm and support with one more very special encore. It was an excellent “What It’s Gonna Be?” (Silent Knight), played for the first and last time on the entire tour, just for the crowd at Muffathale. They played this last encore of the night without any introductions and said their final goodbye in a hurry too. Even after they’d left the stage, the crowd kept trying to squeeze out another encore, that’s how intense their enthusiasm was. I was completely blown away by the whole performance myself, especially by the band’s incredible tightness and the crazy atmosphere filling the hall from the stage to the bar. Since this was the first time I’d ever seen the band live, I can’t compare it to other shows, but I’m convinced this was among their three best on the whole tour. As far as sound goes, this concert was nothing but highs, too. Except at the start, when the keyboards were a bit harder to hear, Saga demonstrated true sonic perfectionism. The lighting was top-notch as well, catching every move of the evening’s main protagonist and his brothers-in-arms. The show was recorded, so expect that something from this night will come out one day as a live CD or DVD.

This may read as too fan-gushy to some, but Saga’s show, and with it Sadler’s farewell concert, was phenomenally good in my eyes and ears, almost pure perfection. It even exceeded my greatest expectations, so I can easily put it side by side with Genesis’ June show in Vienna as the best show I’ve attended this year. And in terms of the flow of genuine communication and energy between band and audience, it’s undoubtedly this year’s winner among the concerts I’ve been to. Michael said goodbye in an ideal, deeply moving way, and even though his farewell wasn’t sad, I’ll certainly miss him in the band’s future output. Any next concert encounter with Saga won’t be even remotely the same. I simply can’t imagine their classics without Sadler’s vocals. In my view, every successor is automatically doomed to live in Michael’s long shadow and in what he meant to Saga. That’s why I sincerely hope he comes back someday, preferably as soon as possible, and with his loyal followers, of the kind few of today’s progressive rock bands have, repeats a whole series of nights like this first meeting with his now former band.

words: Peter Podbrežnik
photos: Aleš Podbrežnik

Setlist

THE URGE:
1. Come Back To You
2. Better Off 3. Where Do We Go
4. She Made Me Do It
5. Forever And A Day
6. Revolution
7. Lonely Road
8. Blue Steel
—encore—
9. Fall Down

SAGA:
1. Always There (intro)
2. The Interview
3. That’s As Far As I’ll Go
4. You’re Not Alone
5. I’m Okay
6. Can’t You See Me Now
7. Book Of Lies
8. The Perfectionist
9. Drum solo
10. The Flyer
11. Entracte
12. Mind Over Matter
13. The Security Of Illusion
14. Time’s Up
15. Scratching The Surface
16. We’ve Been Here Before
17. On The Air
18. On The Loose
19. Careful Where You Step
20. 10,000 Days
21. Wind Him Up
—encore 1—
22. Humble Stance
23. Don’t Be Late
—encore 2—
24. What’s It Gonna Be?

Photo Gallery