Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Location: Pordenone / Palazzetto dello Sport / Italy
Concert date: October 7, 2017
Attendance: 700
Ticket price: €50.00 (floor, back) / €55.00 (floor, front)
Procol Harum, the legendary English pioneers of progressive rock, hit the road for a new concert tour to mark their fiftieth anniversary. Besides celebrating the big milestone, the tour was meant to promote their surprising new studio album »Novum« (2017). Just when most Slovenian fans of their music had quietly made peace with the fact that they’d never get another chance to see them anywhere near us, the masters of symphonic progressive rock sprang a surprise and announced a very convenient show just across our western border. Pordenone in Italy isn’t far at all, so we were delighted to realize we wouldn’t have to catch a flight to London if we wanted to see Procol Harum ‘in this lifetime’, one of the last still-active bands from the golden era of progressive rock. Most people today know them best for their by far biggest hit, »A Whiter Shade Of Pale«, even though apart from that classic they’ve made a huge amount of excellent music over the years.
Procol Harum have been around for a staggering fifty years, if you count the break between 1977 and 1991, when they wisely figured out that ‘stormy times’ had set in for progressive rock. Only a handful of their peers can boast that kind of longevity. Since the late seventies, or rather since coming back, their tours have mostly stayed on home soil in Britain, and only rarely do they venture onto continental Europe. These days, besides the extremely charismatic ‘commander’, singer and pianist Gary Brooker, who became the only original member after the recent passing of lyricist Keith Reid, the band features guitar maestro Geoff Whitehorn, bassist Matt Pegg (the son of the far better-known Dave Pegg of Fairport Convention and ex-Jethro Tull), keyboardist Josh Phillips and drummer Geoff Dunn.
Everyone except Dunn, who has been in the band since 2006, has been keeping Gary company since the early nineties, which means this is an old, superbly well-oiled crew that diligently follows the ‘commander’s’ orders and is perfectly polished when it comes to playing both old and new material. Most of the ‘uninitiated’ think of progressive rock first when they hear Procol Harum, then symphonic rock, and maybe psychedelic rock too, especially since they were among the most important pioneers of progressive rock, even though their music also has plenty of blues, soul and R&B in it. It’s a real shame that they’re still waiting for official recognition from certain ‘prestigious’ institutions like the Rock Hall of Fame, though of course they never lost any sleep over it. Mr. Brooker has achieved everything he wanted in his colorful musical career, and now he plays mostly for his own enjoyment and to hang out on stage with old buddies and crack the odd juicy joke in between.
Procol Harum opened the show with a new piece, »I Told On You«, showing off tremendous confidence and pride over the release of the new and very solid album »Novum«, from which they played as many as six songs that night. The classics were far from forgotten, though, which is only natural, since most of the crowd came to the Palasport Forum hall precisely for them. The first track from the ‘good old days’ was »Pandora’s Box« from the album »Procol’s Ninth« (1975), with which Gary proved that despite his venerable age he’s still an excellent singer and that Procol Harum still sing the evergreens with the same fire as back when he was a young man. Between songs he didn’t hold back on witty quips full of typical English humor, entertaining the mostly Italian audience, while his attempts at saying more than a single sentence in Italian were pretty clumsy, but endearing all the same. Often you couldn’t tell when he was joking and when he was serious. In a bouquet of classics from the sixties and seventies, the only minor surprise was »Man With a Mission« from the album »Prodigal Stranger« (1991), their first outing with Whitehorn in the lineup, who had just replaced the legendary Robin Trower. One of the highlights of the first half was »As Strong As Samson« from »Exotic Birds and Fruit« (1974), while Brooker introduced the new piece »Businessman« with a thoroughly justified critique of today’s ‘banksterish’ elite. They closed the first half with the unforgettable seafaring evergreen »A Salty Dog«, the nostalgic tale of an old sailor from the masterpiece of the same name, seagull cries included.
After a twenty-minute break, the ‘old tomcats’ returned to the stage and kicked things off with »Fires (Which Burnt Brightly)« from the album »Grand Hotel«. The second half was dominated by unforgettable classics like »Homburg«, »Shine On Brightly« and »Conquistador«. The latter featured a newly added, improvised intro and outro with trumpet sounds created on a synthesizer, which only deepened the fitting Spanish atmosphere. Gary couldn’t resist commenting before the song on the recent shameful events around the Catalan independence referendum, which was followed by senseless violence from the Spanish authorities. Always in a joking mood, Mr. Brooker kicked off the classic »Grand Hotel« by saying how much he misses the good old days, when the band members rode around in limousines and champagne flowed like water alongside all sorts of fine dishes, whereas these days the band members have to share the same bottle of liquor.
Of the »Novum« numbers, the one that thrilled us most was the epic and most progressive »The Only One«, which completely won over most of the hall. Whitehorn kept proving his exceptional skills and immediately made it clear why he’s the guitarist with the longest tenure in the band’s story, while the rhythm duo impressed above all with their consistency and versatility. Phillips’ nostalgic Hammond organ sound, which, along with Brooker’s vocals and piano, is a key element of Procol Harum’s music, captivated us in an instant. But that was nothing compared to what followed soon after. Procol Harum, as expected, saved their biggest classic, »A Whiter Shade of Pale«, for the very end, when the crowd got on its feet and some of the most devoted fans could finally squeeze in right below the stage. The unforgettable intro with that velvety organ sound wrapped the whole hall in an unforgettable haze of mystique, melancholy and nostalgia, while Reid’s lyrics about sixteen vestal virgins waiting on the seashore carried most of the audience back to 1967. With this immortal song, these ‘fathers’ of progressive rock ended their set, which flew by far too quickly for most of us, and left the stage to thunderous ovations from the crowd.
It’s hard to sum up all the emotions that hit you when you finally see a band live that you’d almost convinced yourself you’d never get to see, especially when, while they play the classics that helped write the history of progressive rock, they surprise you with an all but flawless performance. Despite the ‘fifty years behind them’, Procol Harum radiated incredibly youthful energy and delivered the whole show at the highest possible level, while also managing to build a thoroughly genuine connection with the audience. Brooker surprised most of all with his wonderfully well-preserved voice, something we didn’t expect at all after listening to »Novum«, where the gap between young and old Gary was far more obvious. He sang the old songs just as well as the »Novum« material, and on top of that he kept everyone entertained during the short pauses before each new song. That night the masters of fusing rock with symphonic sounds played practically all of their most beloved classics, with the exception of the 18-minute epic »In Held ‘Twas in I«, which would probably have been too big a listening bite for the mostly elderly and tired crowd. The stylized Procol Harum logo in the background added nice scenery, featuring graphic elements from the covers of their most beloved albums, such as the vestal, the lifebuoy, the lighthouse, the clock with frog legs and the parrots. The only criticism of the evening goes to the rather modest turnout, even in Italy, one of the few countries where Procol Harum enjoyed respect and popularity long after you could no longer hear »A Whiter Shade Of Pale« on the radio every day. Judging by what we heard and saw, our small ‘Slovenian delegation’ strongly hopes this wasn’t our last get-together with the English prog legends, who earn a perfect ten for their show in Pordenone.
Setlist
1. I Told on You
2. Pandora’s Bo
3. Man With a Mission
4. Can’t Say That
5. Sunday Morning
6. As Strong as Samson
7. Businessman
8. A Salty Dog
—20 min intermission—
9. Fires (Which Burnt Brightly)
10. Last Chance Motel
11. Homburg
12. Shine On Brightly
13. Neighbour
14. Grand Hotel
15. Conquistador
16. The Only One
—encore—
17. A Whiter Shade of Pale
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