Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Location: Vienna / Szene / Austria
Concert date: May 17, 2016
Attendance: 150
Ticket price: €24.00
Legendary British neo-prog rockers Pendragon, on a tour marking the twentieth anniversary of their most cherished studio masterpiece, »The Masquerade Overture« (1996), played Vienna for the first time since they formed back in 1978. That makes this a real milestone in the history of this remarkably tough-as-nails band, which only rarely wanders this (relatively) close to Slovenia. At first it looked like turnout at Vienna’s Szene would be dismal, but shortly before showtime enough people had gathered below the stage. The crowd, made up of four Slovenes, a bunch of locals and a few Slovaks and Hungarians, chipped in a little to the generally positive vibe. After a quickly forgotten, soul-numbing opener in the form of the weepy Austrian duo We Love Silence, everything was set for a high-level progressive rock get-together.
In the first half of their set on the current tour, Pendragon play the whole of »The Masquerade Overture«, which is definitely a lovely gesture toward everyone who first heard of them right when this cult classic came out. The first surprise when the band hit the stage: behind the drums, instead of Craig Blundell (absent because of his commitments to Steven Wilson’s touring band), sat the so-far relatively unknown session drummer Jan-Vincent Velazco. He delivered an excellent drumming performance all night long and won everyone over as a worthy stand-in for the missing grandmaster Blundell, and that goes for his short solo spot too.
The second surprise was the presence of two backing singers: the baroque young lady Verity Smith, with an enviable vocal range, and the seasoned mezzo-soprano Christine Booth from Magenta. Both did a great job with their backing vocal harmonies and contributed a lot to the exceptional atmosphere that quickly took over the hall. During the opening track »As Good As Gold«, which followed a recorded intro, they wore opera masks. The stage design was well done in general, too, with interesting projections in the background, and the lighting deserves praise as well. Of course, most of the attention went to the ‘old guard’, led by the charismatic bandleader, guitarist and singer Nick Barrett, bassist Peter Gee (the only original member besides Barrett) and keyboard wizard Clive Nolan (Arena, Shadowland, Caamora), who has been loyal to Pendragon for thirty years. Nick and Clive have been friends since childhood, and when they started working together in 1986, Pendragon slowly left their obscure beginnings behind. In the nineties, especially after »The Masquerade Overture«, they became one of the most beloved and respected neo-prog acts around. Still, they deserve more recognition outside Great Britain, the Netherlands and Poland, where they traditionally get the most support.
Nick, Clive and Peter confidently led the band through the beloved »The Masquerade Overture« standards, headed by the aforementioned »As Good As Gold«, plus »Paintbox« and »Masters of Illusion«, which came off especially well. Nick and Clive (who this time stood on a rotating platform, so his keyboards were visible from every side) are among the most admirable prog virtuosos out there, and they’re always a joy to watch, even when they’re not pulling off solo acrobatics. Everyone who worships Steve Hackett (Genesis) and David Gilmour (Pink Floyd) should see Nick’s virtuoso string-rubbing up close at least once. Pendragon’s music, especially the nineties stuff, is extremely upbeat, so some seriously good energy quickly took over between the crowd and the band.
Visually, Pendragon admittedly look a bit goofy, if not downright sloppy, especially Nick, who was dressed that night in a cheap ‘Hawaiian’ shirt, while the sight of Clive is a little worrying, since he gets wider every year. No wonder there were very few women below the stage again that night, especially single ones (only one was spotted nearby), but the band members more than make up for their unflattering looks with exceptional instrumental performances. On top of that, Nick, who certainly didn’t lack humor and good spirits, was in splendid vocal form all evening. He especially delighted a lot of the faithful when, at the end of »The Masquerade Overture« tracks, he announced »King of the Castle and »Schizo«, two bonus tracks from the era of that aforementioned masterpiece.
Pendragon carried on without a break with »Beautiful Soul«, from the (still) current studio album »Men Who Climb Mountains« (2014). With it they signaled a run of newer material, which since the album »Believe« (2005) has been marked by a noticeable stylistic shift toward darker arrangements and more serious messages. From the current album they also played »Explorers of the Infinite«, dedicated to all the adventurous explorers of the high mountains, and »Come Home Jack«, dedicated to Nick’s father. Then the mood got a bit more playful again with the classic »Nostradamus (Stargazing)« from »The Window Of Life« (1993), whose lively chorus managed to ‘wake up’ the crowd a little more.
»The Green and Pleasant Land« from »Passion« (2011) had a similar, welcome effect, while the epic treat »Breaking the Spell« brought the main set to a close. Then came the guessing game about what the band would play when they returned to the stage. Some long-running classic, maybe even from the debut »The Jewel« (1985) or the cult ‘comeback’ album »The World« (1991)? Probably nobody would have guessed the final song of the night, but we were all happy to get the excellent »Indigo«, which opens the masterpiece »Pure« (2008), in some people’s opinion even their best album so far.
Nick Barrett and his unruly Pendragon crew spoiled us for almost three hours with the sonic perfection of broad-minded ambient expanses. Nothing was left to chance in creating flawless sound, while all the members of this cult band once again proved themselves masters who are a pleasure to listen to and watch the whole time behind their instruments. Even though turnout was far from ideal, the chemistry between stage and crowd came together mainly thanks to Nick’s charisma and readiness for cheeky quips, the standout being the one about the unwanted grapefruit juice at the Loreley prog rock festival. As for the cold English cynic Clive, nobody expected him to smile more than three times all night anyway. Pendragon delivered their extensive, ambitious show with the energy of twenty-year-old kids, which is far from a given among their peers these days. Let’s hope the chance for the next get-together with Pendragon comes before the twentieth anniversary of »Not Of This World (2001) rolls around in five years. Sadly they played nothing from it that night, even though it’s one of their finest achievements.
Setlist
1. The Masquerade Overture (intro)
2. As Good As Gold
3. Paintbox
4. The Pursuit of Excellence
5. Guardian of My Soul
6. The Shadow
7. Masters of Illusion
8. King of the Castle
9. Schizo
10. Beautiful Soul
11. Nostradaums
12. Explorers of the Infinite
13. Come Home Jack
14. This Green and Pleasant Land
15. Breaking the Spell
—encore—
17. Indigo
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