Location: Ljubljana / CUK Kino Šiška / Slovenia
Date: Thursday, 03/14/2019
Polish prog rock band Riverside have been through a lot of rough trials in recent years. In 2016, longtime guitarist Piotr Grudziński passed away, and his style made him a real one-of-a-kind presence in the band. There was talk of the band calling it quits because of it. But somehow the remaining trio found their drive again and got back on stage. Last year they even put out the album Wasteland, proving that Riverside are still worth believing in. After their first visit to Slovenia in 2013 (concert review HERE), the band decided to come back, and there was hope that their profile in Slovenia had grown. The show was, after all, announced for a bigger hall than the first time.
At first glance, the turnout around Kino Šiške didn’t look very promising. After all, this is more progressively minded music, which doesn’t exactly draw big crowds in Slovenia unless it’s a band that’s been on the scene for decades. Still, it looked better than in 2013 at Metelkova, when the turnout was really meager. Some people even came all the way from Croatia.
Riverside were joined on this tour by the Netherlands’ Lesoir. The five-piece, who play art rock, tried to win people over with more melancholic music and female vocals. Definitely pleasant stuff, but not for every taste. You could hear various influences. The female vocals brought to mind The Gathering and singer Anneke van Giersbergen. For some variety, the singer also reached for a flute, and there were plenty of atmospheric touches from the keyboards too. Lesoir already have a few albums behind them and the mileage shows, but to get better known they’ll have to hit the road more regularly.
At 20 past nine, it was time for Riverside. Any doubts about their performance were unnecessary. The band has always been known as incredibly tight. Above all, they also spend a huge amount of time in the rehearsal room, where they practice and create. The only question mark could be the new guitarist Maciej Meller , who isn’t an official member but helps the band both in the studio and on tour. Meller quickly proved himself to be a great guitarist, which was also visible in how well he meshed with the other members.
Naturally, Riverside put the emphasis on the current album Wasteland (review HERE). But given their rich discography, the quartet also served up a few older tracks. In a set that ran a little over two hours, the band played songs from almost every album. After two songs from the current album came Reality Dream I from the debut Out of Myself (2003). Mariusz Duda, the band’s bassist and vocalist, also spoke a few times. He encouraged the crowd, saying that even though they’re labeled a prog rock band, there’s no need to be deadly serious at a gig. Duda definitely proved himself an excellent bassist, handling both pick and fingerstyle playing. In the closing stretch he picked up an acoustic guitar too. There’s no need to stress how convincing he is as a vocalist. His singing is clear, and you can hear the influences of Steven Wilson, Opeth and Katatonia.
Over their career, Riverside have racked up quite a few long songs, which are hard to fit into a live set as a whole. So, for example, just under half of Second Life Syndrome, one of the band’s most progressive tracks, was played. But the transition into Left Out, which is also among their longer songs, was cleverly done, and above all you could tell how thoroughly the band has worked out its live setlist before presenting it on stage.
In their setlist, Riverside left out the album Shrine of New Generation Songs. Love, Fear and Time Machine, however, didn’t miss out, with the band playing the song Lost and the intro section of Saturate Me. A surprise worth mentioning was Egoist Hedonist, which is a regular in the set, but the nature of the song touches on space rock with a standout electronic part, handled by the excellent keyboardist Michał Łapaj, who also chipped in with a line or two of vocals now and then during the show. His playing undoubtedly impresses, because besides keyboards Lapaj also tackles Hammond organ, Moog and theremin. Lapaj was smiling the whole gig and extremely in sync with the other members. You could see the guy enjoys his job.
Riverside built a varied setlist out of diverse songs. There were long, more complex pieces with a touch of “Floydian” dreaminess. Every now and then a harder-hitting, metallic track came along. And of course they showed their calmer, emotional side too. Some favorites were missing: they played the newcomer Guardian Angel and Loose Heart from the first album, which isn’t a fixture in the set. The band closed the main set with the more progressively tinged Wasteland, where they of course wow with their playing. On the more rhythmically intense songs, drummer Piotr Kozieradzki came to the fore, keeping the band in the right groove and tempo all night long.
For the encore, the band served up the mellow The Night Before and the staple 02 Panic Room from the album Rapid Eye Movement. The circle closed with River Down Below from the current album, with the band’s roadie taking over bass while Duda grabbed the acoustic guitar. The sound was fuller as a result, and the finish all the more convincing. Despite the smaller crowd, Riverside earned a convincingly strong round of applause. That’s undoubtedly also down to the unroutine, positive vibe of the night.
The half-empty Kino Šiška hall got a gig that will stay etched in memory. With their superb tightness, inventive setlist, stage lights and sound, Riverside made it clear they’re no accident as one of the most respected prog rock bands around today. Here’s hoping that with their next visit Riverside will gain popularity in Slovenia too, and of course that they’ll be back in a couple of years, as promised.
author: Primož Novak
photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
LESOIR:
1. Feet On The Ground
2. Single Eyed
3. Gone And Forgotten
4. In The Game
5. Luctor Et Emergo
6. Going Home
7. Eden’s Garden
8. Faith Is
9. Modern Goddess
10. Flawless Chemistry
11. Dominion
12. Latitude
RIVERSIDE:
1. intro
2. Acid Rain
3. Vale of Tears
4. Reality Dream I
5. Lament
6. Saturate Me
7. Out of Myself
8. Second Life Syndrome
9. Left Out
10. Guardian Angel
11. Lost (Why Should I Be Frightened By a Hat?)
12. The Struggle for Survival
13. Egoist Hedonist
14. Loose Heart
15. Wasteland
—encore—
16. The Night Before
17. 02 Panic Room
18. River Down Below
