Hitting The Moose of British Bureaucracy

It was touch and go at one point.  They looked at him, he nervously looked back at them.  They scowled at him, he smiled back at them.  They asked many questions.  He answered them all.  And, with a grudging sigh, they stamped a little book.  He was in!  Immigration very nearly stopped the whole thing.  But they didn’t.  They got in.  And it went ahead.  Phew!  So, what happened?  Well, The Flower Kings were travelling over to the UK from France on their tour bus with American drummer Pat Mastelotto on board.  Pat, being American, had to face a barrage of questions whilst trying to get into this country while his colleagues, from Europe, sailed through with a cheery wave, a hug and a kiss.  Okay, I made the cheery wave, hug and kiss up, but you can see where I’m coming from here.  All this bureaucracy can cause a real problem to the international bands that make up progressive rock.  A case in point, take Arjen’s outfit, Stream of Passion.  Their Mexican singer, the wonderful Marcela Bovio, was refused entry due to a work permit problem last year, so the concert in London was cancelled at the last minute.  A real shame, as I was off to see them when I found out about the problem.  Anyway, I digress.  Pat got in and the concert was a great success and I enjoyed every minute of it.

So, what did I play on Saturday the 10^th of October?  Here’s the playlist:

Artist : Album : Track

Galleon : Engines of Creation : Men and Monsters

Galleon : Engines of Creation : Engines of Creation

Grand Stand : Tricks of Time : Waiting for Water

The Tangent : Mid Life Crisis : Bat Out Of Basildon

Spektrum : Spektrum : Chemical Release

Ozric Tentacles : Strangitude : White Rhino Tea

Elemental Journey : (No Album Yet) : Project X

Karmacanik : Wheel of Life : Master Plan Pt1

The Flower Kings : Sum Of No Evil : Love Is The Only Answer

The Flower Kings : The Road Back Home : I Am The Sun (Pt2)

The new Galleon album came through the post during the week and I hit it like a tour bus on a moose, getting it straight onto my MP3 player.  I have to say I wasn’t disappointed either, though it took a couple of listens to work out what was happening.  Compared to their previous albums this release was more Rush-like then before.  It’s drive and strength make it stand out from the more melodic releases of their past.  However, I like the new energy they have imbued the album with and found that it started to grow on me after I managed to rid myself of my previous expectations.  Released on Progress Records (www.progressrec.com) this is a good stocking filler for Christmas.

I was joined on the show by Ian Oakley, manager of The Tangent, and by Brian Dorbuck, who’s over from America and touring with the Flower Kings.  Brian looks after the general lugging around of gear and merchandising stuff for the FKs whilst on tour and had a couple of interesting anecdotes to tell.  One of which was the hitting of a moose by the tour bus whilst travelling through Sweden.  Sadly, the moose didn’t survive the impact but, as its antlers went through the main windscreen, it was a miracle that nobody was injured.  And to think that a moose couldn’t stop the band from coming over here, but the British bureaucracy nearly did!  Again, the Lords of the Mundane try and prevent progressive rock getting to our ears and, again, they fail!

Before the show, Ian sent me some rough mixes from the latest The Tangent album that Andy Tillison and Guy Manning are working on.  Some of them are quite near the final mix stage and were a true delight to listen too.  So, as you’ve come to expect from me, I snaffled the track (with appropriate permission given, of course!) Bat Out Of Basildon and played it on the show.  This a very tongue-in-cheek bit of music that shows that even though you can be a serious progger, it’s still possible to take the time out for the odd humorous moment.  The rest of the album absolutely … well, you’ll just have to wait until sometime in February when it will be officially released to find out!  Of course, there’s always a sneak preview on the show, especially as Andy said he would love to come back on the show when the album is ready.  Speaking of Andy, he was at the same Flower Kings concert as I last Sunday, and jigging about in the audience like the rest of us to the excellent music being played.  Incidentally, Chris Squire and his wife were also there to catch the new The Sum Of No Evil being played live.  It just goes to show what we already know, great music attracts great people.

Speaking of great music, have you ever heard of Elemental Journey?  Well, I’m sure you will as time goes on, if their demo track Project X is anything to go by.  Made up from members of the Ayreon forum this band have a real sound that rocks, and a style that screams professionalism in the prog-metal sense of the word.  I’m looking forward to hearing more of their music soon.

So, what’s up next?  Hmmm, hard one.  I have a batch of new CDs to plough through so I’ll see what happens in the next few days.  Other then that, I don’t really make up my mind until a couple of hours before the show so even if I say something now, I may change my mind later.

Make sure you tune in this Saturday coming if you want your fix of progressive rock, only on Phoenix FM.  It’s what makes a Saturday night worth staying in for!

All the best,

DaveO.

www.myspace.com/daveoprogshow

Article by Dave O'Neill, 14 Nov 2007
Posted in The Dave O Prog Rock Show

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