London, October 1st

[ttboo]

Just got back from the London gig, thought I'd share my thoughts, etc.

The good... it was great to finally see Redemption in the UK. Only seen them once before in Toronto supporting Dream Theater (which is how I first discovered the band), and it was superb to get up close and personal with the band. And I do mean up close, real close - it was small gig. Good varied set, a nice blend of material - only 1 song from TFOT, but 4 from TOOR. Sean & Chris were phenomenal - so solid and tight. You could really feel Sean's basslines through the floor. Nick was on fine form too, in his usual quiet manner, Bernie ripped it up and Ray sang the songs well. Over all it was such a treat to see them, however.....

The bad... firstly, why such a short set? By my reckoning they were only on for 1hr 20. Ray seemed to be suggesting it was something to do with the venue, but I did feel a bit cheated TBH. Secondly, "Fall On You" - missed off the entire intro and they messed up the ending. Such a fantastic song and it wasn't given the justice it deserves. Thirdly, how many mistakes Bernie? Which takes me too... And I won't bother mentioning the missing (ex?) keyboard player!

The ugly... it seemed like we were watching a dress rehearsal. Ray had lyric sheets at his feet and spent quite a bit of time bending over to read them. And he also seemed a little tired and unenthusiastic, although that could be jet-lag, I guess. Bernie played brilliantly but made plenty of errors, almost like he hasn't practiced these songs much recently. The roadie kept bringing Nick his 7-string and then coming back to swap it back - why couldn't Nick just keep it onstage on a stand, and do the swap himself - would have saved time. Just a lack of professionalism, really. I've seen plenty of pub bands who were so much slicker and seemingly better prepared than Redemption were last night.

Maybe this seems like I'm on a real downer about the gig, but I'm not. It was fantastic to see them. I just think after so much anticipation I expected more from a band I hold in such high regard. Saw Symphony X in March and they were amazing - so tight, so solid, so professional. Musically and personally, I hold Redemption in the same high regard, so I was a little disappointed that their show wasn't in a similar vein.

Two final points. I must apologise to Redemption for the turnout. Must be a little disheartening to come all this way and only see 100 or so faces out there. I treid to get as many there as I could but two of my friends bailed out at the last minute, the bastards!

And lastly, a request. Next time, could you guys please play a venue that doesn't have a age restriction? My son's a major Redemption fan but as he's only 9, he wasn't allowed to come. Ah well... I did get him a shirt

Cheers!

 

[rjforster]

I fully agree with ttboo's review, especially about the venue curfew. They wanted the bands and their gear out of the venue by 10:45, obviously so they could open it up as a nightclub. and make two lots of money on the door.

The band (both bands actually) were happy to chat after the show outside as they were loading the vans up. Redemption signed a lot of CD booklets.

It was still a great show, I took a few pictures from the front which are on flickr here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rjforster/collections/72157627799985890/
Or here for my whole photostream
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rjforster/

Edit:
I took a pic of the setlist and it read:
Threads, Suffocating Silence, Nocturnal, Dreams From The Pit, Walls, Fall On You, Noonday Devil, Leviathan Rising, Black & White World, Origins Of Ruin (Nick played keys), (Memory crossed out), Death Of Faith & Reason


Cheers

Rick

 

[batmura]

Who's playing the keys live and on the album? Greg Hosharian was great on Snowfall as a full-time member. He isn't listed on the new one. Has he left? Some sites say it's Nick while others say it's Greg.

 

[rjforster]

Who's playing the keys live and on the album? Greg Hosharian was great on Snowfall as a full-time member. He isn't listed on the new one. Has he left? Some sites say it's Nick while others say it's Greg.

Last night Nick said that only a week ago the keyboard player backed out of the tour, so they carried on with backing pre-programmed keys. Not sure if it was Greg or not though.

Cheers

Rick

 

[beowulf1969]

Setlist? I'm dying here for some US dates, especially Dallas!

 

[batmura]

Did Greg play on the album or not? It sounds like Greg is holding back unlike on Snowfall on Judgment Day, which was fantastic.

 

[beowulf1969]

I wonder if they cut the setlist any considering Greg bailed out with only a week notice. Hopefully, they'll find a replacement by the time they hit the States. Either that, or maybe Greg just backed out of the European tour and not the US tour.

 

[chazzyf]

Hi, I was the promoter for the London show and through the turnout wasn't great - its a hell of a lot better than it looked like it was going to be a few weeks earlier.

I didn't find out about Greg pulling out of the tour until a few days before the show. I was told that it was down to health concerns, but the band were clearly a bit surprised themselves, especially when he announced that he was pulling out just 2 weeks before the tour started.

The venue curfew was 22:15. Its a pisser! You pay almost £1000 to hire the venue and then you have it open for barely 4 hours. We told the band that they would have to clear the venue by 23:00, but having chosen to use the 'small configuration' and to not use the main bar, we felt this would help the venue staff get ready and would give us a bit more leeway in having time to pack and load the vans.

I was as suprised as anyone when Ray announced the encore and they finished at 22:00. They were scheduled to come on stage at 20:45 and to play for 80 mins. As I was working the merchandise stall at the time, I didn't notice the exact time that they came on stage, but with a very early taxi the following morning (5:30AM), I guess that the band collectively decided to finish a little early.

Show attendances in London are really down at the moment and I've flyered a number of shows where the attendance has been barely 50. Trying to give a flyer to a guy wearing an Opeth or Dream Theater t-shirt is a fruitless task. Most people who are fans of the bigger names in Prog Metal, dont seem to have any interest in the likes of Threshold, Vanden Plas etc and I think that the recent upturn in the popularity of Symphony X is more down to them appealing more to the Power-Metal crowd.

BTW we sold 107 tickets for a venue holding 500. We advertised in Metal Hammer and Classic Rock Presents Prog and together with the other show costs it meant that we lost a decent chunk of money. I didn't expect to make a massive profit and I'm not here to bitch about losing money on the show, because I could afford to do so, but it does impair my ability to put on other shows and to take a chance on other bands. If anyone has any good ideas about how to get so called 'Prog-Metal' fans off their fat arses and along to a show (that isn't Dream Theater, Opeth etc), then please let me know.

 

[chazzyf]

This is the third time that I've promoted a band on Inside Out. You might think that as a promoter you might get a little assistance - or even a promo copy of the album, no?

Well you are right there - you get absolutely Nada. They don't seem to issue promos or download links and they go to press with adverts that dont mention tourdates. In fact I get the distinct impression, that in the UK, the Century Media people who are supposed to be promoting Inside Out artists as well, dont give a shit about their roster.

I pre-ordered the album, but the online store I ordered with still doesn't have stock.

The Band got 50 CDs (20 Digipacks, 30 jewel-cases) for the tour. We sold all 20 Digipacks and at least 3 jewel cases that evening and if we had had a greater selection of shirts (some skinnys wouldn't have gone amis and even some 'Snowfall on Judgement Day' shirts would have sold), we'd have done even better. They should have had at least some CDs from their back-catalogue and some DVDs to sell - they definately would have sold.

 

[rjforster]

Hi, I was the promoter for the London show and through the turnout wasn't great - its a hell of a lot better than it looked like it was going to be a few weeks earlier.

The venue curfew was 22:15. Its a pisser! You pay almost £1000 to hire the venue and then you have it open for barely 4 hours. We told the band that they would have to clear the venue by 23:00, but having chosen to use the 'small configuration' and to not use the main bar, we felt this would help the venue staff get ready and would give us a bit more leeway in having time to pack and load the vans.

Good job anyway. Thanks sooooo much for putting in the effort to get Redemption to the UK.

Also, do you think The Peel would have been a better place for them? It seems to work for Threshold. I'm at Summer's End next week and will chat with the organisers who also put Fused on. I'll ask if they have/would consider Redemption (and Kingcrow for that matter) for Fused 2012. The band were certainly happy to entertain the idea when I spoke with them after the show.

Cheers

Rick

 

[chazzyf]

Good job anyway. Thanks sooooo much for putting in the effort to get Redemption to the UK.

Thanks Rick

Also, do you think The Peel would have been a better place for them? It seems to work for Threshold.

Have you tried to get people who live in London to travel to Kingston? we'd have sold half as many tickets as we did - and its Tragic that a band like Threshold can't play a bigger place.

I'm at Summer's End next week and will chat with the organisers who also put Fused on. I'll ask if they have/would consider Redemption (and Kingcrow for that matter) for Fused 2012. The band were certainly happy to entertain the idea when I spoke with them after the show.

erm Have you seen the lineup for Fused 2012 - there are quite a few Intromental bands on there.

I mentioned Summers End and Fused to Lars when he was beginning to book the whole European tour. Huw runs Fused for the CRS and I suspect that they have a budget between them. I'm staying at Whitemead with the CRS directors for Summers End, so I will ask them However I would think that some people (i.e. Nick) have busier schedules than others in the band and these things will have to be scheduled a long time in advance.

See you in Lydney then!

 

[nvandyk]

Currently in Basel, Switzerland suffering from insomnia so I thought i would weight in here.

First, thank you for coming to the show and for taking the time to post your thoughts. I also want to thank Charlie for bringing us over. It was a real pleasure to play in London, one of my favorite cities.

I'm not going to comment on every point made but I did want to make a couple of things clear.

First, with respect to the length of the set list, we were told we had a very hard stop and had to make the call before we started as to whether or not to cut a song. It was a difficult decision but I have played where a set has run over and the promoter usually catches grief for it and we did not want to put anybody in that situation. Our set runs a little more than 90 minutes and by the estimate of our production manager that would have put us right at the limit. If anything ran over or there was banter during the set we would have run over. So we decided to end about eight minutes early instead.

Second, with respect to my guitar tech (who is outstanding) swapping out instruments, our songs use a variety of tunings so unless you want to sit there while I spend time retuning a guitar on stage, this is by far the more professional solution. The stage did not permit him to be located out of sight on my side. Plus he was working with the sound guys who were located on the opposite side. I think he did a great job and having guitar techs bring instruments to guitarists is hardly rare as anybody who has seen Dream Theater play can attest.

As for the rest, we hope you did find things to enjoy about the show and hope we have the opportunity to come back and play the UK again soon!

Best,

Nick

 

[rjforster]

As for the rest, we hope you did find things to enjoy about the show and hope we have the opportunity to come back and play the UK again soon!

I sure did. The opening of Threads hit as hard as that first spin of the CD did however many years ago it was.
I'll certainly be there if you do make it back to the UK. I'm still waiting for Sapphire
I'll make a point of wearing my new Redemption shirt at Summer's End this weekend.

Cheers

Rick

 

[beowulf1969]

Nick,

Thanks for weighing in. It always amazes me how close you guys keep in touch with your fans. Between here, the DTF site, and the email "conversation" we've been having via email, I am truly grateful at how accessible you remain to your fans. That seems to be a definite rarity in the industry these days. We really appreciate it. Hopefully you can get some sleep so you can plan the US leg of your tour to ensure you make it here to Dallas!

Good luck on the rest of the European tour!

 

[chazzyf]

The opening of Threads hit as hard as that first spin of the CD did however many years ago it was.
I'll certainly be there if you do make it back to the UK. I'm still waiting for Sapphire

ditto on all points!

I'll make a point of wearing my new Redemption shirt at Summer's End this weekend.

I think that we should have no problem spotting each other then!

 

[jonnyt]

Quote:
Originally Posted by nvandyk View Post
As for the rest, we hope you did find things to enjoy about the show and hope we have the opportunity to come back and play the UK again soon!
god hope they do come back .had a great night was great meeting the band ,really nice people as well as great musicians,enjoyed the set and left with a big smile on my face.thanks chazzy once again for bringing them over .
sapphire and memory next time please hope the rest of the tour goes well .

 

[ttboo]

Wow, Nick replied to my thread and I think I pissed him off. Sorry, Nick - that really was not my intention. It was more of an alcohol-fueled rant based on my own unrealistic expectations...

I am a huge Redemption fan. Your music has literally saved my life (but I won't go into details here), and the opportunity to see you live again was one helluva treat. I guess I had just built things up so much in my mind that anything less than utter perfection was likely to disappoint. That's my fault NOT yours. I'm sure your guitar tech is an excellent chap too, and I meant no disservice to him. Could blame the venue, but I guess the truth is that the fault is with us, the fans. If there were more of us, you'd be able to play a bigger venue and all these little things would disappear. I've done my best to spread the word of Redemption, but my words frequently fall on deaf ears. Next time you play London (and I hope you do), I'll make sure my lazy-arse prog-rock friends come to the gig, if I have to drag them all in by the knackers.

FWIW by band are playing in Camden in a few weeks time and I can only hope we get a fraction of the reaction you guys got. There may only have been 100 of us there that night, but I hope we gave you a rection good enough to get you back here again sometime.

I can't thank you guys enough for coming all thi way to play for us and I hope the rest of the tour goes well!

Cheers!

 

[nvandyk]

Wow, Nick replied to my thread and I think I pissed him off. Sorry, Nick - that really was not my intention. It was more of an alcohol-fueled rant based on my own unrealistic expectations...

Don't give it a second thought. I just wanted to explain what was going on so you didn't think we made cavalier decisions to cut short the set or have people capering around on stage. : )

I love London and would love nothing more than to come back and play a better-attended show -- both for our sake and for the sake of Charlie who was very kind to set this up and who I want to make a lot of money next time!

I had a tremendous time meeting everyone that was kind enough to stick around for an autograph or to say hello. I appreciate your support and enthusiasm for the band -- we'll be even better next time, I promise!

 

[ttboo]

Thanks, Nick.

Wish I'd know you'd be hanging around afterwards - it'd been nice to have met you. Ah well... there's always next time you're in London