[Powerslave]

Hello all,

It's been a while since I posted anything on the boards, but since November is my month of prog rock concerts here in the twin cities, I wanted to post some concert reviews and recommendations for all the prog lovers here on AM. I was going to wait until after next week after the Yes concert before I did, but last night was Peter Gabriel and I couldn't wait to rave about the show and tell everyone, DON'T MISS THIS SHOW! The tour has just started, so plenty of cities are left to go.

I bought a floor seat for PG (about $130, before TicketMaster fees) and it was worth every penny (especially since the show was almost 3 1/2 hours!). With the exception of the PA system going out completely during about 4 of the songs, the sound was the best I'd ever heard at a horrible-sounding concert venue like the Target Center. The stage was circular and placed in the center of the floor, theater-in-the-round style. The outer ring rotated like a treadmill and a huge center truss was raised and lowered several times, along with a giant egg-shaped projection screen. Stagehands were coming and going between almost every song, so it was a very visual experience, as well as an excellent aural one. Covering material from "So" and onward (with "Here Comes The Flood" and "Solsbury Hill" being the exceptions), the show focused heavily on the new material. This was primarily because the tour included the Blind Boys of Alabama (who sang backup on the new album) and two Tanzanian singers (whose names I can't remember, let alone spell) who helped with several songs throughout the night and opened the show with an hour of awesome music. As a bonus, my section was right in front of living legend Tony Levin for the majority of the show. Man, that guy is awesome. I strongly suggest you beg, borrow, or steal the money to get a ticket to this show. again, YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS THIS SHOW!

While the PG show had great sound production, the stage production was slightly (very slightly) below the show I cought two weeks ago, the Vapor Trails Tour of Rush. The sound was not quite up to par (due the Target Center being a crappy concert venue), but it certainly was loud enough! Thinking back, there may not have been as much distortion as I thought at the time, but I digress. It was so awesome to see Rush again after so long. And they were the best I've ever seen them! They were having so much fun and playing with so much heart and soul, it was visually obvious. Speaking of visually, the stage production blew my mind. Awesome video sequences, pyrotechnics, laser lights, strobes, excellently-lit backdrops and stage lighting were all involved in making this the best-produced show I'd ever seen. The light show was so intense, it gave someone toward the front of the floor seating a seizure! If there's any chance of seeing these guys in the US (I think the tour is almost over), and you can't make up your mind, DO IT! This show was 10 times better than the TFE show I saw in '96, and that's saying quite a lot!

So, if you can, go see Rush and Peter Gabriel! These shows now bear Powerslave's Seal Of Approval (like that really matters, but the shows kicked major ass, regardless)!

If Yes comes anywhere close to doing something next Saturday like what I've seen in the past 2 weeks, then I'll have something more to post about.

Till then...