Unitopia and The Tangent in London

Pam, Laxmi, Jamforte and I went to The Luminaire Club in Kilburn, london to see what had the makings of the gig of the year.

Unitopia and The Tangent playing on the same bill had the makings of one hell of a night out............and so it proved.

Unitopia were on first and because of time restraints they were limited to about an hour and a quarter. However what they packed into that time was little short of amazing.

They started off by playing a fair chunk from the beginning of the Artificial suite from the latest album including the awe inspiring Tesla. When Mark Trueack started the chant "We are, we are, all parts of the whole, all parts of the whole" the entire audience sang along. In such a small venue this filled the air. It was amazing to be a part of it.

They also played Angeliqua from The Garden and the title track of More Than a Dream. Mark's voice was very strong and you could make out every word even when he was shouting out the lyrics.

At the end of More Than a Dream we were told that the next song was to be the last and a lot of "Nooooo"s were shouted out. We shouldn't have worried though because it was "The Garden" in all it's 20+ minute glory.

They played it superbly and the ending had the shivers running up and down my spine. What a great way to end your first gig in London.

After a 20 minute break to get Unitopia's gear off stage we were treated to an incredible set from headliners The Tangent.

I've made no secret of the fact that I have a huge amount of respect for Andy Tillison. He is one of the most knowledgeable guys I know and also one of the greatest songwriters around today. THAT became obvious during the set.

I thought it would be difficult for The Tangent to follow Unitopia's set and that they would have to pick the right songs and boy, did they pick the right songs.

GPS culture, The music that died alone, Perdue dans Paris, Peroxetine, In Earnest and others were all played with great skill. Andy's new band are phenomenal and considering that this was only their second gig together they sounded brilliant. Theo Travis on reeds added great texture to the sound as usual.

So....all in all a great night out. I can't wait for Unitopia to come back to these shores as not only do I like their music but I've developed a great friendship with them since they've been here in Europe.

Also can't wait to see The Tangent again. Luckily they are playing local to me at the end of November so that will be something to look forward to. Here's a link to some of the photos from the night.

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