Haken v. new single Nightingale (April 26)

[KevShmev]

I thought concerts in the Loop always end at 11pm.  I'll have to look on Twitter later and see if there's any word on when the bands all go on.

Their website says doors open at 7:00, first band starts at 8:00

Hmmmm, I guess we'll see.  I hope those times are not correct, though.  It's bad enough to have to sit through two opening acts, but Haken not starting till 10 pm would be rough (especially since I have to be up at 6 am Saturday  ).

[Implode]

Anyone going to see them in Chicago and have VIP passes? Once again, I can't find any info on exactly when the soundcheck starts. In the email it just says it'll last 30 minutes, and the hang out will also last about 30 minutes. Doors open at 7pm, so at the latest I guess that's 6pm. Anyone know where I might be able to find more concrete info?

[axeman90210]

Anyone going to see them in Chicago and have VIP passes? Once again, I can't find any info on exactly when the soundcheck starts. In the email it just says it'll last 30 minutes, and the hang out will also last about 30 minutes. Doors open at 7pm, so at the latest I guess that's 6pm. Anyone know where I might be able to find more concrete info?

When I did VIP I didn't get the email with info until early the morning of. I would guess more likely starting somewhere between 3:30 and 5.

[Implode]

Oh damn that early? Okay.

[Nick]

Check your messages Implode.

[KevShmev]

Great show tonight in St. Louis. Highlights, for me, were 1985, Pareidolia, the Aquarius medley and Visions.

[gmillerdrake]

Great show tonight in St. Louis. Highlights, for me, were 1985, Pareidolia, the Aquarius medley and Visions.

Yeah. That was a blast! SO glad they came through St. Louis. Great live performance band.

I was thrilled with the opening acts as well. Mammoth and Sithu Aye sounded great as well.

[gmillerdrake]

Wow, Haken went on at 8:30pm sharp in NYC.  That's one late show.

did they have the same opening acts?

It was just Sithu Aye with them for the East Coast dates.

I would be surprised if Sithu Aye plays for 1.25 hours, that seems wrong. There was only one opener for our shows and they only played 45 minutes I think, but it definitely wasn't over an hour.

Mammoth played from 8:00 to right around 8:30 or so.  Sithu Aye played from 9:00ish to 9:45ish Anne then HAKEN played from 10:00 until literally right at midnight.

Was a long night of awesome music.

[KevShmev]

Haken set list:

Initiate
In Memoriam
1985
Pareidolia
Atlas Stone
Aquarius medley
As Death Embraces
Cockroach King
The Endless Knot
The Architect

Visions

[Mosh]

We got Red Giant instead of Pareidolia, would've preferred the latter. Still a fantastic gig.

[splent]

 Sing them tonight!

[cramx3]

We got Red Giant instead of Pareidolia, would've preferred the latter. Still a fantastic gig.

Same here, although they played Pareidolia last year so the different song was cool for me even if it's not a favorite.  Still wishing we got more of Visions in NYC.  Some of the lead up gigs to ProgPower featured a bunch of those songs and that would have been cool.  Like this is probably my favorite setlist of the tour https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/haken/2017/motorco-music-hall-durham-nc-2be2cc2e.html

[Mosh]

Insomnia and Shapeshifter definitely would've been cool. I don't really have any complaints though. The only song on the set that didn't do it for me was Red Giant, the rest of the show was awesome. Even Initiate, one of my least favorite Haken songs, was a lot of fun live. The show really got going with the Aquarius medley though. Everything from there to the end was amazing and the crowd was really into it.

The highlight of the show probably ended up being Cockroach King. When The Mountain came out I didn't care for it, but it's grown on me since and seeing it live boosted it even more. They put so much energy into it. I will not be surprised if it becomes their Metropolis or Hallowed Be Thy Name, maybe it already has.

[KevShmev]

I think Cockroach King and The Endless Knot will be two of those songs they pretty much always play, and I can see why.  Neither is a favorite of mine, but both are a lot of fun live and get the crowd going.

I can do without Initiate, even live where it was still kinda bland. but it's short enough to where it's over quickly.  The concert went nowhere but up after that was the first song!

I will say that Ross Jennings was a pleasant surprise.  His voice took me a while to really get into, but he nailed pretty much everything last night.  And he is a surprisingly good front man (his JLB routine of darting off the stage on occasion during an instrumental section aside ); he is very active and interacts well with the crowd.

[gmillerdrake]

I will say that Ross Jennings was a pleasant surprise.  His voice took me a while to really get into, but he nailed pretty much everything last night.  And he is a surprisingly good front man (his JLB routine of darting off the stage on occasion during an instrumental section aside ); he is very active and interacts well with the crowd.

Absolutely this. His vocals took me a bit to 'get' when I first started listening to HAKEN, which was only with the release of Affinity......but as I listened more and more I now enjoy them just fine.

And last night he was on big time and pretty much nailed every note he needed to nail. Very powerful voice.

[jammindude]

Has anyone actually listed the songs in the Aquarius Medley?  Did I miss it?

[Mosh]

Every song except Sun, in album order.

[KevShmev]

I can't give time stamps on anything, but going from memory, the medley had something like:

-First 3-4 minutes of Point of No Return
-I think one verse from the first half of Streams and then the instrumental section that climaxes around 3:30 in the song
-A couple of minutes from the rocking second half of Acquariam (I wanna say where it kicks in around 5:45, but I wouldn't swear on it)
-A little bit of Eternal Rain (cannot say what parts, since I do not listen to that song enough to have been able to pick out which verses/parts/etc.)
-I think one verse of the opening section of Drowning in the Flood, followed by most of the mellow second half. Where it normally climaxes and goes into the synth solo, that ends the song, they went into...
-Celestial Elixir from around 10:40 (where that amazing synth part kicks in near the end of the instrumental section) till the end (although the end might have been truncated; hard to remember).

[Mosh]

From what I remember, they started with the instrumental section of Eternal Rain and then went back to the first verse. Can't remember where they went from there.

Btw I forgot to mention how impressive Ross was. He's grown into a great singer and frontman. I was blown away by him more than anyone else.

[The King in Crimson]

Haken set list:

Initiate
In Memoriam
1985
Pareidolia
Atlas Stone
Aquarius medley
As Death Embraces
Cockroach King
The Endless Knot
The Architect

Visions

This is pretty much what we got in Milwaukee, minus As Death Embraces. Cockroach King, Visions, 1985, and Atlas Stone seemed like the most 'crowd pleasing' songs of the evening which is not surprising as all were fucking awesome. Even Cockroach King, my least favorite from The Mountain, was pretty damn good.

I think Cockroach King and The Endless Knot will be two of those songs they pretty much always play, and I can see why.  Neither is a favorite of mine, but both are a lot of fun live and get the crowd going.

I can do without Initiate, even live where it was still kinda bland. but it's short enough to where it's over quickly.  The concert went nowhere but up after that was the first song!

I will say that Ross Jennings was a pleasant surprise.  His voice took me a while to really get into, but he nailed pretty much everything last night.  And he is a surprisingly good front man (his JLB routine of darting off the stage on occasion during an instrumental section aside ); he is very active and interacts well with the crowd.

I agree with all of this. Ross was a very pleasant surprise. His vocals were great, he was good with the crowd, and he even did well with the harsh vocals on the Aquarius medley and The Architect.

Also, I swear I heard a bit of Sun in the medley but I'm not 100% sure as that album is my least favorite so I don't listen to it all that much compared to the others.

[KevShmev]

Unless a part of it was snuck in there not in sequential track order (which I do not believe it was), nothing from Sun was in the medley.
 
I, too, was impressed with how well Jennings did with the deeper and harsher vocals.  He has more diversity with his singing than I thought before.  He still has this one specific tone/range he hits that kind of bugs me, but I can overlook it. 

[Mosh]

Ross' growls improved big time. He nailed The Architect.

[Machine Messiah]

I will say that Ross Jennings was a pleasant surprise.  His voice took me a while to really get into, but he nailed pretty much everything last night.  And he is a surprisingly good front man (his JLB routine of darting off the stage on occasion during an instrumental section aside ); he is very active and interacts well with the crowd.

Absolutely this. His vocals took me a bit to 'get' when I first started listening to HAKEN, which was only with the release of Affinity......but as I listened more and more I now enjoy them just fine.

And last night he was on big time and pretty much nailed every note he needed to nail. Very powerful voice.

I can't remember the last time I was able to stand Front Row - Center for a band the quality of Haken. They are the real deal. I can see why MP chose them basically as his Shattered Fortress band. Btw - been jamming on the Mammoth cd I bought at the show - some seriously good prog fusion.
Also, Richard Henshall was playing what I believe to be an 8-String Strandberg, but his guitar had those jagged frets. Does anyone know what specific model his guitar is?

[cramx3]

Excited to see Haken tonight... with MP's The Shattered Fortress  Would have been cool if Haken played as well

[splent]

Nick and I were front row center last night for them... I was BLOWN AWAY.

[KevShmev]

I will say that Ross Jennings was a pleasant surprise.  His voice took me a while to really get into, but he nailed pretty much everything last night.  And he is a surprisingly good front man (his JLB routine of darting off the stage on occasion during an instrumental section aside ); he is very active and interacts well with the crowd.

Absolutely this. His vocals took me a bit to 'get' when I first started listening to HAKEN, which was only with the release of Affinity......but as I listened more and more I now enjoy them just fine.

And last night he was on big time and pretty much nailed every note he needed to nail. Very powerful voice.

I can't remember the last time I was able to stand Front Row - Center for a band the quality of Haken. They are the real deal. I can see why MP chose them basically as his Shattered Fortress band. Btw - been jamming on the Mammoth cd I bought at the show - some seriously good prog fusion.
Also, Richard Henshall was playing what I believe to be an 8-String Strandberg, but his guitar had those jagged frets. Does anyone know what specific model his guitar is?

I am not a tech guy at all when it comes to guitar and whatnot, so I am no help at all.

Good meeting you the other night...for about 10 seconds!

[jakepriest]

Also, Richard Henshall was playing what I believe to be an 8-String Strandberg, but his guitar had those jagged frets. Does anyone know what specific model his guitar is?

He has a custom 8-string Strandberg with true temperament frets. It's supposed to help intonation. If you really wanted you could probably order something similar on the Strandberg website but they are pretty costly.

[gmillerdrake]

I can't remember the last time I was able to stand Front Row - Center for a band the quality of Haken. They are the real deal. I can see why MP chose them basically as his Shattered Fortress band. Btw - been jamming on the Mammoth cd I bought at the show - some seriously good prog fusion.

These guys were a great surprise!!! Really good music and they sounded great live. As much as I love listening to Sithu Aye....I'd have preferred to have had Sithu open with the shorter set and heard a couple more from Mammoth.

And like Kev said....it was great to have met you and chat a bit. 

[Nick]

We got the best of both in Chicago. At the end of Mammoth's set the boys from Sithu Aye joined them on stage for a cool jam.

[gmillerdrake]

We got the best of both in Chicago. At the end of Mammoth's set the boys from Sithu Aye joined them on stage for a cool jam.

Sithu's guitarist joined Mammoth in St. Louis for a Jam but he didn't.

I talked to Sithu's bass player after their set and he confirmed that all Sithu's releases are written and recorded by him....the bass, drums are programmed etc. And, while I totally enjoyed getting to hear some of the songs I dig live they 'lost' something for me in the translation. And I think the biggest difference was the drumming. The recorded/programmed drums are very progressive and on point but (not trying to bash him) the gentlemen he had drumming for him on tour...while very good....did not capture the original recorded 'feeling' of the drums. It was more rough IMO. Again....loved hearing him live but if I had my dithers I'd have swapped the time allotted to give Mammoth a few more songs.

[goo-goo]

I hope Haken puts some of the leftover mech from the US tour on their store for sale. So bummed out that I missed them.

[Nick]

I hope Haken puts some of the leftover mech from the US tour on their store for sale. So bummed out that I missed them.

It is certainly possible, or also likely it might get stored here and be sold cheaply on the next tour, or a combination of those two things.

[KevShmev]

One odd thing about the Haken show: the guy who kept coming out and taking videos of the band. It was distracting having him stand in front of the drummer or bass player for minutes at a time just taping them.

[Implode]

The Chicago show was awesome for me. Also had a great time meeting and hanging out with Nick and splent. The photographer on stage didn't bother me much personally. If anything, the person taking videos from in the crowd looked like they may have annoyed people, but with no photographer pit, there isn't much to do about that.

[splent]

Yeah it was a little distracting but nothing more than that. I thought it was overall a great show.