It’s rare that a band can be around for nearly twenty years, put out six studio albums, and never play a note of their music live. Shadow Gallery however, is proof that it can happen. The band put their debut album in 1992 and only recently began announcing live shows, which would include a stop at ProgPower Europe prior to journeying across that continent for the first time. However before that could happen there was something special in the works, a debut show on the band’s home turf to play for friends, family, and Shadow Gallery fans from across the US and Canada.
When Shadow Gallery hit the stage shortly after 9 it seemed the only people happier than the fans in attendance were the band themselves. Their excitement was contagious and as they powered through a trio of tracks from Tyranny to start the show, each song ending with thunderous applause. Although Carl Cadden-James could be seen having some monitor trouble it didn’t show in his playing as the band was incredibly tight during their first few songs together, and they would remain that way throughout the rest of the evening. One certainly got the feeling the crowd would have been happy no matter what the band had played for this historic show, but that said it seemed the band did a fantastic job picking out a set that would satisfy fans and represent the entire history of the band. After the mini Tyranny set the band went back in time for “Deeper Than Life” the guys brought things to the present day and nailed “Pain” from the groups most recent output, Digital Ghosts.
It was at that point I realized how well new singer Brian Ashland was doing as he had seemed as natural with the earlier material as he did now singing “Pain”. By the time “Destination Unknown” rolled around one could really start to appreciate the powerhouse potential that Shadow Gallery has. Along with regular guitarists Gary Wehrkamp and Brendt Allman, singer Brian Ashland and new touring member Eric Deigert had proven their chops with six strings. In addition to the five men on stage that were guitar capable, three of them also showed great proficiency behind a keyboard, and everyone except Eric and Joe Nevolo handled vocal duties. Speaking of which, Shadow Gallery has always been known for a very vibrant vocal approach, and with some songs having more layers than a pack of trident gum it was no secret that reproducing the vocals live might be a bit difficult, but the band was up to the task. Gary, Carl and Brendt all did a fantastic job working with Brian to reproduce the lush melodies that Shadow Gallery fans know and love.
At some point during the show to this point Brian had promised the crowd they’d get something from every album and “Questions at Hand” would end up representing the self-titled debut album for the evening. I think it’s safe to say that Joe out-played the drum machine used on the album and the crowd seemed quite pleased with the deep cut. After that came the softest song of the evening, “Ghost of a Chance” which came across with the same beauty live as it does on the album. After that, to the surprise of many Gary left his position at stage right to get behind the drum kit where the band played a bit of “Digital Ghosts” and the first half or so of “Strong” before the kit was handed back over to Joe who played what was potentially the greatest drum solo I’ve ever seen. And that statement is coming from a die-hard Rush fan. Nothing was safe from Joe as he played at his kit, around his kit, on mic stands, and at a snare and electronic bass pedal setup at the front of the stage. The man showed a technical prowess in several techniques and the long solo alone was worth the price of admission. I will say that Joe’s abilities have gone under the radar a bit, but after the upcoming tour I expect to hear rave reviews about his abilities.
After finishing up “Strong” Gary teased the crowd with a keyboard version of the intro to “Andromeda Strain” before Brendt took charge on his guitar and properly ripped into the song which proved to be one of the most energetic performances of an action packed night. The set would end with perfectly executed versions of “Crystalline Dreams” and “Haunted” at which point the band waved goodbye and exited the stage. A big surprise to me was how unified the crowd was at this point in what they wanted to an encore with a good chunk of the crowd shouting for “Room V” while other songs received hardly any mention. And as luck would happy the band came out and tore into “Room V” which ended up being the most intense and well received song of the evening, and the chorus with the loudest and most involved sing-along as one might expect. To end an amazing night the band played the single/video from the latest album, “Gold Dust” which ended the night on a very headbanging note.
All things considered the very first Shadow Gallery show was a smashing success. The band had some technical troubles throughout the night but they worked through them and put on a killer show that seemed to leave everyone in attendance happy. Fans from Miami, Virginia, Montreal, and Toronto were in attendance and that is only the traveling fans I talked to, so who knows where else people made trips from. After the show the guys showed a lot of class taking the time to talk to every single person at length who wanted to talk to them giving everyone a little extra happy memory of the historic show. The band seems to have warmed up their many instruments and their voices and they now have marching orders to head over to Europe for the first time where you absolutely must support them if you have the chance, I promise you won’t be disappointed!
Topic: Shadow Gallery - 2010-09-05 (Read 2645 times)