Gig Of The Week: Transatlantic (And Win Tickets)
WHO: Transatlantic
WHERE: London Shepherds Bush Empire
WHEN: Friday, May 21If you’re a fan of prog supergroup Transatlantic, then you’re in for a real treat when the band come over to play London and also the Manchester Academy (May 22). Let guitarist Roine Stolt explain:
“Our set is nearly four hours long! Seriously, we do the whole of current album The Whirlwind – well, excluding the bonus material – plus the two long tracks (Duel With The Devil and Stranger In Your Soul) from the Bridge Across Forever album, and even something from our first record, SMPT:e. There are also other shorter songs.
“It’s very gruelling, of course, and there have been a few complaints form certain members of the band. Well, myself Neal (Morse, vocals/keyboards/guitar), Pete (Trewavas, bass) and I are all over 50. Mike (Portnoy, drums) had his 43rd birthday recently, so even he’s getting on a bit. However, we are all enjoying this.”
The London show is set to be filmed and recorded for a future DVD, which will add to the pressure on the night.
“We’ll have six or eight cameras set up, and we just have to hope nothing goes wrong! So far, apart from one gig in Berlin where the venue wasn’t right for us, all the gigs have been great. So we should be well rehearsed by the time we reach London.”
The set is virtually locked in, with little variation each night.
“Well, we have a few surprises right at the end, but basically the set is the same at every gig.”
And going such a lengthy performance means Transatlantic (who also have touring guitarist/keyboard player Daniel Gildenlow from Pain Of Salvation) have no support band.
“Every time a Transatlantic tour is announced we are deluged with emails from bands who want to open for us. But I just think it would be too much for any audience to try and cram another band in.”
Transatlantic are back on July 24, headlining the Prog stage at the High Voltage Festival.
“Obviously, we can’t do a four-hour set then. So, we’re already talking about how we’ll cut it down to about 90 minutes. But it’s a really exciting and interesting festival. I love the bill. Plenty there for fans of prog and also of metal.”
Find out more at www.transatlanticweb.com
As a bonus, we’ve got a pair of tickets to give away for the London show. For full details, go to www.futurecomps.co.uk/trans
gig of the week? surely gig of next week as its on 21/5 !