Transatlantic (June 2000)


Date of Performance: June 24, 2000
Venue: 9:30 Club, Washington, DC, US

My New World ... Streamed Live On The Internet

Transatlantic (l to r: Neal Morse, Mike Portnoy, Pete Trewavas, and Roine Stolt); courtesy Transatlantic/Ian OakleyOn the evening of June 24, the Transatlantic show from the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC was broadcast live by DigitalNetworkClub.com. While being there through technology is no substitute for being there live and in the flesh, that this is possible means that bands can reach fans in countries that they can't afford to get to otherwise. Of course, this medium is great for those with DSL or faster ... though it wasn't too bad at the 56k I was viewing at. The sound quality wasn't great, so that does colour some of my impressions of the performance. Nevertheless, this is a review of the show, not of the technology.

I tuned in too late to catch Mastermind, who were opening for Transatlantic ... but I'll be able to, hopefully, catch that performance when the show is archived later this month.

After about a twenty minute set change, the band took the stage, opening with "All The Above." Neal Morse seemed in good voice for the most part, though there were sections that needed a bit of work. The harmonies with Roine Stolt (and I think Pete Trewavas) were a bit out of sync - but being live, can we expect the same kind of precision as in the studio?

"Mystery Train" was next, during which they broke into an admirable "Magical Mystery Tour," which segued into "Strawberry Fields." Here again, Morse sounded a bit off, but overall this was fairly close to the Beatles original... The Beatles weren't the only band being paid tribute, as later they created a medley of sorts out of Genesis' intro to "Watcher Of The Skies" and then "Firth Of Fifth."

"My New World" was next, giving Stolt a chance to sing lead (as he does on the album). Now... I should admit at this point that while the show was playing, I was also working... which makes the idea that this was live rather surreal... so I did, unfortunately, miss a bit of the show. Had I been there for real... I would have given the band my full attention.

Anyway, the encore included a medley of "Go The Way You Go," "The Great Escape" (from Marillion's Brave) with, I believe, Trewavas on vocals. If it was Morse, he didn't sound like himself, and I didn't think it sounded like Stolt... and it being Trewavas would make perfect sense. He sounded quite good... but doesn't quite have the range of Hogarth. The next part of this medley was a Dream Theater track from Metropolis Part 2: Scenes From A Memory, "This Feeling" I'm not sure who's singing, but they have some of the LaBrie nuances down (perhaps it's Mike Portnoy, but it could have been Morse). The medley ends on a Beatles tune, "I Want You/She's So Heavy."

Overall, I'm looking forward to their Progfest appearance, and some of those "I thinks" will be confirmed or disproved then.

Links: Mastermind, Beatles, Genesis, Marillion, Dream Theater

Added: July 2nd 2000
Reviewer: Stephanie Sollow

Artist website: www.transatlanticweb.com
Hits: 2228
Language: english
  

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