Pendragon - And Now Everybody To The Stage...
Performance
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Pendragon - And Now Everybody To The Stage...
Performance
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I was a relative latecomer to the Pendragon fan club, having not been formally introduced to the band until I reviewed their excellent 2006 concert DVD, Past and Presence, last year. The band has been around since 1978 and have released seven full-length studio albums and a host of live and best-of compilations, so our acquaintance was long overdue. With the addition of Pendragon's And Now Everybody To The Stage... DVD to my collection, I continue to catch up with this veteran English neo-progressive rock band. And I am liking what I hear. And Now Everybody To The Stage... was recorded on May 22, 2006 at the Wyspianski Theatre in Katowice Poland during Pendragon's tour in support of their latest album, Believe. This show was recorded only five months prior to the Past And Presence show, at the same venue, but each video captures an entirely unique performance that are both worth watching. I would recommend starting with this earlier one first to get a better overview of their entire catalog. Past And Presence was a special show that featured an entire performance of Pendragon's first full-length album, The Jewel, which was augmented by guest performances from three previous members of the band. They also did some marvelously updated arrangements of several of the classic songs, which really gave the DVD it's unique charm. It earned an honorable mention on my 2007 Top Ten list. And Now Everybody To The Stage... captures a more standard Pendragon show that features the current four member lineup of Clive Nolan (keyboards), Peter Gee (bass), Joe Crabtree (drums), and founding member Nick Barrett (vocals and guitars). Although the setlist highlights most of the new Believe album, it also touches every part of Pendragon's long career, going all the way back to 1985's The Jewel. The mystical strains of Believe's opening instrumental and title track signal the start of the show, as the two large video screens depict imagery from the Believe album cover, before moving on to some stunning overhead landscape scenes from around the world. The band takes their places on stage just in time for the intro music to melt into the album's second song, "No Place For The Innocent". This is one of the more straightforward rock songs you are ever going to hear from this band, and it sets a rousing pace for the rest of the show. From there, they take on "As Good As Gold" and "Guardian Of My Soul", both from the 1996 album The Masquerade Overture, which many fans hail as their finest. They would call upon that album later in the show for two of the band's strongest songs, "Paintbox" and "Masters Of Illusion". The band played at least one song from each of their seven studio albums, but it was their encore performance of The Jewel's "The Black Knight" that was the show highlight for me. Metal Mind Productions has done another superb job with the recording of this concert and the production of this DVD. Dolby Digital 5.1 surround and 2.0 stereo are your two audio choices and they both sound superb. The picture is clear and sharp and captures the dark and moody atmosphere of the show perfectly The Metal Mind camera crew really knows how to film a theater concert well, and they put you right into the midst of the show. Bonus material features a home video recording, referred to as "The Progumentary", which provides an intimate behind-the-scenes look as Nick Barrett and Clive Nolan write and record material for the new Believe album. Also included are an interview with Nick Barrett, a band history, discography, photo gallery, and more. If you are a fan of English neo-progressive rock in the style of bands like Marillion, IQ, and Camel, then you should definitely give this excellent DVD a spin. Reviewed by Paul M. Roy - January 2008 |
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Running Time: 137 Minutes |
DVD Release Date - October 2006 |