The Passengers alight in Halifax

Last night I joined hundreds of fellow 'Passengers' aboard the Big Big Train in the Victoria Theatre in Halifax, the third leg of the band's Grand Tour of the UK in support of their latest album. It is the fourth time I've seen the band play live: last time at Cadogan Hall in 2017, and twice at King's Place i 2015.

Reflecting after the King's Place gigs, I wrote a piece on here about how the whole experience put me in mind of church - or at least how church should be. Following on from last night's joyous outing, I have been reflecting further on this idea.

This is clearly a meeting of like-minded people. They will not agree on everything, but one thing that draws them together is a love of the music. This was evident in the way that the concert was enjoyed: engaged attention during the songs; rapturous applause following. The music matters, and those performing it matter just as much.

This is a family. And when families get together, there is much chat, much reminiscing, and much catching up. There were people there last night whom I have not spoken to face to face since Cadogan Hall, or even before that, and some for whom this was a first meeting 'in the flesh'. And as with family there was much laughter, some concern and overall togetherness. I was struck by a small gesture at the end of the show, when one of the band, spotting a 'passenger' in a wheelchair, jumped down from the stage in order to greet them. And the atmosphere in the bar afterwards, when the band were chatting and signing, was truly supportive: just a bunch of friends, old and new, getting together.

This is a supportive bunch, showing what I would call Pastoral Care for one another. It was good to see, for instance, a card being passed round for a couple who will be celebrating their wedding anniversary by attending the Birmingham gig, and on a personal level it was touching to receive the concerns of many in the band and others in the wake of my early retirement. And earlier in the tour an inventive, apt and touching memorial was arranged for a beloved Passenger who had sadly died recently. A small basket was place don what would have been his seat in Edinburgh, and it was filled with sprouts in his memory! The Prog equivalent of lighting a candle?

There's a passage in The Acts of The Apostles which says: "They... ate together with glad... hearts... and ... added to their number..." No gathering of Passengers would be complete without food - usually curry - and it was good to end the night sharing together in food as we had begun the evening sharing together in drinks. Food and drink have been a part of church gatherings since the start, and this is no different for Passengers.

And of that common bond that drew us together - the music (No Spoilers): we were treated to such a delightful evening. We began with a short but excellent set from Sweet Billy Pilgrim, which included a glorious re-working of a Prog classic. And then the main attraction: a beautifully crafted couple of hours from 13 (count them...) top-notch musicians at the top of their game. Tight, melodic, harmonic, virtuosic, and simply spell-binding renditions of material mostly from their latest album, Grand Tour, but also from earlier releases, some of which left barely a dry eye in the house.

If you haven't managed to get to see the band yet on this first tour of theirs, and you have a chance to, grab it with both hands: your ears and your heart may well love you for ever!

September's Music

These monthly summaries kind of make trying to remember all the music I tend to listen to a little easier. I hope they are proving informative and perhaps even entertaining for you who bother to read these posts.

A little more settled now in the new house, and quite a bit more music consumed this month. One of the benefits of our new house is that it is only about 200 yards (in old money) from a wonderful little real ale and live music pub by the name of The Greystones, here in Sheffield. I've managed to get to a couple of gigs there in the past month. The first was by a collective called The John Martyn Project, a group of musicians who got together to play John Martyn's music as a tribute to him on the 10th anniversary of his death earlier this year, and afterwards decided to tour with the music, They were faithful to John's legacy, though mainly played material from Solid Air, Bless The Weather and Sunday's Child. An excellent evening, enhanced by the support act, a local act called Mishra, who play Indian Ragas on banjo, double bass, whistle and tabla. Totally enthralling and fascinating, and I hope to find them again locally soon. Later that same week I was back for an evening with Kathryn Williams, Mercury Prize-nominated in 2000, looking back over her 20-year career so far and playing material from most of the 10 albums she's released in that time - which have recently been released as an Anthology box-set with 10 bonus CDs and a lyrics booklet and some of her personal artwork. Had a lovely chat with her after the gig, which was excellent, and managed to pick up a copy of the anthology for a much reduced price!

My other live outing was to the City Hall (Ballroom) for a fantastic evening with Focus, who were as engaging and entertaining as ever, and delved into their wide repertoire for an excellent show.

My recorded music falls into three, or possibly four, main categories. First there's the Old Stuff, mostly if not entirely bought as a result of hearing it played on Progzilla Radio, one of my go-to Progressive Internet radio stations. This month they led me to Camembert Electrique by Gong, thus adding to my now growing Gong collection. This is wonderfully bonkers and brilliant music - weird, eccentric, off-beat, but enticing and evocative of the music that drew me in during my teenage years. The other was Rain Tree Crow's only and eponymous album from 1991. This was a band I was unaware of, and discovered that it is essentially a late reunion album by Japan. Most of that 1980s electronic music slipped me by at the time, but it has grown on me since then, and this is a dark, brooding, atmospheric, ethereal and magical work.

My possible fourth category (yes, it's out of sequence, but hopefully you'll see why...) is Old Stuff that's actually New Stuff - or possibly New Stuff that's actually Old Stuff! This month has seen 'new' albums from Jazz giants John Coltrane & Miles Davis. Coltrane gives us Blue World, a collection of material that was originally recorded in June 1964 mainly for the soundtrack of the film 'Le chat dans le sac', and is typical of his work at that time and wonderfully melodic and strident. Miles Davis's 'lost album' from 1985-86 is finally released as Rubberband. Davis was a true progressive of the Jazz world, and having gone through his Be-Bop and Fusion phases among others this is a collection more of a soul or funk groove with Miles's horn at times providing more of a background that a lead, but always being unmistakeably there. For any fan of jazz I would strongly recommend both albums, though the Davis may take some time to grow.

So the second (or is it now the third) category is New Jazz. If you've read these posts before you'll know that I am a keen listener to the output of Edition Records, who release a wide selection of music from the jazzier end of the spectrum. Three of their albums have come my way this month. The first was by Laura Jurd, another Mercury Prize nominee with her band Dinosaur, and her project entitled Stepping Back, Jumping In. Here are 6 good length compositions - nothing under 8 minutes - exploring their themes through brass, strings, piano, keys, double bass, drums, banjo, guitars & santoor. Laura is ably assisted by a host of fellow musicians including fellow Edition players Elliot Galvin, Rob Luft & Corrie Dick. Moody, stirring and emotive stuff. Secondly was  Hope by Kevin Hays & Lionel Loueke. Simple music on piano & guitar with some vocal input from both men, this has a rounded yet exotic feel to it. I was not that aware of Hays's work previously but had come across Loueke about 12 years ago with a song called Abominwe.Captivating stuff. And then there was the latest offering from Oddarrang, a Finnish quintet who make dark, brooding experimental music that I suppose could only come from Scandinavia. This new album, Hypermetros, is a typical offering from them and has been well worth the wait.

So, the final category for me is New Prog (however broad that particular tag is), and most of this month's material comes from a label that proudly represents that breadth and diversity in its output - Bad Elephant Music. The five albums from them all represent material from established acts on the labels roster, but they are all wonderfully different. In order of release, We Are Kin's third album, Bruised Sky, is moody, dark, brooding modern progressive rock, with a soulful edge courtesy of Emma Brewin-Caddy's wonderful voice. Tom Slatter's Demon carries on the unique acoustic steam-punk balladeer-ing that Tom has made his own, and continues to do so with wonderful aplomb. The Bob Lazar Story continue their bonkers approach to music making with Vanquisher, a collection that leaves me simultaneously with a smile on my face and scratching my head in bafflement. Emmett Elvin once again with The End of Music produces sublime music, at times rock, at times almost classical, but always stimulating, thoughtful and profound, an epithet that could also be used of Charlie Cawood, whose Blurring Into Motion is a modern-day classic of composition and musicianship. And the final new Prog is the much-awaited seventh album from Thieves' Kitchen. Genius Loci explores the idea of the Spirit of Place in their inimitable jazz-laden progressive style, something they do to great effect, and Amy Darby's voice never fails to send shivers down my spine!

So, that's been September -  a busy time in all aspects of my musical world, but one that continues to give me life, hope and inspiration. The coming month offers much in the way of live music - with 2 festivals and other gigs I've got at least 26 bands in my diary between now and Armageddon - sorry, Brexit Day... (if it happens...)