NMB
NMB: doing it all again in London.
Has absence made Neal Morse’s touring heart grow fonder? It seems so.
KEVIN NIXON
From the heart:
Bill Hubauer.
Drummer extraordinaire Mike Portnoy.
Eric Gillette’s playing is a show highlight.
Randy George’s great adventure!
On this Friday evening of the Platinum Jubilee weekend, there’s American royalty (no, not Harry and Meghan) visiting west London in the shape of Neal Morse and Mike Portnoy as the Neal Morse Band – or NMB, as they now address themselves – play their first-ever show at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire.
Both individually – with Spock’s Beard and Dream Theater respectively – and collectively – with Transatlantic and Flying Colors – the pair have history here. And while the venerable old music hall isn’t quite full, there’s a very respectable-sized audience, which offers the band a truly rapturous welcome before a note has even been played.