TAKE A BOW
Peter Nicholls onstage and fighting a cold – not that anyone noticed.
KEVIN NIXON
Mike Holmes even impresses the security guard with his playing!
“Mike Holmes’ transcendent guitar solo is met with enthusiastic applause. Even the security guard by the left exit claps his appreciation.”
IQ
VENUE 229 THE VENUE, LONDON
DATE 09/12/2022
No self-respecting progger’s Yuletide would be complete without Greg Lake’s I Believe In Father Christmas or The Legendary IQ Christmas Bash. Tonight’s festivities commence by combining the two. The familiar melody from Lake’s perennial classic, Prokofiev’s Troika, soundtracks the now traditional opening video animation. This year’s visual offering depicts a nativity scene visited by six wise purple elephants and the band members reimagined as miniature gurning terpsichorean vegetables. Don’t ask. Just pour yourself an eggnog, banish the purple pachyderms from your mind and succumb to the perverse and wonderful world of IQ.
Who else would dare kick off a Christmas party with a wake? The title track from their most celebrated album is usually saved for much later in the set or as an encore. The Wake makes a curious yet strident opener. This is the first of three songs from that opus to be played tonight, perhaps prompted by Prog’s surprise at the album’s absence from the setlist at June’s 40th anniversary show.
It All Stops Here goes even further back to the 1982 demo cassette Seven Stories Into Eight, and has stood the test of time – but there are signs of potential problems onstage. Peter Nicholls apologises for some gremlins creeping into the band camp. His voice is clearly suboptimal, as a cold and accompanying cough are causing him some frustration. His poignant delivery of the first half of Stay Down refutes those concerns and when it’s time to bellow the defiant lyrics over the track’s heavy climax, he nails the delivery. So far, so good.
Shallow Bay is another anthem of resistance from the most recent album, Resistance. Mike Holmes’ transcendent guitar solo is met with enthusiastic applause. Even the security guard by the left exit claps his appreciation.