RIVERSIDE

Prog ponders the wisdom of Riverside frontman Mariusz Duda, who’s standing in front of a venue full of prog fans and questioning his band’s role within that very genre. He may couch his language to imply a certain element of tongue-in-cheek –his point that Riverside have been likened to Dream Theater but have little in common with the latter’s “guitar-shredding” definitely rings true –but further protestations veer a little towards biting the hand that feeds. Not least when, following a splendid rendition of Post-Truth from latest album ID. Entity, the band launch into the very long – 13 minutes and counting –and very proggy The Place Where I Belong.

CARSTEN WINDHORST

Klone’s rich acoustic set packs a punch.

Despite the intended humour, one can sense an element of frustration that being labelled prog has somehow held this band back to an extent in the bigger scheme of things, although it should be noted that tonight is Riverside’s biggest UK show to date. To be fair, they’ve never been a full-on prog metal band, nor are they a classic-sounding prog band, but like many modern prog bands, they combine intelligent, prog-leaning rock with other influences to create a variant on the genre.

Most definitely a shred-free zone!

No nerves here! Mariusz Duda and Maciej Meller.

However, it is perhaps a tad churlish to raise this as an issue given that we’re now more than 20 years into Riverside’s career, and that’s where the bulk of their audience –as well as that of Duda’s other offshoots, which include Lunatic Soul and his solo electronica project –come from.

Openers French prog metallers Klone (who we hope harbour no such qualms about the label) enthral the audience with an acoustic set that packs more punch than any acoustic session these ears have heard and highlights Yann Ligner’s stunning vocals. Despite not being plugged in, the set is full of the rich atmospherics that flow through the band’s recorded music, although astonishingly they perform only two songs from 2023’s majestic Meanwhile –Bystander and Scarcity –and two from 2019’s equally enjoyable Le Grande Voyage. The bulk of the set comes from 2015’s Here Comes The Sun, while a thoughtful cover of Soundgarden’s Black Hole Sun induces a mass singalong that most definitely wins over a crowd who’d possibly not encountered this French band before.

For all the quibbles about Duda’s possibly misdirected tirade, Riverside themselves are equally fantastic. Opening with a throbbing take on Love, Fear And The Time Machine’s #Addicted, Michał Łapaj’s wonderfully melodic keyboards –very proggy keyboards, it should be noted – are the driving force behind the band’s crystalline sound tonight.

An impressive array of lasers herald the arrival of Landmine Blast, the first offering from last year’s excellent ID. Entity, which draws a squall of ‘oohs’ and ‘ahs’ from the audience.

The crowdpleasing Egoist Hedonist from 2009’s Anno Domini High Definition continues that momentum. Having toured in support of ID. Entity for much of 2023, and performed on this year’s Cruise To The Edge before touring South America, Riverside really are a well-oiled live machine, and Friend Or Foe?, which comes across like a proggier take on A-ha, is a perfect example of the band’s ability to cross genres to create something new and exciting.

Piotr Kozieradzki tackles post-truths from behind the kit.

Maciej Meller perfects those long and complicated sections.

Although a sense of frustration at genre tags is understandable, it’s hardly unique to prog. However, it should also be noted that this writer has friends in attendance this evening who, until they saw the band at last year’s Prognosis Festival in London, had never even heard of Riverside. Yet having seen them once, were damn sure they weren’t going to miss the chance to see them again. It reinforces Prog’s long-held belief that people just need to hear this music for its appeal to grow.

As for the headliners themselves, as 2005’s Conceiving You ends proceedings on a fittingly high note, absolutely nothing can detract from the fact that this has been an absolute stormer of a live show from a terrific band.

JERRY EWING

Michał Łapaj channels his inner A-ha!

Prog or not, Riverside put on an excellent live show.

“Absolutely nothing can detract from the fact that this has been an absolute stormer of a live show from a terrific band.”

GOUVEIA ART ROCK FESTIVAL

Nestling in the mountainous Centro region of Portugal, the beautiful town of Gouveia has hosted Gouveia Art Rock since 2003. Although the event has been dark for the last couple of years, there’s a celebratory atmosphere here today in the elegant Art Deco cinema that houses the festival as the capacity crowd immerse themselves in an eclectic array of international performers spread over three days.

The extent of its broad reach is immediately apparent as The Hedvig Mollestad Trio and Gryphon share the opening evening. Despite their wildly differing musical flavourings, this unlikely combination provide a rich and tasty feast. Mollestad’s band hurtle through a cerebral combination of harmony and freewheeling solos encased in a skull-crushing heavy rock vocabulary, sounding at times like a head-on collision between The Groundhogs’ buzz-cut edges and the ferocious muscle of The Tony Williams Lifetime. They’re obviously enjoying themselves, and at one point during the set Mollestad and bassist Ellen Brekken leap from the stage to sit in different aisles next to shocked but delighted audience members without missing a beat as they rampage through their twisting set.

When Gryphon take the stage they’re greeted by a roar that’s usually reserved for conquering heroes back from the dead, and in a way perhaps they are. Their 2020 album, Get Out Of My Father’s Car! was a great return to form and it provides brilliant chunks of tonight’s setlist. Whether brandishing a bassoon or cavorting with a crumhorn, original member Brian Gulland is an electrifying presence. He’s just turned 73, and there’s surely no other person capable of convincingly declaiming, ‘When I was a boy I distinctly remember that I was a tree.’ Their beguiling mix of surrealist whimsy and stirring fusion of baroque and prog sensibility comes with a scalpel-sharp musicality.

With Gong scheduled to appear at midnight the following evening, a few older attendees worry they might struggle to stay awake. However, as the witching hour strikes, there’s no risk of snoozing. Gong largely draw upon 2023’s Unending Ascending to get things underway, and Dave Sturt’s bass is as supple as it is brutal, going deep enough to threaten a landslide in the surrounding hills. A bravura collection of hypnotic riffs and chants, they’re incandescent with a shamanic intensity as Kavus Torabi’s windmilling chords and soaring vocals melds with Fabio Golfetti’s floating glissando guitar, which sleekly pierces the warm Portuguese air. This current incarnation stands as one of the very best in Gong’s convoluted history. Gouveia might be a long way away but the effort is more than worth it.

SID SMITH