Rick Wakeman & The English Rock Ensemble, Bristol Beacon 28.02.24
Traffic chaos awaited my journey to and from Bristol as the penultimate day of February obviously caused mass hysteria on the roads. It meant that I arrived a mere 2 minutes before the start of the show, thank the prog gods for a delayed doors opening, so we were able to catch the aperitif to this mighty musical feast.
Rick Wakeman (9) for those uninitiated, is one of the most recognisable multi-time member of prog rock titans Yes. Having played the keys/organs/synths/Moog on many of their biggest hits and best known albums, he also has a number of revered conceptual solo records as well as being a radio DJ, public speaker, talking head and writer. With talk of retirement abound I made a special trip to take in this show especially as it was comprised of the Yes set developed for his Royal Albert Hall shows from last year and his seminal Journey To The Centre Of The Earth, the entire hour long spectacular rejigged for this modern version of his band The English Rock Ensemble.
So to the band and with The Caped Crusader himself in the middle of the stage surrounded by banks and banks of electronic equipment, to the right of him, son Adam also on keys and additional guitar, giving the people what they came to see and on the encore of Starship Trooper, duelling with keytars. The main crux of the rhythms though come from bass superstar for hire Lee Pomeroy, drummer Adam Falkner and guitarist Dave Colquhoun, who gets a surprising amount of guitar solos for a show directed by a keyboard player. All prog veterans the band were well drilled and nail every musical moment, a slab of rock here, a touch of folk there, whether it’s the Chris Squire bass grooves of Roundabout, the wispy beginning of Wonderous Stories, or the massive bombast of Journey’s…orchestral leanings it’s all brilliant.
So to the band and with The Caped Crusader himself in the middle of the stage surrounded by banks and banks of electronic equipment, to the right of him, son Adam also on keys and additional guitar, giving the people what they came to see and on the encore of Starship Trooper, duelling with keytars. The main crux of the rhythms though come from bass superstar for hire Lee Pomeroy, drummer Adam Falkner and guitarist Dave Colquhoun, who gets a surprising amount of guitar solos for a show directed by a keyboard player. All prog veterans the band were well drilled and nail every musical moment, a slab of rock here, a touch of folk there, whether it’s the Chris Squire bass grooves of Roundabout, the wispy beginning of Wonderous Stories, or the massive bombast of Journey’s…orchestral leanings it’s all brilliant.
With so much instrumental talent you may overlook the singers, but do so at your peril as the trio of back up singers manage to not only incorporate the choirs of Journey into just the triumvirate on the stage but also send chills down the spine on the chamber choir opening to The Meeting which forms part of The Yes Suite, they even bring main singer Mollie Marriot to tears before she has to compose herself to belt out And You And I. Having a soul/rock n roll singer handling these tracks is an inspired idea which anyone who has heard Magenta’s Wonderous Stories will attest. Her voice brings a new dimension to these reworked compositions and takes every part on Journey admirably.
Rick himself is well within his element, squinting to see the small dials on his instruments, but never failing to hit a mark, those solos and melodies he’s played for many years coming organically from the ends of his fingers, the between song breaks allowing him to crack a few quips and embrace the Grumpy Old Rick persona he’s worked so hard to cultivate. The short Yes Suite, is a warm up really, the 20 minute interval allowing all to use the toilets, (the longest queues of the evening), including Rick himself before we strap ourselves in for the fully fledged musical interpretation of Jules Verne’s novel and that encore I mentioned earlier.
Rick himself is well within his element, squinting to see the small dials on his instruments, but never failing to hit a mark, those solos and melodies he’s played for many years coming organically from the ends of his fingers, the between song breaks allowing him to crack a few quips and embrace the Grumpy Old Rick persona he’s worked so hard to cultivate. The short Yes Suite, is a warm up really, the 20 minute interval allowing all to use the toilets, (the longest queues of the evening), including Rick himself before we strap ourselves in for the fully fledged musical interpretation of Jules Verne’s novel and that encore I mentioned earlier.
Receiving rapturous applause all round, it looks like for at least the next year, Rick will just be retiring from solo shows as he plans to bring King Arthur on the road in 2025.