The Assembly, Leamington Spa
In case you hadn't noticed, IQ have been around for 30 years. That's longer than some of their audience (Hi Vanessa) have been alive for! Due to ongoing transportation problems, I've got to say thanks to Deano for getting me a pair of tickets at the last moment and to Nikki for the loan of her car. The Assembly is an easy venue to find and there's loads of decent parking nearby. It's also a damn fine place to hold Prog gigs, so credit must be given to the promoters too.
As is befitting, we got there just in time to hit the bar then sneak down the front before the band came on stage. Starting with Eloko Bella Neechi was a rare treat for some of the crowd, who could be seem openly weeping. But when Eloko merged into Outer Limits, I thought we were in for another of the "The Wake" shows. But this turned out to be so much more.
Amongst the obvious choices - Stronger Than Friction, Frequency and Closer, the set like was littered with infrequently played classics like The Last Human Gateway, Born Brilliant, Human Nature, War Heroes, Through The Corridors, and encores About Lake Five and Stomach Of Animal. They even resurrected The Enemy Smacks, which was received like the old friend it surely is. Hearing The Last Human Gateway and The Darkest Hour nearly brought a tear to my eye.
It was nowhere near a perfect performance, with only returning bassist Tim Esau making a faultless display but considering 80% of the band are over 50 the energy they put into tracks like The Enemy Smacks was a joy to behold. Not even the IQuo version of Caroline could dampen our mood!
It seems like only last year we had 25 years of the wake and I'm already looking forwards to Nomzamo's 16th birthday party next year!
Setlist:
Eloko Bella Neechi
Outer Limits
The Darkest Hour
Stronger Than Friction
Born Brilliant
Frequency
The Last Human Gateway
Through the Corridors
State of Mine
Human Nature
War Heroes
Nothing at All
Guiding Light
Closer
The Enemy Smacks
About Lake Five
Awake & Nervous
Stomach of Animal
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