[atlantaprog] Little Atlas in Atlanta

Just came back from the show. There was a healthy ARIA contingent there. The guys from Lord Only, Greg (the Wizard), Steve and Jeff from Man on Fire. There were also quite a few other folks - I suspect a combination of fans of the the other two bands (who I don't know ANYTHING about!) and Virginia Highlands bar-hoppers.

Little Atlas turned in an amazing set of symphonic prog. Very tight and melodic (great sound too!). Steve was saying how he lost his voice the night before in Jax. but you could've fooled me. He was is fine voice, and had a strong stage presence. Especially the way he was able to hold down intricate keyboard lines almost subconsciously while he was singing equally intricate vocal passages and still managing to connect with the audience. Too many keyboardist/vocalists are so intent on their keyboard playing that their vocals seem an afterthought - not these guys. The bassist (don't recall the name) was tasty and solid, playing mostly finger-style, while augmenting the low-end with occasional bass pedals, while the guitarist (whose name I also don't recall!) moved back and forth between solid rhythm work and tasty soloing. The drummer (I remember his FIRST name - Diego) had the right balance of power and subtlety. All in all a very good set.

Oh yeah, I must mention the one cover tune they included in their set. They started with a rather rushed version of the 'tron intro to Watcher of the Skies, with the keys augmented by the rest of the band at the climax. But instead of going into the rest of Watcher, they launched into a sparkling rendition of Firth of Fifth, with Steve handling the challenging keyboard parts quite well and the guitarist doing a dead-on version of Hackett's most famous solo. The audience loved it! If The Musical Box ever goes looking for a new keyboardist or guitarist, they should turn their eye to Miami.

For those of you who didn't make, too bad! Be sure and try to catch them if.when they come through town again.

AWG


Other related posts: