TANGERINE DREAM LIVE
London Astoria, London, UK
February 15, 2003
By John Morley
Despite concerns about traffic and transport problems due to the peace march that day, I managed to get to the gig reasonably early. There was a very relaxed, carnival-like atmosphere in London that day - most of the roads were closed off in the centre, so you could walk wherever you wanted.
I had read on the band's website there would be some exclusive merchandise on sale at the gig, and hoped to be able to check it out on the way in. No such luck, though - as soon as I got in, there was a queue of about 150 already. So I decided to concentrate on getting a seat upstairs instead. Amazingly, for the first time ever in this venue I actually got a seat in the centre of the front row – and with a table to rest my bottles of pop on, too.
It had been about 6 years since I last saw the band live, and I have to say that there are certain periods of the bands recorded output that I am not familiar with, such as the early 70s albums, and some of the more recent albums. But I have been checking out the website recently, and had an idea of what we were in for this evening.
When the band started, they received a rapturous welcome from the (to my eyes, anyway) capacity crowd. And it was LOUD. Occasionally a little too loud, with the bass notes shaking the foundations. But they soon got the levels sorted, and it was actually the best sound mix I have heard at a concert for some time.
Essentially what we got was a musical journey through the band's career, an almost continuous piece of music lasting over two hours. Included in this were some familiar pieces, though in often vastly different guises, interspersed with newer material. At times it really did feel like a musical discovery, as you would be listening to an unfamiliar piece of music, and suddenly you would hear a familiar note or sound effect, and the track would suddenly turn into something more recognisable - the audio equivalent of CGI morphing. I like the fact that you felt like the band were creating the music in front of you, and you never quite knew where they were going with it. As for what they actually played, I detected large portions of Poland, Tangram, Stratosfear, Force Majeure, Logos, Melrose era stuff, and much more. But a track-by-track listing misses the point of the concert. My unfamiliarity with some of the material meant that there were often sections of the piece that I did not recognise, but could not be sure how much of this was actually new material. Whatever - it still sounded damn good to me.
After the main piece, we got 4 encores, one of which included an excerpt from "Beach Theme" from Thief, with the main solo played superbly on guitar by Zlatko. And another featuring Edgar’s now legendary guitar solo spot. Always goes down a storm, and you tend to forget what a fine guitarist he actually is.
In addition to the Froese family, the rest of the band consisted of the striking figure of Iris Kulterer, playing what looked like every possible piece of percussion under the sun, and Zlatko Perica on guitar. Zlatko did pull off a couple of really nice guitar solos during the night, but looked a little lost and redundant the rest of the time.
If there is one criticism I have, it’s that I think the first section of music could have included a short 10-15 minute break to give us a bit of a breather. You felt like you did not want to go to the toilet in case you missed something. However, that actually worked to my advantage, because when the call of nature came, I happened to pass the merchandise stand, which was still manned and no one was queuing - and they still had all items in stock. Full marks - best merchandise store I think I have ever seen at a gig.
I suppose there will be those fans who would have preferred the band to play a traditional concert, but they are a very different animal these days to the band we knew from the 70s and 80s. I am a big fan of the Dream Mixes albums, and have no problem with them shaking things up a little and putting a different spin on the older stuff. I came away from this concert more than satisfied with what I heard, and judging from the roars of approval from the crowd, so did everyone else.
Now then - what about a live album?
Additional Info
Discography
- Electronic Meditation (1970)
- Alpha Centauri (1971)
- Zeit (1972)
- Atem (1973)
- Phaedra (1974)
- Rubycon (1975)
- Ricochet (1975)
- Stratosfear (1976)
- Encore (1977)
- Sorcerer (1977)
- Cyclone (1978)
- Force Majeure (1979)
- Tangram (1980)
- Quichotte (1980)
- Tangerine Dream '70-'80 (1980)
(4 LPs)
- Exit (1981)
- Thief (1981)
- White Eagle (1982)
- Logos - Live at the Dominion (1983)
- Hyperborea (1983)
- Wavelength (1983)
- Risky Business (1983)
- Firestarter (1984)
- Flashpoint (1984)
- Poland - The Warsaw concert (1984)
- Heartbreakers (1985)
- Legend (1985)
- Le Parc (1985)
- Dream Sequence (1985)
(3 LPs)
- Pergamon - Live at the Palast der Republik (1985)
- In the Beginning (1986)
(6 LPs)
- Green Desert ()
(recorded in 1973)
- Underwater Sunlight (1986)
- Near Dark (1987)
- Three o'clock high (1987)
- Shy People (1987)
- The Collection (1987)
- Tyger (1987)
- Livemiles (1988)
- Optical Race (1988)
- Dead Solid Perfect (1988)
- Miracle Mile (1989)
- Lily on the Beach (1989)
- Destination Berlin (1990)
- Melrose (1990)
- The Man Inside (1991)
- Canyon Dreams (1991)
- Rockoon (1992)
- Deadly Care (1992)
- Sorcerer (1993)
- 220 Volt Live (1993)
- Catch me if you can (1994)
- Turn of the Tides (1994)
- Tyranny of Beauty (1995)
- Heartbreakers (1995 re-issue)
- Flashpoint (1995 re-issue)
- Legend (1995 re-issue)
- Zoning (1995)
- The Dream Mixes (1995)
- The Dream Mixes (1996)
(Special UK release)
- Goblin's Club (1996)
- Oasis Soundtrack (1997)
- Tournado Live (1997)
- TimeSquare - Dream Mixes II (1997)
- The Keep (1997)
- Ambient Monkeys (1998)
- Atlantic Bridges(1998)
- Atlantic Walls (1998)
- Transsiberia (1998)
- Dream Encores (1998)
- Dream Mixes I (1998)
(rerelease of the 2cd-edition)
- Time Square Dream Mixes 2 (1998)
- The Hollywood Years Vol. I (1998)
(unreleased material)
- The Hollywood Years Vol. II (1998)
(unreleased material)
- Quinoa (1998)
(extended version of fanclub CD)
- Tournado (1998)
(live In 1997, second set of tour)
- Valentine Wheels (1999)
(live in 1997, first set of tour)
- Sohoman (1999)
(live in Sydney 1982)
- Mars Polaris (1999)
- What A Blast (1999)
(except USA)
- Architecture In Motion (1999)
(What A Blast USA)
- Sohoman (Live in Sydney 1982) (1999)
- Valentine Wheels (1999) (live)
- Tang-go (2000)
- Soundmill Navigator (2000) (live)
- Antique Dreams (2000) (comp)
- The Seven Letters From Tibet (2000)
- I-Box (2000)
- Dream Mixes 3 - The Past Hundred Moons (2001)
- Inferno (2002)
- The Melrose Years (2003)
(Re-recordings of Optical Race, Lily On The Beach and Melrose)
- Mota Atma (2003)
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