Big Big Train + Dim Gray - Friars Aylesbury 02/09/22
Perhaps fittingly, with all the history involved, RGM’s latest venture into the world of progressive rock took us to the Waterside Theatre in Aylesbury, an imposing, 1200-capacity, glass-fronted building that opened as recently as 2010. Its striking architecture is far more pleasing to the eye than the ugly council offices tower block that dominates the town’s skyline. I’m sure the purpose-built venue must make many a provincial town, up and down the country, green with envy. The impressive external view is matched by a multi-level auditorium that resembles an oversized set of Jenga (I resisted the urge to try to remove a brick). On September 2nd, the venue hosted a show promoted by the legendary Friars Aylesbury, who've been promoting great music in the town since 1969, and it's heartening to know that folks from those original music club days are still involved today. An impressive achievement and my thinking is if it’s good enough for David Bowie who reflected “Memories are everything apparently, and I have only great ones of the fabulous Friars” then it’s certainly good enough for me.
Opening the show tonight is Dim Gray. The Norwegian trio self-released their debut album ‘Flown’, digitally in 2020, with a physical release following in June 2021. ‘Flown’ would bring the guys to the attention of the Big Big Train team for their sophomore album ‘Firmament’ on BBT’s English Electric Recordings label. The two albums are impressive achievements from a young band with backgrounds in disparate genres, from black metal to soundtrack composition. The first album mixes art rock flourishes with occasional ventures into more acoustic folky passages that tie into an overall theme based around loneliness. For their new record, the sound has evolved, still refreshingly hard to categorise in a post-rock, prog-rock, art-rock mash-up, but the melodic approach has shifted allowing the trio to experiment with textures and throw in a grandiose flourish when required. The overall sound is a little denser with vocalist and keyboard player Oskar Holldorff’s voice, at times, enveloped (voice as an instrument, if you will) as. ‘Firmament’ reveals itself slowly, but the time invested is repaid in full. On record, Dim Gray is an immersive experience that draws you in via electronica, inventive percussion and intricate guitar textures combined with sumptuous string arrangements and nicely judged vocal harmonies. If your record collection includes Radiohead, Tears For Fears, Steven Wilson or a-ha's recent releases, then Dim Gray should be on your radar.
With all that being said, how would Oskar Holldorff, Håkon Høiberg (guitars, vocals) and Tom Ian Klungland (drums, vocals) approach the live arena? There was no reason for apprehension as Dim Gray expanded into a quintet with the addition of a bass player and a second guitarist/keyboardist to handle as much of their recorded output as possible. The addition of a second keys man gave Oskar license to step out from behind his keyboard on occasion to introduce songs, nimbly dancing over a Big Big Train pedal board as he did so. The set was weighted in favour of ‘Flown’ with the percussive power and ringing guitars of ‘The Wave We Thought We’d Ride Forever’ and the dark, menacing ‘Dreamers Disease’ exhibiting plenty of light and shade via pounding drums and some very crunchy guitars. The band opened with the gorgeous ‘Mare’ from the new album and the latest single ‘Cannons’ was another welcome inclusion from ‘Firmament ‘with Håkon taking the lead vocal duties on a tune that has a more traditional folky bounce to it as a base for various intricate fingerpicked electric guitar figures. There was also an early appearance from Big Big Train’s Clare Lindley, who popped up to add some violin to the proceedings. Both are excellent tracks which I’m sure the late Stuart Adamson would find much to like as the ring of duel guitars floating around the auditorium. The evening was off to an excellent start.
Alberto Bravin photo courtesy of Mike Ainscoe atthebarrier.com
Big Big Train has endured its fair share of ups and downs over the years, but nothing could have prepared the band, their families and friends for the sad loss of David Longdon following an accident at his home last November. Since 2009, David had been the frontman for Big Big Train and played a vital part as the band rose to the top of the progressive rock tree in the UK and beyond. After careful consideration, the band decided that they needed to continue and one of the earliest signs of this is a truncated (due to unforeseen circumstances beyond their control) three-date tour that had started the previous evening with a “friends and family” show in Southampton. Speaking to members of the prog rock press and various others before the show, the feedback from the previous night was positive, but it was clear that David’s death had left a big hole in the lives of many who knew him.
Full disclosure, It was my first time seeing the band, and I would not claim to know their material that well, especially when said material is complicated and goes on a bit (and I mean that in the nicest possible way). Thankfully, I tuned in pretty quickly. Fellow newcomer, Italian singer and multi-instrumentalist Alberto Bravin did a fine job of settling into his role as frontman. His excellent voice and relaxed (if he was nervous, he hid it well) demeanour seemed to instantly click with the crowd who were in his corner from the off. With seven band members including Dim Gray’s Oskar Holldorff, standing in for the unavailable Carly Bryant, and a four-piece brass ensemble Big Big Train have all the tools at their disposal to tackle the myriad musical threads that make up their sound. The quality of musicianship is outstanding allowing the band to skip effortlessly from the folky harmony-driven ‘Made From Sunshine’ to extended instrumental epics such as ‘Apollo’, which closed the main set as guitarist Dave Foster reeled off two unexpectedly fiery guitar breaks, or ‘Bats In The Belfry’ with its Lalo Schifrin ‘Mission Impossible’ hook. As I mentioned earlier, the band’s knack for vocal harmony can’t be understated as Bravin, Holldorff, Clare Lindley, drummer Nick D’Virgilio and Rikard Sjöblom (guitar/keys) all sing at various points in the set. Notably, D’Virgilio steps up to sing the intro to ‘The Florentine’ with Bravin, which is a nice little bit of theatre before he returns to his kit. The drummer also performs his drum solo accompanied by the brass section, which isn’t something you see every day before he reminds us of David Longdon’s talent via a heartfelt ‘Telling The Bees’. It would be remiss of me not to mention the quiet man at the back Greg Spawton, bass player and founding member, keeping it tight with his warming bass notes. Looking down from the upper levels, he's busier than you might assume performing that most progtastic task of tiptoeing over his bass pedals. You’ve heard it said before, and you’ll no doubt hear it said again, but bass pedals are as prog as it gets. All of this musical ability might be lost but the sound mix is impressive and the lighting is surprisingly effective. It's amazing what you can do with a few fluorescent tubes dotted about the stage, a mirrorball effect and the odd vari-light.
A close friend has been singing the praises of Big Big Train for years. I'm starting to think he might be on to something.
Review by David Vousden.
Many thanks to Mike Ainscoe for kindly helping RGM out with Big Big Train pics. Mike’s excellent site At The Barrier is well worth a visit for additional coverage of this gig and a wide range of live music and album reviews.
I don’t get to many metal shows these days, so I jumped at the opportunity to visit North London for a rare UK visit from Kamelot. The Florida-born but now multi-national act are deep into their ‘Awaken The World’ tour with impressive looking support from Ad Infinitum, Blackbriar and Frozen Crown. I’m, unusually for me, bright and early for the start of tonight’s proceedings and expecting good things.