Magenta/Pendragon at The Peel 08/11/08

I must be a bit of a Jonah for The Peel. I’ve been there three times and now and each time the main band has had a technical issue – the first time Tinyfish’s drummer broke a snare skin in the first song, the second time Simon Godfrey’s synth guitar got stuck and this time Pendragon’s drummer also broke a snare. I can only apologise guys.

Magenta kicked off this 30th Anniversary Pendragon gig with an “unplugged” session, featuring just Rob on piano, Chris on acoustic guitar and the sublime vocals of Christina. They treated us to various tracks from “Home” and the ProgAid EP and even finished up with a cover of Kate Bush’s “Hounds of Love”. Christina seemed to be having a few throat problems (not that it affected her singing at all) and kept bending down for her water bottle, which gave the guy at the front with the large zoom lens an opportunity to take more photos.  A good warm up for the main act and Christina proved what a great singer she is.

Pendragon hit the stage soon after. I was slightly worried by Nick’s opening line of “Hello my lovers” but I’m sure that’s just his way of being friendly. This being the last show of their 30^th Anniversary Tour (as we were frequently reminded) we were treated to a selection of older numbers, which I admit I wasn’t familiar with, with a few numbers from the brilliant new “Pure” CD thrown in. The sound was good, although Nick’s Les Paul could have been a bit louder in the solos. New drummer, Scott Higham, is a real powerhouse who makes Animal from The Muppets look quiet and restrained. In the small confines of The Peel he was a little too loud but is nevertheless a great addition to the band.

Personally I would have liked to have heard a few more tracks from “The Masquerade Overture” and “Not Of This World”, but the Pure songs were excellent and are already proving to be live favourites.

As Nick said,  Pendragon and their fans are like a big family and Nick certainly has a great rapport with the fans, even sharing a Sherbet Fountain with the crowd while Scott went off in search of the van key to repair his snare drum.

In a way I found it sad that such a great band had to celebrate their 30^th anniversary in a small pub in Kingston when they deserve to be playing Wembley but at least they have the satisfaction of a hugely appreciative audience. Here’s to the next 30 years.