Seattle, WA

October 7 2012

EMP Museum: JBL Theater

 

Another fantastic performance by Neal Morse in Seattle last night. This performance was the Momentum Tour 2012, which only featured 3 songs off the new album. Everything else was songs from other Neal Morse albums.

 

Setlist:
Momentum

Weathering Sky

Author of Confusion

Distance to the Sun

Testimony I Suite

Thoughts Part 5

The Conflict

 

Intermission

 

? Suite

Fly High

World Without End

 

Encore:
Crazy Horses

King Jesus

 

Three hours of massive prog epics, as you can see from the setlist......Seems he is changing the encore around as they have also been playing "Come Sail Away" by Styx.

 

The epics were played with so much power and enthusiasm by all members of the band. It was very evident from the start that Mike Portnoy is very, very comfortable now with Neal Morse in this on going project work. He played with so much power and emotion I mean he was tearing up the skins with such precision it was mesmarizing.

Especially on Thoughts Pt 5 and The Conflict, Portnoy was a beast....He got into every fill like it was his last.

 

Randy George was his usual tower of perfection, although I did not care for him being in the background....I prefer he be in front.

The other members were Adson Sodre, Bill Hubauer and Eric Gillette.....All excellent musicians, this group of 6 really jelled well together.

 

Highlights for me were Thougts Pt 5, Conflict, Author of Confusion........For my wife she really got into ? Suite and Testimony I Suite. That one had more boogie, dare I say danceable tunes, with Prince of the Power of the Air.

 

The Osmonds Crazy Horses cover was just fun, with Portnoy taking the mic on lead vocals and Neal playing drums.

 

Both my wife and I agreed this setlist was much better than last years T2 Tour, granted he played all of T2, this setlist I think fit Mike Portnoy's style of playing much better and also more guitar riffing by Neal.

 

A night of powerful songs, long epics, fantastic musicianship by all........PROGTASTIC!!!

 

Here are some pics my wife took......We were in the first row, enjoy the pics.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I bet Portnoy tore it up on Author of Confusion, that is one of my favorites by Neal.

 

You are correct....wife and I were first row....if I stretched my legs in my seat I hit the stage. It is a small, intimate venue probably 350 people were there.

 

And yes he tore up that song.

Catcher10, thanks for posting those pictures, they're outstanding. Mine are posted below.

My wife and I were there as well. We got VIP tickets and it ended up being one of the most amazing experiences of my life!

October 7, 2012 - Meeting Neal Morse, Mike Portnoy, Randy George and the live band

I managed to get VIP tickets which allowed us access backstage and gave us premium seats. I bought the tickets from the concert promoter, Ken Coffman, who was great to deal with. I asked if there was anything I could do to help out and he suggested that I do some research and find out what nearby restaurants would be great for the band to hit after the show. But he cautioned me that the best plans have the potential to fall apart at any minute in these situations. I would soon find out that he wasn't kidding!

My wife and I met Ken for the first time in person at the South Entrance of the EMP around 3:30pm. He brought us backstage and then up to the green room (Another fan named Jerry had also purchase a VIP ticket so he hung out with us as well). When we got to the green room, some of the band members were having a sandwich before the show. There, I had a chance to meet Neal Morse, give him a framed picture that I made (based on the song "Wind At My Back") and get my picture taken with him. I've been a huge fan of Spock's Beard / Neal Morse since 1998 so this was a dream come true for me!

After that amazing experience, we had to focus on the restaurant planning. The initial plan was that Ken would buy out the food contract and give each of the 11 musicians / technicians $50 cash to do with as they please. Ken entrusted me with the money and said he would send each of band members / technicians to find me and that would make me "a very popular person."

However, it was becoming quickly evident that things were not going to go as planned. Mike Portnoy had mentioned that the coffee provided by the venue wasn't up to par. Ken asked my wife and I if we wouldn't mind doing a "Starbucks run" for Mike and some of the other band members. Being a crazy fan, I was all too eager to help out my wife, being a Starbucks fangirl herself, was great support in making sure the drinks were prepared exactly as requested.

We grabbed the drinks and quickly delivered them back to everyone. Mike Portnoy was very grateful and it gave me the opportunity to talk with him for a few moments. What a thrill!

Unfortunately, the problems kept piling up. We found out later that the band showed up an hour late because their bus broke down. Also, the sound check was taking a lot longer than expected because of multiple technical issues. When the gig started, it was over an hour late! 

But it was worth the wait. The concert was outstanding!

There was still the lingering question about what to do for food after the show. My wife managed to find a place that was open late and looked fairly classy but not overly expensive (New York Pizza & Bar, a 5 minute walk away). After talking with the group's tour manager, we decided to place a "timed order" for 10:30pm. Only Neal, Mike, Eric, Randy (and his family) decided to attend in the end. My wife grabbed a menu and the tour manager had the each member of the band circle what they wanted on the menu.

However, we were thrown another left curve. The band decided to play a few extra songs, including one where Neal Morse played the drums and Mike Portnoy was on vocals. This made for a great show but there was food waiting. In the end, we didn't get to the New York Pizza & Bar until 11:00pm! And the band was tired and starving.

We came in got everyone seated but the bar manager was not happy. He said that they had to end up throwing out all of the food and had to start over. And I had to deliver the bad news to the band that the food wasn't immediately ready. But somehow, we got lucky and the restaurant staff didn't kill us and the band bought in to my reasoning that fresh food beats half hour cold food.

By some miracle, it all worked out. The band really enjoyed the food (my wife and I ordered pizza) and I got to have a late night meal with Neal Morse, Mike Portnoy and Randy George! We left a generous tip with the staff for putting up with us.

Ken Coffman showed up around midnight and proceeded to round everyone up and drive them back to their hotel. It was at this point I had a chance to thank Neal, Mike and Randy for letting us hang out with them and my wife even managed to get a picture of me and Mike Portnoy right at the very end.

After that experience, my wife and I headed back to our hotel. We didn't get to bed until around 2am and we had to be up for 4am to catch our flight back to Canada.

All in all, it was an unforgettable experience with pictures and memories that I will treasure for the rest of my life.

The framed picture I gave to Neal Morse

Ken Coffman, the concert promoter. He made this all possible!

Myself and Neal Morse in the green room at the EMP

Mike, Neal and Adson

The band

My wife and I

Randy, Neal and Mike

Neal and Mike 

Randy, Neal and Mike

Eric, Mike and Neal

Eric, Mike and Neal

Neal, Mike and Adson

The band!

Myself and Mike Portnoy in front of the New York Pizza & Bar

 

Anyhow yea it was a great show for sure. I assume Ken mentioned to you that he was asked by Neal if he was willing to promote a Neal Morse/Flower Kings show next May 2013.......that would be a sweet billing but I told Ken he woulf have to rent the JBL Theater for 7 hours.....2 three hour shows and a 1 hour intermission! He laughed......

 

Oo...snap!

Sorry Flucktrot about the sound issues, man that sucks so much!!! I'm sorry

 

That is too bad....maybe next time they will pick a different venue for your area. The Seattle show started about an hour late due to technical issues. We kept being told the sound was not coming out right......I also think Randy was missing his main bass guitar as it showed up about 30min before we got in......We all cheered when we saw the guitar arrive...That was funny!

 

The venue in Seattle at EMP is very good soundwise, for the last two shows wife and I have been front row, and normally females at rock concerts cringe at the loudness, my wife has never complained, she likes Neal Morse and we both agree he is very good people too, his shows are very entertaining.