Prior to this concert, I had heard a song or two by Thank You Scientist but had never heard of Bent Knee or The Tea Club. I found out about the concert a couple hours before it started and had no expectations. It was held at a small standing-room only venue that had a max capacity of around 200 and there were probably 100-150 people there.

The Tea Club played one 30 minute song entitled, "Creature." They seemed pretty tight. It had a movement or two that stood out as great; the rest was good.

The main reason I felt compelled to write this post was Bent Knee. I have seen 30ish concerts by 20 or so prog bands over the past 15 years (the entirety of my prog life). Steve Hackett's Genesis Revisited tour of 2014 previously held the title of best energy ever put on by the band. Bent Knee absolutely blew that show out of the water. I'm going to sound repetitive if I do this all individually, but Courtney Swain (lead vocals/keyboards), Ben Levin (guitar/vocals), Chris Baum (violin), and Jessica Kion (bass/vocals) all had out-of-this-world stage presence. Ben and Jessica were grooving together and playing beautifully off each other the whole time. Chris was a man possessed by the music. Courtney had the second most charisma I've ever seen from any front man/woman, only behind a young Ian Anderson. Everyone was all smiles and looked like they were having the time of their lives. Most of their songs were a bit too poppy for me to really get into with the exception of the fantastic set closer, "Lovemenot." The set was probably 45-60 minutes and was worth the price of admission by itself. I highly recommend seeing them if you ever get the chance.

I really dislike Salvatore Marrano's vocals, so I wouldn't pay too much attention to my opinion of Thank You Scientist live. The two positives I took away from their performance was I'd probably really like them with a different/no singer and that Tom Monda (guitar) had absurd technical skills.

The whole show was three and a half hours.

Good, I thought I was the only one who had a problem with Marrano's vocals. It sounds so off with their kind of music and lyrical content.

agreed completely with my better half though.. some bands.. good God we've seen enough. They rule on stage.. but would never listen to them at home. While I never bought the hype on Bent Knee.. honestly.. they bored me to death..  I do agree Tea Club is a fantatically talented group and quite good songwriters. One of my modern favs. 

Saw the tour on Saturday and the bands were great. Fun performances all around. Doors opened at 6 pm, but I didn't get to the club until 7 pm and Tea Club was already playing. I caught the tail end of one song and the entirety of "Creature" so only 1 song, but it was 26+ minutes. Got to love those epic prog epics. "If/When" is already one of my top albums for the year.

Pretty quick turn around and Bent Knee was on. Ben Levin and Jessica Kion make such an adorable couple. They way they would look at each other and bump into each other as they were playing was really cute.  I can see them having nerdy musician kids. Their new album is also one of my top albums for the year. They were on point for the entire 45-50 minute set. 

Thank You Scientist put on a fun show as well. I saw them once before and I remember making a mental note the previous drummer seemed bored. Not the case with the current drummer. Top notch playing, the instrumental, Chromology, stood out. They closed out with their cover of the Rick James/Eddie Murphy number, "Party All the Time," joined on stage by the positively goofy Ben and Jessica, who were dancing around. Also on stage was Tea Club drummer Dan Monda (brother of Thank You Scientist guitarist Tom), as well as Tea Club's Pat McGowan, who appeared to be filming it all on his phone.

Thanks for the reviews! I've missed Bent Knee every time they've come near me--I even had tickets to see them last summer in Milwaukee! (Life keeps getting in the way.) Someday . . . I hope I'm lucky enough to catch them with other quality acts like Thank You Scientist, The Tea Club, or District 97.