Riverside / SWX / Bristol
Another trip down to Bristol town and to the brilliant SWX, to take in the Riverside UK tour with special guests Klone.
Originally from Poitiers in France Klone were formed way back in 1995 by vocalist David, Guillaume on guitars, Julien on bass and drummer Laurent. With a love for prog rock/metal and many other influences ranging from Meshuggah, Porcupine Tree, Coroner, Devin Townsend, Opeth, Tool, Pink Floyd and Tangerine Dream they have developed their very own unique take on prog / art-rock. Their most recent album “Meanwhile” was released in 2023.
We previously saw Klone last year supporting Devin Townsend at the O2 in Bristol and they were excellent.
But tonight, we were in for a different treat, with an acoustic set, giving a whole new feel to their grand soundscapes. The five band members step out into the dimly lit stage and take their seats and launch into an almost hour long set. The lighting was brilliant, with spots used very effectively to create a beautiful and atmospheric environment.
Right from Sealed Yann’s powerful and soulful vocals hit home…. Boy this was something very special indeed. Almost statis, with just Romain on drums getting up to pound out some of the more energetic beats, the performance was incredible, in it’s subtlety.
The set pulls tracks from right across their careers, and highlights included tracks like Gone Up In Flames (from 2016’s “Here Comes The Sun”) and Rocket Smoke from 2015’s “The Dreamer’s Hideaway”. Unusually, there was just the one trac from the latest album “Meanwhile” in Bystander.
And towards the end, we get an absolutely incredible rendition of the classic Soundgarden hit Black Hole Sun that had the whole crowd singing along to its iconic chorus. I stood near the back, leaning on the barrier around the sounddesk, singing along and beeming from ear to ear. A stunning moment ! The set concluded with Yonder from 2019’s “Le Grand Voyage”.
When I saw them last year supporting Devin Townsend, with their full electronic set, they blew me away. This time, fully acoustic…. They were even better. I can’t wait to see a full headline set, and can only hope they release one of these live acoustic shows real soon.
Simply stunning !
Setlist
Sealed
Gone Up in Flames
Grim Dance
The Drifter
Bystander
Interlaced
The Unseen
Black Hole Sun (Soundgarden cover)
Rocket Smoke
Yonder
Wow, that was good. Just time for a quick drink to cool down and the stage is ready for tonight’s headliners – Riverside. A progressive rock band formed in 2001 in Warsaw, Poland the current lineup consists of Mariusz Duda (vocals & bass), Piotr Kozieradzki (drums), Michał Łapaj (keyboards & backing vocals) and Maciej Meller (guitar).
To call them a prog rock band, doesn’t really fit, and during the show Mariusz while talking to the crowd mentions comparisions to Dream Theatre and says this isn’t the compliment people think it is. Duba as the main lyricist and composer of the band, started out as a fan of electronic, ambient and experimental music, such as Radiohead, Dead Can Dance, Tangerine Dream, Peter Gabriel,[1] and later on, prog rock artists such as Pink Floyd, Rush, Tool, Marillion. There’s also some thrash metal influence as well.
As a result, Riverside, have changed styles over the years and their sound is a blend of atmospheric rock and metal elements, resulting in a sound similar to that of Porcupine Tree, and Pain of Salvation. They released their latest album “ID.Entity” in 2023 and this tour is part of the promo for it. The band have clearly gone through a transformation and early on, Mariusz Duda tells us the band have shifted their identity and that latest album focuses on change. Not just change in society but also as individuals and as a band.
Riverside have had their share of dark times, especially with the passing in 2016 of founding guitarist Piotr Grudzinski.
There is a sense of anticipation in the air, partly from the excellent set we just experienced and the band step out to huge cheers, with keyboardist Michal wearing a broad grin across his face, which doesn’t leave once during the set. The set tonight is mainly drawn from the latest album, but we start off with #Addicted from 2015’s “Love, Fear and the Time Machine” and O2 Panic Room from 2007’s “Rapid Eye Movement”, before the first of the new album in Landmine Blast.
What’s great with Riverside, as Duda reminds us, every show is different. Not just the selection of songs (as usual) but each performance is slightly different, with different sections, elements added to make the experience unique. Not quite the Imperial Triumphant, ‘every song is adjusted in realtime’ in a jazz freestyle style, but impressive nonetheless.
The band seem at ease with duda talking at length with the crowd, and they genuinely seemed to be enjoying live performance again, especially Michał who must be the most relaxed and fun keyboardist in rock, and newest addition to the live line up Maciej Meller on guitar is exceptional. Skilled at blasting out the heavy metal like riffs and the more delicate and intricate sections as well, easily transitioning from one to the other effortlessly. As a result, the performance is flawless, tight and emotional.
That wide range of influences, and the frustration with being labelled as simply prog rock feels understandable. The music and the style of delivery is intricate and demonstrates so many influences. You can hear the heavier thrash metal in glimpses, the sweeping organ sounds and electronic beauty of the Tangerine Dream keyboard sections (The keyboard geek in me loved the Oberheim OB-6 sounds), and some delightful funky and soulful bass playing from Duda himself.
The lighting, as for Klone, was simple but really effective, with a number of rear spots and some huge honeycomb covered lights round the back of the band, bathing them in soft light.
The main set ends with Friend Or Foe? the opening track from “ID.Entity” which shows that electronic almost synth-pop influence, building into a great rock track – beautiful ! The kind of thing that deserves chart success.
As the night ends we end with Self-Aware (from ID.Entity) and Conceiving You from 2005’s “Second Life Syndrome”. The crowd are loving every second, every note of the performance. Riverside, are a band that have changed and evolved and seem to have found a happy place, and it shows.
As we walk out and I head for my hotel, my mind is a whirl. Klone delivered a stripped back, emotional acoustic set and Riverside broke all the prog rock moulds, and delivered a performance for the ages.
Watch out for future shows, you don’t want to miss this opportunity when it comes round again !
Setlist
#Addicted
O2 Panic Room
Landmine Blast
Big Tech Brother
Lost (Why Should I Be Frightened By a Hat?)
Post-Truth
The Place Where I Belong
Egoist Hedonist
Friend or Foe?
Encore:
Self-Aware
Conceiving You
