Pendragon - Tavistock Review

Despite having been aware of the British progressive rock band Pendragon for a long time, as well as catching a little of their set at the 2010 iteration of the much-lamented High Voltage Festival, I did not start listening to them properly until earlier this year. In general, baring the rather large exception of Marillion, I have never really been all that into the 1980s neo-prog scene. Marillion always felt like the best and the leading light of that scene, and have not really been associated with that world for at least 30 years by this point. None of the songs that I had heard by any of Marillion's peers had ever done that much for me - but in recent years I have started to enjoy some of the other neo-prog bands a bit more, with Pallas and Arena in particular impressing. I had not got around to checking Pendragon out again, though, until I saw that they were scheduled to appear at The Wharf in Tavistock - a local venue to me which always delivers good nights. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to properly delve in Pendragon's catalogue, so I purchased a ticket and picked up a few of their albums. I have not heard all of their albums yet, but over the past few months I have been enjoying delving into their rich catalogue which stretches back to the mid-1980s. Despite being associated with the neo-prog scene, I am not sure that Pendragon generally sound like the other bands from that world. The odd synth line and idiosyncratic vocal aside, Pendragon are generally more atmospheric and less in-your-face than the punk-influenced neo-proggers - with band leader Nick Barrett's (vocals/guitar/mandolin) lengthy guitar solos occasionally having something of a Pink Floyd-esque majesty. I am certainly no Pendragon expert, but I was looking forward to seeing the band live properly for the first time - as that High Voltage appearance does not count given how little of it I saw. It was also my second visit to The Wharf within a week, as I went up to the Devon town last weekend to catch a good show from The Hayley Griffiths Band. Those living around Tavistock are very lucky to have The Wharf. It is a venue which has consistently punched above its weight, and has hosted bands like Yes and Uriah Heep in the past who would generally play much larger rooms. I am not sure which venues Pendragon tend to play in the UK, but they seemed a good fit for The Wharf regardless. Whilst there were a few familiar faces in the crowd, the healthy turnout seemed to consist of quite a few who had travelled from afar. I do not think that the band have been that active on the live front this year, so the die-hard fans likely wanted to take any opportunity they could to get to a gig. There certainly seemed to be quite a lot of hardcore Pendragon fans in attendance, too, as there was a lot of passionate singing going on down at the front - and there was also quite a bit of banter between Barrett and some in the crowd who were likely regulars. It was good to see the room looking pretty full, too, as Griffiths' show last weekend was not that well attended, sadly.

Following a brief acoustic set from Rog Patterson, who would join Pendragon to add additional acoustic guitar depth on a number of songs, the venue's lights went down and the band took to the stage - with Clive Nolan (keyboards/vocals) setting the tone from the off with some dense synths. In what was generally a pretty forward-looking setlist, the band opted to open with an older track. The relatively lengthy If I Were the Wind (and You Were the Rain) kicked things off, with Barrett nailing the opening solo before getting stuck into the atmospheric prog track vocally. He may not be the most diverse of singers, but Barrett's delivery suits Pendragon's sound - and he was more animated as a frontman than I expected given that he is also the band's lead guitarist. He really is the focal point, but the whole band gelled well together from the off - augmented by Patterson and two backing singers. Following the older opening cut, the band played for well over two hours without much of a breather - and no less than five songs from their latest album Lover Over Fear were then dolled out. It is not an album that I have heard yet, but I still enjoyed the newer material played. The five songs were quite diverse, with the shorter, folkier Starfish and the Moon contrasting nicely with the longer and spikier Truth and Lies - which featured some excellent drumming from Jan-Vincent Velazco. Pauses between songs to allow the crowd to sing happy birthday to a member of the crowd and for Barrett to introduce Water with a story about getting stuck in a rip tide whilst surfing helped the pace. Appropriately, Water allowed for some murkier vibes - with plenty of darker keyboards from Nolan and effects-heavy guitar leads. Following this suite of newer tracks, the old favourite A Man of Nomadic Traits was wheeled out, with the Middle Eastern melodies, snaking bass playing from Peter Gee, and the relatively anthemic chorus filling the venue whilst those down at the front shouted along with Barrett and the rest of the band. This led up to a mid-set acoustic break, with Velazco briefly departing and the band donning acoustic guitars. The relatively short The King of the Castle saw the band acting as minstrels, before two numbers from this year's EP North Star brought the set back up to date - with the final part of the three-part title track impressing. With Velazco back, the band ran through the jaunty 360 Degrees, with added violin from one of the backing singers, before the rest of the main set largely took a darker and heavier turn. This Green and Pleasant Land felt like the centrepiece of the set with its heartfelt message and big chorus, whilst Paintbox did lift the gloom somewhat with some chiming guitar melodies and playful bass grooves. One of the overall highlights for me in this latter part of the set, though, was the closing cut Indigo. Easily the heaviest song of the night, it showed that Pendragon occasionally flirt with more metallic sounds. Velazco in particular impressed with some busy footwork, but the whole band rocked the main set to a hard-hitting close. It was well past 11pm at this point, so I was expecting that to be it - but after some cheering the band came back out, and they dipped back into the past and pulled out the Floydian Breaking the Spell. The song contains one of the Barrett's best guitar solos, so it made sense to end with the lengthy piece and he let rip with the swirling keyboard and bass backing behind him. It was a great way to end the night, and the long set certainly gave the fans their money's worth. The setlist was:

If I Were the Wind (and You Were the Rain)

Everything

Starfish and the Moon

Truth and Lies

Eternal Light

Water

A Man of Nomadic Traits

The King of the Castle

North Star - Part III: Phoenician Skies

Fall Away

360 Degrees

This Green and Pleasant Land

Paintbox

Afraid of Everything

Indigo

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Breaking the Spell

Seeing Pendragon last night seemed like a great way to cap off the last few months of delving into some of their albums. They put on a great show, and it was excellent seeing the long-standing prog band deliver a set which was packed full of newer material - whilst also impressing with some older favourites. It is good to continually expand your musical horizons, and Pendragon are a band whom I will be following a lot more closely in the future. I will endeavour to pick up the rest of their albums in due course - and I will hopefully get to see them live again at some point.