I was interested in what other peoples experience of the recent Spock’s Beard gigs were like so i persuaded fellow (lady) fan Helen Spooner to let me know about her encounter with the band. A big thanks to helen. Great to see and hear from lady Prog fans out there too.
MY DAY WITH SPOCKS BEARD – THE GARAGE – LONDON 07/05/13
Having been a fan of SB since the early 2000’s, I had the pleasure of meeting Ryo last year with K2 where we cemented a friendship that has grown over the last few months with the release of their 11th studio album to this coming tour of Brief Nocturnes and Dreamless Sleep… I showed a passion in promoting them and their music that to my surprise hadn’t gone unnoticed by the band and their publicist Sonya, so to be added to the guest list for me was an honour and a privilege…
Arriving mid-afternoon with my best friend who is also a musician we came across their huge tour bus and were greeted by Dave Meros, Ted Leonard and the tour photographer Andy, introductions were made, some unnecessary as it was apparent they knew who we were, Ryo was nowhere to be seen, he was due back at 3pm… we hung around for a little longer and re-acquainted ourselves with the great Beardfish, who we had met on the Flying Colors tour… Nearing 3pm I called Ryo who was trying to find his way out of the tube and round to the gig, we found him wondering the streets, I jumped into his arms, and he looked the typical tourist taking photographs of red telephone boxes! We then met up with Rob Aubrey, the tour manager who being slightly stressed invited us into the gig where load in and set up was vastly underway… I took up my position on a stool armed with my camera and just watched, trying to soak up what I was actually witnessing, we greeted the rest of Beardfish, David and Robert (who remembered us) and I continued mentally putting names to the faces that were walking around me, being familiar with load in, set up and sound checks and understanding that this is a major part of their day that needs their utmost attention, it was an honour to witness this. After the sound check the guys were able to relax a little more and took the time to come over chat, have photographs taken and sign autographs, I felt like I got to know them more in this brief period of time, I had taken Ryo a t-shirt and he made it a priority that I received one too…My friend John Young arrived, his band had supported K2 previously. I chatted with Simon Collins (SoC) so much like his dad it was uncanny, except for the accent! John Wesley was 5ft away putting his guitars onto his rack, gave me a smile and at that point the penny hadn’t dropped that he was also the guitarist of Porcupine Tree!
Whilst I am soaking all this up my friend Tony is having a blast talking shop and gear to all and sundry.. Oh and Steve Rothery popped in too..
I think it’s fair to say that I was in a room with some very great and brilliant musicians.
The gig itself lived up to all my expectations, I think Ted Leonard brings something very special to SB, as a singer and also as a songwriter, the highlights for me were Submerged, Distance to the Sun, Afterthoughts, Waiting For Me and Go the Way You Go!
I really won’t forget their generosity, warmth and kindness they showed to me on this tour, I will continue to support them and promote them in every way possible.
SPOCKS BEARD RULE… <3
By Helen Spooner
