Venue:
Union Chapel, London
Date: 16/04/2015
Thirty four years ago I was looking forward to seeing Renaissance. The gig was cancelled and so it would appear, was the band. They weren’t really arty enough for prog, nor edgy and definitely not in the new wave corner. A hit single, a theme to a short-lived kids TV series, long songs, orchestras and choirs meant they never really built a viable platform for longevity or to see them safely onto the nostalgia circuit. Not in the UK anyway. They did have Annie Haslam, whose crystal clear voice (5 octave range allegedly) could soar and dive, generating ripples of appreciation up the spine (and down). As many people however, I moved on.
Fast forward to 2012 and a new crowd funded album was recorded with Annie, original guitarist Michael Dunford and a cast of talented others. There were periodic shows in the US’s eastern states and everything was ramping up for a return when Dunford suffered a fatal haemorrhage. End of story. No. Possibly on the back of Steve Hackett’s rejuvenation, plus links to other active 70s prog icons Yes, John Wetton and Ian Anderson, Renaissance saw an opportunity. We are told ‘they are back’, touring Europe and specifically, playing the wonderful Union Chapel in London.
First of all, it isn’t busy. When the Chapel is full, it has an excited buzz, with the balcony closed there’s a lot of empty space to fill. Tonight there were maybe 250-300 people in the audience. The support act, Blackheart, were OK in a sort of strummy, male-female vocal duo point of view, but didn’t really encourage me to trouble the merch table.
Thankfully the wait for the main act was short and they were on stage just after 8.30 with the opening track, ‘Prologue’. Not unpredictably, the sound, specifically the drums, bounced disturbingly off the venue’s hard surfaces although thankfully improved as the gig progressed and the band and sound engineer got into their stride. More material from their prime followed with the tracks ‘Carpet of the Sun’, my fave, ‘Ocean Gypsy’ and ‘Running Hard’.
Throughout these it was hard to fault the musicianship. These tunes, previously delivered with lavish arrangements had been trimmed to fit the short form line-up (vocals, two keyboardists, bass, acoustic guitars and drums), appeared to suffer little. Were there pre-recorded audio back-ups? Maybe, but to be honest the two keyboardists (Rave Tesar and Jason Hart) seemed to have the skill and technology to deliver note perfect regardless.
The set then dipped into the most recent (crowd funded) album with the tracks ‘Grandine il Vento’, ‘Symphony of Light’ and ‘Mystic and the Muse’ before concluding with ‘Northern Lights’, ‘Mother Russia’ and the encore ‘Ashes are Burning’. The audience lapped it up and despite the low numbers, were appreciative and vocal. The gig timed in at about one hour fifty minutes, which was probably about the right length.
What of Ms Haslam’s voice? Now in her late 60s and having suffered a throat infection a few days previously, it was blummin’ superb. Yes, it may have lost some attack and you could spot the gradual build-up to the high notes, but what a shame it has spent so long out of the spotlight.
I don’t make a habit of chasing heritage acts but I was glad I’d managed to catch Renaissance this time round. They had fallen off the radar, probably rightly, but that shouldn’t diminish the quality of their material. If I was being picky I would say the small aging audience made the gig a little sterile, but there was no faulting the band. A good night.
The audience:
Nerdy, grey, balding, un-hip. The fifty-something couple sat next to me appeared to be on a first date and given the body language I wouldn’t be surprised if it was her first ever gig.
It made me think..
How big do you need to have been to justify a comeback and over how long a period were you missing to make it financially viable?
Hi Phil.
We were sitting at home last Friday listening to the latest album. We so loved some of their early recordings and Northern Lights always makes me smile. I had my finger hovering over the “purchase tickets” button but as we listened to the latest record, I couldn’t quite get passed the voice which wasn’t quite reaching the places that the arrangment was expecting it to. even so i very nearly pressed the button but we both decided it wold be better remembering things how they were.
It’s a shame as we could have caught up!
That aside, were my fears justified? Sound like they were not accoring to your report!
You should have come along and helped swell the ranks. The band were very good indeed and Annie’s voice was far better than I had expected or hoped. The gig just needed a larger audience. Anyway, it was videoed, and if their crowd funding model works again there is an intention to release it either digitally or on DVD later this year.
Funnily enough I was sorting through a few of my vinyls a few days ago after some house reorganisation and I discovered my small collection of Renaissance LPs. I’m assuming they didn’t try anything as ambitious as Song of Scheherazade or Ashes Are Burning?
They played Ashes are Burning as the encore. Cue the solos.
A readers digest version or the full 24 or so minutes? If the latter, then colour me impressed!
The slightly reduced fat 12 minute version
I love the first album above all, which is not to denigrate the later line-ups, it’s just that I bought it when it came out, and that’s how my memories of Renaissance were forged. Do they do anything from that far back? I doubt it, because the canon is long and rich with potential choices, but I’d love to hear Kings & Queens played live.
https://youtu.be/Y0Kb7AAW8_8
The first iteration of the band seems to have been largely erased, but that sounds worth investigating. Ta
I bought Live at Carnegie Hall back in the day as they sounded (on paper) like my kind of band. They weren’t, but Annie can croon like an angel.
Good review. Last year I was in Lititz,PA on business and was talking to a potential client who was an exiled scouser. A big music fan, he mentioned that Annie Haslam lived locally and that piqued my interest in a band I loved so many years ago. I had Tales of Scheherazade and the album that preceded that Turn of the cards?
I loved the songs from those albums and had been tempted to update to cd. Your review may just encourage me to do so.
Steve, I’ve sent you an email with some further research 😉
Sounds great Phil. A band I’ve always known about but never known…you’ve inspired me to check out their catalogue.
Song for All Seasons is an excellent place to start. Annie Haslam’s voice in full pomp.
Twang, see my reply to Steve above ^
Personally I’d start with Ashes Are Burning.
Very interested to read your review. I saw them back in 75/76 and they were wonderful then. I’d thought of going but had nobody to go with and so didn’t bother. Didn’t understand your point about Hackett, Yes, Ian Anderson etc, who have all been touring constantly these last 40 years!