By: Chris McGarel
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O2 Academy, Islington | October 2, 2015
There are bands that inspire adulation, respect, even awe. The overriding relationship between Spock’s Beard and their audience is affection. Ryo Okumoto bounds onto the stage to chants of “RYO! RYO!”. He laps it up, of course, being one of the clowns in Cirque de Beard alongside Alan ‘Coco’ Morse. The warmth is extended to ‘new boys’ Ted Leonard and Jimmy Keegan. Through all this band’s changes in personnel they have carried themselves with integrity and goodwill. That is what engenders such affection from their fanbase. Well, that and the consistency of their music.
Opening with ‘Tides of Time’ from new album The Oblivion Particle that consistency is self-evident. Sure, what they do is far from original. Dave Meiros still channels the late Chris Squire’s Rickenbacker mastery, Ryo’s syncopated key motifs and the ensemble’s harmony vocals are knowing nods to Gentle Giant. The song’s time changes hark back to The Lamb-era Genesis. None of this matters. Spock’s Beard inject their influences with a freshness of purpose and a heavy metal dynamism that contrasts with the pastoral prog elements in their DNA and they do so with self-deprecating wit and bags of on-stage humour.
Ted Leonard is a magnetic frontman. That is high praise since he is sandwiched front-stage between born entertainers, Morse and Okumoto who throws devil horns on the rare opportunity when he has a free hand (Gentle Giant pun intended). Aside from his magnificent voice Leonard’s considerable guitar skills come to bear, whether duelling with Al on leads or switching to acoustic pickup and weaving delicate tapestries with his counterpart such as on ‘On A Perfect Day’ from 2006’s self-titled album. His request for English ale to replace the French lager with which he has been supplied gets the crowd even more on-side who are rewarded for their generosity with an early classic, the mini-epic ‘The Good Don’t Last’.
The set focusses heavily on later material, a sign of this incarnation’s confidence and faith in the two albums they have recorded together. A highlight of The Oblivion Particle ‘Minion’ is a superb showcase for all the band’s idiosyncratic melange of styles while 2013’s ‘Afterthoughts’ is a heavy rocker that feels natural despite its off-footing timing. The latest song in the ‘Thoughts’ franchise it conjures the ghost of Gentle Giant’s ‘Knots’ with its canon vocal as multiple melodies are juggled around the singers. The perfectly executed section is greeted with mid-song cheers and applause like a solo at a jazz gig. Wonderful.
Drummer Jimmy Keegan comes front-stage to lend his voice to a sing-a-long of the long-time fan favourite, ‘June’. Two fans beside me deserve special mention as they harmonise perfectly with one another at the top of their lungs while the rest of us provide a more mediocre but no less heartfelt chorus.
‘The Water’ from the debut album is an unexpected, but welcome choice for an encore, if nothing else it gives us the chance to shout expletives back and extend our middle fingers to the band all in the name of art. When Ryo’s funky clavinet morphs into an excerpt from Stevie Wonder’s ‘Superstition’ there is no denying the ability of this outfit to entertain.
Perhaps a few more Morse-era tracks would have improved the set, which leant very heavily on post-NDV Beard, but the new material is strong and this is the slightest of criticisms. May this version of Spock’s Beard continue to enjoy making and playing their own creations to a fanbase who dearly love them.
For those concerned, Ted did eventually get his ale.
