Goblin in Concert

[Forester1]

Can anyone tell us what they're like now ? I'm asking because they're touring the UK in the New Year, so this would be a very rare opportunity to actually see an Italian band ! I've only really heard an old compilation, "The Fantastic Voyage of Goblin".

[battema]

Ask me again in 2 days after I see the current lineup :)

The previous lineup (aka New Goblin) was fantastically cool live; played pretty much all the expected numbers and a few goodies like most of 'Roller.' Even with the lineup change, I don't expect things to be terribly different.

[Forester1]

Thanks battema, I'll watch this space. Wonder if they'll use film backdrops.

[Joe F.]

Thanks battema, I'll watch this space. Wonder if they'll use film backdrops.

They did on the first leg of the US tour. They showed clips out of the movies they scored.

[Mt. Pleasant Farm]

I am actually seeing them this evening at The Trocadero in Philly. Zombi is opening.

[battema]

Awesome, have fun! Be sure and report back (especially if the dancer is still with them, ha ha).

[GuitarGeek]

The show I saw last week was fantastic. The interesting thing is, the first leg of the US tour, they had Claudio Simonetti in the band, but then during the down time before the second leg started, Simonetti and a couple of the other guys left, but were replaced with three of the other original members. So the first leg of the tour had two original members, the second leg had four original members! But like I said, no matter what, they sounded fantastic. Go see them if you get the chance.

[AncientChord]

The show I saw last week was fantastic. The interesting thing is, the first leg of the US tour, they had Claudio Simonetti in the band, but then during the down time before the second leg started, Simonetti and a couple of the other guys left, but were replaced with three of the other original members. So the first leg of the tour had two original members, the second leg had four original members! But like I said, no matter what, they sounded fantastic. Go see them if you get the chance.

I was at the first of three L.A. shows in October. Actually there were three original members, the two keyboardists and the guitarist. The show was fantastic, much better than anticipated. Do a search for Goblin on You Tube and check it out. You won't be disappointed.

[battema]

Just for clarity, because this band is clearly trying to one-up Yes in the member revolving door:

The "classic" Goblin was Simonetti (keys), Morante (guitar), Pignatelli (bass), Marangolo (drums), with Guarani (keys...for Roller and some other releases).


New Goblin (the first leg of the tour) was Simonetti, Morante, Guarani, plus the bassist and drummer from Daemonia, Simonetti's prog/metal Goblin tribute band. So...three members of the classic lineup.

BackToTheGoblin (the current leg of the tour) is Morante, Guarani, Pignatelli, Marangolo, plus a second keyboardist with whom I'm not familiar. So yeah, four original members (although for *some* folks Simonetti's involvement is valued more heavily than some of the other members).

The classic lineup sans Guarani did the Nonhosonno soundtrack as a reunion release (it's pretty good). BackToTheGoblin had a self-titled release. New Gobiln had a tour EP with four re-recordings of Goblin classics and a live album/video but did not release new studio output.

[SteveSly]

I saw the first leg of the tour in Chicago and it was fantastic. I was not even all that familiar with them before the show (the only album I own is the 2012 live one), but it was great. There was a whole big long thread about the tour just a few weeks ago, you might want to check there for a lot of other opinions.

Steve Sly

[polmico]

Ask me again in 2 days after I see the current lineup :)

The previous lineup (aka New Goblin) was fantastically cool live; played pretty much all the expected numbers and a few goodies like most of 'Roller.' Even with the lineup change, I don't expect things to be terribly different.

Carrboro show? I'll be there, too. Really excited to see Zombi, too.

[GuitarGeek]

Just for clarity, because this band is clearly trying to one-up Yes in the member revolving door:

The "classic" Goblin was Simonetti (keys), Morante (guitar), Pignatelli (bass), Marangolo (drums), with Guarani (keys...for Roller and some other releases).


New Goblin (the first leg of the tour) was Simonetti, Morante, Guarani, plus the bassist and drummer from Daemonia, Simonetti's prog/metal Goblin tribute band. So...three members of the classic lineup.

BackToTheGoblin (the current leg of the tour) is Morante, Guarani, Pignatelli, Marangolo, plus a second keyboardist with whom I'm not familiar. So yeah, four original members (although for *some* folks Simonetti's involvement is valued more heavily than some of the other members).

The classic lineup sans Guarani did the Nonhosonno soundtrack as a reunion release (it's pretty good). BackToTheGoblin had a self-titled release. New Gobiln had a tour EP with four re-recordings of Goblin classics and a live album/video but did not release new studio output.

My apologies about the gaffe regarding the New Goblin lineup. For some reason I've always regarded Simonetti as indispensable, but I have to admit, the band certainly sounded great even without him. As nice as it would have been to see the band with Simonetti on board, I'm totally happy with the show I got to see.

I just wonder how they came up with that plan to have two different lineups do the tour. Was that planned in advance, or was there some kind of falling out between the two legs of the tour, or what?

[battema]

My apologies about the gaffe regarding the New Goblin lineup. For some reason I've always regarded Simonetti as indispensable, but I have to admit, the band certainly sounded great even without him. As nice as it would have been to see the band with Simonetti on board, I'm totally happy with the show I got to see.

I just wonder how they came up with that plan to have two different lineups do the tour. Was that planned in advance, or was there some kind of falling out between the two legs of the tour, or what?

If I was a betting man...it wasn't planned in advance ;-) If I remember correctly, Goblin circa Nonhosonno was up to play some shows but the lineup imploded and Daemonia came instead. Then we had BackToTheGoblin sans Simonetti, but then *that* imploded and then we got New Goblin. And we got one leg of a US tour (hot damn) before THAT imploded.

I'm kind of like you...to me Simonetti has been sort of the key player in my mind. But, the BackToTheGoblin album was great and I'm very excited about seeing them tomorrow night in DC.

Plus....Zombi. Pretty much a full night of awesome in my book.

[Shadow]

Grab a show or two off Dimeadozen and take a listen. Or just sign up and listen to sound bytes.

[GuitarGeek]

If I was a betting man...it wasn't planned in advance ;-) If I remember correctly, Goblin circa Nonhosonno was up to play some shows but the lineup imploded and Daemonia came instead. Then we had BackToTheGoblin sans Simonetti, but then *that* imploded and then we got New Goblin. And we got one leg of a US tour (hot damn) before THAT imploded.
.

I know at the Cleveland show, I was talking to a couple people, and someone said that there was a point where they were supposed to play at a horror movie festival, and apparently Simonetti and Pignatelli got into a fistfight like the week before and they had to cancel. I'm thinking that might have been during the Nonhosonno, but I'm not sure. At any rate, it seems to be something between those two guys that make them unable to be in the same band together these days.

What I know about some of the other bands I like (say Yes, or ELP, for instance), I'm not entirely sure I want to know what the deal is, if there's friction between people in Goblin besides just Simonetti and Pignatelli, or what. Sometimes I wish I didn't know about a lot of the behind the scenes stuff.

[battema]

I know at the Cleveland show, I was talking to a couple people, and someone said that there was a point where they were supposed to play at a horror movie festival, and apparently Simonetti and Pignatelli got into a fistfight like the week before and they had to cancel. I'm thinking that might have been during the Nonhosonno, but I'm not sure. At any rate, it seems to be something between those two guys that make them unable to be in the same band together these days.

What I know about some of the other bands I like (say Yes, or ELP, for instance), I'm not entirely sure I want to know what the deal is, if there's friction between people in Goblin besides just Simonetti and Pignatelli, or what. Sometimes I wish I didn't know about a lot of the behind the scenes stuff.

My understanding is that yeah, Pignatelli and Simonetti have some sort of issue between them. But I don't know the particulars and yeah...I don't really wanna know ;)

Glad to hear the recent show was great; tonight's my night here in DC and I'm definitely excited.

[Toka]

Philly was great last night even with the brutal cold. I was very pleased to see Zombi again (who seemed to have not lost even half a step), and even though I had just seen Goblin a few months ago it was fine by me to see them again. Well, mostly...I honestly liked the other lineup better. They were heavier/tighter, while this lineup was a bit more loose. Hard to pin down an exact reason for this, but there was definitely a Claudio-sized hole in the sound, and while his replacement played all of the notes he missed the music. It was cool seeing Fabio in action though. Hopefully the 3rd time will be the charm and we can get the "true" lineup out on the road.

[battema]

Just for asking....any changes in the setlist from the last leg with New Goblin?

[DarthVander]

So what about Claudio Simonetti's Goblin then? That's the version of the band that will be touring the UK next year. It's basically New Goblin with Morante replaced with another guitarist, and no Guarani (Simonetti seems to be the only keyboard player). So it's pretty much Daemonia under a new name I guess...

I saw BackToTheGoblin in London a few years ago and really enjoyed that show. I realize Simonetti is a key member of the band, but I would really miss the original rhythm section and Morante's guitar playing.
How authentic is Simonetti's Goblin likely to be?

[battema]

Holy crap...ANOTHER Goblin?

Good news, everyone! I'm starting Battema's Goblin featuring all-original people who like the band Goblin. I look forward to sellout crowds across the globe :up

[Mt. Pleasant Farm]

I thought that last night's show was fantastic. Very appreciative crowd at The Trocadero. And pretty darn full also. I was up in the balcony because old farts like me want to sit down. So now I have seen both line ups and will have to agree with Toka. Even though it was really, really good, I would have to give my nod to the first line up. I had never seen Zombie before and was really impressed. And the reason that George has never booked them for Rosfest would be??? Jeez, they are even from Pa. Would love to buzz down to DC tonight to see them again (even have a ticket) but the forecast is telling me to stay home.

[battema]

Don't worry Chris...I'll get you comp tickets to the sellout "Battema's Goblin" show next year :up

[Baribrotzer]

And the reason that George has never booked them for Rosfest would be??? Probably too dissonant. The core audience for Rosfest has always been the neo/retro/symph/"melodic" crowd, for whom Nearfest had too much avant, fusion, space-rock, indieprog, Canterbury, and other stuff they just weren't interested in. To those guys, Rosfest is the "all killer, no filler" festival.

[battema]

I dunno...didn't ROSFest have Daemonia already?

I wouldn't be shocked to see Goblin on the ROSFest bill at some point, scheduling and things depending...

[JKL2000]

I hear at late November shows they were referring to the band as Gobblin'

[Mt. Pleasant Farm]

I'm going to start saving up IMMEDIATELY to see Battema's Goblin. I want the whole VIP package for that show. I will let John release the details of what is included.

[battema]

So....sitting upstairs at the 9:30 as (BackToThe)Goblin is doing their thing. It is good...but I do think (New)Goblin was a bit stronger.

But Zombi slayed. Epic awesome. Well worth the price of admission right there.

[battema]

A few other thoughts from the night...

After I posted the above, the songs got a bit tighter. Roller and Suspiria in particular sounded really good.
More of the dancer. Not sure how I felt about that. She was good but it felt...awkward, I guess.
Definitely missed Simonetti. I think the two gents from Daemonia also made for a stronger rhythm section overall.
Both Guarini and Marangolo were MVPs for the night.

Definitely worth seeing, especially if you haven't seen Goblin yet and enjoy their music/that style. Hell, Zombi will pretty much make the whole night worthwhile :)

[Steve F.]

So....sitting upstairs at the 9:30 as (BackToThe)Goblin is doing their thing. It is good...but I do think (New)Goblin was a bit stronger.

But Zombi slayed. Epic awesome. Well worth the price of admission right there.Zombi slayed. I didn't see (New) Goblin play, I only saw (This Tour's) Goblin who I don't want to confuse with (Next Tour's) Goblin. They were good. I enjoyed it.

and I agree with John that it got better as it went on and I particularly enjoyed the 'soundtracks' section (the stuff I like the best anyway, so that's no surprise).

But Zombi were and are the real reason to go, imo.

[polmico]

Zombi is why I pulled the trigger on getting a ticket. Glad to hear they're killing it. I'll find out myself tonight.