A few quick thoughts on this outstanding little triple bill prog show that I saw Thursday night at The Pyramid Scheme Club in Grand Rapids MI.
First up were Entransient from right here in Michigan. I saw these guys for the first time at ROSfest this year and really enjoyed them. They are an up and coming prog band from my home state who have two albums out. Their music mixes traditional prog with a heavy modern sound. I would not really call them metal, but they lean to the heavier side of the spectrum. Vocalist Scott Martin reminds me a bit of the singer southern rock band Black Stone Cherry, as their voices are kind of similar. Entransient did a nice 30 plus minute opening set that seemed to go over well with the early arriving crowd.
Bent Knee was up next and as usual they put on a wonderful high energy set. I know it is an old cliché, but if there was ever a band that could accurately be described as “you have to see them live” to appreciate them, it would be Bent Knee. I still find their albums to be only about half to my liking, but live, this band is such a powerhouse and brings so much life to their material that they need to be seen to be really appreciated. Courtney Swain is one of the best prog vocalists out there right now and the entire band are just perfect fits in their individual roles. They pulled out a significant amount of new material that I was not familiar with but scattered in a few older fan favorites as well. This band continues to appear to be slowly growing an audience and had the biggest crowd of the 3 bands on Thursday night.
The headliners Thank You Scientist came on last. This was my 5th time seeing these guys and they always put on a fun, sometimes crazy set. The band’s new album was being released at midnight, and they featured a lot of material from it. When I am asked to describe this band, it is always difficult to pigeonhole what they do. It is kind of prog, kind of jam, kind of jazz, kind of heavy, kind of alternative, just all over the place. They are all fantastic musicians and at one point did an instrumental that featured solos by everyone in the band (except the drummer) that really showed off everyone’s chops. These guys are simply a lot of fun and never disappoint. From the sounds of the new material they played, the new album should be a good one.
Overall it was a great night of music, all for $20. There was also a nice turnout for a weeknight.
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