Syd Arthur

[the winter tree]

I think the singer sounds more like Dr. Robert of the Blow Monkeys than Dave Matthews who I personally cant stand.

[Obscured]

Can anyone who saw them with Yes advise when they came on and how long they played?

TIA

BG

In NYC the other night they came on at 8 sharp and played a half hour. Quite excellent . Had a Doors in Canterbury feel / sound to them. Too bad I had a couple of can't shut the effs up sitting behind me and then halfway through their set an even louder pair of can't shut the effs up sat down to my left. Enjoyed what I heard from the band.
Yes came on at 9 and were great. Had a real Yes feel / sound to them.

[Scrotum Scissor]

Some people seem to jump on the "Canterbury" factor due to the slight whimsy of many an SA tune, forgetting that "Canterbury" was also the strict and programmatic intricacy of Mike Ratledge's compositions for Soft Machine, Dave Stewart's for Egg/Hatfield/Health and Alan Gowen's for Gilgamesh - to name but a few. Almost none of this dissonance was ever matched by any of the "bigger" groups of contemporary progressive rock.

FWIW, I think the debut SA was good, but there's really not much "Canterbury" about it except for the odd reference to Kevin Ayers solo, some distant Hillage echoes etc.

[Paulrus]

Part of the Canterbury influence is also the larger prog influence of playing with meters, deconstructing arrangements, etc. I wouldn't ever compare them to Soft Machine, Gong or Hatfield. But the Caravan force is strong with them (and yes, a bit of Hillage). Apparently bassist Joel Magill is playing a Fender given him by Hugh Hopper.

Here they are at RCMH opening for Yes (warning -- crap sound):

[rickawakeman]

I really enjoyed their half-hour opening set for Yes at the Oakdale Friday night. They seemed to win overthe audience as well.Picked up their second disc, only disappointed that a) they had no vinyl copies; and b) it's 34 minutes long.

[jkelman]

I must admit to being underwhelmed at first, but listening to the group more....and also upon hearing the new record....I've come to like them a whole lot more.

[profusion]

Heard them for the first time last night in D.C. and bought the newest album.

I like them, they're an interesting new voice.

[the winter tree]

Love track 9 on the new disc.

[ItalProgRules]

Please see the main YES thread or the YES tour reviews thread for my review including my thoughts on Syd Arthur. Sneak preview: they were great!

[polmico]

Saw that. Thanks, man! What time did they go on?

[ItalProgRules]

Saw that. Thanks, man! What time did they go on?

They hit the stage right at 8:00 pm and played till 8:30 pm.

[Paulrus]

Please see the main YES thread or the YES tour reviews thread for my review including my thoughts on Syd Arthur. Sneak preview: they were great!

I saw your notes about them in the Yes thread. I'm not surprised about the muddy sound since -- as you surmised -- they're not used to playing larger halls. They've played many huge festivals, but there the sound is usually handled by the house crew who know the equipment better anyways. Plus those are outdoor shows and they can just crank the volume without negative repercussions.

I'm hoping these shows educate them about what they'll need to do in terms of translating their sound and style to larger venues, since they may be (hopefully) playing more of them in the future.

Oh, and let us know if you figure out what the first track was. When I saw them opening for GOASTT I'm pretty sure it was one of the singles off the new album (either "Hometown Blues" or "Garden of Time"), but that was a longer set.

[ItalProgRules]

I saw your notes about them in the Yes thread. I'm not surprised about the muddy sound since -- as you surmised -- they're not used to playing larger halls. They've played many huge festivals, but there the sound is usually handled by the house crew who know the equipment better anyways. Plus those are outdoor shows and they can just crank the volume without negative repercussions.

I'm hoping these shows educate them about what they'll need to do in terms of translating their sound and style to larger venues, since they may be (hopefully) playing more of them in the future.

Oh, and let us know if you figure out what the first track was. When I saw them opening for GOASTT I'm pretty sure it was one of the singles off the new album (either "Hometown Blues" or "Garden of Time"), but that was a longer set.

Yep, I too expect them to find their larger-venue legs soon enough. The exposure they get opening for YES, even with such an abbreviated set, should help them immensely. Funny thing, when I got home I looked up an old PROG magazine article on them, and they said they didn't like YES! Bet they're regretting that statement about now!

I would really love to see a whole set by SA. I loved their sound. It resonates with me. Really hits one of my Prog sweet spots. Very impressed.

[progeezer]

Looking forward to seeing SA open this Friday. Like jkelman, they have certainly grown on me after several listens.

[Paulrus]

Funny thing, when I got home I looked up an old PROG magazine article on them, and they said they didn't like YES! Bet they're regretting that statement about now!

The thing is when they first appeared they were being hailed as the heirs apparent to the Canterbury prog scene and I think after a while they naturally wanted to distance themselves from that label, and from the prog label in general. It also wasn't helping them with the hipster-festival crowd, which was a big part of their initial audience.

But ask them off the record and they are actually big fans of all that stuff, which you can tell just by all the odd meters in the songs.

[BarryLI]

Did nothing for me, sorry.

[ItalProgRules]

Finally found it: the set opener is called "Garden of Time."

Man, I really dig that tune.

[zombywoof]

That's the opener from the album too!

[ItalProgRules]

That's the opener from the album too!

Cool. I'm ordering both their albums on my next order. I should have just grabbed 'em at the merch table. Oh well...

[SteveSly]

I will be seeing this show Saturday night. If I like these guys I will probably pick up an album at the merch table. Of their two albums which do you guys recommend?

[polmico]

I prefer the first, On an On.

[ItalProgRules]

I will be seeing this show Saturday night. If I like these guys I will probably pick up an album at the merch table. Of their two albums which do you guys recommend?

They're both pretty cheap. If you like them you might grab both.

Syd Arthur are on the "jammy" end of the spectrum, so I can see some symph-heads not digging them. The YES audience in Philly really seemed to go for them though.

Hope you enjoy the concert!

From the latest setlists, it looks like YES are alternating "Owner of a Lonely Heart" and "Starship Trooper" each night as the encore-closer. That must be why Howe's setlist said "OWNER" but they played "Starship Trooper." Bet he was using the same set list from the night before. Lucky for me they played Trooper!

[SteveSly]

They're both pretty cheap. If you like them you might grab both.

Syd Arthur are on the "jammy" end of the spectrum, so I can see some symph-heads not digging them. The YES audience in Philly really seemed to go for them though.

!

I've got no problem with the jammy side of prog. From the youtube stuff I have seen I think I am going to dig them.

[grego]

There were a few T shirts and 2 different CD titles.

They are on HARVEST Records. I had no idea that that label still existed. I remember some of the early Pink Floyd albums were on Harvest. Strangely, the opening instrumental from PF's "Obscured By Clouds" album was played over the PA during the break between SA's a nd YES's sets.

Was Harvest the "progressive" branch of EMI?

This was the small label EMI created for Barclay James Harvest. I remember Deep Purple In Rock was on Harvest..

[Paulrus]

The latest newsletter is out. It rehashes the dates they are opening for Yes and also mentions a headline tour for the UK in late September.

But buried in all that is the news that they are slotting in two headlining shows between Yes dates. One is in LA at Hotel Cafe (Aug. 22nd) and the other is in San Francisco at Bricks & Mortar (near Market and Van Ness) on Aug. 21st. Info and ticket sales for the SF show here.