Transatlantic - Whirl'd Tour 2010

Concert was held at Park West theater in Chicago, Illinois on Tuesday April 20, 2010

For those not familiar with the band, Transatlantic is a progressive rock "supergroup" made up of Mike Portnoy on drums and vocals (from Dream Theater), Neal Morse on keyboards and vocals (former Spock's Beard member and solo projects), Pete Trewavas on bass and vocals (from Marillion), and Roine Stolt on guitar and vocals (from The Flower Kings).    All four members have a reputation for writing complex long songs, and frequently write concept or story pieces.  

Around 2001, I was buying just about anything Mike Portnoy performed on.    When he helped put together this group, I bought both their initial releases, a live double CD, and a live DVD.    Shortly afterward, Neal Morse left the group to pursue his solo career, and the band went on indefinite hiatus.    Fast forward to 2009, and Neal contacted the others about possibly putting a third release together.    The "stars aligned" and by end of 2009 "The Whirlwind" CD was available to the public.     This was a nearly 80 minute musical story, broken up into 12 parts.    Rumors about a 2010 tour were bouncing around, but it would seem unlikely considering each member had their own band commitments.

Around February 2010 the news broke that Transatlantic would have a brief USA tour in the spring, and a more extended European tour in the summer.    A stop at Chicago's Park West theater was announced, and I promptly got tickets for me and fellow Transatlantic fan Adam Talley.  

On April 20, we arrived at Park West theater to find a line of fans waiting to get in.     We had "floor" access, but no reserved seats.    I was pleased to find there were seats provided and we found a couple about middle floor.     Park West looks to seat about 800, and the stage isn't huge.   It looked like the band would have enough room, but none extra.    When looking at the stage, the setup was typical Transatlantic - Neal at keys on left, Roine next, Pete, then Mike on right.    Support musician Daniel Gildenlow was towards the back, and provided extra guitar, keyboard, percussion and vocal work.    At 7pm local time, the lights went down and the introduction of "The Whirlwind" came over the sound system.   For the next 80 minutes we got the entire piece, almost studio perfect but with just enough "live" feel to let you know it wasn't just a mime group.    There were the occasional rhythmic flub or slightly missed note, but they weren't often and quickly recovered.     Interaction between Neal and Mike was lively (facial expressions and such), but they were all concentrating.    After completing this massive musical piece, they took a 20 minute intermission.    After intermission, the band came back with various selections from their previous two studio releases.    For the next 1 hour and 40 minutes, we got treated to 3 long pieces (each close to 30 minutes) and 3 shorter songs (more typical pop length).    One of the three short songs was a cover of The Beatles "Birthday", as it was Mike Portnoy's birthday on this specific night.    After some dinking around with various Beatles references, it was back to business.     During this second set, the band showed much more vocal talent than I expected.    All 5 musicians were capable of carrying a vocal part, and they all got their chance helping out on lead or harmonies.     There are many highlights when talking about 3 hours of music.    One part I enjoyed was the guitar introduction to "We All Need Some Light", in which Roine could be heard referencing the melody to "Scarborough Fair" - very pretty.

Although the evening wasn't without the occasional musical hiccup, Transatlantic showed that they were unbelievably talented.    Mike is a master on drums, Neal is able to handle multiple keyboard parts while singing lead, Roine is very tasteful on guitar without getting overly flashy while handling some lead vocals, and Pete is all over the bass while handling backing vocals.    Daniel was not drawing attention to himself, but was holding down multiple parts all night long.    These guys may have not the history of a Yes, Genesis, or Jethro Tull, but they just may be a more powerful unit to deal with.    Oh, and no individual solo moments (which was a tad surprising, considering the talent on stage).

After their encores and a short waiting period, all band members came out to sign autographs and meet fans.    This caught both me and Adam by surprise, as we didn't expect the entire band.    Park West staff attempted to move the process along quickly, but band members still took their time with the fans.    Very cool.

If you are a fan of progressive rock music (like Genesis or Yes), I'd highly recommend any of the Transatlantic releases.    It's also been announced that an upcoming London date of the "Whirl'd Tour" is going to be recorded and video shot for both audio and DVD release.     Everyone will be able to experience this amazing evening of exceptional musicianship.

I'd also like to thank Adam Talley for tolerating my driving, and keeping me company.    It's always fun to have someone along who appreciates and knows the music of the band.

Rating:  9 out of 10

Setlist:

Set 1:

Pt 1 - Overture - Whirlwind
Pt 2- The Wind Blew Them All Away
Pt 3 - On The Prowl
Pt 4 - A Man Can Feel
Pt 5 - Out Of The Night
Pt 6 - Rose Colored Glasses
Pt 7 - Evermore
Pt 8 - Set Us Free
Pt 9 - Lay Down Your Life
Pt 10 - Pieces Of Heaven
Pt 11 - Is It Really Happening? 
Pt 12 - Dancing With Eternal Glory / Whirlwind (reprise)

Set 2:

1 - All Of The Above
2 - Happy Birthday (Beatles cover for Mike Portnoy birthday)
3 - We All Need Some Light
4 - Duel With The Devil
5 - Bridge Across Forever
6 - Stranger In Your Soul

Audience recording of this concert available as MP3 downloads at http://www.timhamm.com/transatlantic.htm