Venue: The Astoria, London               Date: 22nd November 2004

I was casually flicking through a friend's rock magazine a couple of weeks ago when I noticed an ad for 'Progeny 2'.  It always amuses me when you read these mags and see the gig list read like something from the early seventies, but Audience? Could it be?

I went on the net as soon as I got home and found it was indeed true.  I always regretted not having seen them at the time, and knew I had to go.       Although I remain unimpressed by the current (and former) output of most of the 'prog rock' acts of that era, the Audience recordings still sound fresh and (in most cases) timeless. 

The instrumentation and sound is unlike any other band with Howard Werth's distinctive, versatile vocals and nylon strung guitar. Keith Gemmell's mastery of a host of wind instruments and use of effects to compliment the music, rather than hide inadequacies was underpinned by Trevor Williams and Tony Connor, the most under rated rhythm section in rock music.

So at 4.30 on a Monday afternoon in late November I made my way into an
almost empty Astoria to hear them live for the first time! As the venue started filling up,  I realised there were quite a few people who had obviously come specifically for the bottom billed band.

As soon as they started the first bars of  'You're Not Smiling', they were
contradicted by my broad grin. This sound is one of the most unique you'll
ever hear, and more importantly it works!  Werth's voice has lost none of it's power and emotion and although occasionally there were signs of strain, this was nothing a few gigs wouldn't sort out.  His energetic nylon string playing was a joy and the sound of that guitar (yes, the same green Baldwin) was brilliant; percussive and melodic. How did this man manage to elude rock stardom?

Adding colour and harmony to the mix was the flawless playing of Keith
Gemmell; saxes and flute with and without a variety of effects. If I had expected the sax sound on 'Jackdaw' to sound weak and exposed without  the aid of a studio recording I was wrong. Every part played sounded better live and where he strayed from the original hymn sheet, I was even more impressed.

Trevor William's bass was brilliantly solid and melodic, including his trademark fuzz bass soloing, and his backing vocals necessary and accurate.

New drummer John Fisher (at a guess less than half the age of his fellow band members) was great in parts, although at times he did not quite match up to the style that Tony Connor had, but bearing age and experience in mind it's only a matter of time. I would also suggest that when they start playing new material together, his playing will really gel.

The short set also included 'I Had a Dream', 'Man on Box', 'I Put a Spell
on You' and 'House on the Hill' and although the crowd wanted more, time
restrictions prevented it.

So, where do they go from here? First they should enjoy playing the older stuff and relax into it. We all want to hear 'Nancy', 'Thunder and Lightning' and the other classics, but these guys are real musicians and will obviously do new material.  They have all the elements they need to do it and the capability, although the search for perfectionism that pervades a lot of their material could mean it will take a while.

I hear a live album is in the pipeline first, so let's enjoy the present and look forward to the new phase of Audience.

Adam Gaiman                  24/11/2004

(editors note: this review has beeb submitted to other webzines for possible publication and is reproduced here with the express permission of the authour)