Cross Keys Hotel, Wales

6th March 2004

The Point, Cardiff

23rd April 2004

Folken, Stavanger, Norway

27th May 2006

Venue: Cross Keys Hotel, Wales       Date: 6th March 2004

ALBUM LAUNCH PARTY

Setlist: Gluttony;  Envy; Pride; Broken;  Children Of The Sun

This was certainly a first for me, to be invited to an album launch party. Indeed I considered it something of an honour and a privilege to be invited by the band.

The venue was the Cross Keys Hotel in Llantrisant, just outside Cardiff in South Wales. I have to say that this was probably more comfortable than a lot of large hotels I have stayed in. The owners made you feel welcome, and had obviously put in a lot of hard work and effort to colour the place a distinct shade of Magenta – posters, balloons, flyers and leaflets adorned every nook and cranny of the main bar.

When we arrived, we were treated to handfuls of goodies including a laminated "access all areas" name badge (Yeeeesssssss! Always wanted one of them.), and a very nice welcoming card from Chris Jones - a long time friend of the band who is often referred to as their official No 1 fan. More about his contributions to the event later.

After settling in, we decided to have a short nap, but were soon woken up by the sweet sound of the band rehearsing – our room was actually only a few feet away from the main function room. These sorts of noisy neighbours I could certainly live with! This was indeed a bit of a bonus, as we were able to watch the band perform a few numbers before the main event - and they sounded spot on.

After a quick bite to eat and a shower, it was time to go downstairs ready for the evening's entertainment. The plan was for the band to play a 1-hour set, and to then retire to the main bar where the 'Seven' album would be played and the band members would meet and greet the invited guests.

The actual gig was in a medium sized function room, although everyone (100 or so guests ) managed to squeeze in somehow. Band area seemed actually quite large, and It was good to see keyboard player Rob Reed with 3 keyboards this time. A major bonus was a plasma screen on the back wall which displayed specially prepared images and text designed to illustrate the various deadly sins. In fact, this was used for an overture before the band came on, played to a specially prepared piece of suitably grandiose organ music, showing various images of the band over the last couple of years. This was all put together by Chris Jones, and is indicative of his level of commitment to the band. In the confines of the darkened room, this actually proved quite effective and very impressive, as during the band's performance both images and text referring to the seven deadly sins showed on the screen behind them.

There was a very relaxed, friendly atmosphere here tonight, the band had the advantage of knowing most of the audience – and this loosened them up and really helped their performance. I keep saying they get better every time I see them, but it's true. Gone completely are the occasional rough edges, missed cues and slight uncertainty that is only to be expected from a new band that have not had the chance to play that many live gigs as yet. But to see how far they have come after only 10 gigs in total is quite incredible.

First track was from 'Seven'. 'Gluttony' is already something of a live fave, as it has been played at the last 3 or 4 gigs. Played to perfection, and not suffering in the slightest from missing the multi-tracked vocals of the original. I always feel that this forces musicians to come up with inventive ways of adapting songs for a live environment, and Magenta are particularly good at this. In fact, live their songs have more energy and vibrancy to them, and with occasionally a more rockier edge. This was perfectly illustrated by guitarist Chris Fry dropping to his knees in true guitar hero style when playing the slide guitar solo at the end.

'Envy' was next, a slightly more sedate affair, but no less impressive. The quieter sections of this piece seemed to go over very well in this very intimate venue. Shame about some of the talkers in the audience, though.

'Broken', the band's new single was played next. I have not really had time to familiarise myself with this one yet, but it came across extremely well live, with a very catchy and memorable chorus. Short, punchy and energetic, just what a single should be.

'Pride' is yet another big favourite of mine from the new album, and this version does not disappoint. A stunning vocal performance from Christina, with a wonderful, lightning fast guitar/keyboard duel between Chris Fry and Rob Reed. It was particularly good to see Rob with a couple of extra synths this time, which gave him the ability to add a lot of layers and textures to a lot of the songs, and also pull off some great solo's.

Last song is 'Children Of The Sun' the opening track from 'Revolutions'. A great live favourite, with its Jethro Tull-ish flavour, alternating between delicate vocal passages and all out instrumental workouts. To say that Chris Fry and Rob Reed handle the complex guitar and keyboard sections with consummate ease is somewhat superfluous, but mention must also be made of the incredible rhythm section of Matthew "Metal Matty" Cohen on bass, Martin Rosser on lead and rhythm guitars, and new drummer Allan Mason-Jones - one hell of a back line. I just love that "On our way home" line near the end from Rob, with Christina joining in with "Sunshine saviour" – must be one of the most perfect endings to a song ever.

And that was it, a short but perfectly played one hour set. Of course I wanted to hear more, as did everyone else. But this was a launch party, and there was other business to attend to…

To round off the proceedings there were some thanks and well deserved presentations to members of the band from Dave Robinson of F2 records and to Steve and Kim, the owners of the Cross Keys, for their contributions not just to the evening in question, but for their continued support and commitment to the band. It was a particularly nice touch also to see bouquets of flowers presented to both lead singer Christina and Kim of the Cross Keys hotel.

A special presentation was in order also for Steve Reed, brother of keyboard player Rob Reed. Steve writes nearly all of the lyrics for the albums, and comes up with the concepts and stories too.

After wiping the tears from our eyes, all that was left now was to retire to the bar to listen to the new album, drink a few lemonades and mingle. And that's exactly what we did, possibly going a little overboard with the lemonades, judging by the state of my head next morning!

An extremely enjoyable weekend, and an experience I will not forget. In fact, this has now psyched me up for the next big gig in Cardiff on 23^rd April. The thought of seeing the band at a bigger venue performing a full set with more songs from the new album is just too good an opportunity to miss.

And for those of you who may not be able to make the Cardiff gig, there is another one the following day (24^th April) in Rotherham.

John Morley 12/03/04

Venue: The Point, Cardiff                 Date: 23rd April 2004

Setlist: Gluttony; Lust;  Envy; Children Of The Sun; Call Me; White Witch; Genetesis; Pride; Anger

Wonderful to be able to finally catch Magenta at a headlining gig at a decent sized venue. The venue in question was The Point in Cardiff, a small converted church.

There was definitely a buzz in the air tonight. It was very well attended, at least 200 people by my reckoning, and it was apparent that a lot of people had either read about the band in magazines and on the net, seen the posters for the gig or been given a flyer at the previous weeks Mostly Autumn concert. Kudos to the band and F2 records for taking the trouble to actively promote the gig – it certainly paid off.

A word first of all about support band Ezra, an interesting hard rocking but very tight combo also hailing from Wales. I was pleased they played the title track from the Big Smiley Sun album, and also Under The Bed. They also debuted a new track from their new album Songs From Pennsylvania which showed great promise.

Shortly afterwards Magenta took to the stage, complete with their own intro track, smoke and coloured lights.  This being a headlining gig, we got all but one track from the new album Seven, and most of Revolutions too.

Standout tracks were opener Gluttony, with guitarist Chris Fry's impressive guitar pyrotechnics ; Lust (played here for the first time live), an epic, complex song both vocally and instrumentally, but performed to perfection ; Genetesis, with it's strong Yes flavour ; Pride, with that wonderful keyboard/guitar duel in the middle between Chris Fry and Rob Reed, and Anger, another new song which started off with Christina sitting on the floor and Chris Fry seated on acoustic guitar, generating a wonderful warm, intimate atmosphere.

Nice also to hear Call Me from the Broken EP, a track I am particularly fond of.

The crowd reaction was incredible. I saw lots of people taking photo's, and for the last 3 numbers, a group of people went up to the front of the stage (myself included) to clap and sing along, and the band were called back for two encores. Indeed this felt very much like a proper prog gig in a lot of respects – we had the obligatory drunk, weird dancing nutter (Who was she?), the usual crowd of annoying talkers, and even a strange incident concerning  a member of the bands entourage who managed to lock themselves in an upstairs loo only to be rescued by the local police! Rock and roll!

Christina was clearly enjoying herself, and making full use of the extra stage space., and also conversing much more with the audience, clearly a sign of the bands growing confidence with live gigs.

I was impressed yet again with Rob Reed's keyboard set up, with a couple of extra keyboards that allow him to duplicate the sounds from the recorded versions of the songs with ease, and also pull off some nice synth solo's. Good to see Martin Rosser with a little more space to move around on a larger stage, and also contributing a guitar solo of his own on Anger. Martin also seemed to be using a new effects unit that allowed his to change the sound of his guitar so he could play string sections and other sorts of instruments.

It's these little touches that show that the band are dedicated to constantly making improvements to their live sound, and it's for this reason that they deserve to be much bigger.

John Morley 25/04/04

Folken, Satvanger, Norway                Date: 27th May 2006

Magic Pie / Magenta

Set lists:
Magic Pie (approximate): Motions Of Desire; Full Circle; Poetry; Change; Illusion and Reality parts 3 and 4.

Magenta: King of The Sky; Children of the Sun; I'm Alive; Gluttony; Hurt; Moving On; Towers Of Hope; Demons; The Visionary; Broken; Pride; White Witch; King Of The Sky.

My continued enthusiasm and devotion to the band certainly ensures I get to see more of the world these days, and get to places around the globe I have not yet visited. This time it's Stavanger in Norway, at the Folken venue (very handily right next door to our hotel).

All of the people we met in Stavanger over the weekend, both on our trip round the town and at the venue itself, were very friendly indeed and could not do enough for you. There was a great anticipation for both Magic Pie and Magenta, as this was the first time most fans from this part of the world had an opportunity to see the bands live.

Before the music even started, an added bonus for me was being asked to introduce Magic Pie. A slightly nerve-wracking experience this - the stage is covered by a curtain so I went on with the band and we stood behind the curtain for a few minutes, waiting for the curtain to open. When it did, it suddenly occurred to me that the crowd probably though I was the lead singer, especially with me standing centre stage at the microphone! I remember I managed to stumble through my introduction, mumbling something about both bands being very popular at Rosfest two years running, then introduced the band and gingerly negotiated my way off the stage taking great care not to get entangled in any wires, trip over or walk into one of the band members.

Once offstage and with Magic Pie off and running, a few people went up to the front of the stage and were really getting into the bands set, so we decided to join in and it became quite an experience down there, it was a great atmosphere with people headbanging, playing air guitar, even dancing (Yes, including yours truly). OK, that sounds like the sort of reaction you get at a heavy rock gig, but let me tell you that as well as having a great sense of melody and being superb musicians, Magic Pie definitely know how to rock. Highlights of the set were the title track from their superb debut CD Motions Of Desire, the epic Change with it's multi-faceted mixture of diverse styles such as classical symphonic prog, acoustic sections, heavy rock and accapella vocals, and a very promising section of a track from their next album called Welcome To The Circus. As well as their obvious musical ability, what really impresses you with this band is the vocal work...when they sing those wonderfully melodic chorus sections during songs like Change and Illusions Of Reality they have a real power to them - lead singer Allan Olsen has an incredibly powerful, soulful voice, and this combined with keyboard player Gilbert Marshall and Eirikk Hanssen's vocals make for a very formidable front line. The audience absolutely loved them, and it was a shame they could not have played longer.

That same enthusiasm that had built up during the audience during Magic Pie's set continued unabated for Magenta's set. Lead singer Christina endeared herself to the audience very quickly as she usually does,  and her stage presence and professionalism continues to increase in leaps and bounds. King Of the Sky, probably the bands heaviest number, opens the set and gives the band a chance to stretch themselves and let their hair down from the outset...and by this time the front of the stage is turning into a bit of a mosh-pit, though with a great sense of camaraderie among the fans - no words were needed here, it was just a bunch of fans from different parts of the world brought together by a common bond, getting into the music and really letting rip.

After some well received older favourites such as Children Of The Sun and Gluttony, it was into the new material and a selection of songs from latest album Home. Now that I have has a chance to sit down and listen to the songs properly I can happily report that though it took a little longer to get into them, they are among the bands best ever work. And what is most heartening tonight is that not only do the band look and feel very comfortable with the new material (various embryonic versions of the Home material have been played live over the last year or so), the audience are just as enamoured of the new material and more importantly are singing along as though they are old favourites - not bad when you consider the album was only released a few weeks ago.

With the theme of the Home album revolving around a troubled young girl leaving England for a better life in the US, it gives Christina the chance to actually play a part and embody the character, something she can really get her teeth into. As a result she invests the songs with incredible soul and emotion, making for some very powerful renditions of the songs. Her extraordinarily emotional delivery during Moving on sent shivers down your spine, and that catchy "You're a man in a million" chorus from The Visionary has been going round in my head ever since.

Another highlight of the Home set is the dynamic twin guitar attack on the opening of Demons between Chris Fry and Martin Rosser, with Chris' brother Daniel on bass and Allan Mason-Jones firm, tight drumming anchoring the whole thing it's quite a powerful moment, and shows that the new material is as good as anything the band have ever done.

It's very heartening to see how the bands set has altered to accommodate the new material,  and in such a way that at no point are you ever conscious of previous live favourites being moved aside. I am sure many of you have sensed that lull in a live performance when a band play new material  - no such worries here.

It was wonderful to see the enthusiasm from the fans cross over on to the stage, with them being spurred on by our lunatic antics. Rob Reed was literally jumping up and down at his keyboard rig, Chris Fry got to do one of his celebrated walkabouts and braved the assembled throng at the front, but was treated with genuine reverence and respect from the crowd, with them obviously being delighted to watch his fiery guitar playing up close and personal. A slight mishap when he got back on stage and was missing the tremelo arm from his guitar, but it was found on the floor by one of the fans and handed to him just in time for when he needed it - like I said, no souvenir-hunting mercenary rowdies here, just genuine respectful music fans.

Last song is my personal favourite Pride, a bit of a rocker with that terrific, Celtic-tinged instrumental duel between Rob Reed and Chris on keyboards and guitar - I love the way they always seem to extend the build up to the fast, manic duel section, almost teasing each other and spurring each other on to try and play faster each time, Chris prowling across the stage towards Rob with a slight manic glint in his eye. An excellent main set closer that earns a rapturous reception for the crowd.

For the encore, there really was only one song they could play to such an appreciative audience, and they were rewarded with a terrific reading of White Witch from the Revolutions album. And it didn't end there - the audience still weren't satisfied, so back they came again and gave us a second helping of King Of The Sky. After that, I think it's safe to say both the band and audience were well and truly knackered, to use a quaint old English phrase.

There was a little bit of a party into the early hours, both bands and some of the fans alike got to hang out and share good times, relax and generally let their hair down.

An incredible couple of performances from both bands, and manna from heaven for me having seen both bands live at Rosfest and take the festival by storm on each occasion.

John Morley      29/05/2006