STAGE

This year the enthousiastic five piece band IQ exists 30 years. I have seen IQ in all decennia (Nomzamo tour in 1987, Forever tour in 1993 and The Seventh Hour tour in 2000) and could experience how they turned into a 'neo-symphonic-rock-orchestra'.

On this 2-DVD set (two 2005 concerts, in the USA and Germany) you can witness their professional and inspired approach and how eager they still are to please their fans. And IQ anno 2005 sound as never before: singer Peter Nicholls his limited voice has strongly matured (more powerful and a wider range), the rhythm-section sounds more adventurous than in the past (new drummer Andy Edwards is great) and the duo Holmes/Orford deliver such an outstanding interplay and awesome soli, they are the extra dimension in the dynamic and often bombastic IQ sound. Especially Martin Orford his contribution is both impressive as tasteful: a majestic church-organ sound in Sacred Sound, lush Hammond in It All Stops Here, wonderful choir-Mellotron in Born Brilliant and Widow's Peak, beautiful piano arpeggio's in The Seventh House and flashy synthesizer flights in Guiding Light. Second best is Mike Holmes with his powerful, often propulsive guitar riffs and his fiery play featuring lots of howling and biting runs (on Born Brilliant he even plays slide guitar). My highlights on this 2-DVD set are (USA has a more extensive set-list but in Germany IQ has more interaction with their fans): Leap Of Faith with a captivating intrumental intermezzo, Widow's Peak with a sensational break featuring powerful guitar riffs and intense violin- Mellotron waves, Guiding Light with all members freaked out, Harvest Of Souls with a great build-up and 'grand finale' and Awake And Nervous delivers amazing interplay and Holmes playing some Status Quo (Rocking'All Over The World). In the 'encore' The Last Human Gateway he wears a McDonalds t-shirt, humor and prog, not always a twin brother! Mike is also the most enthousiastic IQ member but all other members seem to enjoy the concerts too. The lighshow is decent with some exciting light effects and the show also features screen-projections in some songs.

Looking at these two DVD's I realise that this fantastic progrock band has become a 'biggie', they belong to the top of the progressive rock scene. I am absolutely delighted about Stage, five stars, they fully deserve it!!