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fronobulax 
Forum Groupie 
Joined: September 01 2017 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 44 |
 Topic: Haken LIVEPosted: September 01 2017 at 18:49 |
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Hi,
I finally signed up after reading this site extensively for years to give you all this message: I drove two hours to see HAKEN in Toronto last week. I've seen Yes, ELP, Crimson, ABWH, Tull, etc etc...HAKEN absolutely blew my mind. If you are in the path of this tour DO NOT MISS THEM. I have been listening to AFFINITY (and all of their stuff) non-stop since the show even though I have had it for two years. I gained a huge understanding of what they are trying to pull off after seeing them perform...it is the new masterwork and they are a massive force for good in music. Just sayin' Scott from Canada |
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David64T
Forum Senior Member 
Joined: January 19 2013 Location: South Australia Status: Offline Points: 392 |
Posted: September 01 2017 at 19:57 |
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And Haken are soon to be gracing stages here in Australia:
Thu 28 SepThe band have even recorded a promo video just for us (LOL): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mBZNnqwCe4 Edited by David64T - September 01 2017 at 20:24 |
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Seasons Of Change - weekly programme on community radio: http://seasonsofchangeradio.blogspot.com.au/
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omphaloskepsis
Forum Senior Member
Joined: October 19 2011 Location: Texas Status: Online Points: 6723 |
Posted: September 01 2017 at 19:59 |
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Totally agree with you. I wish they'd come back to Texas. Shane, Shane, Haken!
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AFlowerKingCrimson
Forum Senior Member
Joined: October 02 2016 Location: Philly burbs Status: Offline Points: 18702 |
Posted: September 01 2017 at 20:13 |
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I've seen Haken twice. Very good the second time. The first time I thought they tried too hard or something. Not sure. I guess they have a sound and style that you have to get used to. I did enjoy them the second time though.
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hieronymous
Forum Senior Member
Joined: December 27 2012 Location: Oakland, CA Status: Offline Points: 308 |
Posted: September 02 2017 at 10:16 |
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Awesome - I'm seeing them in San Francisco! Did they play stuff from all their albums? I only have Affinity, not sure I have enough time to familiarize myself with their other material before the show...
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Tapfret
Special Collaborator 
Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin Joined: August 12 2007 Location: Bryant, Wa Status: Offline Points: 8602 |
Posted: September 02 2017 at 10:56 |
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For some reason they decided to skip the entire Pacific Northwest.
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fronobulax
Forum Groupie
Joined: September 01 2017 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 44 |
Posted: September 08 2017 at 19:54 |
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As it is their tenth anniversary they played quite a retrospective, and lots from AFFINITY. The venue where I saw them in Toronto had an incredible house PA and they were dialed-in by the second tune. I had only seen them "live" on video and was expecting the vocal to be the weak link, but instead Ross Jennings completely blew my mind. He is a top front-man, and his vocals take this band beyond "prog-metal" into a deeper vein, quite original, really...I have read criticism on this site to the effect that HAKEN are robotic, or technical show-offs. I believe this is a misunderstanding of their vision. (no pun intended) After seeing them, I found the show incredibly loud and powerful (jaw dropping, really) but also melodic to the extreme. I also had a better sense of the timing structures and compositional devices they use and their similarities to Bartok, Stravinsky, fused with incredible chops and power. Somebody responded here that they had seen HAKEN and thought they were "trying too hard." For my money, I want my artists to try as hard as they can, otherwise how does art progress?
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hieronymous
Forum Senior Member
Joined: December 27 2012 Location: Oakland, CA Status: Offline Points: 308 |
Posted: September 14 2017 at 11:36 |
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I saw the San Francisco show last night (at Slim's) - so glad I went! I had a meeting the same night so drove over to SF around 9:30 - perfect timing, the 2 opening bands were done so I didn't have to stand around too long! I do enjoy seeing new acts (Mammoth & Sithu Aye opened) but it's a lot of standing around in between bands and I'm getting old for that!
From my vantage point, the audience looked to be 99% male and almost the same percentage white. I would bet that a good 75% knew the material and were there for Haken. Last year I saw Animals as Leaders (also in SF) and it was a similar crowd - nice to see a devoted audience for such complex music! Haken has bits where it seems like the melodies could possibly have broader appeal but I think it's too complex for the average person. My pictures didn't turn out great but I wanted to share this one to show the size and type of venue Slim's is:  I thought they would be able to play someplace bigger but I don't think they've broken through to that extent in the Americas yet? I don't think it was sold out - maybe 80% capacity? It's interesting that in one sense the music industry looks to be just falling apart and kids only like EDM etc., and yet here are these math-prog bands with dedicated followings - if only we could smarten people up so that they could have a bit more appreciation of music that isn't lowest common denominator... Fronobulax, I appreciate your insights into this band. I'm liking what I hear of The Mountain - I'm going to try and find it on CD, I'm enjoying listening to it on YouTube but I like to own my music and prefer CD for the car and this strikes me as great driving music (as is Affinity). I don't think I'll get the first two albums - I might like them but the "Aquarius Medley" struck me as a bit embarrassing - of course it had its moments but I think they've matured quite a bit in their ten years. I was impressed with the vocals live - I was kind of wondering how they were going to pull it off - I think the drummer sings too so sometimes they had 4-5 voices at once. Also, EVERY member of the band had a beard. Bassist was playing his 6-string Zon and sounded really good. In a way I think they are kind of robotic, but I say that as a good thing! Can were robotic too, motorik is a groove all its own, sometimes you have to be a robot to access deeper levels of rhythm...
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MillsLayne
Forum Senior Member
Joined: September 14 2010 Location: East Bay, CA Status: Offline Points: 2504 |
Posted: September 14 2017 at 17:55 |
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^I was there last night, too! Blew me away! I've been listening to them since Aquarius, and while I wasn't that big of a fan of that album (it was just okay for me), every release since has gotten a significant amount of my time and attention, so hearing the songs I know so well live was quite the experience. And Ross is quite the showman, huh?
 Definitely one of the best shows I've been to in a while. And you should try and find The Mountain along with Visions. Both are amazing and you're right, they really have matured and have gotten "tighter" as a unit since Aquarius. My only complaint was some d bag held up a giant backpack right in front of where I was standing when they took the pictures after they played Visions. Oh well, no biggie, I guess.  |
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infocat
Forum Senior Member
VIP Member Joined: June 10 2011 Location: Colorado, USA Status: Offline Points: 4671 |
Posted: September 17 2017 at 04:38 |
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Seeing them tonight in Denver. Looking forward to it!
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--
Frank Swarbrick Belief is not Truth. |
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hieronymous
Forum Senior Member
Joined: December 27 2012 Location: Oakland, CA Status: Offline Points: 308 |
Posted: September 18 2017 at 23:28 |
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Looking forward to your report - if you are able to post! I left the SF concert thinking "I'm not sure I need to see them live again" but after the past few days listening to Affinity I realize I NEED to see them again! I didn't get to hear my favorite song "Earthrise" and I want to try and get a lesson from Conner Green!
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Dan-the-3rd
Forum Newbie 
Joined: September 25 2017 Location: Buffalo, NY Status: Offline Points: 4 |
Posted: September 25 2017 at 22:34 |
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Caught them in Cleveland last month, and had the opportunity to take a Seaboard/Sound Design lesson with Diego. Fantastic show, and I enjoyed it as much as, if not more, than the last time I saw them.
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hieronymous
Forum Senior Member
Joined: December 27 2012 Location: Oakland, CA Status: Offline Points: 308 |
Posted: October 17 2017 at 18:35 |
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Since the concert I saw in SF, I've bought Visions (online from amoeba.com - meant to get it with their discount but forgot to enter the code!) and The Mountain (at Rasputin in Concord, CA - I kind of don't like to support them, it's a long story, but that's where I bought Affinity and it's the only place I could find The Mountain at!) - really coming to love this band - didn't realize that the current bassist only joined after The Mountain was recorded. Haven't listened to Visions yet - I'm enjoying familiarizing myself with The Mountain - I listened several times on YouTube before the concert, enough that I could recognize songs that I liked - now I'm tempted to try and play along, just need to restring my Ibanez SR-506 6-string bass...
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Biff Tannen
Forum Senior Member
Joined: February 13 2010 Location: St. Louis, USA Status: Offline Points: 159 |
Posted: October 21 2017 at 22:21 |
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Saw them last month for the first time. Great stuff. They played plenty from every album. Will definitely see them again!
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"What are you looking at, butthead?"
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Haken LIVE
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