ONE NIGHT ON FIRE

Here we have the first DVD from Tinyfish (and live CD with the limited edition) recorded at an intimate theatre in Poland. So what's it like, I hear you ask?

Well, it's well packaged and well produced, the band themselves are in sparkling form and the sound quality is excellent. The DVD features tracks from the debut CD plus a few from the recent release "Curious Things" and some new tracks (presumably) from the forthcoming CD "The Big Red Spark" (including the title track). The DVD is a pretty straightforward concert film with only a few shots of a fairly static but appreciative crowd. As I've said the band are in top form (no equipment breakdowns!) - Simon Godfrey is in excellent voice and the rest of the band are faultless. Leon Camfield proves himself to be one of the top prog drummers around and Rob Ramsay's costumes are worth paying to see.

The extras included artwork and an interview with Simon and Rob. The live CD is worth shelling out the extras for - the sound is one of the best I've heard on a live CD, the separation and clarity of the instruments mean you can hear exactly what's going on

Criticisms? Well, occasionally the camera is not on the right person, I had to strain to hear the questions in the interview and there is little of the onstage banter you normally get at a Tinyfish gig (although this is probably explained by the Polish audience).

Overall, this is a highly recommended release and will hopefully push the Fishes further into the spotlight where they deserve to be.

If you can't have a couple of pints after the gig with the people who have come to see you, then that's the end

The number of mainly British bands making the pilgrimage to Katowice in Poland to perform live in one of the prog fests there is testament to the enlightened nature of the audience which awaits them. Fortunately for the rest of us, it also recognises the unequalled facilities offered by local record company Metal Mind Productions in terms of capturing those performances and releasing them in audio and video format.

Tinyfish are among the latest of the bands to make the journey, playing at the 2 day event which took place in February 2009. Tinyfish were the first band on this night (16 February 2009), and it does take the audience a while to warm up. The set list consists of most of the tracks which appeared on their self titled 2006 début, their only full album to date. Also present are tracks from their 2009 mini album of rarities "Curious things", and some recorded for their forthcoming album "The big red spark".

The first thing prog fans will notice about Tinyfish is that they do not have a keyboard player. Instead, we have the twin guitars of Simon Godfrey (brother of Gem Godfrey of Frost*) and Jim Sanders. Sanders is the principal lead guitarist, with Godfrey mainly providing rhythm. While the guitar sounds are diverse, this can at times lead to the sound seeming a little thin at least in prog terms, but on the other hand it does mean that the guitar sounds are transparently clear. One admirable nod to prog excesses is the occasional appearance of one Robert Ramsay to deliver spoken word recitals in fine the tradition of Graeme Edge, Fish and the likes.

Longer songs such as the 10 minute "Wide awake at midnight" see the band developing their themes well, the performances being tight throughout. Most of the songs though are compact, the diversity of pace and style between them causing them to merge into a greater whole. The highlight of the gig is saved for the encore, where the three part "All hands lost" (parts 1 and 2 are separated by the band's eponymous intermission) makes for a fine suite.

The main gig runs for just short of an hour and a half, the DVD also containing around 50 minutes of extras. The first of these is a home made documentary capturing the band pretty much from inception (including the e-mail which started it all) through to rehearsals for the Polish gig. The film captures the closeness of band to each other, their friendship being a clear strength throughout (indeed it is part of the reason why the band do not have a keyboard player). Also included is an interview with Simon Godfrey and lyricist Robert Ramsay, where Godfrey makes the statement quoted in the heading here.

This was by all accounts the biggest gig the band have performed. A visit to their website indicates that it made a significant impression upon them, and with good reason. This is a highly polished set from a band who have come up with some fine material. The limited range of options available from their chosen line up can leave the sound seeming one dimensional at times, but this is more than offset by the strength of the material.

Generic music labels are tricky beasts at the best of times. They may be easy (or lazy) handles but they can be very limiting as well. The term progressive rock may very well be the most vague of the lot. Whilst the term progressive implies music that pushes boundaries, evolving from more standard rock styles, unfortunately it also immediately conjures up images of keyboard players dressed as wizards singing about elves, and possibly vice versa. (yes, Wakeman, we are talking about you!) Tinyfish are an example of just how redundant the label and the image it generates are and this live album is all the proof you need.

Although they bear many of the trapping s of 70's bands that shall remain?well, remain Yes and ELP, they embrace much to be found in other genres and more contemporary movements as well and it is this forward looking approach that keeps them relevant and fresh. And if on occasion they do tip their hat to some dinosaur rockers of the past, it is certainly not the star patterned, pointy type, more a natty fedora worn at a rakish angle.

It's easy to spot some of the neo-progressive markers in their musical landscape, soaring guitar solos that occasionally head into Pendragon territory and Orwellian spoken word bulletins that Twelfth Night fans might appreciate as well as the less specific building blocks common to the genre. Actually there is quite a dystopian undercurrent to some of their music, hardly surprising when two of the band cite Blade Runner amongst their top films.

But it's not some gloomy sub Vangelis soundtrack, the music just as often filled with full on rock driving grooves and spiralling riffs, Motorville being a prime example, as it is with clever musical constructs and reflective, synth washed passages. But the nature of the beast is that the songs often fall straight out of one extreme and into the other and this is what makes it so vibrant, Wide Awake At Midnight neatly encapsulating this, in fact if you wanted a brief overview of what the band are about, this song pretty much runs the full terpsichorean gamut.

What is quite admirable about the sound of the band is that above an extremely competent rhythm section, the myriad of sounds heard are produced by the guitars. All those apparent keyboard washes and strange and exotic peripheral sounds also come courtesy of the six string department, not the normal approach for a band who create such a symphonic and textured sound.

As an overview of the bands two studio albums, this acts as the perfect first port of call, not only a live rendition, but one that maintains a high production quality and the virtuosity of playing needed to do the songs justice. And on the strength of this album I would have to say that progressive rock, for want of a better word, is in particularly safe hands.