Agents Of Mercy/Karmakanic, NJ 10/18

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   We woke up late on not nearly enough sleep. Excitement does that! After throwing on our clothes, we hopped into the vehicle and set off northward. But first, preparations. We dropped in at a local convenience store/headshop (yes, in Maryland, some of the non-chain convenience stores sell glass pieces, it's very interesting) and grabbed a few energy drinks for the road. It wasn't too long before the toll booths had eaten a good chunk of change from our pockets and we were faced with a giant sign proclaiming WELCOME TO NEW JERSEY. Rob (Harry Hood) noted that New Jersey could be smelled before it could be seen, and he was right. Despite being in enemy territory (no, seriously, NJ is frightening), we pushed on, and three hours after we'd embarked, we found ourselves in the city of New Brunswick. After appropriating parking, we walked several blocks towards the venue and ducked in long before the doors officially opened.

On the second floor of the Crossroads Theater, a small lobby held a modest merchandise table which we perused and picked up a copy of the not-yet-released album 3rd World Electric, a jazz/fusion project featuring members of TFK, as well as the drummer from Chick Corea's band and some other Swedish musicians! It's wonderful. The door to the showroom was cracked, and we snuck a peek: the band was doing soundcheck! Before long, the lobby had filled far over-capacity, and the doors opened. I spied a pair of seats right in front of where Roine and Lalle (Larsson, the keyboardist) were set up, and we quickly claimed them. Seriously, we were not three feet away from where the musicians would perform, our feet touched the same floor that theirs did. It was truly surreal.

The lights went down and the band came out: Nick D'Virgilio of Spock's Beard took his seat behind the drumkit, Jonas Reingold of The Flower Kings crossed the stage to his bass setup, Nad Sylvan from a little-known but amazing group called Unifaun took front-and-center stage, Goran Edman of Karmakanic stood next to him, and finally Roine and Lalle strode right in front of us and remained. The six men were assembled, and they prepared to take flight. The first set was focused on material by Agents of Mercy, a recent Stolt/Sylvan project (which you must, must, must hear). I should take a moment to note that generally, going to a prog-rock show in the US is somewhat depressing. Much of the audience invariably holds the idea that they should remain silent and stoic and allow the band to do their thing, perhaps with a smattering of polite applause between songs. Rob and I, however, are keenly aware of how disheartening it is to try to perform to a sea of blank, stony faces, so we prefer to let ourselves enjoy concerts to the fullest. This translated to us singing along to every word (which we naturally knew by heart, glancing around it seemed we were one of the few), moving our bodies about in time with the music, and generally displaying every variety of possible grin. Due to the inevitability of our position in reference to the band, they noticed our enthusiasm and showed great appreciation for our appreciation, which is of course always appreciated. 

During the second song of the set, Roine's guitar rig went down and he had no sound... the other members, without missing a beat, transformed the current passage into a blistering jazz improvisation that remained terribly exciting throughout the ten minutes it took for Roine to fix his equipment, at which point he topped it off with a guitar solo of such intensity that even the otherwise stoic audience found it in themselves to give a standing ovation afterward. I have to note that though I've seen many of these guys live at one point or another, I've never seen them so incredibly -on fire-. After several more numbers from the record, the set concluded and a recess of fifteen minutes was called. After the duration, the men returned to the stage, and Jonas took the microphone to announce that "Karmakanic have taken the stage. Same people, same instruments... same songs?" Agents of Mercy's music is very... laid-back, compared to the jazz-metal stylings of Karmakanic, and the guys showed they were more than ready to change gears. As good as he is in Spock's Beard, Nick was a powerhouse on the drums, playing parts originally recorded by the Hungarian legend Zoltan Csorsz with finesse and power. For this set, we got three (long!) tracks from the new Karmakanic record, three from their prior albums, and instrumental solos from Nick, Jonas, and a particularly heavenly piano solo from Lalle Larsson. 

After the show, we stuck around and got to meet some of the guys! We chatted for a while, talked about upcoming music (Agents of Mercy will be recording a second album and this time Lalle will be involved with the writing process, among other things), and then we said our farewells and began the long drive home... the escape from New Jersey.

I will never, never forget that night.

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Man Overboard Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: November 07 2004 Location: Austin, TX Status: Offline Points: 3830	Topic: Agents Of Mercy/Karmakanic, NJ 10/18 Posted: October 20 2009 at 23:25
	We woke up late on not nearly enough sleep. Excitement does that! After throwing on our clothes, we hopped into the vehicle and set off northward. But first, preparations. We dropped in at a local convenience store/headshop (yes, in Maryland, some of the non-chain convenience stores sell glass pieces, it's very interesting) and grabbed a few energy drinks for the road. It wasn't too long before the toll booths had eaten a good chunk of change from our pockets and we were faced with a giant sign proclaiming WELCOME TO NEW JERSEY. Rob (Harry Hood) noted that New Jersey could be smelled before it could be seen, and he was right. Despite being in enemy territory (no, seriously, NJ is frightening), we pushed on, and three hours after we'd embarked, we found ourselves in the city of New Brunswick. After appropriating parking, we walked several blocks towards the venue and ducked in long before the doors officially opened. On the second floor of the Crossroads Theater, a small lobby held a modest merchandise table which we perused and picked up a copy of the not-yet-released album 3rd World Electric, a jazz/fusion project featuring members of TFK, as well as the drummer from Chick Corea's band and some other Swedish musicians! It's wonderful. The door to the showroom was cracked, and we snuck a peek: the band was doing soundcheck! Before long, the lobby had filled far over-capacity, and the doors opened. I spied a pair of seats right in front of where Roine and Lalle (Larsson, the keyboardist) were set up, and we quickly claimed them. Seriously, we were not three feet away from where the musicians would perform, our feet touched the same floor that theirs did. It was truly surreal. The lights went down and the band came out: Nick D'Virgilio of Spock's Beard took his seat behind the drumkit, Jonas Reingold of The Flower Kings crossed the stage to his bass setup, Nad Sylvan from a little-known but amazing group called Unifaun took front-and-center stage, Goran Edman of Karmakanic stood next to him, and finally Roine and Lalle strode right in front of us and remained. The six men were assembled, and they prepared to take flight. The first set was focused on material by Agents of Mercy, a recent Stolt/Sylvan project (which you must, must, must hear). I should take a moment to note that generally, going to a prog-rock show in the US is somewhat depressing. Much of the audience invariably holds the idea that they should remain silent and stoic and allow the band to do their thing, perhaps with a smattering of polite applause between songs. Rob and I, however, are keenly aware of how disheartening it is to try to perform to a sea of blank, stony faces, so we prefer to let ourselves enjoy concerts to the fullest. This translated to us singing along to every word (which we naturally knew by heart, glancing around it seemed we were one of the few), moving our bodies about in time with the music, and generally displaying every variety of possible grin. Due to the inevitability of our position in reference to the band, they noticed our enthusiasm and showed great appreciation for our appreciation, which is of course always appreciated. During the second song of the set, Roine's guitar rig went down and he had no sound... the other members, without missing a beat, transformed the current passage into a blistering jazz improvisation that remained terribly exciting throughout the ten minutes it took for Roine to fix his equipment, at which point he topped it off with a guitar solo of such intensity that even the otherwise stoic audience found it in themselves to give a standing ovation afterward. I have to note that though I've seen many of these guys live at one point or another, I've never seen them so incredibly -on fire-. After several more numbers from the record, the set concluded and a recess of fifteen minutes was called. After the duration, the men returned to the stage, and Jonas took the microphone to announce that "Karmakanic have taken the stage. Same people, same instruments... same songs?" Agents of Mercy's music is very... laid-back, compared to the jazz-metal stylings of Karmakanic, and the guys showed they were more than ready to change gears. As good as he is in Spock's Beard, Nick was a powerhouse on the drums, playing parts originally recorded by the Hungarian legend Zoltan Csorsz with finesse and power. For this set, we got three (long!) tracks from the new Karmakanic record, three from their prior albums, and instrumental solos from Nick, Jonas, and a particularly heavenly piano solo from Lalle Larsson. After the show, we stuck around and got to meet some of the guys! We chatted for a while, talked about upcoming music (Agents of Mercy will be recording a second album and this time Lalle will be involved with the writing process, among other things), and then we said our farewells and began the long drive home... the escape from New Jersey. I will never, never forget that night.

Roj Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: July 02 2008 Location: Manchester, UK Status: Offline Points: 3126	Posted: October 21 2009 at 03:08
	Let me be the first to say, what a magnificent review . Your enthusiasm shines through so well, and even from your description it is easy to appreciate what a special show that was. The improvisation whilst Roine's guitar had packed in sounds fantastic. I truly wish I could have been there.