Magma - Toronto (The Opera House) - April 2 2016

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   This was my second time seeing Magma live (and my first in Canada) - the previous time was at Nearfest 2007.
Opening was the Maurizio Guarini Circle.  Maurizio Guarini is a (former?) member of Goblin, and this 4-piece (2 synths, bass, drums) group carried on in much the same mould.  I was only familiar with the Goblin pieces (Dr. Frankenstein, Suspiria), and these got the biggest crowd reaction as well - they were played very much like the original recordings.  I missed Goblin when they toured through last year or so, so this was a nice taste.  I did not connect as much with the newer solo material, but that's probably my tastes more than anything.

I was much more impressed with Magma this time around, vs in 2007.  The band was musically in top shape (though apparently Christian Vander apparently has a really bad cold and was feeling terrible).  The setlist was (forgive the lack of accents):

Theusz Hamtaahk
Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh
Zombies

(I was hoping for Kobaia in addition to, or instead of, Zombies, but that's just small personal preference.)

I didn't catch the names of the performers (Christian and Stella Vander aside), but I assume that it's the lineup that's listed on their Facebook page.  3 vocalists (plus CV during Theusz Hamtaahk), guitar, electric piano, bass, vibes, drums.

The show ran about 90 minutes long, which was quite satisfying, especially given the intensity of the performance.  The venue (The Opera House) was about 2/3 full - it is a standing-only venue with room for maybe 800 people, and there seemed to be about 500 very enthusiastic fans there.  The sound during TH was a bit muddier than I would've wanted, but it seemed to clear up in the second half of TH, and for the other 2 pieces.  The guitarist was reading a chart; everyone else had their parts memorized - and I only point this out for interest, because the guitar performance was nothing short of fantastic; definitely not an "I'm just sight-reading this piece" kind of a delivery.

TH: Stellar.  The version I'm most familiar with is the BBC (Londres) recording, and yesterday's rendition had all the intensity of that recording.  The recording has some parts played on synth which were taken by the vibes at the show; this was especially noticeable during the quiet "Theusz Hamtaahk" breakdown about 3/4 of the way through (probably my favourite Magma moment) - it worked very well.  The instrumentalists were locked amazingly tightly, and everyone played their butts off.

MDK: Really superb.  Aside from the addition of a killer guitar solo right before Mekanik Kommandoh, the arrangement was basically the original studio recording scaled down to the smaller ensemble (as with many of the live versions).  Stella's vocal unison lines with guitar and vibes were incredibly tight - obviously she's sung this many, many times, but her level of pitch control and timing is really something else.

Zombies: I'm not as familiar with this piece, but the performance hewed close to the studio version again.  Good energy, as with the other two.

Overall, a great show.  I'm struggling to come up with any disappointing aspects - I would have preferred to have heard another shorter piece in place of Zombies, but the energy, skill and arrangements were all fantastic.

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Blart Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Newbie Joined: September 17 2013 Location: Waterloo, ON Status: Offline Points: 27	Topic: Magma - Toronto (The Opera House) - April 2 2016 Posted: April 03 2016 at 14:27
	This was my second time seeing Magma live (and my first in Canada) - the previous time was at Nearfest 2007. Opening was the Maurizio Guarini Circle. Maurizio Guarini is a (former?) member of Goblin, and this 4-piece (2 synths, bass, drums) group carried on in much the same mould. I was only familiar with the Goblin pieces (Dr. Frankenstein, Suspiria), and these got the biggest crowd reaction as well - they were played very much like the original recordings. I missed Goblin when they toured through last year or so, so this was a nice taste. I did not connect as much with the newer solo material, but that's probably my tastes more than anything. I was much more impressed with Magma this time around, vs in 2007. The band was musically in top shape (though apparently Christian Vander apparently has a really bad cold and was feeling terrible). The setlist was (forgive the lack of accents): Theusz Hamtaahk Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh Zombies (I was hoping for Kobaia in addition to, or instead of, Zombies, but that's just small personal preference.) I didn't catch the names of the performers (Christian and Stella Vander aside), but I assume that it's the lineup that's listed on their Facebook page. 3 vocalists (plus CV during Theusz Hamtaahk), guitar, electric piano, bass, vibes, drums. The show ran about 90 minutes long, which was quite satisfying, especially given the intensity of the performance. The venue (The Opera House) was about 2/3 full - it is a standing-only venue with room for maybe 800 people, and there seemed to be about 500 very enthusiastic fans there. The sound during TH was a bit muddier than I would've wanted, but it seemed to clear up in the second half of TH, and for the other 2 pieces. The guitarist was reading a chart; everyone else had their parts memorized - and I only point this out for interest, because the guitar performance was nothing short of fantastic; definitely not an "I'm just sight-reading this piece" kind of a delivery. TH: Stellar. The version I'm most familiar with is the BBC (Londres) recording, and yesterday's rendition had all the intensity of that recording. The recording has some parts played on synth which were taken by the vibes at the show; this was especially noticeable during the quiet "Theusz Hamtaahk" breakdown about 3/4 of the way through (probably my favourite Magma moment) - it worked very well. The instrumentalists were locked amazingly tightly, and everyone played their butts off. MDK: Really superb. Aside from the addition of a killer guitar solo right before Mekanik Kommandoh, the arrangement was basically the original studio recording scaled down to the smaller ensemble (as with many of the live versions). Stella's vocal unison lines with guitar and vibes were incredibly tight - obviously she's sung this many, many times, but her level of pitch control and timing is really something else. Zombies: I'm not as familiar with this piece, but the performance hewed close to the studio version again. Good energy, as with the other two. Overall, a great show. I'm struggling to come up with any disappointing aspects - I would have preferred to have heard another shorter piece in place of Zombies, but the energy, skill and arrangements were all fantastic.
	Bassist with G2R.ca

hieronymous Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: December 27 2012 Location: Oakland, CA Status: Offline Points: 308	Posted: April 03 2016 at 17:54
	Thanks for the review - I still have to finish mine for San Francisco... I believe that this guitarist was filling in in a sense - the guitarist who has been playing with them, James MacGaw, announced on Facebook that he is undergoing cancer treatment. When I saw them the guitarist was playing a Squier and reading the music like you say, so I wasn't sure what to expect. But he turned out to be amazing! I really hope they release recordings from this tour - I don't mean to rub it in, but I really liked hearing Kobaïa - it had its own energy and groove but they also referenced earlier versions. I was psyched to hear Zombies last year - Üdü Wüdü is one of my favorite albums - it's intense and short, a good closer - but maybe since CV was sick they couldn't do all four? Did you notice which bass Philippe Bussonnet was playing? When I saw them he had one with two single coil P-Bass pickups - other times I've seen them he was using a Fender Jazz.