Astra,Diagonal and Litmus gig at the Scala!

Wow!  What a night.  The great line up certainly did not disappoint a good turn out at the Scala.  I have seen Diagonal a few times over the past year but this was the best I have seen them even though the sax player was not performing.  They finished their set with the amazing 'Pact' which sent the crowd wild with appreciation.  I just hope the rumours of possible line up changes are not true.  Even better was to come with Astra's first ever gig in the UK.  Progressive Rock at it's very best.  The drummer even seemed happy with the comparison of his style with a certain C. Vander by certain enthusiastic friends of mine watching in awe.  The only thing that could improve on such a night would be to include The Laze on this bill.  I would love them to play stuff from the new album 'Spacetime fabric conditioner'

I'm surprised by the comparison with Vander, most of Astra's music is in slow tempos, very opposed to Magma's. But that probably means that he was very good. Nice!

It was a superb gig - once Litmus had finished. They were just too loud for me. But Diagonal, who were new to me, were excellent. And Astra were simply amazing. Two bands who for two hours transported me back in time to 1970.

Astra didn't just play tracks from The Weirding, or if they did they were vastly different. The three main ones were the The Weirding, Ouroboros, and The River Under, which all sounded quite similar to the album versions. The first track was apparently The Rising Of The Black Sun but it was about twice as long and was great. There were a couple more instrumental jams and unfortunately that's all there was time for. I could have listened to them play all night.

There are a few YouTube videos of all three bands. Not the greatest sound quality but you'll get the general feel.

I hope to go! It would be great for the organisers to include the likes of Astra and Diagonal on the bill.  They are 2 new bands who catch the spirit of the classic prog bands of the 70's.  Come to think of it they should also include Anekdoten, Dungen, Wobbler and even Jaga Jazzist.  Any other suggestions who else should play?