Gentle Giant's Three Friends in Tel Aviv

"THANK YOU FOR BELIEVING IN MUSIC" - Said Gary Green.

Details:
Gentle Giant broke up in 1980 and was never reunited. So basically Three Friends are a tribute band playing the music of GG, including of original GG members Gary Green, Malcolm Mortimore and Kerry Minnear which soon after was replaced by Gary Sanctuary. Additional musicians were added, Lee Pomeroy on Bass, Mick Wilson on vocals and Charlotte Glasson on violin and saxophone.

It has been a month since the show and it still echoes in my mind quite heavily. This was no doubt about it one of the best prog concerts I've been to. The first time I heard three friends were coming I really didn't know what to expect, especially due to the fact that they were more like two friends and not three anymore. As I said, Kerry Minnear was no longer in the band but honored us with his presence and for the first time watched the show from the first row. It's hard to understand why didn't he jump from his seat and took control of Gary Sanctuary's keyboards and really justify the group's name.

So what did we have?
One Gary Green, One Malcolm Mortimore, a bunch of well trained musicians and one big dream coming true. That was enough to make this proger a happy man. That was definitely a rare occasion and a one time opportunity to be exposed to the amazing music of Gentle Giant, played by the closest thing you could possibly find to the original band.

Gary Green was the leader behind the band and was the most dominant musician on stage, even more apparent than Mick Wilson filling in the shoes of the great Derek Shulman. Don't forget Green is 40 years older than he was when he recorded with the other giants, but that certainly didn't stop him of making a brilliant performance which contained a few wicked fiery solos sending my ass to outer space!! Oh Yeah....



Green assembled a highly capable set of musicians that were challanged to recreate one of the most intricate, complex and appreciated music this genre have to offer. They totally nailed it!! The old songs came to life once more in the most exact way, with an impeccable sound and with huge amount of love and enthusiasm. Bassist Lee Pomeroy couldn't take his smile off for the entire show, and they couldn't help but feel the love and energies projected from the audience. The playing was tight as hell and every member did his job the best way he could, from fiery solos to the triple harmonies we all know, they definitely left the audience in awe.
I just wish we could all experience more concerts as this one.











Edited by sagichim - December 09 2012 at 12:46

Cool review, Sagi! Thanks!

I'll try to cath them if they're ever in Oslo.