Concert Reviews

Renaissance: Homer, New York, USA, 24 October 2024

Stephen Mazikewich is known for his YouTube channel My Prog Rock Show, in which he dedicated a full episode to exploring DPRP.net after he found us while investigating material for another episode. Besides making episodes on his own channel, his acquaintance with DPRP gave him the chance to write about a recent concert attendance and have it published here on DPRP.net!

Stephen Mazikewich

Have you ever been duped by a farewell tour? If I were to venture a guess I would think most of us have been. I know I have more than once. Could Renaissance's In Gratitude Farewell Tour be the real deal? Perhaps we will find out.

Thursday 24 October 2024 was a beautiful fall afternoon in upstate New York. The leaves were peaking in color on all the rolling hills. Certainly a small town and an old Baptist church over 100 years old turned concert theater would complete the fall vibes. Why is this important? Sometimes the backdrop and timing of a concert can really enhance the experience. At least it did for Renaissance who are embarking on their final tour.

Homer Center for the Arts stands proud in the very small town of Homer, about a half hour below Syracuse. The event was general seating, but noticeably attracted an older crowd who gingerly walked in with little concern over the seating arrangements. Luckily, some of us had reserved premium seats. It is a running joke in the progressive rock world that women are dragged to prog concerts by their boyfriends, but this was definitely not the case. It was a close 50:50 ratio.

The once church sanctuary was cozy and sat about 400 people in a semicircle of sorts around the stage with a balcony hence not a bad seat in the house. Classical music played from the speakers appropriately preceding the show and after a history lesson on the venue and a short introduction the band took to the stage with Annie Haslam coming out last in a flowing elegant gown and shawl.

Just like they did 50 years ago on their Live At Carnegie Hall album, Renaissance began the show with Prologue. This may serve as a dual purpose. It shows off Annie's vocal skills, and it features wordless harmonies so it acts as a good warm up. It immediately became apparent that Annie had not lost a thing, easily hitting impossible high notes with little effort.

Fan favorites Carpet Of The Sun and Ocean Gypsy came next on the setlist. Ocean Gypsy almost seemed autobiographical based on what Annie was wearing and how she swayed with the music. Young Prince And Princess, an excerpt from the epic Song Of Scheherazade followed as Annie joked the band might play the complete version of Song Of Scheherazade in the next farewell tour.

Several great Renaissance songs from the 1970s made up most of the setlist including A Song For All Seasons, Northern Lights, and Things I Don't Understand. Only one recent song, One Thousand Roses, made the setlist. Absent, much to the agreement of the audience this reviewer is sure of, was anything from the early 1980s albums Camera Camera and Time-Line. Annie cheekily would not even say the album titles as they would have been seriously misplaced on such a fine night.

Between the songs Annie showed her charm and humour. She was wise yet has a childlike wonder about her. She caught herself saying the word fabulous so many times it became the word of the night. She spoke of her personal experiences as well as the history of Renaissance. Let's not forget the original band was an offshoot of the Yardbirds formed by Keith Relf and Jim McCarty embracing a classical folk rock sound. As a nod to the first lineup that even preceded Annie Haslam, the band played a notable rendition of Island from the self-titled debut album originally sung by Keith's sister Jane.

Annie was right at home in this intimate setting keeping the atmosphere light and relaxed. In one standout moment Annie had to stop at the beginning of a song to clear her throat. The audience waited patiently as she took a sip of water with some more crowd interaction, and then she proceeded to sing beautifully.

Annie was backed by guitarist Mark Lambert, Frank Pagano on drums, bassist John Galgano, and two keyboardists. Rave Tesar handled most of the John Tout piano parts while Geoffrey Langley took care of synth strings or any other synth sound each song required. All involved were talented and would have made the classic 1970's lineup proud.

As the show went on the house sound became increasingly better as Rave Tesar joked about our bodies assisting in the better sounding acoustics and urged the crowd not to trade seats or take off their coats.

The show ended with the popular Mother Russia, but like any good concert, it was not over. The band stayed on stage to play Ashes Are Burning for the encore. Each band member had their time to shine with a solo and the song ended with a standing ovation. Two hours of well-selected music ended with a thunderous applause from a crowd of about 400.

Not to take away from Renaissance, Randy McStine was in the audience who has recently been a touring guitarist for Porcupine Tree and will be touring with Steven Wilson in the summer of 2025 so it was an opportunity to say congratulations.

The band members were accessible to talk to and take pictures with after the show although Annie understandably stayed backstage. Even though it is a short tour, Renaissance is playing a couple of four-night stretches.

Perhaps the name Renaissance will be laid to rest, although I doubt Annie Haslam is going to ride into the sunset as she still seems to have an abundance of energy. The moment she walked on stage, her 50-year career faded as she transformed into the Annie from the 1970s we all fell in love with. Don't forget Annie is also a talented painter. I even have an original Annie Haslam proudly displayed on my prog rock wall of fame. Or perhaps we will get to hear the full 25-minute version of Song Of Scheherazade on Renaissance's next farewell tour.

Set 1

Prologue Carpet Of The Sun Ocean Gypsy The Young Prince And Princess As Told By Scheherazade One Thousand Roses A Song For All Seasons

Set 2

Northern Lights Forever Changing Island Things I Don't Understand Mother Russia

Encore

Ashes Are Burning

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