Johan Lenox kicked off the night at the O2 Ritz venue, and even for the opening act of a two-band bill, the venue was already pretty full and the atmosphere positively electric. Right from the start, Johan’s performance was a sublime mixture of classical and hip-hop, highlighted by his absolutely divine voice. The audience and I include myself in that, was mesmerized, and the sea of phone lights only added to the visual impact.
The jazzy element in his music gave it a relaxed lounge sound at times, and his soulful voice gave the overall impression this was similar to Sleep Token, but without the djent. Accompanied by violinists and DJ, the performance was both sonically and visually striking.
The end of the set saw Johan drop the vocals and produce a sublime soundscape underly the strings, which left me with my jaw dropped and heart soaring. His performance was unique and well-executed, and the tracks he performed were sure to get some heavy rotation. Overall, it was an incredible opening act, and Johan Lenox set the tone for an unforgettable night of music.
When Polyphia took the stage in a venue that was completely FULL, and the excitement in the crowd was palpable. The crowd engaged with plenty of banter, a stage technician saying Keith into the mic during the sound check would turn into a crowd theme throughout the show. The crowd was eagerly anticipating the performance, and whenever someone even looked like they might step on stage with a guitar, cheers erupted.
When the performance began, the Bass hits were so powerful that it felt like I might sink through the floor like the quicksand we were warned about endlessly during the 1980s. Despite losing some intricacies over the huge PA system, Polyphia’s live performance was stunning and highlighted their impressive guitar-playing skills. The crowd was completely into it, with huge quantities of crowd surfers, hey chants, and clapping along.
Polyphia’s guitar playing was nothing short of a master class, with incredible fretboard gymnastics that left the audience in awe. The atmosphere was beautiful and powerful, with the audience dissolving into a sea of superlatives, and some even proclaiming that Polyphia surpassed even seeing Steve Vai live in my appreciation of the guitar mastery on display.
The band’s skillful guitar lines and flows has often made me wonder if adding vocals would accentuate or decimate their smooth sound. As I was pondering this, there was a lovely moment where rather than singing along with lyrics the crowd engaged in a call and response which saw them singing the notes of the guitar riff. Well, that answers that question. The audience was left chanting for one more song, and Polyphia obliged with two more, inciting a mosh pit, with Tim Henson crowd surfing at the end.
I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from this performance, the intricate prog guitar, the minimalist videos, and laid-back style – I was probably mostly expecting an electric version of classic FM, instead we were treated to so many crowd surfers that at times, you’d be forgiven for wondering if this was Municipal Waste on stage (which is officially a lot), massive mosh pits and incredible amount of bouncing. This was one hell of a gig, which proved to me not only can they deliver the technicality live they can put on one hell of a show for what is essentially instrumental prog. Absolute fire!
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