NMB, the Neal Morse Band, is the gold-standard of American progressive rock. Perhaps the best analogy in this world of Marvel movies would be The Avengers: five superheroes who, when they come together, create something far greater than the sum of its parts. When NMB released its fifth record L.I.F.T. back in February, I was blown away, it has turned out to be not just my favorite record of the year but could be the best of the decade. Fingers were crossed for a tour, and the band responded with a handful of dates culminating at the annual MorseFest. I was fortunate enough to experience the first night and the live debut of this masterpiece.
Please scroll below for the MisplacedStraws NMB live photos and review.
A buzz filled the Keswick Theater as people started coming in and finding their seats. This wasn’t just a concert, a performance by NMB is an event, people talk about how far they drove to be there (4 hours for me) and how many times they have seen the various members of the band. As the lights went down, the first surprise of the night was unveiled. Rather than starting with the album performance, a familiar “Overture” started and led into one of my favorite tracks, “The Great Adventure” from the 2019 record of the same name. The sound was perfect, clear and crisp as every instrument shone through. Neal Morse was centerstage on keyboard, acoustic and electric guitar, to his left was Eric Gillett on vocals and his trademark purple Music Man guitar, bassist Randy George was to Morse’s right. Behind on the right was legendary drummer Mike Portnoy, while keyboardist and vocalist Bill Hubauer was on the left.
The night was divided into two sets, the first being songs from the band’s past, while the second set was L.I.F.T. The first set was everything a fan could ask for. Innocence & Danger was represented with two tracks, “Bird on a Wire” and “The Way It Had To Be”, Similitude of a Dream had a trio of songs, “The Ways of a Fool”, “So Far Gone”, and for the first time since 2017, the extraordinary “Breath of Angels”. There were two songs, however, that made Set 1 truly memorable. First, Morse introduced “Leviathan”, a song from his solo catalogue that hasn’t been performed since 2015. The second surprise of the night, and certainly a highlight, was introduced by Mike Portnoy as the Bill Hubauer prog arrangement of the Richard Harris/Donna Summer classic “MacArthur Park”.
There was a brief intermission after the Similitude trio, and the buzz grew louder as everyone knew what was coming. The lights went down, Hubauer’s keyboard started, and Morse, alone in a spotlight, sang “Beginning”. The story of L.I.F.T. is one most people can relate to, having your faith shaken and eventually finding it was there all along. That relatability is what makes this story special, seeing these incredible musicians bring it to life was pure joy. Eric Gillett is definitely the secret weapon of the band. an incredible player and singer, I’ve never seen someone play such complicate parts and make it look totally fluid and effortless.
As the story grew and the band locked in, the full power of this music and Neal’s story could be felt. The aggressive punch of “Hurt People” into the beauty of “The Great Withdrawal” sent chills down my spine. “Fully Alive” is the theme of the record as it bookends the journey, but it also describes the night. This is live music; nothing is prerecorded and that showed in the emotional “Shame About My Shame”. As Morse switched from his keyboard to shouldering his Strat for one of the great solos on the record, he realized the guitar wasn’t working. The band extended a bit as the guitar tech was brought out (and introduced to the crowd). Once the problem was fixed, Morse made good on his promise that the solo would be worth it.
I can’t talk enough about the vocals of this band. Morse, Gillett, and Hubauer trade lead throughout the night with Portnoy providing backing. The sound is full and glorious, as heard on the acapella intro to “Reaching”. As the climax of the record hits, beginning with “Carry You Again” and ending with “Love All Along”, you begin to feel the enormity and emotion of the night. This was a joint experience between band and audience that showed all of us what it means to be fully alive. One more surprise was in store as the band brought out “The Call” from its debut record “The Grand Experiment” for the first time since 2017.
Hearing NMB play L.I.F.T. was a magical experience on many levels. Not only was the music incredible, but the visuals were perfectly suited for every song and enhanced the story. Regardless of your beliefs or religion, everyone has experienced a crisis of faith in their life, but as this story shows us, the answer to coming out of it is simple…”it was love all along”.
