BLACKFIELD

Pre-tour publicity emphasised that this would be Aviv Geffen taking Blackfield’s music on the road without collaborator Steven Wilson. The Brit has been very involved with the latest album, Blackfield

V, but given his own thriving career as the godfather of contemporary prog, plus his sideline remastering almost the entirety of classic prog, the word was that he wouldn’t have time to squeeze in yet another burst of activity. And so for the first hour we settle in to a confident if unspectacular set from the Israeli, who’s a huge star in his homeland and a champion of the political left. He’s also a coach on the Israeli version of The Voice, and there’s no doubt he can carry a tune.

What is surprising is how little of the new record he plays. With the full studio involvement of both Wilson and Alan

Parsons, the loose concept album about the ocean and the tides of life is a strong offering, but there’s scant attempt to showcase it here. Its standout moments, Family Man and How Was Your Ride?, are ignored, with just October, The Jackal and We’ll Never Be Apart receiving an airing.

The net result is that we’re shown the rich back catalogue Geffen has assembled over a quarter of a century in the business. The diehard element of the crowd take delight in this pick’n’mix approach, even if fair-weather fans don’t really get the soft-prog fillips that Blackfield V offers.

The youthful-looking Geffen is a committed, smooth performer, and with a casually competent band, he glides through tracks that range from easily digestible and commercially oriented to something marginally heavier. You’d perhaps need some expertise in the Israeli political arena to glean some of the lyrical nuances, but the music’s primarily a pleasant purr.

Then comes the gear change. The black-clad Wilson surprises us all by ambling on stage, and for 15 minutes a frisson charges up the music and the hall. Again eschewing the new material, the reunited pair kick off with much verve through the mid-tempo colour washes of Blackfield and Pain from their 2004 debut album together, and the staccato rush of Once, the opener from their second.

Wilson, enjoying himself, takes on the bulk of guitar and vocals, Geffen happy to defer. The audience lap up this bonus, with Wilson fans thrilled to see the man in what is – by his current standing – a modest-sized venue.

After he leaves, the energy remains high as Geffen raises his own game, hurling heartfelt angst into early song Glow, before an anthemic finale of Cloudy Now and End Of The World, both well-known homeland hits that have ex-pats here punching the air.

The special guest lifted the atmosphere. Thankfully, Geffen didn’t let it drop.