IQ – The Met, Bury – 19th & 20th January 2024

Let’s avoid the deja vu and ‘that time of year again’ cliches as we head to The Met in Bury which has become a kind of spiritual home for IQ.

The old memory banks might be failing, but the association began with The Met chosen for rehearsals and the premiere of the Subterranea production back in 1997 (the famous ‘world tour of Bury’) although 1995 would seem to have been their debut performance at the venue. I may be wrong, but again, it was almost thirty years ago. (answers in the comments boxes below…). Perhaps we need a commemorative shirt (with a classic Peter Nicholls design and the full list of dates on the back). Pete refers to that very premiere (“on this stage – well, maybe not this very stage…”) in one of the intros to a nice selection of tracks for the album that make it to the Friday night set.

The plan for two nights and two different sets see the band, as ever, giving those repeat offenders who regularly make the early new year pilgrimage to Bury, value for money. “Two nights for the price of two!” Nicholls again jokes, not fazed by the task of four-plus hours of music (and words) to work up.

It’s an ambitious plan yet allows for the band to dig a little deeper into what’s a very healthy legacy, where arguably, four hours might even have some favourites on the subs bench.

As the clock ticks past the 8pm start time, the sign comes that the show is imminent. The volume on the PA adds a few decibels and as we (at least those of us in the seats), make sure we’re sitting comfortably, the theme tune of the classic British sitcom, Are You Being Served? strikes up. The band appears as the tune segues into some tin can percussion that sounds like the intro to the epic Subterranea climax, The Narrow Margin. Surely not, but in a case of from the ridiculous to the sublime, it genuinely is hard to believe that Pete is singing about being divided by loyalty as Neil Durrant provides the piano flourishes. Mike Holmes abandons the guitar to do the crossed-hands keyboard part (like Tony Banks did on The Lamb Lies Down…) Any thoughts that the track might be a truncated version are shelved as the mid song “I could never go back,” ‘could be a climax’ heads straight into the first of those impressive instrumental sections when Pete leaves the stage and the Cookie/Homes/Esau/Durant quartet turn into a Prog monster and Mike and Tim try, but fail to avoid meeting up centre-stage for a riff-off.

It’s the one song that when IQ says they’re doing a two-night stand, you hope they might play. To hear The Narrow Margin head out of the blocks with a twenty-minute masterpiece that makes us wonder what can possibly follow, makes a clear statement. Like Genesis starting a gig with Supper’s Ready or Marillion with Grendel (yes…Reading Festival ’83…). The two for the price of…yes, two, is already paid back in spades.

“Get the big ones out of the way,” says Pete after an opening flurry that has a rare performance of Fading Senses from Ever that segues from Failsafe that has a delivery with the sort of intensity that’s going to get explored further into the set.

Like Fading Senses, Leap Of Faith is mined from Ever – the 1993 classic album that showcases two songs where the part vocal part instrumental MO is to the fore; the Homes/Durant combo swapping leads as Leap comes to a close sadly not evolving into Came Down (although the historians will be able to point out the occasions it has – sure there was one Laep/Came Down at The Met in the past – again, answers in the comments below please…)

Digging deep, we get Closer. Most welcome and maybe an underrated IQ cut, but the halfway point when the organ crescendo begins and we get the “Hold on, when I’m dead and gone from here,” verse, the effect genuinely spine-tingling and glorious. The fact it’s a personal favorite IQ ‘bit’ is a bonus and goes straight to the top ten of weekend highlights.

Ridng the crest of a prog Rock wave, the finale combo of Road Of Bones in all it’s brooding and menacing glory and The Seventh House, the selling is that this has been one of the best ever IQ sets. Granted, there’s no Dark Matter or The Wake – but they’re to come so any hyperbole will have to sit on pause until 10:30pm-ish on Saturday.

We’re promised two new songs – works in progress – over the weekend, one per night. Friday we get the “unnamed future classic” or the working title of Plinth that sees an unusual combination of two electric twelve-string guitars (on plinths…) brought onstage. How it develops, where and when it appears, time will tell. Not the first time we’ve had works in progress aired and it’s a testament to the IQ composition prowess that a second disc ‘bonus track’ – Ten Million Demons – is retained from this time last year. A great encore choice with the ‘Waterfront’/Glitter Band stomp where we’re warned there might have to be some body movements happening

Writing in the full afterglow of Friday’s superb show, it looks like IQ will have to go some to top it. However, with Dark Matter as the main course and none of The Wake performed on Friday, it would be a brave man who took the gamble. I’d wager 99.9% of those in attendance would happily pay to see the same set again on Saturday, while those Saturday ticket holders absent from tonight will be rueing their choice. The best IQ set ever? Hard to argue.

Saturday is the full performance of Dark Matter. The ‘Dark Matador’ tour visited in November 2005 (I ‘procured’ a poster) and is set for the first half of a show that aside from a sinister return trip to The Road Of Bones, is a completely different set from Friday. 26 song make up the weekend with all (bar one) albums visited in some or more part.

What’s familiar is the Eighties pre-show music that right on cue, repeating the ‘ten minutes after the stated start time’ (consistent if nothing else) makes way for the soundtrack to Grace Brothers Department store – one audience member spotted mouthing the words (“ground floor, perfumery..going uuup“…etc) although possibly lost on some of those who’ve travelled from far and wide across Europe and the Atlantic. The three video screens provide the intro to the Dark Matter concept before starting on their relentless visuals which have accompanied the band over the two nights and Sacred Sound declares us up and running.

Like Friday’s Narrow Margin set opener, it feels odd to have the might of Harvest Of Souls appear mid-set. “We’re often asked what it’s about. It’s about twenty-five minutes!” says Pete who’s keen to play down any political innuendo although one band member is less so. The twelve strings are out again in force and the following twenty-five minutes rival last night’s opening number and deservedly gain a prolonged ovation. Yes, it has its Supper’s Ready moments but they’re eclipsed by the searing and soaring Holmes guitar solo in the outro. If Harvest isn’t political, then Born Brilliant could fit the bill. Check the lyrics and see which political figure(s) come to mind. There’s mention of its origins as a bluesy number (maybe one to appear on the box set?) but having had the Mike Holmes treatment, the ‘tweak’ into an industrial Prog masterpiece, throbbing with apocalyptic menace and accompanied by celestial ambience is complete. Another contender for a weekend of highlights.

And with Dark Matter dusted off we’re reminded that we’re only halfway through. Ticking off the albums, a visit to the Nomzamo period and finally we get a couple from The Wake (recently reissued in a lovely vinyl pressing after 39 years) as the Magic Roundabout is ridden and Headlong brings the main set to a close. The latter is just one of the high points from an album riddled with songs that don’t get a shoe in this time – the title track, Outer Limits, Widow’s Peak and more. Perhaps the sense that we’re amidst a very special couple of sets where the band re pulling rabbits out of the hat, a volley of shouts goes up for favourite songs – “Ryker Skies!“, “The Enemy Smacks!” “Barbell!“, the latter getting a few smiles onstage. “So what’s the most obscure IQ track you can think of?” is the challenge before Pete has to quietn the heckles. No shouts for Nine Tins Of Chunky btw.

And as favorites abound, Guiding Light has Pete declaring it one of his favourite children. One showing off what IQ do best and has done throughout this stand. In Pete Nicholls they have one of the underrated frontmen and lyricist (and artist) par excellence befitting the status of Prog veteran while the instrumental quartet is a fearsome unit. Tim Esau’s bass pedals feel particularly effective in this number.

Tonight’s work in progress is Melagonia which packs a considerably heftier presence to Plinth, offering a balanced view of what the new writing might sound like but we’re left with the combo of old and new (oldest and most recent?) with Shallow Bay and Last Human Gateway bookending the catalogue and finale-ing with class. Perhaps the only way to bring a suitably closure to the weekend is with the famous middle section of the first side of the first album and have the sell-out crowd sing it with gusto,

Now part of the IQ/The Met makeup, the show will back in February 2025. Scary, but great. Tickets are not yet on sale and with ‘maybe’ a new album, the IQ legacy is set to continue, hurtling towards the half century. With over a year to wait, the one guarantee is that the pair of gigs that made the 2024 weekend so special will be a hard act to follow.

With thanks to Leo Trimming (check out The Progressive Aspect) for the setlist pics!

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