The Neal Morse Band
The Triple Door, Seattle, WA
01.17.17

A rainy night brought the Neal Morse Band to Seattle for a sold out show at The Triple Door in Seattle. Only the second show of the tour, the band was playing their second newly-released masterpiece album, The Similitude of a Dream, in its entirety.

The progressive rock super group consists of singer/multi-instrumentalist Neal Morse, of Transatlantic/Spock’s Beard; drummer Mike Portnoy, of Dream Theater/Winery Dogs/Transatlantic – and one of the biggest names in progressive drumming – who has partnered with Neal in several other projects; bassist, and Seattle native, Randy George; keyboardist/multi-instrumentalist Bill Hubauer; and guitarist/vocalist Eric Gillette.

The band hit the stage under a cover of darkness with a video screen illuminating the backdrop. Morse utilized a flashlight to light up his face in a cloaked outfit, as the band broke into a full set of the album from start to finish.

The insanity of their musicianship was unreal, and it was amazing to watch each band member play off the others as they traded vocals and licks. The venue’s intimately seated crowd was something unusual, but entertaining. At one point Morse ran through the room.

Portnoy came to the mic and addressed the audience, “This is one of the two speaking breaks in the set, and Neal was kind enough or crazy enough to let me have a moment to speak.”  Then they broke into a semi acoustic segment with everyone at the front of the stage.

The Similitude of a Dream from start to finish, and a 3-song encore, resulted in an incredible two hour and twenty minute performance, all the while watching some of the best musicians in the industry.

Neal Morse Band Set List
Disc 1 Set
Long Day
Overture
The Dream
City Of Destruction
We Have Got To Go
Makes No Sense
Draw The Line
The Slough
Back To The City
The Ways Of A Fool
So Far Gone
Breath Of Angels

Disc 2 Set
Slave To Your Mind
Shortcut To Salvation
The Man In The Iron Cage
The Road Called Home
Sloth
Freedom Song
I’m Running
The Mask
Confrontation
The Battle
Broken Sky/Long Day Reprise

Encore
Momentum
Agenda
The Call

Review and photos by Neil Lim Sang

The Neal Morse Band