Iona - Live in London (DVD)
Iona are many things for many people, but for me they’re the standard bearer of modern British progressive rock and possibly one of the greatest bands to have hailed from the country and amazingly they just get better and better as they go. I watched the entire electric set and most of the interviews and it’s particularly interesting listening to them talk as this was a band that got its genesis in the contemporary Christian music scene and has clearly gained something of a different perspective on where they stand now on these issues. One thing that is clear from their music even before hearing the words is that this is a unity-based music and spiritual philosophy, unity in terms of melding a number of influences into a musical style, but also unity in a spiritual sense. In fact, I’d probably rate some of the moments among the gems on this DVD as some of the most cathartically spiritual songs I’ve ever heard (up there with Coltrane, Gong etc). For instance, “Inside My Heart,” with its final lyric, “Let me dance in the brightness of your throne” and climactic guitar solo, is possibly one of the most incredibly transcendent and powerful pieces of music I’ve ever heard and like many of the best Iona tracks, which amazingly enough are mostly all on this DVD, it has the power to elicit goosebumps and chills like nothing I’ve ever heard.
I tend to like to point out a musician or two in the band that really stand out, but to be honest there’s just not a slouch in this band, from a surprisingly grooving and tight rhythm section to the multi instrumentalists in front. You have to give even more kudos to Troy Donockley who, from the interviews, looked like he was pretty ill during the proceedings. Much has been said about the incredible voice of Joanna Hogg and the just-as-incredible guitar playing of Dave Bainbridge, but, as albums like Heavens Bright Sun and Woven Cord hinted, they’re even better on stage. In fact I was amazed at how many of the band’s longer songs ended or peaked with one of Bainbridge’s solos, Hogg even comments on him self-combusting when introducing one of these. I could probably listen to the guy go off for half an hour without a problem.
And amazingly you listen to the interviews, realize they live across their country and realize that this near-perfection on the stage doesn’t come out of constant rehearsals, but is mostly the product of them working on their own and coming together for a few dates (I believe there were three in total). That in itself is amazing to me that the band’s internal connections are strong enough for them to be able to step out on stage and be that good. In fact, closer “Murlough Bay” was apparently only the second time they’d played the song in at least two years. You’d have to be in the band to tell.