It has been already a year since I started reviewing concerts (amateurishly) for Montreal Rocks and this year has shown me many things. I entered into this volunteer gig looking forward to hearing great bands, discovering new ones and improving my written skills further.
But what I found went beyond that, I initially signed myself up for any metal band I could but soon found out that basing myself on the tastes of my youth did not work out as well as I had thought, not only was it not to my liking any longer but I felt old and somewhat disappointed with myself.
Thankfully, with age and during this last 12 months I was also able to realize that not all (sadly I would say, most) classics aged well but that all-in-all I reignited my affinity for progressive rock and jazz.
All of the above is to give some context as to why I requested to review IQ even though I had heard less than a handful of their songs beforehand. I really wanted to expose myself to new music, new bands and embrace my 30-something musical taste.
IQ stopped by Montreal, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their “Ever” album and play the whole album live as well other beautiful hits from their career. I did not know the entire collection but was much surprised by the intricacy and carefulness of the compositions, the energy of the whole the band and the performing qualities of the singer Peter Nicholls.
The British band was comfortable on stage and managed to send everyone in the crowd through a very immersive experience into their music, the story of their lyrics and the history of them playing together.
Progressive rock seems to be either ahead of its time or fitting perfectly in any decade, and yes I am sure many jokes and puns could be said about prog, intelligence and the band’s name, IQ, but that would be just playing along the stereotype of snobbism and elitism that has accompanied this genre for so long. IQ makes excellent music, close to everyone’s hearts and accessible to anyone who wants to listen.
Review – Ricardo D. Flores
Photos – Kieron Yates
