{"id":37575,"date":"2022-07-10T17:22:50","date_gmt":"2022-07-10T21:22:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alexhenryfoster.com\/?p=37575"},"modified":"2024-08-08T12:47:40","modified_gmt":"2024-08-08T16:47:40","slug":"the-progressive-aspect-alex-henry-foster-at-the-thekla-bristol","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alexhenryfoster.com\/fr\/the-progressive-aspect-alex-henry-foster-at-the-thekla-bristol\/","title":{"rendered":"[The Progressive Aspect] Alex Henry Foster at the Thekla, Bristol"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

[The Progressive Aspect] Alex Henry Foster at the Thekla, Bristol<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

PUBLI\u00c9 INITIALEMENT DANS The Progressive Aspect (Seulement en anglais)<\/h3>\n

Lisez l\u2019article original ici<\/a><\/p>\nThekla, Bristol\nSunday, 26th June 2022\n\nThekla, Bristol
\nSunday, 26th June 2022

\n\nThis review started life rather conventionally, but apart from almost boring myself into oblivion I concluded that it simply just would not do to convey the truly awe-inspiring and mind-blowing experience of Alex Henry Foster and the Long Shadows live. Before I go any further, let\u2019s be really, REALLY clear on a very important point \u2013 when this band returns to these shores just make BLOODY sure you get a ticket and just go!

\n\nIt won\u2019t matter if you have never heard their music (although it helps!) \u2013 you will just be swept along with the moment, the spontaneity and the sheer presence of a remarkably honest and inspirational performer with a fantastic band. This is live music of extraordinary emotion which is genuinely spontaneous and intuitive. It\u2019s truly remarkable and more people just need to see these guys in action.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWe were on a ship in a harbour\u2026 but frankly we could have been anywhere as the band took us all on a trip deep inside to shred our emotions, stimulate the neurons and stir the soul. Last November, Alex Henry Foster and The Long Shadows seared themselves into the eyeballs and brains of the unsuspecting crowds who had gathered to see The Pineapple Thief on their European Tour. They put on a truly remarkable psychedelic set and promised to return as headliners in 2022. This French-Canadian band of psychedelic troubadours rolled into Bristol again recently, to the peculiar Thekla venue \u2013 the aforementioned ship in the harbour. Time to plunge in.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe gig was largely based on Alex Henry Foster\u2019s remarkable debut solo album, 2018\u2019s Windows in the Sky, which Alex has confirmed was about sharing the little things concerning the death of his father, trying to open up about how he felt and have communion with everyone attending his performances \u2013 he observed that we will ALL experience grief. What is immediately obvious is that Alex lays out his raw emotions in a sincere and heart-felt expression of grief and yet celebration about his complex relationship with his father \u2013 all out there in front of a room of strangers, trying to connect with them and touching on their own deepest emotions. This is no \u2018by the numbers\u2019 mechanical gig, it\u2019s an organic, unpredictable and staggering live experience. This is a band seemingly almost telepathic in its performance, as they are clearly improvising around the framework of the songs, led like some sort of psychic conductor by Alex who with a subtle hand gesture or nod of the head \u2013 or probably just the power of thought \u2013 shapes and directs the band.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAlex Henry Foster, perched precariously on his speaker monitors, just about maintained his balance \u2013 physically and emotionally \u2013 as he and the Long Shadows plunged into stygian depths of despair and power, particularly during the extraordinary explosion of noise in The Pain That Bonds. He never intended for these songs to be played live but was persuaded to do so for the Montreal Jazz Festival, leading Alex to discover that the music cathartically grew way beyond the raw emotions of the album, morphing into a kind of celebration of life and relationships.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe highlight of the whole experience was the truly mesmeric Summertime Departures, which Alex revealed was about the regrets of the absence of a relationship with his father, with Alex repeatedly chanting forlornly \u201cYou should have known\u201d and \u201cI should have just kept trying\u2026\u201d, the piece just igniting as the band somehow hypnotically weave intricate patterns against a wall of sound. Heartbreak never sounded so desperate and yet so peculiarly sweet. As if that shattering experience was not enough, in swaggered the epic sweep of The Hunter with a bass from the deepest depths and a relentless, hypnotic tsunami of barely controlled power. The Hunter blew us away at the Bristol 02 in November and on the Thekla we were once again sunk beneath its weighty but strangely beguiling progression\u2026 trying to describe it in prose is bloody hopeless to be honest \u2013 you just have to hear and see it to get it. Foster\u2019s band are multi-talented performers playing a variety of instruments, especially the outstanding Miss Isabelle who contributes keyboards, clarinet, trumpet and flute. Similarly, guitarist Ben Lemelin seems just as adept on drums, and underneath it all is the fantastic rock solid rhythm section of Charles \u201cMoose\u201d Allicie om drums and Jeff Beaulieu on bass\u2026 but at the centre is the magnetic and fascinating presence of Alex Henry Foster himself, engaging so well with the audience with sincere emotion, positivity and subtle humour.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThis exceptional evening ended with Shadows of Our Evening Tides, which Alex reveals is about his final moments and final conversation with his father\u2026 and my thoughts inevitably turned to memories of my last night alone with my father before he died in the morning. As Alex said, this gig is about a sense of communion, and as he shares his deepest emotions and memories, some in his audience will have been taken back to similar moments with loved ones \u2013 those intensely sad but privileged moments at the end a precious life. Only music can really do that \u2013 transport us from the hold of a ship in a harbour back to those intensely personal spaces, and I thank Alex and his band for touching my soul in that way. I did say this review would be rather unconventional; it was just that sort of gig.

\n\nI will say it again \u2013 next time they are in the UK, just make sure you get to see them! A full mind-boggling set will probably melt your brains and break your hearts\u2026 and yet you will leave the gig strangely uplifted. You can thank me later.

\n\n[With photos by St\u00e9phanie Bujold, used with kind permission.]

\n\nSETLIST
\n01. Ouverture
\n02. Slow Pace of the Winds
\n03. The Pain That Bonds
\n04. Summertime Departures
\n05. The Hunter (By the Seaside Window)
\n06. Shadows of Our Evening Tides

\n\nMUSICIANS
\nAlex Henry Foster \u2013 Vocals, Guitars, Moog, Percussion
\nBen Lemelin \u2013 Guitars, Drums, Vocals
\nJeff Beaulieu \u2013 Bass
\nSef Lemelin \u2013 Guitars, Keyboards
\nMiss Isabel \u2013 Keyboards, Clarinet, Trumpet, Flute, Vocals
\nCharles \u201cMoose\u201d Allicie \u2013 Drums, Dulcimer

\n\nLEO TRIMMING
\n10 juillet 2022<\/em>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/i>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFacebook\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/i>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTwitter\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/i>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWhatsApp\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

… Lire la suite<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":37576,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_header_footer","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[192],"class_list":["post-37575","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press-fr","tag-live-fr"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alexhenryfoster.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37575","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alexhenryfoster.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alexhenryfoster.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alexhenryfoster.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alexhenryfoster.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37575"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/alexhenryfoster.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37575\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54163,"href":"https:\/\/alexhenryfoster.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37575\/revisions\/54163"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alexhenryfoster.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37576"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alexhenryfoster.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37575"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alexhenryfoster.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37575"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alexhenryfoster.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37575"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}