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I watched the video link for "what went down last time" (thanks ThorEgil). Looks very cool. Wish I could understand what was being said though
Hi there, and welcome! I was a new member here just a couple of weeks back, having also only recently discovered MP. I've been looking fairly closely at the setlists and as far as I can ascertain, in the roughly dozen gigs they played in the first part of this tour, they played a total of about five hours' worth of different material. That included all bar the two shortest tracks from The Tower, though A Pacific Sonata was, I think, only played once. They also played several tracks from Angels and Daemons at Play. The remainder came from a whole array of albums as far back as Timothy's Monster.
Like you, I've come to MP from the prog side of things, but have been thoroughly enjoying the earlier material that I've heard so far – which is primarily AADAP and Trust Us, plus a few tracks here and there from Timothy's Monster and Blissard. Of these I am so far highly impressed by Trust Us – it's a proper tour de force. AADAP feels less consitent to me, but it does have the brilliant Un Chien d'Espace, which, if you get the deluxe edition, comes (as it did on the original three-EP release of the album) with Have Spacesuit Will Travel, which is also brilliant.
It seems to me that whetever direction anyone comes to MP, the journey is a mind-blowing trip, such is the consistent brilliance and eclectic nature of this band.
@karnevil9 – I'll be at the Islington O2 too, which will also be my first MP gig. Hope you enjoy it.
@ everyone – thanks for your responses. As far as AADAP boxset goes, I just couldn't wait for the gig to roll around, so ordered it yesterday; it should arrive today
Looking forward to seeing what else they have at the merch desk, as long as the crowd isn't too thick. 
@Shakti -That's so funny what you say about Flick of the Wrist. I was listening to it yesterday and thinking – this is great, just a like a killer Neil Young and Crazy Horse jam.
It's great to hear you all enthusing about what this band means to you and how they affected you back in the day. At 55 years old, I guess I'm older than the average MP fan here. Some of you talked about just passing 40. Well here's what I hope for you – that in 15 years you should be as lucky as me to discover a band like MP. Not just an excellent band, but one that blows your f*cking mind.
@Shakti – Your point about eclectic taste is well made. And this little description of how I spent part of my day yesterday should give you a partial answer to how I feel (so far) about the different MP 'eras' that I've heard to date.
Yesterday I went to a gig in London. Whenever I do this I have a routine that involves getting into London early and walking for miles while I listen to whatever music I'm into at the time. So, with Cowon music player and Audio-technica over-ear headphones on, I set out …
Leaving the house for an energetic walk to the station – Cloudwalker.
After a brief moment to blaze up before going into the station, my high state of mind demanded something upbeat and bright – For Free followed by Go To California (album version of course)
Feeling like something with a little more punch as I neared the end of the train journey and left the station in central London – The Tower followed by A.S.F.E.
Now I'm in one of London's big parks and I'm feling like something with a little more bite, something more visceral and immediate – 577 followed by Evernine
And as I finish my walk in the park I want more of that heavy distorted guitar and bass, something jammy – Flick of the Wrist (I'm reminded of the best of Neil Young and Crazy Horse)
By now I'm walking through London streets and all I can think of is I want more of that raw energy – Trust Us (start to finish)
I meet friends at the pub – and all I can talk about is how brilliant MP are. None of these friends have heard MP, so I'm hoping a couple at least will check them out.
After the gig I'm mellowing out and heading home by foot and on the train again – Here Be Monsters (the whole album)
I leave the station and take it slow and easy on the walk home in the light rain – Vortex Surfer
To my ears, MP have something for almost all moments.
@Supersonic Scientist – Yes, I did now about Fiske playing on Eggplant, but I've only listened to that album a couple of times, so have yet to really get into it. To be honest, though, I'm not that conversant with Fiske's output. I have one Dungen album (Allas Sak), which was gifted to me by one of the friends who got me into MP. And I have Silver Mountain by Elephant9. The Dungen album didn't really do much for me, but I need to go back to it again. Silver Mountain, though, is tremendous. And sticking with these connections – I'm also off to see Jaga Jazzist next month. I know very little about them and have heard only a little of their output, but I have a feeling it's going to be special.
WOW! Anekdoten and MP on a double bill – that must have been something else. Anekdoten also played double bills with Anglagard a couple of years back, which would've been brilliant – but that was in Japan and well beyond by reach
@The Other Anders – Thank you, thank you, thank you, for your in-depth exposition! I had, of course, already figured out the chien = dog = K9 thing. Just wanted a clearer understanding of the performance relationship between Un Chien d'Espace and K9, and your explanation clarifies that perfectly. Your answer has also made me want to delve into the live realm and some of those recordings you talked about in the other thread.
I have only been listening to MP for less than a month now but my enthusiasm is making me want to run before I can walk. So if some of my questions seem a bit naive, just imagine you're talking to an over-excited little kid
Regarding Bunuel's film, it was the first thing I thought of when I first read the title Un Chien d'Espace. I really like MPs playfulness with this kind of thing – e.g. the Joni Mitchell reference of PPP, the title having been taken from the lyrics of a track (Coyote) on what is my favourite JM album (Hejira).
@Blashyrkh – Many thanks!
I'm seeing a lot of love for Intrepid Explorer in comments on the shows. Really hoping they keep that in the setlist at London.
As a newbie, when people here talk about K9, I presume they're referring to Un Chien d'Espace, but I also see that on RW1 there is a K9 suite that incorporates Un Chien d'Espace. So, I'm wondering, are they playing just the main track or something like a full suite?
@kippenhok – Thank you so much for that list. I've copied it and put it in a safe place, ready for when I'm ready to take the plunge.
@Great King Rat – I know exactly what you mean about a band's earlier material having more impact when you yourself are of the same age. By the 1990s I was entering my 30s and had lived through the years that first turned me on to music – T.Rex when I was 10, Yes, Zeppelin, Genesis, Floyd, Marley, Steely Dan and others in my teens, just before punk exploded when I was 16 and suddenly The Sex Pistols, Stranglers, Damned, Clash, Buzzcocks … In the 80s it was newer prog bands, especially Solstice, and a variety of popular music, but much more looking back to Joni Mitchel, Neil Young, CSNY, The Doors, etc. In the first half of the 90s I was living in Canada and exploring folk and Canadian artists a little, but mostly experimental fusion from artists like Jah Wobble, Bill Laswell, Transglobal Underground as well as New Age and ambient music. The latter half of the 80s I was living in India – so Indian classical, folk and devotional music came to the fore. In the 00s I was listening mostly to older music but also had a brief crazy Eminem spell! I was angry and it helped me get a lot of that out.
The last six or seven years have been a return to progressive and now psychedelic music, but mostly in terms of discovering new bands or ones that had somehow just passed me by. That's where MP come in. And they're making a serious impression – believe me.As for your suggestion to save Timothy's Monster and especially The Golden Core for last, well I like the idea, but I'm just not sure I can hang on that long, at least not now that you've mentioned it. It's like telling a kid, 'don't open that cupboard'!
@kjesso – That explains a lot! Thanks for the welcome.
@Ercarner – Thanks for the welcome. I'm enjoying the trip so far. Can't see that changing.
@The Other Anders – Brilliant, thanks for taking the time to give me some pointers. No rush on the radio recordings as I have plenty to listen to already, but further down the line I'll definitely be interested. I have RW4, which is excellent, so will delve further into the live stuff as I move along. RW1 and RW2 sound interesting too. I was wondering though – what is RW3? Wherever I look it seems to be conspicuous by its absence.
I can't tell you how overwhelming it all is. There's just so much material. Like trying to drink from a firehose, as they say.
As for DVDs – I don't really get on with them. I have a number of DVDs by bands that I've never watched – they came with CDs but I was never drawn to watch them. I tend to just stick to the listening. I used to watch videos and live stuff off the TV, but these days they just don't do it for me, unless I'm on a nostalgia trip for a bit of Zeppelin or Woodstock. I seem to be unusual in that regard as most of mymusic-loving friends watch DVDs all the time.
