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@ 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.
@Supersonic Scientist – I'm glad my joy has mad your weekend, because the 'discovery' of MP has been making my month!.
I will definitely be here to share my impressions ater the London gig.
@supernaut – MP do South Side of the Sky. Yep, I could buy in to that!
I reckon they could absolutely murder (in a good way, if you know what I mean) Yours Is No Disgrace too.
@supernaut – Great comments. You've summed up a lot of what I've been thinking. If I go to see Yes or Hawkwind or Gong, 90% concert will almost certainly comprise 70s material. Fine, that was their heyday and my favourite period for each of those bands. But it would also be nice to hear them put more effort into playing more recent material. The fact that they don't almost betrays their own feelings about the newer stuff. MP clearly have no doubts – neither in the studio nor on stage. That in itself is exciting, quite aside from the brilliance and consistency and breadth of the music (or at least the 40% of it I've heard so far
@pfnuesel – Thanks for the welcome. No gigs yet. Can't wait for the London gig in just over three weeks. I'm also thinking about taking a trip to try to catch another date – maybe Cologne, as I'm already hoping to go to Holland to see the brilliant Monomyth in the same week. That will depend on two things though – my wife, and a possible knee operation I might be having between now and then.
