Captain Beyond
Atlanta, GA
May 5, 2019
The Earl
After a very successful and under the radar tour in 2017, Captain Beyond once again hit the road in 2019. This time around, things were different though. Even as amazing as they were in 2017, I could still tell that they were just beginning to gel but in 2019, Captain Beyond is far beyond a well-oiled machine; they are a full-on cosmic juggernaut.
This line up of Captain Beyond took the stage and without any fanfare or any kind of bullshit just crushed everyone’s faces opening with “Oblivion” from the Dawn Explosion album. The band then slid right into “Distant Sun” which had everyone floored. The setlist hasn’t deviated much from the last tour but one must remember that they made two fantastic albums and Dawn Explosion.
What has changed the most was the delivery of these songs. Lead vocalist/guitarist Simon Lind has really taken his role to a whole new level. Last time around he seemed to be performing with a bit of restraint but this time around his confidence really shined. He interacted with the audience playfully and even put his guitar down for a few songs to get close to the crowd to get every even more pumped up and singing.
Bobby Caldwell, needless to say, is absolutely amazing to watch and is in a league all is own. This guy is an absolute monster on the drums who can outplay drummers ½ his age with ease. The guitar duo of Don Bonzi and Jamie Holka are without a doubt the show stoppers for me. Watching these two guys play is nothing short of jaw-dropping as they played off each other like they’ve been playing together for decades.
Captain Beyond’s hour and a half set included such classics as “Sufficiently Breathless,” “Dancing Madly Backwards,” and “Frozen Over.” Holka and Bonzi treated the crowd to a stellar version of the Yardbirds instrumental “White Summer” and while Caldwell had to deal with a broken bass drum head, Holka stepped up to do an improvised instrumental medley of Led Zeppelin covers such as “Kashmir” and “Over the Hills and Far Away.” This was a great way to fill the void of this technical difficulty yet at the same time showcase his ability to step up at the moment like a true professional and fill in the gap.
The band returned to form from their technical difficulty and lit a stick of cosmic dynamite with the closing three songs: “Raging River of Fear,” “Mesmerization Eclipse,” and the face-melting “I Can’t Feel Nothin’, Part II.” The last song had everyone losing their shit as we all sang along with Lind on the “Yeah Yeah” part of the song. At this point, the fuse burned all the way down and totally fucking exploded. As the song drew to an end, the place erupted and I was covered in sweat and exhausted.
For any of the naysayers our there or anyone who thinks that this Captain Beyond lineup is a cash grab, you better think twice, amigo. Captain Beyond is the real fucking deal and not only are they preserving the legacy of this great music, but they are also a band that has their sights set on the future as well. Captain Beyond was then, Captain Beyond is now, and Captain Beyond is the future. These guys aren’t going anywhere anytime soon and I couldn’t be any happier.
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