Neal Morse and Mike Portnoy Testimony Tour Dates
By
Sefany Jones,
Contributing Editor
Friday, November 14, 2003 @ 11:32 AM
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NEAL MORSE TOUR TO PROMOTE RADIANT/METAL BLADE RECORDS RELEASE 'TESTIMONY'.
WILL INCLUDE MATERIAL FROM THE ALBUM AND SPOCK'S BEARD AND TRANSATLANTIC FAVORITES
SELECT SHOWS WILL INCLUDE SPECIAL GUEST MIKE PORTNOY
Neal Morse's solo career has gotten off to a highly successful start, and it's also been emotionally rewarding for the singer/songwriter/guitarist/keyboardist too.
His deeply personal, two-CD studio album Testimony on Radiant/Metal Blade Records has been earning the former Spock's Beard member rave reviews. And he recently completed two very different live performances on the same day in his home base of Nashville, TN, and they served as a basic warm-up for his upcoming tour.
On October 4, 2003, Morse and his band played at Woodland Hills Youth Development Center, a juvenile detention center. It was the first time he'd played live as a solo artist since departing Spock's Beard one year ago. The event was arranged to resemble a church picnic, and Morse was playing for some volunteers inside a tent. At first, none of the troubled youngsters came inside, but then many began to filter in and listen to such songs as "God Won't Give Up," "Wasted Life," "Sing It High" and several of Morse's unreleased gospel numbers.
"It was very emotional. I felt God's hand at work and at one point I started to cry," Morse says. "I'd like for people to know where our hearts are at."
Later that same day, he played an acoustic-oriented, in-store concert at Tower Records' Opry Mills location in Nashville. It was a huge success, with a much larger crowd attending than was expected, and the song selection was a little different from the set played at the youth detention center.
The concerts featuring drummer Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater, Morse's longtime friend and Transatlantic collaborator, will be the Testimony "extravaganza." The album will be performed in its entirety and encores will alternate between either a Spock's Beard or a Transatlantic epic.
"Portnoy extravaganza" concerts include:
11/14/03 London, UK London Astoria
11/16/03 Rijssen, HOL Lucky
11/17/03 Tilburg HOL 013
11/18/03 Aschaffenburg, GER Colos-Saal
11/19/03 Bochum, GER Zeche
11/21/03 Metuchen, NJ Metuchen Forum Theater
11/23/03 Whittier, CA Whittier Community Center
The 11/23 Whittier, CA The Center Theater Stage at The Whittier Community Center
(the Los Angeles area) will be filmed for possible DVD release in the future.
At this time, Morse and his band are engaged in intense rehearsals to bring the heartfelt music of Testimony and Spock's Beard and Transatlantic favorites to vibrant life on the concert stage.
For more info, check out NealMorse.com.
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