In Cahoots London Astoria Progeny Festival November 15 2003.
This is a short but unique performance by In Cahoots as it features Liam Genockey in his only gig with the band (among various connections with the other members, he had just recorded the excellent Psychic Warrior album with Elton, Fred and Alex Maguire, the same line-up already heard on most of Elton’s equally excellent Moor Song from 2001). My recollection is that initially, Mark Fletcher was unavailable, so Liam was brought in, then at the last minute Fletch was available again, but so as not to let his hard work go to waste, Liam drummed anyway with Fletch providing extra percussion.
The context for the performance was a little strange – ostensibly a two-day progressive rock festival held at the Astoria, the central London venue where I had seen the likes of Caravan and Camel in previous years, sadly since demolished. I attended only the first day, and the line-up was a puzzling mix of Neo-prog, with the likes of Pallas, Magenta and headliners IQ, and representatives of the Canterbury scene, with a duo gig by Richard Sinclair and Theo Travis, a short set by Kevin Ayers ahead of his longer performance the next day, and this 40-minute set by In Cahoots, which I think went over most people’s heads being much jazzier in style – and Phil’s choice of setlist didn’t particularly favour the rockier end of InCa’s repertoire apart from the closing “Your Root 2”.
Perhaps not the band’s most memorable performance, and the sound is a little boomy due to the unusually large venue (where I’d first seen the band open for Caravan in 1996) but a little piece of history nonetheless, also being the last time I saw Elton and Jim play with In Cahoots.
Phil Miller – guitar
Elton Dean – alto sax, saxello
Jim Dvorak – trumpet
Peter Lemer – keyboards
Fred Baker – bass
Liam Genockey – drums
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Mark Fletcher – percussion