A&E

A wave from the progressive rock revival crashes into the Hawthorne
By Ron Rambo

As I walked into the Hawthorne Theatre last week and stepped up to the bar in the back of the 21-and-over section, there was only one good beer that I could see on tap — Red Hook ESB. I reached into my wallet and gathered the courage to pull out $4, and paid the barmaid.

This had better be the best beer I’ve ever had, I thought, sipping the Red Hook quietly as I searched for a good spot to see the show.  It wasn’t, but that didn’t matter.  I was about to bear witness to the most incredible performance by a progressive-metal band that I’d ever seen.

Apparently, I’d missed the first opening band — no problem, I didn’t want to see them anyway — and only caught Epica, one of the openers that I didn’t much care to see either.  They played with fervor, I’ll give them that much.  After several minutes, a trip to the bathroom, and another Red Hook, Oculus Ex Inferni began to ring throughout the venue…and I couldn’t have been more excited.  One by one the band members’ silhouettes stepped on to the dark stage and the crowd grew louder.  And then, like the sound of an atom bomb detonated directly on stage, there was the open D chord that signified the start of “Set the World on Fire.”  And it was amazing.

As I absorbed the unbelievable sight before me, my body shook with energy.  It was more than electric — it was downright nuclear. Immediately the opening notes of the song took me back to last summer, when I had first seen this band in Seattle at the El Corazon.  At the time, it was probably the best show I’d ever seen. 

Now 14 years into their career, Symphony X has more than refined their sound to become, in my opinion, the best progressive band there is.  In a genre that has long been dominated by Dream Theater, the brain-child of guitarist Michael Romeo has climbed to the tops of the charts in countries all over the world, except the United States.  While heavy metal is still popular here in America, it’s not nearly as popular as it is in Europe and Japan.  Their latest release, “Paradise Lost,” hit number 123 on the Billboard Top 200 —not bad for a band that isn’t a household name and doesn’t normally hit the charts.

On this night, however, Symphony X completely blew the top off the Hawthorne Theatre. 

Make no mistake — This is a venue that is no stranger to great music.  A couple months ago, they hosted Sonata Arctica, another great power-metal band, on their first visit to Portland.  But the theater is no one-trick pony; they regularly have shows set up from local groups and popular bands from many other genres.

They boast entertainment involving rock, reggae, indie, punk, pop, metal, country, and even performing arts.  Perhaps the best part for fans of the music is that the club is all-ages, with designated areas for those that wish to indulge in a few drinks, including a full-bar in another section of the building.  During previous visits to the Hawthorne Theatre, I’d been able to try some of their custom micro-brews (they boast six varieties) and enjoyed some softer acoustic entertainment in the bar itself.

I’d also been privy to many other concerts, and the sound quality is actually quite good.  A great deal of it has to do with the musicians’ own equipment, of course; the ever-so slight bleeding of my ears had much more to do with Romeo’s blazing leads ripping through the stagnant air than poor speaker quality.  While Romeo simply melted my brain with his unbelievable talent, singer Russell Allen more than warmed my heart as I felt his voice galvanize my very soul with each incredible verse and chorus.

For those who were unfortunate enough to miss Symphony X tear (and sometimes delicately stroll) through a two-hour long set that included much of their latest release, as well as old favorites like “Smoke and Mirrors,” “Of Sins and Shadows,” and an epic “Through the Looking Glass,” it is not too late to catch some great shows in the near future at the Hawthorne Theatre.  Their website (hawthornetheatre.com) provides all the information a person could want to know about the venue, and what shows are coming up. 

Needless to say though, it will be quite some time until the Hawthorne Theatre is rocked the way it was with Symphony X running the show.