Any debut gig can be fraught with all kinds of problems both on and off stage especially when you’re sharing the bill with two other bands but there’s no such problems apparent on this debut performance. There’s a cautious start to Live Groove with Robert and Trey being urged onwards via Adrian’s frantic V-drumming. Once things kick in, it seems as though the players are running off the nervous energy which always accompanies that first time out.
In his diary Trey notes that some of the more subtle settings they used during the recording of the Space Groove album had to be jettisoned on the fly as not quite hitting the spot in a live setting. As a result, there are some sounds here that never quite made it on to subsequent concerts.
“Going out on to stage for a fully improvised show is quite a special and scary thing,” observes Gunn. “However when we hit stage we me twith such a great audience with lots of support for where we were going that it was an unbelievable pleasure.”
Eye-witness Rich Malitz described for ET readers the moment where The Deception Of The Thrush makes its debut. “Imagine the band is backlit by green light, Robert just a shadow in front of it. Adrian starts an odd beat and Trey plays one low note and slowly slides it up the neck (higher pitch).But something is different. There seems to be a "droid" talking everytime he hit his Stick! On top of this slow groove come Robert's string sounds, like a space mellotron! Everyone, including all drunks, are in awe. No one moves, no ones speaks. This was a MOMENT! Space Grooves for sure! I'll never forget it! Like Trio in Amsterdam or Starless in Central Park, it just had to feel like this!!”
Welcome to the sound of P2 arriving.
