Online comments from Progday 2002, in North Carolina, and from the warm-up show in Philadelphia. Also from the general buzz around that time...

"This was the first time that I had seen any of these bands, of course I don't think any of us in the US have had the opportunity to see Thieves' Kitchen before. Thieves Kitchen closed the show with an excellent performance. Most of the material played came from their second album "Argot". I only have their first "Head", so I was a bit unfamiliar with it. But it was great none the less! Great performances from our PE members, bassist Andy Bonham (who kicked some ass!) and new vocalist Amy! I think the band has made an improvement in their sound with Amy. Her range (as Andy mentioned) is the same as the previous vocalist, but her tone is so much better (just my opinion)."

"I had only heard part of one song by Thieves' Kitchen before last night and their performance blew me away. They only played 3 songs but oh what 3 big ol' prog epics they were! It was great talking to Andy Bonham. He's a really cool guy and an absolute monster on the bass. I picked up both of their CDs but I must say Amy sounded much better than the old singer."

"Amy's little outfit was cute too..."

"TK's singer...sexy prog babe...where's the pics...I need the pics....... "

"Anyone going to ProgDay WILL enjoy Thieves' Kitchen!! Especially that bass player. He freakin' kicks some butt!! Go get 'em Andy!!"

"Saw 4 great bands - Thieves' Kitchen, IZZ, The Muffins and Kraan. Our fellow PE members in TK and IZZ really shone and both bands turned in really great sets."

"Just got back. It was a great weekend. IZZ and Thieves' Kitchen were amazing. I'm running out of adjectives. It was GOOD!"

"Thieves' Kitchen was amazing. I'm sorry I didn't really get to talk to you, but I was mightily impressed. I understand you had your own challenges to overcome - I hear Amy was quite under the weather. You would never have known it from out in the audience. She and the whole band were exciting, powerful and tight. Hope to catch you again sometime, when you're in the States and we're not getting ready backstage."

"I can't even express how much better Thieves Kitchen were than their Baja Prog performance. The keyboardist said they were working on new material, so I hope we see a release with the new singer soon."

"The festival opened up with Thieves' Kitchen from the UK. This fine young band fronted by a new lead singer called Amy (I didn't catch her last name) rocked their way into a lot of fans' hearts this weekend with a driving rhythm section and heavy guitar hooks that would make Metallica beg for more!"

"Thieves' Kitchen had their new singer (I think Amy Darby is her name...I worked the merch. table for PD so I missed intros) and she added a great new dimension to their work with her wonderful voice."

"...Yes, it's Amy Darby. She made an instant fan out of me when she wished Rhea and I a happy wedding from the stage on behalf of the band. :-) Actually, I had already become a fan by then. Her vocals really helped to fill out Thieves' Kitchen's sound. I enjoyed their set quite a bit."

"I think Thieves' Kitchen was the biggest surprise. After reading Captain's bad review of them at Baja, I wasn't expecting much at all. The new lead singer really helps, and the band has gotten a lot tighter. According to the PD program, Baja was only their 3rd live gig ever. I'm really looking forward to a new CD from them with the new lead singer."

"Thieves' Kitchen was the first band, and they were able to get started at around 11:45, just over an hour later than scheduled. Given all the work that had to be done to switch venues, this was a minor miracle, and a testament to the hard work that the ProgDay and sound company crew and staff put in that morning. While I am not the biggest Thieves' Kitchen fan in the world (that would be Sean the IB, I think ^_^), I enjoyed their set at Orion earlier this year, and I think they show a lot of promise. Like many, I hadn't been enthralled with their last singer, though I didn't think he was technically bad, just possessed of a very limited range. Amy Darby, their new singer, has a deep contralto voice (I think) and a fairly wide range, and while she largely sang the same melodies as Simon, breaking it up into different octaves helped add some life to the vocal melodies. In addition, the band as a whole seemed much tighter than when last I saw them. They have obviously been putting in a ton of work over the last 6 months, and it really shows. I was struck by how many dissonant harmonies they work into their music, which stylistically is closest to traditional neoprog. Combined with above-average time-signature shifts (much more than the cliched DA-da-DA-da-DA-da-da 7/8), I think this elevates them above many of their contemporaries."

15th February 2002 - The King Billy, Northampton (review by New Horizons)
Set list: T.A.N.U.S., The Return of the Ultragravy, John Doe #1, (intermission), Escape, Call To Whoever, Mute, Proximity.

The King Billy, as it is locally known, is set at the outer edge of Northampton's town centre and is easily found by anyone who knows the general area. The pub has a relaxed feel: loud rock music was playing, pictures displayed on the walls announced a liking for 70s rock idols, and the posters advertising bands showed that heavy rock and 80s cover bands were the more usual type of groups that appear here.

Not necessarily the ideal venue for the sophisticated, jazzy music that Thieves' Kitchen have produced on their first two albums perhaps - but with the dearth of live music venues that will feature original music these days, beggars can't be choosers - and the band wanted to play their debut live show at a UK venue before jetting off to the USA for a short tour, including BajaProg...

The pub has a U-shaped public area with the bar down the centre and the area allocated to Thieves' Kitchen was in one corner. Vocalist Simon Boys took the centre space flanked by Andy Bonham on bass and guitarist Phil Mercy; slightly in front of Phil was Wolfgang Kindl with his keyboards, and Mark Robotham had his drum kit set up on a small podium at the back.

TK took their places and waited for the growling vocals that were issuing forth from the pub speakers to stop before launching into the sinuous epic 'T.A.N.U.S.' from their 2000 album 'Head'. A slight touch of nerves was evident initially - after all this was the first time that they had played together in public as a band - but this soon dissipated and another track from the same album, 'The Return of the Ultragravy' saw them relaxing and, as a consequence, becoming a tighter musical unit. Particularly enjoyable on this track (and a feature of many of the pieces) was the clear piano sounds that creates highlights and emphasises sections of the instrumentation.

By the time they got to 'John Doe #1', the first of the tracks from their latest album 'Argot', Thieves' Kitchen were obviously enjoying themselves and the sheer musicianship of each of the band members was becoming clear - it's one thing to hear music that's been recorded in a studio over a period of time, and slotted together afterwards; another thing entirely to hear the five guys playing together and still managing to produce the intricate interwoven sounds that appear on the albums.

After this forty minute or so set, there was a short intermission before TK continued with a couple more tracks from 'Argot': 'Escape' and 'Call To Whoever'; 'Mute' (from 'Head') and 'Proximity' ('Argot') - another hour's worth of music. Throughout these numbers they maintained the blend of rich instrumentation, convoluted rhythms and light piano highlights that we have come to expect from them.

I must say that we were very impressed by Thieves' Kitchen's professionalism, it would have been impossible to tell that this was their first ever gig had I not known beforehand - and the music comes over even better live than it does on the CDs. Judging by this performance, all who get the chance to see them - in the States over the next couple of weeks, or later in the year - should make an effort and do so ... I really don't think you'll be disappointed!

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