Progressive Palaver

SCS41 – Asia ft John Payne and Stratospheerius, Sellersville PA, Oct 2025 What happens when you walk into a concert expecting one thing and leave with a completely different perspective? That's exactly what happened to me recently at Sellersville Theater. I attended an Asia show featuring John Payne, and I'll be honest—I initially felt like I'd crashed someone else's party. But what unfolded was genuinely transformative. What really resonated was the setlist balance. They moved seamlessly between Asia classics like "Heat of the Moment" and deeper cuts alongside John Payne's solo material. Rather than feeling disjointed, it created a narrative arc that showcased the band's evolution and range. Add in the undeniable power of Joe Deninzon and Stratospheerius and you have a night to remember at the delightful Sellersville Theater. BlueSky: @progpala.bsky.social X: @progpala Instagram: www.instagram.com/progressivepalaver/ Facebook: www.facebook.com/ProgPala YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCw_Xxit3…cJ_7Z__w/featured Theme music provided by: Dave DeWhitt

Episode 173 – Porcupine Tree Part 4, Up the Downstair Our exploration of Porcupine Tree continues with this sophomore effort which is a huge leap forward while still finding the Porcupine Tree path. Up the Downstair is an intriguing album with a compelling idea sitting underneath. Songwriting and musicianship advance while maintaining a balance with the best parts of their previous record. There are plaques to the past and road signs to the future side-by-side in this fascinating release. Join us for this quite enjoyable Palaver! BlueSky: @progpala.bsky.social X: @progpala Instagram: www.instagram.com/progressivepalaver/ Facebook: www.facebook.com/ProgPala YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCw_Xxit3…cJ_7Z__w/featured Theme music provided by: Dave DeWhitt

Topographic Topics – April 2026 We start a new type of episode here at Progressive Palaver, Topographic Topics. We actually attempt to spend a few minutes discussing topics that are NOT years old, but only weeks or months. We plan to try this from time to time when interesting things happen in the prog world. For this episode, we consider four main topics, the sale of the Jim Irsay Collection, Rush’s surprise appearance at the 2026 Juno awards, the pending release of Yes’ Aurora, and the sale of Philly DJ Pierre Robert’s personal record colleciton. We hope you enjoy. BlueSky: @progpala.bsky.social X: @progpala Instagram: www.instagram.com/progressivepalaver/ Facebook: www.facebook.com/ProgPala YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCw_Xxit3…cJ_7Z__w/featured Theme music provided by: Dave DeWhitt

Episode 172 – Porcupine Tree Part 3, On the Sunday of Life A Palaver for Two! Ken and Joe take some time to explore the origins of Porcupine Tree with On the Sunday of Life. A broad collection of songs spanning Steven Wilson’s early explorations. This album provides a deep pool for discovery of different aspects of what will eventually blossom into the full-grown glory of the band. Ken and Joe find some real life resonances with the sounds and techniques that are used here and they allow a deeper connection with the material. Enjoy this episode! BlueSky: @progpala.bsky.social X: @progpala Instagram: www.instagram.com/progressivepalaver/ Facebook: www.facebook.com/ProgPala YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCw_Xxit3…cJ_7Z__w/featured Theme music provided by: Dave DeWhitt