Chicago turned out in force for the highly anticipated Caligula’s Horse show last Thursday (8th), filling the house for the Aussie band’s first-ever US tour, which was postponed from 2020. Space was tight everywhere in Lincoln Hall even before the opening act, Connecticut-based Earthside took the stage.

Earthside started the night off with great energy. A mesmerizing visualizer projected above the stage complemented the vibes of their instrumental prog rock, and keyboardist Frank Sacramone kept things upbeat with dance moves, jumps, and keytar shredding. When guitarist Jamie Van Dyck ran into a string breaking near the end of the set, he took it in stride, continuing to play along as he re-tuned the guitar mid-song and even joking with the audience that it was funny that they’re in a prog band and now he has to do tuning math on stage. Earthside is featuring their new album, Let the Truth Speak, released in November 2023, and they played most of their set from this record, with only their closing song, “The Closest I’ve Come,” coming from their 2015 album. The band was also incredibly friendly, chatting with the fans in the small venue as they packed up the stage, and before he walked away, Jamie offered a guitar pick to someone up front who was celebrating her birthday at the show.

Earthside

Photo Credit: Mar Morannon

Caligula’s Horse had originally intended to tour the US in 2020 with the release of Rise Radiant, but the plans were unfortunately cut short due to covid. The band has played the US only twice before, at ProgPowerUSA in 2019 and 2023, making the current tour their first full US tour, and their fans are filled with excitement at the opportunity to finally see them. Their latest album, Charcoal Grace, was released a couple of weeks ago, on January 26th, via Inside Out Music. It takes a somewhat somber tone than some of their past work, impacted by the stress and frustration everyone felt during the pandemic while they were writing.

The show covered a range of emotions, getting the crowd jumping with upbeat songs, singing along to “Oceanrise,” and seeing some tears during more emotional songs like “Bloom.” Frontman Jim Grey pulled double duty as a comedian on stage, responding to a range of heckling comments from the crowd, including the perplexing “Why are you Australian?” which received a brief explanation of where children come from and the quip “I always wondered how long it was going to take into the show to bring up my dad’s cum.”

The setlist slightly favors Charcoal Grace, with about a third of the songs coming from the latest release, while also balancing songs from their older discography to satisfy long-time fans. One of these long-time fans brought a postcard to the VIP signing session that was sent out with their 2013 release, The Tide, The Thief & River’s End, and in response, the band dedicated the song “Dark Hair Down” off that album to her during the show.

Overall, despite years of anticipation, Caligula’s Horse fully lived up to expectations, and the crowd was still buzzing in the bar after the show, needing to be nearly forced out of the venue by security at the end of the night. Anyone who enjoys progressive metal [and/or Australian humor] will want to make a point to make it out to this tour.

Caligula’s Horse

Photo Credit: Mar Morannon