Two versions of Goblin coming to L.A. (Update: One cancelled.)
Update: Goblin (the version featuring four “original” members from the band’s heyday) has cancelled its 2019 tour. On a September 1 Facebook post, the group announced: “It is with deepest regret that we must announce the cancellation of our upcoming November tour due to health issues for one of the members of the band. The tour will be rescheduled as soon as possible in 2020. If you have already purchased tickets please contact the venues to get a full refund. We do express apology once again for this unfortunate circumstance that was not at all expected.”
Original Post: July 21, 2019
This fall, all five original members* of Goblin will be coming to Los Angeles. Unfortunately, they will not be sharing the same stage. In fact, two versions of the Italian prog-rock group, famous for their horror movie soundtracks, will give performances: on September 30, Claudio Simonetti’s Goblin will perform at the Palace Theatre in downtown L.A.; on November 13, Goblin will stop at the Whiskey a Go-Go in West Hollywood.
Since regrouping to score Dario Argento’s Sleepless (2001), Goblin has splintered and reformed in various permutations, touring under such names as New Goblin, Goblin Rebirth, and Goblin Keys; however, this is the first time that two versions have passed through Los Angeles within months of each other. Of the two, only Goblin has a legit claim to the name, including four of five members from the group’s heyday in the 1970s: Massimo Morante (guitar), Maurizio Guarini (keyboards), Fabio Pignatelli (bass), and Agostino Marangolo (drums). Claudio Simonetti’s Goblin is really a renamed version of his solo project, Daemonia; keyboardist Simonetti is the only original Goblin member in the band. (The situation is roughly analogous to that seen with Yes in recent years, with both “Yes” and “Yes with Anderson, Wakeman, and Rabin” touring simultaneously.)
The song lists promise to diverge. Though both will include a selection of greatest hits, Simonetti’s Goblin will devote most of its set to a live soundtrack performance of Deep Red, Argento’s 1975 giallo masterpiece. Goblin will also be emphasizing a single soundtrack: George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead (1979). The group is touring in support of their recent album Fearless, for which they recorded new versions their music cues from that film; early reports indicate that the first half of their show consists of the entire soundtrack performed live with the film projected in the background.
Footnote:
- Strictly speaking, Goblin had four original members: Simonetti, Morante, Pignatelli, and Marangolo, who performed on the group’s first album, the soundtrack for Deep Red. However, Guarini frequently sat in for Simonetti, and eventually the five-man version recorded the non-soundtrack album, Roller, one of the highlight’s in the group’s back catalog. In interviews promoting their appearances, the group now refers to itself as containing “four of the original five members.”
Check out our review of Goblin’s 2014 show at the Henry Fonda Theatre in Hollywood…
