Bigelf have confirmed Mike Portnoy will appear with them on their European tour despite having previously said his schedule wouldn’t allow it.
But the Winery Dogs, Transatlantic and Flying Colors drummer won’t appear on the UK leg of their trek in mid-November.
Bigelf mainman Damon Fox last year credited Portnoy with keeping the band alive after it had suffered internal crisis in 2010. He said: “I had been keeping in touch with Mike after his difficult departure from Dream Theater. My musical future seemed bleak and I was very vocal to him about not being able to sustain the band any longer.
“He implored me to carry on. I asked him if he would help fight the good fight, and he readily agreed.”
The result was acclaimed album Into The Maelstrom, released in March – but when the band announced their tour dates Portnoy reported he’d be unable to join them, saying: “I was only ever able to commit to playing on the album and doing the Progressive Nation At Sea shows with them. However, I still strongly urge you all to go catch them live and help support the mighty Elf!”
The band are nominated in the category of Album Of The Year at the 2014 Progressive Music Awards and appear at Hard Rock Hell VII in North Wales during their tour.
Bigelf European tour
Oct 29: Zoetermeer Boerderij, Netherlands
Oct 30: Dortmund FZW, Germany
Nov 01: Prattein Z7, Switzerland
Nov 02: Frankfurt Nechtleben, Germany
Nov 03: Munich Strom, Germany
Nov 04: Milan Legend Club, Italy
Nov 06: Barcelona Razzmatazz 3, Spain
Nov 07: Madrid Copernico, Spain
Nov 08: Bilbao Sonora, Spain
Nov 14: Manchester Deaf Institute (without Portnoy)
Nov 15: Hard Rock Hell VII (without Portnoy)
Nov 17: Glasgow Cathouse (without Portnoy)
Nov 18: Wolverhampton Slade Rooms (without Portnoy)
Nov 19: London Garage (without Portnoy)
