When you see the St. Joe prog-rock/metal quintet Caldera perform live, you should know it took a few steps to get to that point. Nathan Kight (rhythm guitar) and Joe Moesch (drums) were merely collaborating as a side project before they stumbled upon the talent of 18-year-old lead guitarist Ray Bowlin and "two shredder kids that live out in the country," adding Rosendale, Mo., brothers Brent Furst (bass) and Aaron Furst (lead guitar). Then came practice - almost a year and a half's worth - resisting the desire to hit the stage until August 2009. "We were more intent on making sure that what we were playing would one, capture everyone's interest and two, be performed at the highest of all standards," Kight says. That practice paid off. Caldera's prog instrumentals feature spiraling, interlocked guitar leads and harmonies with bi-polar tempo changes that nearly fly off the handle if not for a solid rhythm section. And in Caldera's original material, those frequent changes aren't calculations, just each member's influence. "We basically give everyone their own outlet," Kight says. "It's all from the heart. We very rarely put our head into it." Caldera will perform at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 21 at Crosstown Station in Kansas City.