[Avian(Admin)]

Okay! I'm finally back from the Philly area, in Pittsburgh at a computer! This is a mini-update, with more coming on the site soon. A lot happened!

First of all, I'm glad to hear the station is still running!

I won't be back at AM Central until July 6, but here's my impressions of last weekend

First off, it was an incredible experience. To meet a lot of fantastic people, including Jim!

In case everyone didn't know, we ran a full-page ad in the NEARFest program. I was glad to field several compliments on the ad, which featured a digital painting by my friend and coworker Sheldon Turner (who I hope to ask to do more art for the station). I'll post it to the station when I get a chance. I hope this will get the word out about the station. Many people who I got into a conversation with said that they've tuned into the station, and knew who I or Jim was! Great to hear.

My impressions of the bands generally follow Jim's, with a few exceptions. Yes, I'm a P-Tree fan. And they absolutley rocked the house. While I didn't care all too much for Under the Sun, I found myself with the same feeling as Djam Karet. Djam felt like a lot of jamming over really simple riffs. They were great, and if they were playing in a bar down the street, I'd be the first in line to see them, but compared to all the other really uttlerly fantastic musical efforts there, they didn't strike me as outstanding.

The last part of the festival was magical for me. After Crying put on a performance which I'm sure made their CDs fly off the vendor table shelves. I think halfway though the set, through Cello solos, and dueling keyboardists at one keyboard, I though to myself that at this moment, they might be the greatest progressive rock band in the world right now.

And then Banco went on stage. While AC's music cried out with passion, Banco's exuded many lifetimes worth of anguish, hope and drive. My wife, who had no heard Banco until that moment, spent much of the set with her mouth wide open. They were simply incredible.

More to come later...