As promised....
As usual, I had a great deal of fun. It was very ironic - the bands were done earlier each night than usual, but I did not stay up very late. Spent a few hours on Friday afternoon playing disc golf at one of the most roughest terrain on the planet. One time I tripped over a rock and broke the fall with my hand and face. Not the best way to start off the weekend...
Yes, the music. One Shot was very enjoyable. It mattered little that some of the members were from Magma. I had no predisposed opinion on them or Secret Oyster. I found One Shot to be excellent - they were very much fusion and jazz, taking that element from Magma, with some strong compositions. Maybe a bit repetitive....which I found to be a common theme within a lot of the Nearfest 2007 bands.
Secret Oyster teased me then disappointed me somewhat with each song. They would start off with excellent songs, then go into overlong jams. By itself, that doesn't bother me. But the best leads are augmented by interesting supporting instruments. Everytime a solo would occur, the bass and drums would lay down a pattern...and never vary. Sometimes the leads were over two minutes. Too much, mix it up a little, please.
Holdsworth was what I expected. I'd seen him and Chad Wackerman at a 130 degree bar in 1983 on the Road Games tour, I believe. Chad had a small fan...that's the way to see Holdsworth. The other 5 or 6 times I've seen him (most recently in 2005) were intimate settings. I feared that he would not translate to a larger stage well. Enchant, Iluvatar, Tunnels...the list is long at Nearfest of those great acts who have suffered. That said, he was enjoyable. Jimmy Johnson added a lot on bass..how does he play with that poor posture? The highlight was Wackerman. I focused on his playing the whole time I was awake (I tend to nap at Nearfest, it's a bad habit). He is always perfect on the kit.
I spent the evening sitting a row back since some fat ass was in my seat. It was preferable because it was more center and I didn't want his aroma around me. The next day the guy who sat next to me was the loudest gum chewer ever. It was louder than the Who. I have the best luck.
Izz is one of my favorite bands. I feel like I've come full circle..they played the pre-show in 03 (I think that was the year) with Miriodor, and Rosfest 2004 (the inaugrual) and last year's ProgDay. All outstanding performances. But my favorite was the acoustic guitar hotel room set in 03 by John and Tom Galgano. We all had great fun.
Tom Galgano is an impressive player, and writes the best material. Too bad he's a Yankees fan.....their two drummer set up is perfect. Greg DiMiceli provides the thunder and Brian Coralian fills in with the style. There is always a lot going on, with Tom and John singing, and sometimes four with the ladies singing. Paul Bremner's guitar work is always decisive, and the closer "Mists of Dalriada" from I Move showcases this. They only played an hour...I'm used to seeing them play longer sets, but they were the opener this time. They started off with My River Flows, which is admittedly a mess of a song...but it's the perfect opener, gets the feet wet. I hung around on Friday after the bands to see them sound check this, so I knew it would open up the show the next morning.
The second song was worth the money...Coming Like Light. This 12 minute "I Move" piece is pure prog, with some Emersonian piano runs and a powerful ending. They always play it and it's a treat. I was expecting the 20 minute Endless Calling but they did not play it (only an hour show). Others were Star Evil Gnoma Su (power instrumental), Assurance, and Late Night Salvation. Great fun.
NeBeLNeST was different than I expected. I missed them at Orion in 1999...and have only heard a few songs. I thought they would be quirky. But their music was close to the vest and repetitive. Well-played..and the sound was fine. But very monochromatic. Theme build solo rinse repeat. As my friend Jeff said "quirky would have been better". I did talk to bassist Greg Tejedor later. A nice guy - I am always so embarassed that we never learn other languages yet Europeans try so hard to learn ours. I asked him about the combination of upper and lower case letters in the band name...he said it was "to be different"...
Bob Drake was weird. I'm used to seeing acoustic singer/songwriter shows but he took it up a notch. I can't say I liked the music much but he was entertaining. That's half the battle. He had a tiny violin that he only used to play four lines of the "Battle Hymn of the Republic", and some screwy lyrics. The drummer (I think it was Dave Kerman of Present) was hilarious. He came out in a robe like he was in the shower, turned on a small lamp and played, then pulled out a pillow and "slept" on his kit, even sucking his thumb. And Lynnette from the Red Masque made several appearances in one of the songs to hand Bob some items. Very strange.
Magenta. Closed out day one of Rosfest 2005 in smashing style, and this show was also a winner. Rob Reed crafts great songs, using the basic 70's rock from Yes and Genesis as a basis for "Seven" and more comprehensive songwriting for "Home", which was most of the set. The second song "Gluttony", which opens up Seven, is a fantastic song. It brought down the house. White Witch, played at the end, was of course great. I'm a big fan of Chris Fry's guitar work. He's flashy, and can be showy, but he's having fun. He did spend too much time trying to fix his sounds in the first half of the show but he showed up big later. Christina is a fine vocalist, and the band is just aces. They spent a lot of time huddled in a section of the hotel lobby throughout the weekend, having a good time. Rob Reed was absent though..I heard he's not much into staying up. Probably writing more songs! Maybe the shortest band I've seen....
Hawkwind is not a band I've ever gotten into. I did watch the whole set, but I just don't get it. Very basic rock and roll, and just not a lot of excitement in the music.
Saturday later was the party. I didn't do my usual sing along in the ballroom....they didn't get going until after two, and it was too late. iIdid see Anton Roolaart do a sweet "The Clap"...but missed Gary Green play for 30 minutes, mostly Giant material
Still never seen GG.....bye the way Malcom Mortimore (first GG drummer) was around too. Funny thing during the Gagliarchives. Tom decided to go off on a profanity-laced tirade about the RIAA..then the hotel security comes in...but he was only there to tell us we could use the ballroom...whew. I spent a good portion of the evening chatting with Davin, it was fun.
Indukti continued the Sunday first band tradition of loud, vibrant bands. Sleepytime, Hidria, and the like. Their sound is quite dense, and I liked it. However, I was disappointed with a lot of their songs. They didn't go anywhere. But the first song and the last two were great. The difference? Using contrast to accentuate the music. When they used quieter passages it helped the heavy stuff sound better.
La Meschera Di Cera also continued a tradition of Italian prog at Nearfest. What surpised me about them was that the music was good, basic prog. Most of what I've seen at Nearfest from Italy ranges from the bombastic (La Torre 'dell Alchimista) to the retro (Metamorfosi) to the operatic (Il Balletto Di Bronzo) to the crazy (Deus Ex Machina) to the smooth (DFA,PFM). They were pretty much straight up prog. And excellent.
I promised myself I'd split right after the set to play some more disc golf. No one joined me, but I had cabin fever. But the last song was sooooooo long. I think they're still playing.....I skipped Robert Rich. Ambient music isn't my bag, and Steve Roach bored me to tears. So I skipped this to have more time to play. Got back just in time for the Aural Moon "class picture".
I was in the unusual position of seeing Pure Reason Revolution before, at last fall's Summer's End in the UK. There I was very close, but was unhappy about the performance. Six people on stage, too much sound, no definition. Had a violin player, three guitars, too much droning. Also the stage presence was offputting. No crowd recognition nor any mingling later.
Then I heard the record and immediately enjoyed it. I had moved down to row 2, so I didn't get the full effect of what Cozy observed about the crowd. I agree - deal with the music, it's what may be in store in the future. The crowd was fairly tame most of the weekend anyway. And being so close I was able to distinguish the notes and the playing much better. Having only a four-piece was a great move. Jon Courtney handled the basic patterns while Jamie Willcox was excellent at the slide and other effects, playing some lead. Chloe Alper is quite a good bassist, and did some Ozric-like keys, especially on song three, in which she was enjoying herself. A lot of the show seemed to be new material. The vocal was strong, and the cuts from Dark Third were awesome. there seemed to be a lot of sampling, but I considered it to be needed to cut the two members. I though I saw lip-synching but was mistaken.
I heard the sound in the back was wanting, and the stage presence again was off-putting (same issue as SE). I was told later by a good friend that that is their "thing", just play and leave, but I find it to be cold and impersonal.
I scooted out to get a table for a bunch of us at the Brew Works. Dinner was great, got to chat with Dale, Sally and Gort and generally pester Davin
Magma was good. Yes I said it. I wasn't that fond of them the last time, and I won't go out and buy their music, but it was a good show. The instrumental parts were sweet, lots of soloing. Christian Vander is a monster. Dude's almost sixty and still gets after it. The vocalists seemed to move like the zombies in Dawn of the Dead, and the two on the right (one was Stella Vander) reminded me of Laverne and Shirley. I did despise the last song, but the show was good.
Apparently I retired before the fun started on Sunday evening, but 7AM came too soon. Next year (and this year at Progday) I make up for it....DISCIPLINE in 2008!