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Day Three – RosFest 2008

What a pleasant surprise this morning. Credo was the opener today and they were fantastic. The front man, Mark Colton, was a very emotional singer and performer. He had great stories for the songs and sang with expression and savvy. To me, this group was the surprise of the Festival. Some call them the best prog band nobody’s heard of. This was due to many years of health issues for band members that kept them from recording and touring. But they are strong and working hard now. Hopefully their new album that they are working on will be finished a lot sooner than their 2nd album, which took 11 years to complete.

The sound of Credo reminds one of Marillion and IQ. The emotional nature of the lyrics draws you in to the music, caresses you then holds you. My wife, Sallie, was quite taken by them. She liked them the best. Although, she admitted that Patrik was the cutest vocalist of the Festival. None of the musicianship really stood out from the others. They all blended will together. It’s not a group about personalities, but one for the music. Catch them or buy their cds if you can. Reward them for all the hard years.

The 2nd group for the day was Black Bonzo. This was a very tight and ready band. Again, this was a group led by a very emotional singer. He was also very athletic, hardly ever standing still. Very expressive. With the thrashing guitar work of Joakim Karisson and the Hammon organ of Nicklas Ahlund I would liken this band more to a progressive Deep Purple than Uriah Heep, as many are like to do. Now, they did have a missing component this morning. Nicklas’ keyboards were stolen at their last gig so he was without the synth and piano sounds he might normally have. This may have added to the rockier feel to the group this morning. It was a fun set and kept our attention.

There was a change in the schedule to accommodate a late arriving Wishbone Ash from Europe. Crack The Sky was next. There were supposed to be the Sunday Headliner and I’m glad they weren’t. The lead singer was burnt out years ago and lacks any real charm. His guitar worked lacked even more than his vocal prowess. Now, the rest of the group was much better. The dual guitar work of Rick Witkowski and Bobby Hird was spot on. Excellent stuff. The rhythm section was competent and the keys of Glenn Workman amiable and supportive. To say the least, I was very disappointed. Many folks seemed to be looking forward to them. I do not know their work, as they were a group I never picked up on. Although, I seem to have this vague memory of a group like them playing a concert at my High School, but I can’t swear it was them. The Beatles medley was a lot of fun, but overall it was not what I was hoping for.

The Festival concluded with Wishbone Ash. Now, talk about dual guitar work. Wow. These guys were spot on. Although I think they may have been a little tired from their trek across the pond to make it to this show. The music was very professional and sounded good, but perhaps a little too loud (but certainly not as loud as CIRCA). Without any keys this was certainly a straight up Rock & Roll set. Which, for me, was really the flavor of the whole festival.

Having done NearFest and FMPM last year, I got a very diverse mixture of styles of music. Each of those festivals are somewhat balanced with symphonic bands, as well as heavier guitar oriented group, even a little folk styling from the Strawbs. I found this festival to be much more Rock oriented (not that there’s anything wrong with that). I would have liked a little more diversity. But I think losing both The Flower Kings and Starcastle could speak to that, as they would have lent that diversity to the mix. I think the festival suffered from they’re not being here.

Now, overall, I did enjoy myself, especially the camaraderie of all the Moonies present. It was really great getting to know all of them and share our great music. The festival was run very professionally. Acts were up and ready on time each and every time. That’s a great compliment to the staff in the house as well as the technicians backstage. I too had a few issues from the security staff. They were just not there to have fun. I think, however, if there was more lobby space that may not have been such an issue. Having the merchandise right there in the main lobby caused lots of bottlenecks and congestion. Unfortunately, there really is not another place to put them. I really liked the little town the Keswick is situated in. There were plenty of food choices and the townfolk were very pleasant and seemed happy to have us there. I think there were even happier to take our money while they gave us service with a warm and sincere smile.