[dinosaur]

My first NEARfest...and so my first NEARfest review.
It was great to meet Rick and Avian, but it was at the end of the weekend. Perhaps we'll have more time to chat next time!
Banco was fantastic, and the sound was perfect. Simply great!
I was sitting in the balcony--and maybe that's why Fish's performance was bad for me. I could barely hear him. (It can't be my elderly ears...) He told a bunch of apparently funny stories, it was disappointing that I couldn't hear them. Also, his high notes simply didn't make it through to my seat.
I'm a huge Discipline fan, so I forgive them their, as VAX says, low-key stage presence. Parmenter's voice came through perfectly, but the guitar (my favorite bits) was too low in the mix. New song was great. Looking forward to another recording. Turns out I was sitting next to the guitarist's son--really a nice kid! Gives you hope for a new generation (of prog or whatever).
Morglbl was great fun. A must see. Sort of like Satriani in a Sat Night Live skit.
I thought RMI was a good change of pace. A needed break time for relaxation and meditation--except for the few excursions into the Floydian landscapes (they should do more of those). I liked the addition of sax and Cyndee's violin, but they both seemed unsure of which direction they were supposed to take.
LTE shredded all over the stage Saturday, as could be expected. I also expected ringing ears, and got them.
Not familiar enough with Ecolyn to critique, but I liked what I heard.