Here's a fan's (me) review of the Rites of Spring festival, held 4/24 & 4/25 in Phoenixville, PA.
The first night was a pre-show at a sports bar(!) down the street. Man on Fire and Frogg Cafe played. I spent the evening drinking with Vaxman and his wife mostly talking about fellow Moonies behind their back (thanks Vax for making the weekend fun). Frogg Cafe had a quirky sound to them and were quite enjoyable. Man on Fire was more straightforward, with a bit of an edge. The rapper, dropping names od every performer for the weekend, was um a bit strange.
There were four bands each Sat & Sun, with the first two getting 1.5 hrs, the third 2, and the headliner a 2.5 hour set. The bands were on time, and everything was professionally run. The only drawback was a lack of loudness in the center vocals (the bass dominated the vocals in the louder passages). A touching theme was a raffle for a guitar (signed by all of the performing bands), the proceeds of which would assist a seriously ill member of Starcastle (originally the headliner). The winner then donated the guitar back, which was given to Chad Hutchinson to raffle at Nearfest, which will raise more money.
Saturday morning (right on time) was Baltimore's Orphan Project. This band is based literally 10 miles from where I live yet I never heard them. They were formed because of an idea by singer Shane Lankford about spiritual adoption. He found an outlet by collaborating with John Wenger, who is an amazing musician. The evening before (after the pre-show) John was playing the grand piano at the hotel, and about 10 of us were there, in awe of his talent. He played for some two hours, just going from theme to theme. This was especially neat considering he had to be at the sound check in 7 hours. He did a 10 minute piano bit "in the style of Kansas" yet never plaing an actual Kansas tune. What is really fascinating was that John was not going to be playing with the band, even though he wrote all of the material. He had to be coerced into playing. The show was very uplifting without being preachy. The highlight of the set was an a capella number that soared in their harmonies. Also of note was a metalled-out version of "Another Brick In The Wall", which was cool because I really don't like it as it is recorded. All in all, a fine opener that is worth checking out.
Izz played next, and was my favorite performance of the weekend. I had heard a few songs, and met the Galgano brothers at the Nearfest party last year, where they did about 50 songs on acoustic guitar. Their set up (with two drummers) was cool. All of the music from "Ampersand" (prev unreleased material) was just so good. Every song was fresh, and had satisfying musical and lyrical moments. Tom Galgano is a damn fine musician. This is a band to watch. Try out their music!
Alias Eye was next, and they were funny, talented, and tight. But their music was incredibly by the numbers and lacked anything other than a basic structure. The singer was overbearing with his incessant pointing at the soloist and standing behind him air playing the notes. Just nice little 5-7 minute ditties. I cut them some slack due to their travel difficulties, but still was the least enjoyable of the bands.
Jadis closed out the first night, and were in a word, slick. This is Gary Chandler's baby, and it showed. He's a magnetic presence and leads the music into a fufilling performance. John Jowitt's bass playing is stellar, and drives the pop-inflected sound in a propulsive groove that doesn't let go. The stage was cracked in the center and John kept jumping on it every so often until he was begged to stop
. Martin Orford's keyboards and harmonies were incredibly professional, and perfect. In a way I wish they weren't so perfect - my only complaint was that Jadis' sound is too polished, and while not lacking heart in any way, was too clean for a 2.5 hour set. And they were loud. Their "Comfortably Numb" cover was OK, but I tired of their version after a few minutes.
Day Two started with Sonus Umbra. They are fronted by Luis Nasser, a brilliant personality with a thunderous musical style. Jeff Laramee on drums with his violent yet technically sound playing added to this. I saw them the week before at Orion Studios with Eyestrings (wink wink a plug for that band) and they were fun. At the festival I was not as enamored. The band had not played together too long prior and were not as cohesive as the others. Some of the songs are a bit disjointed. But the Mexican influence and the heavy riffing in sections were still a treat.
Little Atlas was next, with Steve Katsikas as the leader, was a fairly straightforward outfit that was pleasant on the ear. Their guitarist (Roy Strattman) is sonically excellent. They are very polished, in the Genesis vein but more subtle. Their version of "Firth of Fifth" was neat, although a bit fast for my taste. Although not an ass-kicker, a nice band.
Salem Hill smoked. I have to come clean here and expose my fanatical King's X devotion. They had four songs in the set that could have been on a King's X set list, and that just wowed me. I even yelled "more King's X" after one tune, eliciting a laugh from the band. The bassist, Patrick Henry, is responsible for that sound, and plays those tunes with a slapping Dregs-style. The other songs were brilliant - they're very tight. Carl Groves is the unquestioned leader here, with a seamless shift from keyboards to vocals to guitar. He had a guitar solo (on a 7 string!) that was absolutely breathtaking. I wish I knew their music to tell you the song, but it was magic. I picked up three of their CD's and look forward to sampling them. I did not get the live disc, but I would imagine it's as pleasing as the show.
RPWL was in a word, overwhelming. Their first song was a long piece (again, I own no RPWL, Jadis, Salem Hill, so I lack the exact tunes) that was really emotional, something about searching. The singer (Yogi Lang) is a monster. Reminds me of Hogarth but more commanding. They then played four pop-inflected tunes, reminiscent of the Porcupine Tree set at Nearfest. As was the case the entire weekend, they feature a singer who also played keyboards - well!, and fantastic harmonies. They did a blistering version of "Welcome To The Machine" (third of four Floyd covers over the weekend, Floyd must have royalties in the festival). It blew my mind it was so powerful. The set lagged a bit after that, with some noodling around for about 20 minutes. I think the 2.5 hour sets after two days was catching up. One of the last tunes was a 20-minute version of Floyd's "Cymbaline" that was beyond words. A real treat.
It's a damn shame these bands can't get the backing to play all over the world. Jadis and RPWL have never been to America, and were so professional and tight, it is hard to imagine that even casual fans would not get swept away. Alias Eye spent 20 hours travelling from Germany to Pittsburgh then backtracking to the show. These musicians are very friendly, especially if you discuss topics other than "that bass note in the middle of your third tune on your fourth album was a life-changing experience, dude".
I don't know why I deserved to be in a geographic hotbed of festivals, but there's also the Baja, Progday, and I'm sure others. I would recommend any of these bands live, anywhere.
