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Old 04-11-2013, 11:58 PM
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BajaProg 2013 - Intro and day 1

This edition of Bajaprog was 16 bands, Wed-Sat. Each day had two afternoon bands, outdoors, in a large grassy space behind the "host" hotel. Sun and heat were an issue - but they have a nice vending section with many good local craft beers and wines, local food, souvenirs, etc. Two evening bands in the "Teatro Estado" (State Theater) maybe a quarter mile down the road, definitely walking distance - or a $2 cab ride. Nice theater, with the biggest seats I've ever seen in a theater - handy for a big guy like me

The first thing about Bajaprog is that due to the fact that it is in Mexico, a poor country, it is by far the most inexpensive festival you can attend. The second is that the geek factor is significantly reduced. More attractive women at Bajaprog than at any 5 other fests combined. I've been to fests in the US, Mexico, and Europe, and Bajaprog just has the best "feel" to it of all of them - a subjective opinion, of course.

here's a link to the schedule: http://www.bajaprogofficial.com/#!ca...-schedule/c7d2

Introvision - heavy prog from Costa Rica. Sounded pretty good when they came on, but about 30 minutes in we all thought the 75 minute set must be almost over - just not enough dynamic variety or compositional creativity to maintain interest.

Panzerballett - they kicked ass and took names! incredibly complex and difficult jazz/heavy rock mix. fun musically, and the leader (who spoke excellent english) had a great humorous stage presence. the rhythm section was top notch, and the tenor sax had a great sound.

Locanda Della Fate - one of the lesser known, but excellent Italian prog bands from the 70's. Nice pastoral sound, live I liked them better than Banco, as they don't have the (IMO) over dramatic vocals. Not as good as PFM, but very few bands from anywhere are.

Steve Hackett - one of the best shows I've ever seen. This was the 5th time I've seen Steve, and all of them were great, this one blew them all away. Nad Sylvan is a great vocalist, and does a credible Gabriel AND Collins vocal - yet has his own stage presence, so that it doesn't feel like a cover band. They did only Genesis songs, and they did them well. It was magical to hear certain songs that I've never seen live, or haven't seen live since the W&W tour, done so well. Steve was obviously the happiest he's ever been at a performance of his that I've attended - he was in danger of swallowing his ears, his smile was so big.

the beer meter for day 1 was pretty high
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Old 04-12-2013, 12:22 AM
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Bajaprog Days 2 & 3

Day 2

Gran Turismo Veloce - a young Italian band, clothed in red jumpsuits. Good enough band, I enjoyed their set, but one of those bands that fade into the memory of "good". However, one of my favorite moments of the fest occurred during their set. Towards the end of the set, the singer mentioned that this was by far, the largest audience they'd ever played for, and it was a very receptive audience. The singer actually started crying he was so moved by the reception - it was a nice moment.

Cast - The host band of the fest - keyboardist Alfonso Vidales is the guy who puts on Bajaprog. Other fest organizers should all come to bajaprog to see how it's done. The guy has no ego. Cast, as always, is a top notch, under appreciated symphonic prog band. Great set. We have many Cast albums on the Moon, if you don't know them, check them out. Worth the time.

Anglagard - I'm not going to say much. Great band, but I've found myself burning out on them as they've played NF twice and I saw them somewhere else. Beautiful music, but it just meanders and so I never know if they are 30 seconds or 30 minutes into a song.

Crimson Project - Seems to be the most divisive band of the fest. The next day, my bro and I talked about how much we liked it, whilst others complained. They kind of recreated the "double trio" KC of the 90's - but with a lot of new material. Trio 1 was Tony Levin, Pat Mastolletto, and Markus Reuter - Reuter sort of taking Fripp's "soundscape" role. Trio 2 was Belew, Julie Slick, and I forget the drummer's name, but he was top notch. each trio played a set, then they played together. Playing was incredible, great variety, well worth seeing.

Beer consumption was extra high, resulting in an early departure. I heard that after the 6 playing together, trio 1 did an ambient noodling thing that pissed a lot of people off. Apparently we left at the optimum moment

Day 3

Luz De Riada - the discovery and pleasant surprise of the fest. A Mexican band I'd never heard of - an incredible range of instrumentation, and a KC approach to "challenging compositions", but with their own feel. I'm hunting down some music from them to add to the moon...

Galahad - solid neo-prog that I've reviewed before. Stuart Nicholson's vox are the highlight. Range from fairly symphonic neo to aggressive almost metal-ish stuff - I prefer the former of course.

Three Friends - basically like seeing Gentle Giant. Top notch, amazing, another highlight. Enough said I guess.

New Trolls - another classic Italian band. They included a local string quartet in their live performance. A throwback to their "New Symphonia" show from 2007. FANTASTIC! Top notch music, great playing, and the integration of the strings was amazingly well done.

Lightest beer consumption of the trip. But still enough to kill most of you reading this
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Old 04-12-2013, 12:36 AM
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Re: BajaProg 2013 - Day 4 and closing

Crisalida - I hesitate to offend my good friend mario, but this Chilean band was the weakest of the fest to my ears. Hard rock with a few prog touches - never was able to grab my attention. The female singer was talented, but sang in a style that I don't like. They did come across as a professional, enthusiastic band, but just never grabbed me.

Jelonek - another highlight, in maybe a weird way. their music leans towards heavy, but their leader is a top notch violin player - probably could play in a classical symphony, he was really good. He was also quite drunk on stage, and his vocal banter bordered on inappropriate. I'm sure it was a combination of someone who speaks Polish natively, speaking English to a largely Spanish speaking audience, but several comments came across as condescendingly racist. The local crowd seemed to love it, so I'm likely wrong, but my brother (who is married to a Mexican woman) and I both looked at each other several times in surprise. But the show was great!

Mystery - I am burning out on writing. Very good show, good music and performance. Benoit David is a good singer, but his stage presence is that of a goofball. Loved the show, just trying to make the observations personal.

Eddie Jobson - the most gracious I've ever seen Eddie - he must just hate americans because he was pretty nice to the crowd. he said it was his first time in Mexico. the band was top notch, performance great, etc. I have to say it was the least he's annoyed me with his ego. Shortest drum solo from Virgil Donati I've ever seen - I'm sure Eddie put a length limitation on it.

Biggest drinking day of the trip. My brother and I found a couple of local bars outside of the range of the typical attendee, and became regulars at one of them. I usually don't drink tequila, but did this day. It was nice, because the bartenders started waving hello at us when we returned. I know enough spanish to confirm that we were the only anglos that visited the bar that weekend
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Old 04-12-2013, 09:29 AM
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Re: BajaProg 2013 - Intro and day 1

Great reviews Jim! Enjoyable reading. I'm glad you had a great time.
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Old 04-12-2013, 09:33 AM
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Re: BajaProg 2013 - Intro and day 1

thanks for sharing all this Jim...sounds like it was an awesome time for sure...
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Old 04-12-2013, 01:33 PM
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Re: BajaProg 2013 - Intro and day 1

Panzerballett played Prog Day a couple of years back and everything you said about them is true.

I highly recommend Luz De Riada. I've had their latest album for a couple of months now. IIRC, part of the band used to be in Cabezas de Cera.

I would love to have been with you guys.
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Old 04-12-2013, 02:14 PM
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Re: BajaProg 2013 - Intro and day 1

Sounds like it was a great time. Thanks for posting, Jim.
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Old 04-12-2013, 06:23 PM
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Re: BajaProg 2013 - Intro and day 1

It was a great time ! If you can make it in 2014. GO! Oh, there was Mescal there too.
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Old 04-12-2013, 08:24 PM
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Re: BajaProg 2013 - Intro and day 1

Baja weather,

Day 1: Hot
Day 2: Hot (with overcast)
Day 3: Hotter
Day 4: bleeding Hot (but it's a dry heat)

Beer: Plentiful and cheap.
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Last edited by TheFish : 04-12-2013 at 08:35 PM.
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Old 04-13-2013, 06:45 AM
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Re: BajaProg 2013 - Intro and day 1

Thanks for the excellent revue, Jim
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Old 04-13-2013, 06:58 AM
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Re: BajaProg 2013 - Intro and day 1

Itr s OK,,no offense JIM my amigo,,almost 90% chileans bands I know I ve knew them here in moon,,,I believe in your taste,,ears,,even subjective opinions. Crisalida,,never heard the name here.... Panzerballett,,Jelonek I would like to see them performing live,,,and hey I felt special interest in your excellent and inspired review,,about women beer and wines,,,dangerous combination HUG my friend
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Old 04-14-2013, 09:23 AM
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Re: BajaProg 2013 - Intro and day 1

Thanks for the review Jim - interesting

I found the information beforehand of the festival very weak and hard to find and I therefore discarded the idea of going. Your description makes it perhaps a trip worth while but it's still a long way for us Europeans. But the drinking bit scares me off.......

Then there was the cruise thingy......a success I'm told and going to be repeated next year in April - probably very close to RoSfest. Going to be a hard choice as we don't have the days off or money to do them all. I keep trying to win that bloody lottery but without success.........
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Old 04-15-2013, 02:46 AM
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Re: BajaProg 2013 - Intro and day 1

What Mortis said.
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Old 04-18-2013, 12:29 AM
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Re: BajaProg 2013 - Intro and day 1

my personal opinion has long been that I am not interested in a cruise - but if I ever do one, Cruise to the Edge would be a likely candidate. Bajaprog blows ROSfest away IMO - it's not even close. Out of the three, I am almost certain to pick Baja for 2014, unless there's a lineup mismatch that I cannot even imagine...

PS, I'm here to help any Euros that need more info, and Mortis, don't let the drinking bit scare you off - no worse than any of the 5 or so previous times you've been to shows with me...

Last edited by progdirjim : 04-18-2013 at 12:32 AM.
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Old 04-19-2013, 11:26 AM
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Re: BajaProg 2013 - Intro and day 1

Quote:
Originally Posted by progdirjim View Post
Bajaprog blows ROSfest away IMO - it's not even close.
I have no doubt that this is true, as Bajaprog books a much wider diversity of bands, which for me is much more preferable (also the reason I liked NF over RoSfest). Whereas, some people like a more focused festival, such as RoSfest. However, RoSfest is the winner for me as it is 3 hour drive from my home and I have a friend that lives 20-25 minutes away so no hotel expense.
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