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  #1  
Old 06-21-2008, 04:49 AM
KeithieW
 
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Have fun all you NEARfesters.

Hope you all have a great weekend. I wish I could be there too.
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  #2  
Old 06-21-2008, 08:33 AM
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Re: Have fun all you NEARfesters.

we wish you were here too... good album too.
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  #3  
Old 06-21-2008, 01:08 PM
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Re: Have fun all you NEARfesters.

I agree, I would love a few solid days of music. I am due.
Ken
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  #4  
Old 06-23-2008, 07:31 PM
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Re: Have fun all you NEARfesters.

Quote:
Originally Posted by KeithieW View Post
Hope you all have a great weekend. I wish I could be there too.
It was a great weekend KW. Maybe not as much fun as ROSfest but still a great weekend. I'm tired as hell, so it must have been a good time.


Friday: Larry Fast was fantastic; Fish, just chum.

Saturday: Koenji Hyakkei was powerful. Hammill made my day. LTE, eh... OK. It was the better parts of Dream Theater (ie. NO LaFromage). Discipline lacks stage presence but not bad over all.

Sunday: The best of the days; you can Banco on it!!! Morgbl was also a pleasant surprise. Echolyn played a selection of seldom played songs which was great to hear but I think some people were disappointed and would have liked a few not so seldom tracks too. RMI -- they're no TD but still enjoyable.
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  #5  
Old 06-23-2008, 08:15 PM
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Re: Have fun all you NEARfesters.

As you know I'm incapable of giving a thumbnail review (although vax said much with few words)...

Hopefully I'll be able to do a review soon.

Now I find out Morglbl will be in Baltimore this weekend, playing a tiny club I didn't know existed. It will rock
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  #6  
Old 06-24-2008, 07:17 AM
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Re: Have fun all you NEARfesters.

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.
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  #7  
Old 06-24-2008, 10:20 AM
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Re: Have fun all you NEARfesters.

Quote:
Originally Posted by dinosaur View Post
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.
THen you were spared his voice... don't complain.

Quote:
Originally Posted by dinosaur View Post
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).
Really, I thought the band was amped up too high for MP's vocals to come through. When you have a band that has a vocalist such as PM, the vocals should be listenable and discernable.

Quote:
Originally Posted by dinosaur View Post
Morglbl was great fun. A must see. Sort of like Satriani in a Sat Night Live skit.
Sure were. A very enjoyable morning.

Quote:
Originally Posted by dinosaur View Post
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.
I didn't get a chance to speak with Cyndee but she seemed to be lost.

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Originally Posted by dinosaur View Post
LTE shredded all over the stage Saturday, as could be expected. I also expected ringing ears, and got them.
I was down on the floor. Didn't seem too loud but then my hearing was damaged by CIRCA at ROSfest!

Quote:
Originally Posted by dinosaur View Post
Not familiar enough with Ecolyn to critique, but I liked what I heard.
Check more out!

Sorry I missed you. I was trying to get Chad to come out from backstage on Sunday to ask him to announce an Aural Moonie photo but he was busy speaking with one of the crew; he then disappeared and never came out to talk with me. C'est la vie.
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  #8  
Old 06-24-2008, 02:35 PM
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Re: Have fun all you NEARfesters.

It was an excellent weekend. It was great to see Jim again and meet Davin, Brian and Rick as well! And one other AMer too (if not more), the gent that gave me the Circa cd way back when. I am having a brainfart on your name but it was great chatting with you during RMI. Sorry our time was so brief folks, but there will be more fests in the future.

Here is a group shot of the Progressive Ears folks we took this year. Some AM folks are in there too (we love overlap )! Can you spot 'em?

http://www.progressiveears.com/clubpics/Best.jpg

Last edited by ProgressiveEars : 06-24-2008 at 09:58 PM.
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  #9  
Old 06-24-2008, 02:46 PM
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Re: Have fun all you NEARfesters.

http://www.progressiveears.com/clubpics/Lefty3.jpg
Enlarged pic of left side

http://www.progressiveears.com/clubpics/Right2.jpg
And the right....

Last edited by ProgressiveEars : 06-24-2008 at 02:53 PM.
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  #10  
Old 06-24-2008, 04:39 PM
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Re: Have fun all you NEARfesters.

Wow, big group and nice picture. But you forgot to put everyone's name in.
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  #11  
Old 06-24-2008, 05:20 PM
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Re: Have fun all you NEARfesters.

Working on that....
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  #12  
Old 06-24-2008, 05:52 PM
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Re: Have fun all you NEARfesters.

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Originally Posted by ProgressiveEars View Post
Working on that....
You're the man!
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  #13  
Old 06-24-2008, 11:28 PM
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Re: Have fun all you NEARfesters.

Quote:
Originally Posted by VAXman View Post

I didn't get a chance to speak with Cyndee but she seemed to be lost.

.
Actually... not lost. I was under strict instruction from RMI about watching Gary for cues.

Not sure if you could see from the audience, but Gary was, literally, conducting both Premik and me. He was pointing to each of us to let us know when we should take solos.
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  #14  
Old 06-25-2008, 12:07 AM
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Re: Have fun all you NEARfesters.

Well I had quite the different perspective.

Friday night - Larry Fast - nice music, nice guy, booorrriinggg show. One guy on keyboards.
Fish - GREAT performance. I like Fish's voice, and from my seat (orchestra) I could hear pretty well. The band was good, and Fish is very personable on stage.

I skipped Koenjii Sat morning.
Discipline was quite good. Again, I could hear Matthew's vocals well, and he is a fantastic singer. Emotive, AND can hit and hold a note. I was amazed at how full, rich and varied a sound they produced with drums, bass, one guitar, one keyboardist, and one vocalist (Parmenter playing the last two roles).
Peter Hammill sucked. That guy CANNOT sing. I don't care how emotive his voice is, he would benefit if he'd cough up some cash for voice lessons. My brother said it the best ' "Who stepped on a cat's tail?"
LTE was great - top notch musicians, top notch performance. I would have liked some more interaction with the audience - I've seen Tony Levin and Jordan Rudess in other bands, and they are both VERY personable.

Sun, agreed that Morgbl was a pleasant surprise. I would have said Vai rather than Satriani, with a bit of Holdsworth mixed in. Excellent jazz drummer, solid bassist. Guitarist did all the talking and had a good sense of humor.
I enjoyed RMI. I've never seen TD live, but I felt RMI had a bit more variety sonically than TD does. I would give the nod to TD's compositional skills.
Echolyn is not my favorite band - see Rick's review (assuming he does one) as he knows the band much better than I do.
Banco. I'll probably be accused of heresy, but I would say they were very good. I do not understand the people (none of our reviewers) who seem to think that seeing Banco is a transcendent experience. It is a good one, well worth it, but I would be just as happy seeing PFM.

Seeing everyone was the highlight, and I'm sorry I was unable to see Cyndee and Angel in person - next time!
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  #15  
Old 06-25-2008, 06:42 AM
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Re: Have fun all you NEARfesters.

To add on to Jim's (big review maybe tonight)...

I was yakking (what a surprise) and missed Larry Fast...lol Jim.

Missing the Japanese band was a shame...but I missed RMI myself so we're even.

I'm very glad you finally saw Discipline - let me just say that regardless of the non-love they'r getting at PE, Matthew sung better than I'd ever heard, and he was very emotional. More later.

I have a great pic of Discipline to post, and one more in my "Jim and Ed's excellent adventures" series (although the NF one a few years back was the best pic of you two).

My Hammill quote is that he sounds like he's yelling for kids to get off of his lawn. I think he can sing, but I respect your opinion Jim...

Vai yes...and they will be in Baltimore this weekend!

Agreed about Banco - well said.

What's the shirt say on the avatar? Can't read it, something about a bomb technician?

Last edited by Rick and Roll : 06-25-2008 at 06:44 AM.
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  #16  
Old 06-25-2008, 09:26 AM
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Re: Have fun all you NEARfesters.

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What's the shirt say on the avatar? Can't read it, something about a bomb technician?
yeah, when I reduced the picture size to make it appropriate for the avatar, it is near impossible to read. It says: "I am a bomb technician. If you see me running try to keep up."
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  #17  
Old 06-25-2008, 11:20 AM
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Re: Have fun all you NEARfesters.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ViolinCyndee View Post
Actually... not lost. I was under strict instruction from RMI about watching Gary for cues.

Not sure if you could see from the audience, but Gary was, literally, conducting both Premik and me. He was pointing to each of us to let us know when we should take solos.
Perhaps I should have worded that better. I realize you were watching Gary for cues. It appeared, though, to audience members (whose remarks I've paraphrased) that you were lost or confused. Please don't shoot the messenger.

I haven't had time to critique the photos I took of you, RMI and other bands but I can report that there are no monster shadows looming over you in the NF photos. I'll get them sorted and send you copies as well as those from the Tritone.
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  #18  
Old 06-25-2008, 02:12 PM
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Re: Have fun all you NEARfesters.

Quote:
Originally Posted by VAXman View Post
Perhaps I should have worded that better. I realize you were watching Gary for cues. It appeared, though, to audience members (whose remarks I've paraphrased) that you were lost or confused. Please don't shoot the messenger.

I haven't had time to critique the photos I took of you, RMI and other bands but I can report that there are no monster shadows looming over you in the NF photos. I'll get them sorted and send you copies as well as those from the Tritone.
Cyndee:
VAX may be paraphrasing me, but I'm afraid my writing mangled what were my thoughts (now that I have read them again).
What I meant was: Visual cues kept me anticipating more violin solos, and it seemed as though you were looking for them, but without getting the go-ahead. When you did add your bits, they were great! but alas too short...
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  #19  
Old 06-25-2008, 08:51 PM
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Re: Have fun all you NEARfesters.

Quote:
Originally Posted by dinosaur View Post
Cyndee:
VAX may be paraphrasing me, but I'm afraid my writing mangled what were my thoughts (now that I have read them again).
What I meant was: Visual cues kept me anticipating more violin solos, and it seemed as though you were looking for them, but without getting the go-ahead. When you did add your bits, they were great! but alas too short...
Thanks! Btw.. I was also hoping for more chances to solo, especially since I was only on for a few songs. Yes....I was looking for Gary to point in my direction a bit more often.

Oh and Vax... not shooting the messanger, just wanted to clarify.
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  #20  
Old 06-25-2008, 08:56 PM
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Re: Have fun all you NEARfesters.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ViolinCyndee View Post
Thanks! Btw.. I was also hoping for more chances to solo, especially since I was only on for a few songs. Yes....I was looking for Gary to point in my direction a bit more often.

Oh and Vax... not shooting the messanger, just wanted to clarify.


Love ya and the photos are looking great!
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