FRIDAY PRESHOW
Proto-Kaw- opened up the Progressive Legends Showcase festivities. The pre-Kansas era band played a solid set of rock with progressive undertones. Sound-wise, I could not hear anything of what John Bolton (the flute was totally drowned out by the others) or Jake Livgren for the first two songs, but this was quickly rectified. `Death Of Mother Nature Suite' and `Totus Nemesis' were the highlights of the set which for my tastes was a tad too rocky. Still the band was in top form and Kerry Livgren provided classic guitar chops as well as some inspired Dan Wright keys. Hey guys, ya couldn't play a few classic Kansas tunes? Still a great beginning and a enjoyable set!
PFM- headlined Progressive Legends Showcase and simply blew away the audience. Though the sound mixing was very heavy (they were one of the loudest bands of the festival),. Franz Di Cioccio was ultimate showman getting a usual stodgy prog audience involved. (for the uninitiated, Nearfest audiences rarely pump their arms, scream and never dance in the aisles, they listen, enjoy and absorb the sounds). His drumming was of the extremely high caliber and the replacement for the ill Flavio Premoli was amazing. Franco Mussida was given a lot of highlight time on acoustic and electric guitar, providing beautiful passages and solid solo work. The band began their killer set by playing two songs- `River of Life' and the title track to their debut album- Photos of Ghosts in Italian- the first time I have ever heard them in their native language, The band received numerous standing ovations and you could tell tell that they gave their all and clearly were humbled to play at NF. A powerful and beautiful set finished off by their classic song- Celebration.. During the song, Electronic violinist Lucio Fabbri was talking digital pictures of Franz on drums- they were having a great time (as was the audience). After the set, during the autograph session, I talked briefly with Franco, who was very kind and endearing. The band even autographed a group pencil drawing I did of them. Bravo!
NEARFEST SATURDAY
Wobbler- Started the Nearfest experience for 2005 and they did not disappoint. The sound was much better than Friday (I could actually hear the flute). The set was a very enjoyable one with avid use of Mellotrons. They were reminiscent of Anglagard and as they are a new (and young), band I am definitely going to keep an eye on this group! Opening up Nearfest and having to go one after PFM the night prior? If they were nervous, they didn't show it.
Frogg Cafe- came out and performed an inspired set. They are an extremely talented bunch that are well-schooled mult-instrumentalists. The group has an array of influences but reminded me of a jazzier mellower Gentle Giant with a wide array of influences including Zappa, Copland and Coltrane. It's nice to see the band maturing with every album (and year of gigging), and at Nearfest they were in fine form. It was nice to see a different lineup of instrumentation with Nick Lieto adding some tasty brass. The highlight of the set was when Frankie Camiola joined them adding acoustic guitar on `Water Carnival.' Nice set- exceeded my expectations.
Steve Roach- Rob Deluca tried to entice the prog-crowd to open their minds, as the first solo spot was traditional space/ambient music by pioneer Steve Roach. Unfortunately a few people walked but, but most stayed as Steve played an atmospheric set. Steve had a Wakeman-esque bank of keyboards which he used to tweak and slowly loop in and out of textures, he even used a Didgeridoo- an Aboriginal pipe instrument to add embellishments. It would have been nice to hear a solo over all the loops and electrica, but Steve kept it pure ambient and it worked. It was a relaxing set with two long pieces. The lighting was static and dark blue with some typical new-age visuals mixed in.
It was fantastic to see Gary Green
of Gentle Giant in the audience. Gary
was very gracious as a lot of people
stopped to chat with him (including
me). He stayed at my inn and we
talked again waiting for our bagels
to toast. He warned me about
watching the toaster ' it will prolong the
wait.' Of course I asked him the
question that he must have been
pestered with the entire festival- will there
be a Gentle Giant reunion. He is willing,
but he said two GG individuals are
not very keen on it- wanting to keep
the past in the past. Gary now lives in
USA- in Illinois and is supposedly
going to help out a local Giant tribute band.
Thanks Gary for all the great music and
of course your time. BTW Gary received
a standing ovation from the audience when
his name was announced.
Present- was a band I wasn't looking forward to seeing, but as I do NOT leave bands in the middle of sets (I think that is very rude); I wanted to give them a try, luckily I was quite interested and taken away with their very dark (Some of their song titles are: Strychnine for Christmas and Souls for Sale- dark enough?), and original RIO landscapes. If you are not familiar with Present (pronounced- Pray-ZANT- they are Belgian)- think Univers Zero with a more modern heavier sound. Vocals were minimal. The highlight of the set was ` Promenade.' The band didn't shy away from making a few statements as well as having some fun on stage. `Dave Kerman was amazing on the drumkit, using additional percussion including huge plastic scissors and a wash board. At the end of a set, a tattooed guy with a plaid kilt came out and was striking this bar of metal.... very weird, but cool! An excellent performance.
IQ: headlined day one. Their `multimedia-driven performance' was a let-down, as I was looking forward to a Subterranea type-looking show; all it entailed was the addition of 2 more of the college lecturer projection screens. IQ had the only light show that worked in sync with the music. I wasn't too happy that the band turned their epic 2-CD masterpiece (Subterranea) into a 4 min. single, but the band's playing was tight, technically brilliant and Peter Nicholls was dynamic and animated as he sang, gestured and bantered with the audience. I wasn't that overwhelmed with the `vintage' IQ material, but the later part of the set showcased some of the newer tunes which are top-notch. The highlight was `Harvest of Souls, ' which was show-stoppingly brilliant (Peter added that the song was misconstrued as an Anti-American song- though I thought I heard otherwise- no matter). All in all, an excellent headline show!
Click THIS to go to Day Two of Nearfest 2005
