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  • Members: 298
  • Category: Rock and Pop
  • Founded: Sep 1, 1998
  • Language: English
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#18489 From: "biceeichler" <eichler@...>
Date: Tue Jul 1, 2003 11:52 am
Subject: Re: Some thoughts on NEARFest '03
biceeichler
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One thing I forgot to mention in my long, rambling post - the
light show.  It was impressive, but personally I'd rather watch
the bands than the lights.  It seemed like during quiet parts
the lights were often too low to see much on stage, and during
upbeat sections the lights were usually going crazy to the point
where they were distracting from the music.  Not to mention the
times the lights were shining directly out into the audience's
eyes, making it impossible to watch the bands.  Note to whoever
was running the lights:  Make it bright enough to see the bands,
but other than that have yourself a beer and relax.

   -- Bob "Bice" Eichler

#18490 From: progluvr@...
Date: Tue Jul 1, 2003 8:07 am
Subject: Re: Re: Some thoughts on NEARFest '03
progluvr
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In a message dated 7/1/2003 7:53:32 AM Eastern Daylight Time, eichler@... writes:


ne thing I forgot to mention in my long, rambling post - the
light show.  It was impressive, but personally I'd rather watch
the bands than the lights.  It seemed like during quiet parts
the lights were often too low to see much on stage, and during
upbeat sections the lights were usually going crazy to the point
where they were distracting from the music.  Not to mention the
times the lights were shining directly out into the audience's
eyes, making it impossible to watch the bands.  Note to whoever
was running the lights:  Make it bright enough to see the bands,
but other than that have yourself a beer and relax.


Yes!!! Most definitely agree with you on this.  It also made taking pictures without a flash difficult.  It's nice to have some colored lights and maybe a bit of a background but the wild light gyrations mostly are NOT needed.

Deb S.
"The Prog-Rock Diner"
www.fcac.org   (WEBR)
ProgDay!
www.progday.com

#18491 From: Noah Lesgold <nlesgold@...>
Date: Tue Jul 1, 2003 12:15 pm
Subject: Re: Re: Some thoughts on NEARFest '03
nlesgold
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On Tue, 1 Jul 2003, biceeichler wrote:

> One thing I forgot to mention in my long, rambling post - the light
> show.  It was impressive, but personally I'd rather watch the bands
> than the lights.  It seemed like during quiet parts the lights were
> often too low to see much on stage, and during upbeat sections the
> lights were usually going crazy to the point where they were
> distracting from the music.  Not to mention the times the lights were
> shining directly out into the audience's eyes, making it impossible to
> watch the bands.  Note to whoever was running the lights:  Make it
> bright enough to see the bands, but other than that have yourself a
> beer and relax.

I pretty much agree.  Camel's set was actually the biggest offender in
this regard, constantly shining the spots in the eyes of the audience.
I did think they did a good job during Anglagard's set, though, where
they did go pretty nuts during the crazier bits, but in a way that I
thought emphasized rather than distracting from what they were doing.

That said, the set where the lights made me the happiest was Magma's,
where they basically just lit up the stage, hit the Magma signal, and
let the music speak for itself.

I also wanted to say, I think the sound was excellent for almost all the
bands.  Tunnels was kind of so-so, though, with the vibes too low during
the early part of their set.  Anglagard's sound was fantastic, as was
Camel's.  Glass Hammer could have used a better mix - particularly at
the end with the chorus, it was hard to make them out.

--
Noah Lesgold 	 http://nlesgold.freeshell.org/
nlesgold@...  AIM: nlesgold ICQ: 132716231

"The only thing that Yes and King Crimson could agree on was that neither
  of them liked Genesis." --Bill Bruford

#18492 From: progluvr@...
Date: Tue Jul 1, 2003 10:13 am
Subject: Re: Re: Some thoughts on NEARFest '03
progluvr
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In a message dated 7/1/2003 8:16:18 AM Eastern Daylight Time, nlesgold@... writes:


That said, the set where the lights made me the happiest was Magma's,
where they basically just lit up the stage, hit the Magma signal, and
let the music speak for itself.


Somehow I have a feeling that Magma demanded this and I'm glad.  I agree....their lighting was perfect for their set.

Deb S.
"The Prog-Rock Diner"
www.fcac.org     WEBR
ProgDay!
www.progday.com

#18493 From: Noah Lesgold <nlesgold@...>
Date: Tue Jul 1, 2003 2:15 pm
Subject: Re: Re: Some thoughts on NEARFest '03
nlesgold
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On Tue, 1 Jul 2003 progluvr@... wrote:

> In a message dated 7/1/2003 8:16:18 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
> nlesgold@... writes:
>
> > That said, the set where the lights made me the happiest was Magma's,
> > where they basically just lit up the stage, hit the Magma signal, and
> > let the music speak for itself.
>
> Somehow I have a feeling that Magma demanded this and I'm glad.  I
> agree....their lighting was perfect for their set.

I wish I had a Magma signal.  When evil threatened, I would shine it on
the side of the Cathedral of Learning, and Magma would be summoned to
save the day.  It would rule.

(for that to make more sense, this is what the cathedral looks like:
  http://www.pitt.edu/~univrel/ptd/zpiccl.html )

--
Noah Lesgold 	 http://nlesgold.freeshell.org/
nlesgold@...  AIM: nlesgold ICQ: 132716231

"The only thing that Yes and King Crimson could agree on was that neither
  of them liked Genesis." --Bill Bruford

#18494 From: progluvr@...
Date: Tue Jul 1, 2003 10:21 am
Subject: Re: Re: Some thoughts on NEARFest '03
progluvr
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In a message dated 7/1/2003 10:18:24 AM Eastern Daylight Time, nlesgold@... writes:


I wish I had a Magma signal.  When evil threatened, I would shine it on
the side of the Cathedral of Learning, and Magma would be summoned to
save the day.  It would rule.

(for that to make more sense, this is what the cathedral looks like:
http://www.pitt.edu/~univrel/ptd/zpiccl.html )


Ah! Yes, I see that could work!  : )  That's a pretty impressive piece of architecture...

Deb S.

#18495 From: "T. J. Higgins" <tjhiggin@...>
Date: Tue Jul 1, 2003 3:22 pm
Subject: NearFest
tjhiggin
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Man what a great NF this year!  Kudos to Chad & Rob for another
killer lineup of bands.  Here are some thoughts on each act.

High Wheel:  I enjoyed it.  Other comments have said the keyboard
player was the weak link.  I thought the drummer was the problem.
He would play slow fills where fast fills seemed appropriate.
Better drumming would add more life to their sound.

Alamaailman Vasarat:  Fairly dissonanant, and not my bag.  I'm
not a big fan of brass instruments.  But you gotta love cello
through a fuzz box and a wah-wah pedal!  I enjoyed their show
but I can't see myself exploring them any further.

Tunnels:  The one band I did not enjoy.  The guy is absolutely
a killer vibe player, but I was bored.  The only part of the show
I liked was the guest violinist.  It's refreshing to see an
instrument used/abused in that manner.

Flower Kings:  I'm not a fan.  The songs are long, plodding, and
boring.  Plus, they don't look like they're having any fun when
they play.  I did sit through it all.  The Pain of Salvation guy
really added a lot to their sound.  I'm glad others enjoyed the
show, but I can take them or leave them.

Magma:  My only exposure to them was a couple of MP3s, and then
just a few weeks ago I bought their first CD.  It was a lot more
melodic than I expected, considering the cast of characters on
this list who like Magma.  But nothing could have prepared me for
the live show.  I've now been converted into your religious cult.
Those people sang their asses off for an hour, took a break for
about a minute, then sang their asses off for 45 more minutes
before an instrumental song was played.  I knew before the show
that Christian Vander was a pretty good drummer, so I expected
a much bigger drum kit.  It was average-sized, but he absolutely
destroyed it for 2 solid hours.  It was an intense, mesmerizing
show like nothing I'd ever seen.  I bought the DVD and am looking
forward to another riveting experience.

Sleepytime Gorilla Museum:  I went in totally cold, knowing only
what I'd read on this list.  It was a really great show, another
mind-blowing experience, like Magma.  I'm a big fan of violins in
a rock context.  That girl is a tremendous player.  I thought I'd
heard all the sounds a violin could make, but she coaxed some new
and bizarre effects from it.  Between her and the Tunnels violinist
I was ecstatic.

Glass Hammer:  Normally I like music with a harder edge, but for
some reason GH clicks with me.  I was really looking forward to
this show.  Alas, it was quite a disappointment.  For most of the
NF acts, the sound was excellent.  But not GH.  It was muddy as
hell.  The vocals were way too low in the mix.  The words were
unintelligible and I had to strain to hear the backing vocalists.
The only time I thought the vocals were at the proper level was
during "Portrait (He Knew)" when Rich Williams was the guest
guitarist.  Even the choir was low in the mix, I could barely
hear them.  With a 15-person choir their should be some serious
vocal power, but I never heard or felt it.  I also wasn't fond of
the song selection.  And it was obvious they needed more rehearsals.
Not being a band the plays live very often, they weren't smooth
on stage.  They did use a real Hammond organ and that was a high
point.  If only the rest of the mix sounded as good as the Hammond
did.

Kraan:  Like with the FKs, I'm not a fan.  I saw them at ProgDay
last year and didn't really care for them.  I sat through about
30 minutes of their set and then left.

Anglagard:  The bands that brought me to NF this year were IZZ
(at the pre-show), Magma, and Anglagard.  Back when the Anglagard
CDs were out of print, I paid more than I care to mention to get
the CDs.  I was blown away by Jordrok and have been a huge fan
ever since.  Never thought I'd get to see them live, so was
thrilled when they were announced for NF.  What can you say about
3 Mellotrons in one band?  When Anna played Mellotron it added a
bigness to their sound which I liked a lot.  To see Jordrok played
live nearly brought me to tears.  The sound mix was great, the band
was playing with a lot of emotion, the crowd was alive.  The show
lived up to the hype.  They played 2 new songs which sounded really
great.  I'm dying to get my hands on the new CD when it comes out!

Camel:  Their live show is WAY better than any of the studio stuff
I have heard.  The guitar is way out front, crunching and screeching
as it should.  And the keyboard guy is a monster!  I liked this show
TONS more than I thought I would.

As always, it was great to see the prog friends again.  Millions of
thanks to Stephen & Joann Ellis for their hospitality on Thursday.
ProgDay is only 2 months away.  See you there!

T.J. Higgins

#18496 From: stevesly@...
Date: Tue Jul 1, 2003 4:32 pm
Subject: Re: Lights
sdsly
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In a message dated 7/1/2003 6:52:43 AM Eastern Standard Time, eichler@...
writes:

> One thing I forgot to mention in my long, rambling post - the
> light show.  It was impressive, but personally I'd rather
> watch
> the bands than the lights.<<

Ok, I'll take the counterpoint on this one.  For the bands that knew how to use
them, I thought the lights were very much an enhancment to the performances.  To
me a good light show and rock n roll (especially progressive rock) go hand in
hand, and in most cases the lights at NEARfest were quite cool IMO.  What kind
of suprised me is that the two opening acts (High Wheel, and Sleepytime) seemed
to have the best handle on the lighting rig available.  Sleepytime especially
used the lighting to enhance their already theatrical style.

Steve Sly
(NP - Porcupine Tree - Stars Die)

#18497 From: <prognerd@...>
Date: Tue Jul 1, 2003 4:37 pm
Subject: Att: Jason Ellerbee
peterrenfro
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[Sorry for posting to the group, but I couldn't find Jason's e-mail in my files]
 
Jason,
 
Can you e-mail me offlist your address so I can send you those CD's I promised?  Thanks!
 
Peter

#18498 From: progluvr@...
Date: Tue Jul 1, 2003 12:56 pm
Subject: Re: Re: Lights
progluvr
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In a message dated 7/1/2003 12:35:30 PM Eastern Daylight Time, stevesly@... writes:


suprised me is that the two opening acts (High Wheel, and Sleepytime) seemed to have the best handle on the lighting rig available.  Sleepytime especially used the lighting to enhance their already theatrical style. 


Hmmm...I'm pretty sure that Sleepytime doesn't have their own light person.  I could be wrong....but other shows I've seen didn't have any special lighting effects, just what the venue had to offer and I'm pretty they didn't have their own person doing it.
Would be interesting to find out though.

Deb S.
"The Prog-Rock Diner"
www.fcac.org   WEBR
ProgDay!
www.progday.com

#18499 From: stevesly@...
Date: Tue Jul 1, 2003 9:08 pm
Subject: Re: Re: Lights
sdsly
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In a message dated 7/1/2003 11:56:22 AM Eastern Standard Time, progluvr writes:

> mm...I'm pretty sure that Sleepytime doesn't have their own light person.  I
could be wrong....but other shows I've seen didn't have any special lighting
effects, just what the venue had to offer and I'm pretty they didn't have their
own
> person doing it.
> Would be interesting to find out though.<<

I rode in the elavator Sunday night with a guy who said he was their lighting
tech.  It certainly seemed like they had someone who knew the material running
the lights.  I am sure most of the places they play have little or no lighting
however.

Steve Sly
(NP - Porcupine Tree - Stars Die)

#18500 From: progluvr@...
Date: Tue Jul 1, 2003 8:41 pm
Subject: Re: Re: Lights
progluvr
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In a message dated 7/1/2003 5:11:37 PM Eastern Daylight Time, stevesly@... writes:


I rode in the elavator Sunday night with a guy who said he was their lighting tech.  It certainly seemed like they had someone who knew the material running the lights.  I am sure most of the places they play have little or no lighting however.


Yeah, I saw Chad's post in the NF forum and he says the credits for the tech people for each band are in the program so I'll take a look at it.  Thanks..

Deb S.
"The Prog-Rock Diner"
www.fcac.org   (WEBR)
ProgDay!
www.progday.com

#18501 From: stevesly@...
Date: Tue Jul 1, 2003 9:18 pm
Subject: NEARfest My Thoughts.......
sdsly
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Another fantastic weekend of prog, friends and beer.  As always it was great to see all of my prog friends that I normally only get to see once or twice a year.  Kudos to Rob and Chad along with everyone else involved in the festival.  The lineup was stellar, the shows were fantastic.  Through my experience with Progday it is hard for me to imagine the work that must go into putting on a show at the level that NEARfest has achieved.  You guys rock, and I hope the trials and tribulations don't discourage you too much.  The sound, lights and overall production was very, very good for the most part.  The band selection was well balanced and had a little something for everyone.  The Marriott was much better prepared this year, although running out of draft beer at the venue was rather dumb.  The Marriott and the venue could make so much more money out of these weekends, if they would just use their heads and cater to the type of crowd that they have.  Oh well, overall things were pretty good all the way around.  A few quick comments on the performances:

MORIDOR:

Did not make it to the club in time for this one, so I missed out.

WOODENHEAD:

I thought they were great musicians, but they came across as a bit "wooden" on stage for the first half of their set.  Not a lot of stage presence on hand.  Then they brought out 3 trombonists that livened things up quite a bit.  All in all a very good performance.

IZZ:

Great set by another up and coming band.  I think these guys have great potential and I really enjoyed their set.  My one word of advice is let the girls step out front more often.  They both have awesome voices, but are mostly used as backup singers.

HIGH WHEEL:

Significantly better than I expected.  The opening number from "There" hooked me and I thought they put on a very cool set.  Another band to keep an eye on.

ALAMAILMAN VASSARAT:

I don't care for their album all that much, but on stage they were a lot of fun.  The heavy metal cello's were great, and it is always nice to see a prog band that does not take itself too seriously.

TUNNELS:

Incredible musicians, but like others I got a bit bored by their set after a while.  I think the 3rd band slot is the most difficult as the excitement of the morning bands has worn off a bit, and the #4 slot is usually a fairly major name.  Number 3 kind of gets caught in the middle.  Mark Wagnon was right in front of me, and I never heard him hit a bum note the whole set which is incredible considering what he was playing.  Probably my least favorite of the weekend, but this is not to say that they were not good, which they were.

FLOWER KINGS:

My third time seeing them and another great show.  Adding Daniel Gildenlow and Hasse Bruinnson was icing on the cake.  My only complaint is like their albums, I think they need to learn to pace their sets a bit better, but overall it was a minor complaint.  Closing with my all time favorite Flower Kings track "Stardust We Are" was fantastic, with Daniel Gildenlow actually singing higher than Hasse Froberg on the big finale.  It don't get much better folks.  I was disappointed they did not get en encore, but that is the way these things go sometimes.

MAGMA;

I tried to go into this with an open mind and I left having a new appreciation for these guys.  Christian Vander is simply one of the most incredible musicians I have ever seen.  It was hard to take my eyes from him during much of the set.  The rest of the musicians were incredible as were the vocalists.  The music......well parts of it I really got into and parts I found monotonous.  There were times were the droning vocals just seemed to go on and on and on............. in the middle of the set, but towards the end I thought they really hit their stride.  I don't think I would want a steady diet of this, but it was certainly an entertaining set.

SLEEPYTIME GORILLA MUSEUM:

I really dug this.  Great use of theatrics and lighting along with music that was at the very least interesting and at best truly something unique.  I know that some found the set "disturbing" , but I did not get the feel that they were taking themselves too seriously.  Some of the vocalists in between song comments were hilarious, and the homemade percussion set up was really something to see (and hear).  This was also the closest thing to metal we had all weekend.  I got to party with some of these guys Sunday night and they were very friendly and easy to talk to.  Not nearly as "weird" as they looked like they might be.

GLASS HAMMER:

Wow, talk about contrast!  I enjoyed the hammers set although they did have the worst sound mix of the weekend.  Overall they played everything well, and put on a good show.  I do wish they had mixed up the set list a bit more with more non "Lex Rex" material, and I still don't understand why they have Walter Moores incredible voice on stage, but hardly use it at all.  I was completely in the dark about Rich Williams (from Kansas) showing up, which was very very cool.  Moore finally got a chance to sing the way he is capable of, and Rich......well he was Rich (long live the meatwall!!).  The finale with the choir was very cool, although they were a bit difficult to hear.

KRAAN:

Not quite as strong as their Progday appearance last year, but still a very nice set from these guys.  I thought they started out a bit slow, but by the last half hour they were really cooking.  Unfortunately the set was to short for Hattlers bass workout, but he did get plenty of licks in during the bands signature set closure "Nam Nam".

ANGLAGARD:

No doubt about it they lived up to the hype.  An outstanding set, they really blew me away. I now understand what everyone was talking about all these years.  Every musician was in fine form.  Like Magma the night before I found it hard not to watch the drummer who was incredible.  I hope these guys stay together this time around.

CAMEL:

Like fine wine these guys have just gotten better with age.  Andy Lattimer's emotion charged guitar led the way with a set list of mostly classics with two tracks from "Nod And A Wink" in the set as well.  Like David Gilmour, Lattimer is more about "feel" than chops as he demonstrated with songs like "Ice" and "For Today".  The new keyboardist Tom Brislan was incredible.  This is another young musician with a limitless future.  Colin Bass and Denis Clement were solid as always too.  Great set, I hope they change their mind and continue to play live from time to time.

All in all a great weekend.  It was a rude reality check when my alarm clock went off at 5:00 am this morning.............NEARfest is over for another year.

Hope to see you all at Progday!

Steve Sly
(NP - Star One - Live On Earth)

#18502 From: gleonard9@...
Date: Tue Jul 1, 2003 9:51 pm
Subject: Re: NEARfest My Thoughts.......
gleonard9@...
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In a message dated 7/1/03 9:24:36 PM Eastern Daylight Time, stevesly@... writes:


Then they brought out 3 trombonists that livened things up quite a bit. 


Now _there's_ a sentence you don't see often.   :^D
Glenn

#18503 From: Peter <prognerd@...>
Date: Wed Jul 2, 2003 2:25 am
Subject: ELP Pictures @ Exhibition DVD Question
peterrenfro
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Okay...I picked up ELP's "Pictures at an Exhibition" DVD this weekend at
NEARFest.  I'm playing it...and it looks like the Zoom feature is
permanently stuck at maximum magnification.  Has anyone else experienced
this?  I've tried accessing the menu on the DVD player, but that doesn't
seem to be the problem.  There's no DVD menu (just playing the concert
or selecting a particular song).  Since on-line reviews don't mention
this problem, I'm assuming (1) I have a defective DVD or (2) the disc
just doesn't like my DVD player (admittedly almost four years old now,
but top of the line when I got it and still no complaints with it after
all these years (except it won't play DVD-R's)).

The only other time I experienced something like this was an import DVD
of "Eaten Alive" and that was fixed by changing the DVD format from
'normal' to 'letterbox' (and never had that problem again...)

Peter <prognerd@...>

#18504 From: CuneiWay@...
Date: Wed Jul 2, 2003 10:13 am
Subject: LIGHTS!
cuneiway
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Bob wrote

>Not to mention the
>times the lights were shining directly out into the audience's
>eyes, making it impossible to watch the bands.

THANK YOU BOB for saying this. I posted something to the  same effect on RMP.
This was very bothersome to me and the folks sitting with me, and I am glad I
am not the only person who felt that way.

The lights were fun, but getting hit directly in the face was not. I hope
they show a little more restraint next year.


Steve

#18505 From: "progjeff2000" <jeffoaster@...>
Date: Wed Jul 2, 2003 5:33 pm
Subject: Next year's NF
progjeff2000
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The following was posted at Progressive Ears by Rob LaDuca,concerning
NF in 2004.

    Member: nearfest

      7/2/2003 6:23 AM

    regarding the future of NEARfest:

    Chad will be analyzing the data over the next few weeks from the
1000+ surveys that were turned
    in at the fest. (Thanks SOOO much for everyone who took 10 minutes
out of their festival time to
    complete the survey!) Then in late July or early August we're going
to meet to go over the results,
    and decide where we go from here.

    Neither Chad nor I are willing to state definitively if NEARfest
continues in its present form, or
    when or where a NEARfest 2004 event will be. I will say right now
that if there is a NEARfest 2004,
    that it will not be the massive extravanganza special anniversary
show that NEARfest 2003 was.
    We don't think we can easily top that lineup (it was *extremely*
expensive and stretched NEARfest
    finances to their absolute limit), so we're not even going to try.
We'd bring you the best possible
    available talent in a diverse range of progressive music, within
our budget, and let the chips fall
    where they may. We would like to keep the expectations for NF2004
down compared to this one.
    This one was once in a lifetime.

    Chad and I will not be public with a running commentary of our
thought processes. We'll make an
    announcement after we've come to the many decisions we need to
make, and then sit on it for a
    while.

    Thanks once again for the overwhelming support!
    Peace
    Rob

#18506 From: Scott Orth <sdorth@...>
Date: Wed Jul 2, 2003 6:37 pm
Subject: NEARfest review
sdorth
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This was one of my favorite NEARfests and I've been
to everyone except 2001.  It was much better than last
year.  Many thanks to Rob, Chad and anyone else who
made the festival possible.  Great job!

   The line-up this year didn't have a single weak
band.  The mix was pretty good, too, only missing
heavy-prog. The only band that I missed entirely was
Tunnels because I couldn't be roused from the
comatose-like nap I was taking after AV.  Actually, I
missed Miriodor and Woodenhead, too, but they are not
considered part of the festival proper.

   I attended the festival with Greg Hall and we
purposely chose seat near the sound board this year
(row Y dead center) because the sound at our seats
last year (row N far right)was so horrendous that we
spent most of the time standing in the back of the
hall.  The sound was very good for the most part.  My
only real complaint was that the bottom end sounded
like mush.  The kick drum was occasionally inaudible
or so blurred that I couldn't make it out.  The main
victim was the bass, though.  I could see guys playing
basses, and I could feel some rumbling, but I'll be
damned if I could distinguish one note from another,
let alone any 16th note runs they might be making.

   Low frequencies are a problem in just about any
hall.  The only solutions tend to be more/better
subwoofers and more dynamic processing on the drums
and bass.  Rest assured, though, that if you go to a
rock concert these days, you'll have no problem
hearing the kick drum.

   The lights were distracting at times, epecially the
one that would sweep across directly into my eyes at 4
second intervals.  Keep the lights on the band, except
for rare occasions.  I love the lighting at the
Beginning of the Flower Kings.  They made it look like
the were doing blue screen effects.  Cool.

   Finding acceptable food in the area can be a
challenge, especially if you're trying to eat during a
45 min break between bands.  For some of us, pizza and
sausage don't cut it.  There's stuff around, but you
have to drive to it.  I didn't go hungry, though, so
it all worked out.

Now, the bands:

IZZ

   I like this band a lot.  I've only heard I Move
before this.  They didn't play anything that I didn't
find enjoyable.  Having a couple of cute igrls in the
band didn't hurt their stage presence, either.  The
only problem I had with their show was that I couldn't
hear the keyboardist sing.

HIGH WHEEL
   I enjoyed them.  I have heard Into The Void and
liked it.  The guitarist was also one of my favorite
singers of the weekend.

A.V.
   Having seen them at Orion once before, I knew what
to expect.  I like them live, but probably wouldn't
like listening to the cd.

TUNNELS
   Slept through them.  From what I've heard, I didn't
miss much.

THE FLOWER KINGS
   I like at lot of what's on their cd's, but what they
played at NEARfest is good example of what I don't
like about them.  Their tunes tend to wander too much
for me.  The sections, taken by themselves are great
bits of music, but the way that they string them
together into a 20 minute long song tries my ever
waning patience.  The last 5 minutes of Stardust We
Are is worth the wait, though.
   The band played well and Daniel was a great addition
to the group.  The dude from I Wanna Salami Your Mama
was really fun to watch.  I though that four guys on
percussion was a bit of overkill, though.

MAGMA
   I hadn't really hear a note of these guys before
NEARfest.  Given the crowd that seems to like them the
most, I was expecting a random number generated chord
sequence overlaid by several spurious fits of
percussion and whatnot.  Not so!  They had a very well
constructed body of music it seems.
   I about wet my pants in laughter at the beginning
when they had those LED glasses on, but I soon settled
into the first piece, all 50 minutes of it.  At the
end of that piece my bladder and drooping eyelids
forced me to wander out of the venue in search of a
bathroom.  I never returned.
   The band seemed to be playing well, but the two
Rhodes, a guitar, drums and four vocalist clogged up
the midrange so much that I had a hard time making out
a lot of what was being played.  The drummer
especially.  He plays a kind of sloppy, jazzy,
fill-in-all-empty-space kind of drumming that rubs me
the wrong way.  He's obviously talented and can play
the snot out of the skins, but I just don't like the
style.  The constant jazz harmony chanting of the
vocalists wore kind of thin after a while, too.  Kind
of reminded me of Atom Heart Mother a bit.

SLEEPYTIME GORRILA MUSEUM
   Easily the best presentation of the weekend.  these
guys know how to create an experience!  I loved it
from beginning to end.  I would've liked to hear Sleep
Is Wrong, though.  I guess they ran out of time.  I
talked with the violinist, who is a friend of a
friend, after the show.  She plays in other groups,
including Tin Hat Trio which is very good, I hear.
These guys need a DVD.

GLASS HAMMER
   I liked some of it, but got bored with compostitions
at times.  Liked the Kansas bit, the vocalist rocked.
Wish the mix was better, especially the far left part
of the stage.  I didn't care for the guitarist tone,
though he seemed able to play his guitar quite well.
I would like to see these guys in a more controlled
environment sometime.

KRAAN
   Overall I liked them.  They were a bit of fresh air
after all of the complexity up to that point.  They
kind of reminded me of a mix of the Dregs, David
Gilmour, and seventies soundtracks.  The Mini-Moog got
old after a while.  Top notch musicianship all around.

ANGLAGARD
   The band was the biggest draw of the festival for
me.  I loved their set immensely.  Jordrok has got to
be one of the best prog-rock tunes of all time.  I
hope the nest album leans more towards the driving
sound of Hybris than the pensiveness of Epilog.

CAMEL
   They sounded great, but I got bored about halfway
through the set.  Their music is very soothing and
melodic and was putting me to sleep.  I missed the
last couple of tunes, but liked the rest.

Cheers,

Scott

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#18507 From: Chuck <chuck@...>
Date: Wed Jul 2, 2003 7:40 pm
Subject: Anglagard
chuck@...
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>
>ANGLAGARD
>  The band was the biggest draw of the festival for
>me.  I loved their set immensely.  Jordrok has got to
>be one of the best prog-rock tunes of all time.  I
>hope the nest album leans more towards the driving
>sound of Hybris than the pensiveness of Epilog.
>

Hey, can anybody recommend a place to order/buy the 2 original Anglagard CD's? 
I see from their website that they're now available again, but can't find
anyplace online to get them.  Sure wish I'd bought them at the show.....

Chuck


_____________________________________________________________
For the best in Progressive Rock on the internet, check out PROGROCK.COM!
http://www.progrock.com

#18508 From: Noah Lesgold <nlesgold@...>
Date: Wed Jul 2, 2003 7:49 pm
Subject: Re: Anglagard
nlesgold
Send Email Send Email
 
On Wed, 2 Jul 2003, Chuck wrote:

> >ANGLAGARD
> >  The band was the biggest draw of the festival for
> >me.  I loved their set immensely.  Jordrok has got to
> >be one of the best prog-rock tunes of all time.  I
> >hope the nest album leans more towards the driving
> >sound of Hybris than the pensiveness of Epilog.
>
> Hey, can anybody recommend a place to order/buy the 2 original
> Anglagard CD's?  I see from their website that they're now available
> again, but can't find anyplace online to get them.  Sure wish I'd
> bought them at the show.....

Give it a little time, but I am guessing most or all of the venders
there loaded up from the band at the fest.  Wayside, Laser's Edge and
Syn-Phonic I would consider sure things to have it available now or
soon.

--
Noah Lesgold 	 http://nlesgold.freeshell.org/
nlesgold@...  AIM: nlesgold ICQ: 132716231

"You're a necromancer, dammit.  It isn't death, it's a learning
  experience!" --Mary Gentle, _Grunts_

#18509 From: Zero the Hero <jeller@...>
Date: Wed Jul 2, 2003 11:36 pm
Subject: Re: Re: Lights
jeller@...
Send Email Send Email
 
On Tue, 1 Jul 2003 stevesly@... wrote:
> I rode in the elavator Sunday night with a guy who said he was their
> lighting tech.  It certainly seemed like they had someone who knew the
> material running the lights.  I am sure most of the places they play
> have little or no lighting however.

The person running lights for SGM *had* to have known the material, what
with the perfectly-timed blackouts and so on...


--
Jason Ellerbee - jeller@...
DREAMS WIDE AWAKE radio show - http://www.unf.edu/~jeller/dreams.html

#18510 From: Phil Bastanchury <phil.bastanchury@...>
Date: Wed Jul 2, 2003 11:38 pm
Subject: RE: Re: Lights
philbast
Send Email Send Email
 
I heard that SGM had their own light guy.

Phil

-----Original Message-----
From: Zero the Hero [mailto:jeller@...]
Sent: Wednesday, July 02, 2003 4:37 PM
To: ProgAndOther@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [ProgAndOther] Re: Lights


On Tue, 1 Jul 2003 stevesly@... wrote:
> I rode in the elavator Sunday night with a guy who said he was their
> lighting tech.  It certainly seemed like they had someone who knew the
> material running the lights.  I am sure most of the places they play
> have little or no lighting however.

The person running lights for SGM *had* to have known the material, what
with the perfectly-timed blackouts and so on...


--
Jason Ellerbee - jeller@...
DREAMS WIDE AWAKE radio show - http://www.unf.edu/~jeller/dreams.html



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#18511 From: "Bill Watkins" <Bill@...>
Date: Thu Jul 3, 2003 2:25 am
Subject: Nearfest - with SB content also
bwatkins22973
Send Email Send Email
 
I broke a rule - I told myself I was not going to listen to any of FE, even
if I had the chance, until I received my copy from Radiant, but alas, I
backslide.  Saturday evening in Mr. Sly's room, Todd Woener had an
authorized promotional copy from Inside Out. He played all 3 cuts and we
listened. I had always wondered if I would be able to get beyond Neal not
being part of the process anymore. My worries were unfounded, and now I am
biting at the bullet waiting for the CD to arrive at my house. Now in a
hotel room with 10 or so other people listening and commenting, with my ears
as they are, it is difficult for me to listen fully and intently as I like
to do. But what I heard was wonderful. I can't, but I feel it will be worth
the wait. Hurry soon !

Nearfest:

  Bands - I have only heard two of the bands before...Flower Kings and Camel,
but wasn't interested in hearing and seeing all of the others. In order of
appearance:

Highwheel - a good show opener, but nothing new under the sun.

Alamaailman Vasarat (I liked the other pronunciation I heard.. "A Mailman's
Vasectomy" :))
  - my surprise hit of the show. I had heard 'gypsy prog' and others, but
these guys were just darn good musicians and just plain entertaining. The
cellos laid down a groove...such a groove.  Semi-Big band meets odd time
signatures.   Just fun music.

Tunnels - I loved the midi-vibe. I'm a melter for vibes and the like. I
could listen to this stuff all day.

The Flower Kings - They didn't play long enough. The should have closed the
show Saturday night. I wish they would have played many other tunes like
Church or Compassion. They seemed to be in a improv mood. They did play
Stardust however.  They still didn't play long enough though.

Magma - OK...I was captivated (at first) with these folk. I liked the way
they put up patterns of music and then layered other things like vocals
against the patterns. But then you would think at around measure 1004, the
pattern would change but it didn't. Then it did. I did notice some
intricacies, like occasionally dropping the eight beat, or changing things
up ever so slightly as to be almost unperceivable. But then there were those
patterns........................... I left after about 35 or 40 minutes. As
the Beatles once said: 'it's all too much'

Day 2

Sleepy Time Gorilla Museum - I loved the theatrics. Off Broadway meets
metalish prog. I actually thought the lead singer (guitarist) was female and
the voice was processed. He was just wearing a black sundress though, but I
still think his voice was processed. I moved to the back of the hall after
about 10 minutes, then left after another 5.  Angst/hate meets music. 'YOU
are not my adversary', though you may represent him. These guys scared me. I
left. (........get behind me)

Glass Hammer - oh how I wish the mix would have been better. It could have
been so much better. I had trouble hearing and understanding the words,
except when Rich  made a stage appearance and 'Portraits - He Knew' was
performed. Allot of the music just got lost in the mix...no definition, no
separation. The Choir...I saw them. :) Oh, it could have been so much
better. It could have been so much better.  They tried to get us to Church,
but you just couldn't tell.

Kraan - the second surplice hit for me, but then again :)  I've always liked
the cool sounds of Sunday morning jazz. I could listen to this stuff all
day. While considered prog (I guess), these gentlemen would fit right in at
Newport, Monterey or the Jacksonville Jazz festival.  Just very very good
stuff.

Engaged - they brought back memories of the emotional music of the 70's for
me. I'll buy everything I can find.

Camel - I have to admit Camel was a band I terribly  wanted to see again. It
had been a loooog loooog time, but I had to leave after the 3rd song, as a
long drive back to Virginia was on order. I had to be home this year by day
break as Sue had a 10am patient. What I heard was superb. Latimer hasn't
lost a thing. He can still make a guitar shed tears at will. Gosh I wish I
could have seen their whole show. Brislin was a wonderful choice for
replacement keys, though I still tend to think he can be a little bit too
showy at times. It just doesn't necessarily fit the music.

It was wonderful to meet up and visit with old friends and meet new
acquaintances. Let's do the Romper Bomper Stomper Boo thing: there was
Stephen and Jo Ann, Jim, Greg, Jerry H., Phil and Anna, Jason (and his
lady), Todd and Susan, Brian, Scott, T.J., Steve and Laurel (and Steve's
sister Ann) Mark from ATF, Shellyn, Grace, Janne(sp) and Judd. Michael
Gardner, it was a pleasure meeting you sir. It was just wonderful to see and
visit with everyone again. I'd better run before I get too weird.

  Love and Peace to All,

     Bill -

#18512 From: CuneiWay@...
Date: Thu Jul 3, 2003 8:44 am
Subject: sloppy Magma drumming
cuneiway
Send Email Send Email
 
sloppy?
You are entitled to not like it, but sloppy don't fit the bill here. Better
get out the dictionary to find the appropriate word.


Steve

>The drummer
>especially.  He plays a kind of sloppy, jazzy,
>fill-in-all-empty-space kind of drumming that rubs me
>the wrong way.

#18513 From: "Jerry Keller" <jerry950@...>
Date: Thu Jul 3, 2003 12:19 pm
Subject: test
jerry950
Send Email Send Email
 
#18514 From: "Mark Pilon" <icedmark@...>
Date: Thu Jul 3, 2003 4:19 pm
Subject: Sale
icedmark@...
Send Email Send Email
 

These are for sale, or trade. Email me privately if you are interested. Thanks!

A Murder of Angels / In The Air (2002)

Abraxas / Centuries (1999)

Alabama Thunderpussy / Staring at the Divine (2002)

Alamaailman Vasarat / Vasaraasia (2000)

Alchemist / Organasm (2001)

Amaran / A World Deprived (2002)

Angra / Angel’s Cry Holy Land 2 CD Set (1998)

Angra / Hunters & Prey (2002)

Antonini, Eddy / When Water Became Ice (1998)

Anthrax / Sound Of White Noise (1993)

Anthrax / Stomp 442 (1995)

Anthrax / We’ve Come For You All (2003)

Arjuna / La Montagna Sacra (2003)

Artrosis / Posrod Kwiatow I Cieni (1999)

Artrosis / W Imie Nocy (2000)

Behind the Curtains / Til Birth Do Us Part (1999)

Beyond Twilight / The Devil’s Hall of Fame (2001)

Boud Deun / Fiction & Several Days (1995) No covers

Candiria / 300 Percent Density (2001)

Candiria / Coma Imprint (2002) 2CD

Cantrell, Jerry / Degradation Trip (2002) Punch Hole

Collider / Binary (1998)

Crown, The / Crowned In Terror (2003) Full Promo

Dark Tranquility / Haven (2000)

Dark Tranquility / Damage Done (2002)

Dave Matthews Band / Live in Chicago (1998) 2CD

Depressive Age / Lying In Wait (1994)

Donalds, Andru / ST (1995)

Doctor Nerve / Skin (1995)

Dream Theater / Metropolis 2000: Scenes from New York (2001) DVD

Enchant / Break (1998)

Ensemble Nimbus / Scapegoat (1998)

Ensemble Nimbus / Garmonbozia (2000)

Event / Scratching At The Surface (2003)

Existence / Small People, Short Story, Little Crime (1999)

Fleurity / Last Minute Lies (1999) MCD

Garden Wall / Path Of Dream (1994)

Garden Wall / The Seduction of Madness (1995)

Garmarna / Vengeance (1999)

Garmarna / Hildegard Von Bingen (2001)

Gong / Zero To Infinity (2000)

Groovector / Ultramarine (200?)

Heaven’s Cry / Primal Power Addiction (2002)

Hollow / Architect Of The Mind (1999)

Hoobastank / ST (2001)

Hootie & The Blowfish / Cracked Rear View (1994)

Hoyry Kone / Hyonteisia Voi Rakastaa (1995)

Hoyry Kone / Huono Parturi (1997)

Iced Earth / The Dark Saga (1996)

Iced Earth / Something Wicked This Way Comes (1998)

Iced Earth / Alive in Athens (1999) 3CD

Iced Earth / Horror Show (2001) Digipack 1 Bonus Track

Iron Maiden / The Number of the Beast (1982/98) REM

Iron Maiden / 7th Son of a 7th Son (1988/98) REM

Iron Maiden / Virtual XI (1998)

Iron Maiden / Brave New World (2000)

Kamelot / The 4th Legacy (2000)

Kamelot / Epica (2003) Digipack 1 Bonus Track

Kovenant, The / Animatronic (1999)

Lacuna Coil / Halflife (2000)

Lacuna Coil / Unleashed Memories (2001)

Liva / Requiem (2002)

Maxwell's Demon / Prometheus (2001)

Metallica / Metallica (1991) JAP

Metallica / Garage Inc. (1998) 2CD

Moorefield, Virgil / Distractions on the Way to the King's Party (1994) Cut Out

My Dying Bride / Turn Loose The Swans (1993)

My Dying Bride / Like Gods Of The Sun (1996)

Nevermore / Dreaming Neon Black (1999)

No-Man / Together We’re Strangers (2003)

Paradise Lost / One Second (1997) Digipack 1 Bonus Track

Paradise Lost / Host (1999)

Pearl Jam / Ten (1991)

Pearl Jam / Binaural (2000)

Pitch Shifter / Desensitized (1994)

Porcupine Tree / On the Sunday of Life (1992)

Porcupine Tree / Metanoia (2001)

Quiet Room / Introspect (1997)

Ravana / Common Daze (1996)

Ritual / Ritual (1995)

Samadhi / ST (1974)

Samael / Ceremony of Opposites (1994)

Sculptured / Spear of the Lily is Aureoled (1998)

Sculptured / Apollo's End (1999)

Semente / ST (1999)

Sinkadus / Cirkus (1999)

Sleepless / Winds Blow Higher (2001)

Solefald / Neonism (1999)

Smokin' Granny / Sirius Matter (2001)

Somnambulist / ST (1996)

Somnambulist / Paranormal Humidor (2001)

Sotos / Platypus (2002)

Soulforge / Duality (2002)

Spaced Out / ST (2000)

Spaced Out / Eponymus II (2001)

Spiral Architect / A Skeptic's Universe (2000)

Stabbing Westward / Darkest Days (1998)

Strapping Young Lad / ST (2003)

Swan Christy / Today Died Yesterday (1999)

Swan Christy / Black Is The White Color (2001)

Testament / Low (1994)

Testament / Demonic (1997)

Testament / The Gathering (1999)

Testament / First Strike Still Deadly (2001)

Townsend, Devin / Accelerated Evolution (2003)

Univers Zero / Heresie (1991)

Wolverine / Fervent Dream (1999)

Winds / Reflections of the I (2002)

Yearning / With Tragedies Adorned (1996)

Yearning / Plaintive Scenes (1998)

Yearning / Frore Meadow (2000)

Zone Six / ST (1997)



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#18515 From: Robert McMonigal <twainfan@...>
Date: Thu Jul 3, 2003 3:50 pm
Subject: Re: Nearfest - with SB content also
raingodswzippos
Send Email Send Email
 
At 10:25 PM 7/2/03, you wrote:


>The Flower Kings - They didn't play long enough. The should have closed the
>show Saturday night. I wish they would have played many other tunes like
>Church or Compassion. They seemed to be in a improv mood. They did play
>Stardust however.  They still didn't play long enough though.

Truly, this has to be the ONLY time that's ever been said about The Flower
Kings.

************************************************************
Rob McMonigal
twainfan@...
http://www.livejournal.com/users/trebro
************************************************************
"Actually, I just like to *say* smock." -Hobbes
************************************************************

#18516 From: Noah Lesgold <nlesgold@...>
Date: Thu Jul 3, 2003 4:35 pm
Subject: Re: Nearfest - with SB content also
nlesgold
Send Email Send Email
 
On Thu, 3 Jul 2003, Robert McMonigal wrote:

> At 10:25 PM 7/2/03, you wrote:
>
> >The Flower Kings - They didn't play long enough. The should have
> >closed the show Saturday night. I wish they would have played many
> >other tunes like Church or Compassion. They seemed to be in a improv
> >mood. They did play Stardust however.  They still didn't play long
> >enough though.
>
> Truly, this has to be the ONLY time that's ever been said about The Flower
> Kings.

Well, to be fair, they do normally play 2+ hour shows, so I can
understand a fan wishing they'd had more than 90 minutes for their set.

Speaking of FK, did you end up going to their Pittsburgh show before NF?
I know you'd mentioned that you might.

--
Noah Lesgold 	 http://nlesgold.freeshell.org/
nlesgold@...  AIM: nlesgold ICQ: 132716231

>> Sleepytime Gorilla Museum - Grand Opening and Closing
> Chris Cutler says they're derivative of Art Bears ;)
Chris Cutler is WRONG!
	 --Mike Prete, Alex Temple, and Jason Ellerbee, in that order

#18517 From: "biceeichler" <eichler@...>
Date: Thu Jul 3, 2003 4:53 pm
Subject: Re: Sale
biceeichler
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"Mark Pilon" <icedmark@h...> wrote:

> Boud Deun / Fiction & Several Days (1995) No covers

If anyone buys this and wants replicas of the covers,
I can scan them and email them to you.

   -- Bob "Bice" Eichler, who considered buying it as
a backup copy since it's out of print, but has no money
left after NEARFest

#18518 From: Zero the Hero <jeller@...>
Date: Thu Jul 3, 2003 6:41 pm
Subject: Re: Re: Sale
jeller@...
Send Email Send Email
 
Someone needs to get those Hoyry-kones immediately, like yesterday.

--
Jason Ellerbee - jeller@...
DREAMS WIDE AWAKE radio show - http://www.unf.edu/~jeller/dreams.html

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