I was a bit apprehensive about this year's pre-show - the show on Friday last year was at the local establishment, and was a better idea in my opinion. I didn't want to be in the same exact place three days in a row.
Dennis Haley is a veteran of these festivals and a great guy. His keyboard technical prowess is evident, as was demonstrated by his work during The Tangent's set. The keyboards were troublesome all weekend, and the tech was having issues. So Dennis comes over, while Tangent was blistering along, hits a few buttons, problem solved. I witnessed a bit of his show, spent a lot of time bullshitting just outside. Good melodic stuff, but it takes a bit more to capture the interest of these unsophisticated ears.
Myriad I caught most of, but left about 60% way through. Ed Moehring is an excellent talent, but the music is just not interesting enough. This outfit could benefit from being a four-piece.
Arena is not in the style of music I usually enjoy. I like my rock heavier or more poppy. Arena rides the fence and takes few chances. That being said, I found the performance great. Rob Sowden can really sing (which is a good thing, because I am of the opinion that if you just sing, you need to be outstanding. Also, he did not do much of the singer antics that amuse me greatly. The walking over to the guitarist, air guitaring a few notes, then "checking" over his shoulder to see what notes are played
that sort of thing...was there, just not overt. Rob sang, entertained, and moved aside. John Mitchell was outstanding on guitar, and was totally different than his performance the next day with Kino. I like that. Good set. The irrepressible John Jowitt filled in on bass, and added the same welcome flavor he aded with Jadis last year. A wonderful guy.
Rosfest has ample opportunity for conversations with the artists. Phoenixville is a small town and the area is compacted. Additionally, the artists are very willing to chat, and staying at the same hotel also affords the opportunity to meet.
I was able to talk with someone from each band, save for Cryptic Vision. It's not that I didn't get a chance, it was just that I'd either talked to members of the other bands before or just happened to be in the right place. I'm not into going up to people I haven't met and just talking. Believe it or not, I can be shy in that vein. Plus, I hate to talk about the same stuff eveyone else does. However, sometimes I miss chances. I should have learned from last year, when I failed to talk to Carl Groves in person, later finding out he's a first-class dude. Cryptic Vision is probably the same way. I just didn't have any conversation starters.
Well, I gotta go to work, and there's still a lot more to add. I'll add it to the other thread hopefully tonight.