A little late, and probably too late tonight for me, but it's time to brain dump....
Eyestrings - I was one of the fortunate few to see them when they were releasing their debut record, last year. Totally blew me away then, and as most bands do, more riveting in a smaller venue. Tried as much as I could to allow for the sound flowing to the rear (I was in the center about 7 rows back). Also chatted with Alan Rutter (guitarist) the night before and was told about Ryan Parmenter being very ill all week. He sweated through the set, and he was about 40%, in my estimation. That's too bad, they're an incredible show. He's got all the genes from Uncle Matthew.
Had a fun time with them the next day at their CD table. No one was visiting, so I suggested putting up a "Free Beer" sign. This led to stories about Michigan J. Frog and other loony tunes favs. Also had some time with Mat Kennedy, bassist in both Eyestrings and Discipline, about old Discipline shows. That Discipline DVD is still in the works....
The material played from the upcoming sophomore Eyestrings was just flat out great.
Kino - Unlike the seamless way last year's festival ran, there were technical glitches in setting up the band. They came on a bit late and still had to end on time because there was a plane to catch. I really liked John Beck's poppy keys, and a nice job on Swimming In Women. A good thing the set was short, I too was satisfied after an hour. A lot of Rosfest bands are not really prog, and Kino was no exception. But very fun. Cheers to John Mitchell (Arena) for pulling double duty. And Pete Trewavas had a damn good time the whole festival. I still want his tennis shoes!
Tiles - I was very interested in hearing them. I own none of their CD's, and was one of few really watching them. I found them challenging to pay attention to, but worth it. The loudness dulled their awesome musicianship. The lack of stage presence Jim mentioned - I liked that. He didn't jump around like most hard rock vocalists do. This helps me focus on the music. It was worth it, I just wish they had more people watching. Great bass player and drummer. Chatted with the singer right before they were to drive 10 hours home. The life of a progger.
Magenta - I also loved the guitarist. Stellar! I was a bit irritated that the closed the show with the same tune they opened up with. Weak. However, that's a minor point. They were great. I bought their CD's, and especially thought "Children of the Sun" (no not the Billy Thorpe tune
) was outstanding. As most bands chosen both years, Magenta had a spiritual element that was hard to resist. I was disappointed by the apparent laziness of the bassist (a lot of one handed playing). I found out secondhand he was hot (no not that way either). No excuse!
I think the married ones also swooned. I was considering throwing one dollar bills on stage.....then I remembered how cheap I am.
The party Saturday night was as I expected. The one last year featured jam sessions, so I was expecting the same. After seeing bands since 7PM Friday, that's not what I want to hear. After a nice two songs by Steve Katsikas (Little Atlas)...by the way I heard Little Atlas' second CD, Wanderlust and it will get my vote for best CD of 2005!
....Tangent came up and played two improv jams. Great shit. Then Pete T. insisted he play with Jonas. Jonas looked bemused, and wanted to stretch it out, but played within the beat supplied by Pete. A funny line by Tiles members (The Bass of Spades)! I left after that, it was late and I tired of the crowd.
After a great breakfest at a local diner (what waitresses!) I returned to my hotel room finding my roomate asleep at 10:10. He had went to bed at six, I woke up at seven
I scolded him and wondered why he was jeapordizing not seeing Cryptic Vision (his fav). We made it just in time....
Cryptic Vision - It was a bit hard for me to find my groove with them. Todd Plant has a powerfully blessed set of pipes, but sings loudly and makes too much use of his Hodgson falsetto. In fact the whole band was loud, which negated the power of the music. After I adjusted, it was great. John Zahner is a GREAT keysman, and Rick Duncan is rock solid on drums. The medley was fantastic. First "The Light", then "Song For America", a bit of "Icarus", "Yours Is No Disgrace" (done amazingly) "Erotomania" (Dream Theater...took about 10 minutes to figure that one out), and "Turn It On Again" (ok listen I liked it!). Todd Plant referred to the medley as "homage to our godfathers of prog". Dream Theater? More like goodfellas
The material from their forthcoming record was great.
Man On Fire - even with the talented Steve Katsikas, a bore. I saw them last year at the bar swilling down Guinnesses with vax and liked them better. No use wasting any more space.
Sylvan - I was very ready for them. Chatted with Marco (singer) the day prior, and told him how much I like "Given Used Forgotten" and "Lost". And they were the two opening tunes! Also mentioned how they were billed on the Rosfest website as "having something for the ladies". Marco was amused, and hadn't heard that. I commented it must have been the scruffy European look (lol). Great versions of "Artifical Paradise", "Deep Inside"....and a cool cover of Pink Floyd's "High Hopes". Marco had a lot of energy, and they were very moved by the crowd reaction. Sylvan also played at the party.
Although they are marginally prog, I like them a lot. I do not find them even a wee bit metal. On the title cut of "Artifical" for 3 minutes, and much more so the their latest "X-Rayed", they have been dabbling with rap/thrash type stylings. It is a rap interludes, twin brothers Kay and Volker Sohl still are melodic. Tasteful stuff. These guys can play (even though they dont riff) and Marco is a passionate singer. Interesting that there are twins in the band - they play as a unit.
Tangent - oh man....I think the world of Jonas Reingold. Seen him with the Flower Kings three times (4 later in May) and have chatted with him and Tomas before...but just missed another opportunity Sunday late. More about that in a bit. The show was great! Andy Tillison was super. I'm not flattered by his studio vocals, but he handled all the songs great. He really benefitted from Roine's absence. I think Roine is awesome, but he would have been too much at that show. There was not enough soloing to go around even in 2 hours, so I was happy Krister was there. Reminds me of Chris Guest melded with Stan Whittaker
. Tillison can play! Love his setup, although I thought he'd have a coronary stretching and running back and forth. VERY funny guy, too. From his "no bass solo, please" to his ribbing of organizer George Roldan (he's in the program twice, that's not fair" he was a riot.
I wish Theo Travis would have been allowed to solo more. He was smoking at the party jam. And Sam Baine is just plain smoking
. The closer, "20th Century Schizoid Man" was unforgettable. Jonas balanced his bass on his chin! Tillison was masterful, and the fast section in the middle was slowed down and it worked beautifully. Great finish.
Like Nearfest 04, I enjoyed the bands less but the meetings with friends and musicians was priceless. Last year's bands (Izz, Salem Hill) were one of a kind. This year was another rousing success.
After coming close to calling it a night at 1:30 AM, I decided to go downstairs to the bar. Damn glad I did. Jim Brennan, who is a very slippery fellow, was entrenched at the end of the bar with the vax family. We had fun. Look forward to seeing him again at Nearfest. There's a ton of us invading the hotel, and it should be totally draining.
The introduction of vax and jim on Friday was priceless. Vax's Jim? Jim who? was one for the ages. I reacted the same way last year when I met vax at Rosfest and Jim at Nearfest. It takes a few seconds to register.
Vax (Brian) and family were welcome companions for three meals and occasional drinks. I even saw vax drink non-Guinness products! I wanted to set Kris (16) up with the pizza place waitress (est 22) but no go. Hell, my wife is 6 yrs older, why not? She would have killed him, though.
Brian and Martha were cute with matching cameras. But check out the pics, they're great. Thanks to them for a great time, as was the case last year, and last October.
And the Gentle Giant fan we ate dinner with from NYC ....(vax I forgot his name
).... I hope he joins us for the Giant show....
and to "Frodo", from Norway..who will be at Chippenham...see you there.