[VAXman(Admin)]

Originally posted by Rick and Roll
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.

Sometimes -- OK, more often than not -- I'm a bit dense. I was just coming out of the darkened theater after taking some light readings and I was preoccupied in thought about how to setup the camera to get pix... or perhaps it was just the lack of coherence due to the low levels of Guinness in my system. Whatever the reason, it was finally good to met Jim face to face. Too bad he missed the Cryptic Vision. I'm not as critical as you. CV put on a stellar performance and lots of power. What a great way to start the day. They have the stage presence to be a headliner act IMO.

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.

Martha said some guy was next to her trying to take a picture and was getting nothing but black and blur. Then he looked at the back of her camera and utterred a casual obscenity.

About my pix... you can all see them. I sold copies of my pictures of Cryptic Vision to the band after showing them to the band on my Powerbook at the upstairs signing after their performance. I would have just given them copies but they insisted. I had to take a road trip in the afternoon to the local K-mart to get DVD-Rs (I forgot to bring along some from home). They wrote a little blurb about my pix presentation when they all signed the setlist I swiped. I scanned it and it is in the /trophies link on the ROSfest pix pages.

I was also approached by others for my pix. The president of ProgRockRecord and I have been exchanging email since I've returned home.

As for the none Guinness product. Yuengling's is the oldest brewer in the US. It's brewery is in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, which is about 20-25 miles from where I was born and raised. I was weaned on Yuengling's -- long before the "micro-brew" popularity of it today. Google for Yuengling... it has an interesting history.

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....

His name is Matt. The other two people were Victor and Janet. Matt, Victor and Janet are friends. Martha and I met them at a NJ Prog House gig several years back and many more since. Victor and Janet went to the recent Marillion Weekend gigs in the UK and relied on us as their "tour guides" to get them about London and succesfully navigate the public transportation system to get out to the gigs in Minehead.

Matt, Vic and Janet enjoyed ROSfest so I guess that George and Tom will have no problem selling them 3 seats for next years event.