NEARfest day one: a review in brief...

(A pre-side note: the setlists provided as directly from festival co-founded Chad Hutchinson, who got them from the stage setlists the bands wrote up. as corrections come, I will make them here.)

NEARfest day one started with a bit of a rough wake up…Friday night had been a touch fraught, and I know we had some slight issues dragging ourselves out of bed. A shower helped…but not long after getting to Lehigh on Saturday morning, I started feeling decidedly unwell. I dehydrated very, very quickly (air con over night and a lot of humidity contributing to a heat index higher than the actual temp may have contributed), and I had to get some water and stuff pumped into me. I joked that they had bottles of water and were jamming the tops into my mouth and squeezing the water down my throat. In any event, I was feeling well enough at that point to hit the theatre for…

CABEZAS DE CERA (Heads of Wax) from Mexico. What an interesting set of music from these guys. Unique custom made instruments, heavy folk and electronic influences, their sound would range from the precious and acoustic to wild waves of sound. I can’t describe them all that well…they are labeled as avant and RiO, and some people called them space rock for some reason, but for me, they were just CdC…and I dug them enough to pick up a pair of discs to relive the experience. Good stuff.

Indomable
Peregrino
Laberinto
Pretexto
Mutacion
Nocturno Incandescente
Cazador de Ballenas
Parkour

Encore:
Gocxilla
Mil Noches

I think at this point I had one or two bottles of OJ, and headed back to the vending room to sell an ever depleting pile of shirts and programs and pint glasses. Wanted a tan shirt? Sorry, you’re out of luck, we’re out. 3X shirt? Sold out yesterday, so sorry. We had our full crew behind the table, and at our best, we were a well-oiled machine working around each other quite well.

Vendor rooms close, and we head up for OBLIVION SUN from here in the US. 2 Happy the Man members (Happy the Men?), a member of Present, Adrian Belew’s drummer, and a second keyboardsist, playing fun, fusiony symphonic music that included some classic HtM tracks, some excellent new stuff with quirky as ever titles (“Dead Sea Squirrels,” or ‘nature’s road bumps’ as claimed by Stanley Whitaker), and enough chops for a clinic. Stan looked and played great…we (Stan and I) had a chance to chat a bit before the set and it was wonderful to share some stuff that we had in common. That rocked, and was probably my emotional highlight of the festival.

Fanfare
Chapter 7.1
Noodlepoint
Catwalk
No Surprises
Lake of Shadows (new Bill Plummer piece)
The Ride
Golden Feast
Re:Bootsy
Dead Sea Squirrels (new Stan piece)
Tales of Young Whales
The High Places (new Frank Wyatt piece)

Encore:
Service with a Smile
March of the Mushroommen (new Stan piece)

It was lunch time, and we hit the catering room for sandwiches and drinks. They hit the spot. Not much more to say there, really. We got all re-energised for the next act, which was…

DFA from Italy. I was looking forward to these guys, and they did not disappoint. Great instrumental symphonic rock from Italy with just a touch of fusion goodness. I finally splurged and got the other two albums I needed to complete my collection, so I can identify the tracks I didn’t already know, but they were stellar live. Really got into them, and was glad to see them finally (NB: I am listening to Kaleidoscope, their 2 CD reissue of the first two albums, as I post this here...it is every bit as good as the show was, and then some).

Vietato Generalizzare
Flying Trip
Trip on Metro
Mosoq Runa
Caleidoscopio
Mirror
Pantera
Escher

Encore:
Baltasaurus

Dinner was a bit of a debacle, as meal tickets weren’t available, and the on site vendors closed down due to the weather. So we foraged for stuff to get us through the next band. I’d been doing everything possible to downplay them, trying to not build up expectation or anticipation, but soon the denouement would have to be had…the lights dimmed, and onto the stage came GONG.

I’ll say it here, as clear as possible. I loved their set. They played superbly. It was tight, and spacy, and trippy, and I really loved it. Daevid was in fine form despite being sick. Steve Hillage played fantastically. Miquette was fun on keys…playing, dancing, swaying, jumping. Theo Travis was wicked on the sax. The set was killer…I can’t ask for anything better. The new stuff (from the forthcoming 2032 album, the next part of the Planet Gong story) was good. It was just wild all the way around. Made it to the encore and we headed down stairs to catch up with a few people before we headed off into the night to search out french toast before hitting the hay for day two…

Escape, Control
You can't Kill Me
Tic Toc
Dynamite
Digital Girl
Yoni
Dance with Pixies
Wacky Backy
Never Glid
Flute Salad
Oily Way
Outer Temple
Inner Temple
Goddess
Om Liff
Cycle Gliss
You and I

Encore:
Tropical Fish

Band line-up changes

1) Brought to my attention by Gary Lauzon - Gary has left The Rebel Wheel for personal reasons, and the band has deputised former Nathan Mahl bassist Claude Prince to step in and fill Gary's prodigiously talented shoes. We wish Gary the best of luck with his future musical endeavours, and welcome Claude to the group!

2) Dave DeMarco has left Oblivion Sun to pursue different musical directions, and has been replaced in the group by Keith Macksoud, bassist for Present, among other bands. Also, it has just been announced that drummer Chris Mack, also of Iluvatar, has moved on from OS. That position is currently open.

More updates on Stanley Whitaker

I start wondering of this blog is turning into one about medical conditions, but...Stan Whitaker is a special guitarist, one I genuinely wholly enjoy, and I want to keep people abreast of the ongoing situation with him.

First off, an expansive article on the Baltimore Sun website. I won't paste it here, but follow the link and read.

In musician's illness, help comes from the state

The article mentions the upcoming benefit show, which you should consider attending if you are in the area. Here's some info from bandmate Bill Plummer:

We're coming up on the next benefit for Stanley on November 9th at 2pm in Baltimore, MD at the Timonium Fairgrounds.

Crack The Sky will be headlining. Other bands to play are Oblivion Sun, Hectic Red, members of The Rayvns, Paul Reed Smith and School of Rock led by guitarist Bryan Ewald.

OS rehearsed yesterday and Stanley was able to make the rehearsal for a good bit. He's doing great all things considered and I was pleasantly surprised that he had the energy to make it at all. The radiation treatments are certainly creating a great deal of discomfort for him as well as decreasing his energy. This was to be expected but it didn't show up in his playing. We'll be doing about a 30 minute set.

Thanks in advance to everyone offering their services and making donations. We all look forward to seeing you there.

At least a portion of the ticket price is tax deductible. Go to www.whitakergiftfoundation.com for more details.

Let's help Stan beat this thing.

Another Stan Whitaker benefit show announced

You might be interested to know that Crack the Sky will be playing at a benefit concert for Happy The Man guitarist Stan Whitaker (who was recently diagnosed with cancer).

Details:

Sun Nov 9 2pm-7pm
Timonium, MD Fairgrounds 4H-Bldg.

featuring:
CRACK THE SKY
ROB FAHEY and DAVID BELL of The RAVYNS
PAUL REED SMITH (yes, that Paul Reed Smith)
STAN & LEEANNE
OBLIVION SUN
BALTIMORE SCHOOL OF ROCK
and OTHERS
Emcee SARAH FLEISCHER

Tickets are $75 each, which includes free parking, food, beverage and lots of entertainment!

Buy Your Tickets Now!

Contact Bruce Penczek at 410-239-0986 or Treasurer@WhitakerGiftFoundation.com

A couple brief thoughts on the 4 bands currently signed for NEARfest 2009…

PFM: this is the only one of the “Big Three” Italian bands I have yet to see live. Having said this, I have been making myself familiar with their catalogue, and while there’s one or two albums I find myself really enjoying, in general I find them less interesting than Banco or Le Orme. I think Banco has probably had a somewhat more consistent and enjoyable (for me) career and discography, while Le Orme’s high points are nearly sublime in their perfection.

Having said this…Storia di un minuto and Per un amico are incredibly solid albums, filled with highlights, and I really like them.

http://www.pfmpfm.it/


Oblivion Sun: I am not overly familiar with the band as such, but the pedigree…Stan Whitaker and Frank Wyatt from Happy the Man, Chris Mack from Illuvatar…not a bad set of bands to be formed from. Their debut album has gotten rave reviews, and Stan/Frank’s previous project, Pedal Giant Animals, was the basis for this new group. I hope things relating to Stan’s current health issues don’t keep the group from playing, though I’d certainly understand if things need to be rearranged. But I am looking forward to seeing these guys, and picking up both releases, very soon.

http://oblivionsun.com/


Beardfish: I’ve written about these guys in here before, I am pretty sure. Their previous two albums, Sleeping in Traffic Part 1 and Sleeping in Traffic Part 2 are killer slabs of vintage sounding progressive rock, with enough contemporary edge to keep them sounding fresh and vital. Rikard Sjöblom is a modern prog mastermind, and the band members are no slouches when it comes to composing, arranging and performing music filled with dynamics and humour. I am very psyched to see this group live finally…and I wonder if their signing (and the fact that Beardfish now makes up the majority of Andy Tillison’s band The Tangent) means that The Tangent will be signed to NEARfest as well…

http://www.beardfish.argh.se/

Quantum Fantay: Another band I am not overly familiar with, but what I have read suggests Ozrics-style space rock. I loved Hidria Spacefolk (who ply similar musical waters), and felt the Ozrics were tedium incarnate. I have no idea what this group will bring, but I’m willing to give them a listen.

From their NEARfest bio: “Hailing from Belgium, Quantum Fantay begins when two crazy friends, Pieter Van den Broeck (Pete Mush) and Wouter De Geest (Jaro), combine their musical visions and creativity. The result is the music of Quantum Fantay and their brand of liquid space rock. Drawing influences from, without being derivative of, bands such as Ozric Tentacles, Hawkwind and Hidria Spacefolk, Quantum Fantay create soundscapes and rhythms that wholly draw in the listener. Using hypnotic waves, atmospheric soundscapes, psychedelic synths, haunting melodies, woody groovy basslines with energy driven and experimental drums, a Quantum gig is a show to remember. To make the band live breathable and even more interesting the two neighbors attracted drummer Gino Verhaegen, guitar player Dario Frodo and flute-player Karel Slabbaert (Charles Sla). Quantum Fantay, a name that came out of a typing error for the word fantasy, was on it's way.

The year 2005 saw them release the album, "Agapanthustherra" to critical acclaim while 2007 saw the release of "Ugisiunsi," their second studio album recorded at "Pete's Mushroom Land" recording studio. This creation was a step further in terms of production and playing. 2008 has been an exciting year for the band as their first album has been re-released and a new live album titled, "From Herzberg to Living Room," are added to their catalog and recordings for the next studio album are fully on.”

http://www.quantum-fantay.com

Stanley Whitaker (Happy the Man/Oblivion Sun) news

People reading this blog who also frequent Progressive Ears may well already know this, but guitarist Stanley Whitaker, whose playing was a major part of my enjoyment of Happy the Man's material, is dealing with some fairish serious health issues.

Much like my posts about Andrew Latimer (of which I hope there are many many more, with good news following good news)...if Stan's music has touched you in any way, consider taking a moment and doing whatever you do to send some positive energy his way.

Thanks.