Night of the Prog IV bands announced

NIGHT OF THE PROG IV: The line-up for the 4th Night Of The Prog Festival has been finalised. The festival will be held at 10 and 11 July at the World Heritage listed Loreley Freilichtbühne in St. Goarshausen, Germany.

Tickets can be bought at the Wiventertainment shop or via www.ticketmaster.de where you can pay by credit card.

NIGHT OF THE PROG IV

Friday 10. July 2009:
Also Eden
Arena
Agents of Mercy (feat. Roine Stolt, Nad Sylvan)
Riverside
Gazpacho

Saturday 11. July 2009:
Subsignal
The Pineapple Thief
Lazuli
Pure Reason Revolution
Pendragon
Steve Hackett & Band
Mick Pointer & Friends playing Marillion's Script For A Jester's Tear

Pure Reason Revolution: new album available for pre-order

Due out in the UK on the 9th of March, Amor Vincit Omnia is the new release from the UK's Pure Reason Revolution. There is a special edition 2 disc version available as well.

Details follow:

Disc: 1
1. Les Malheurs
2. Victorious Cupid
3. i) Keep Me Sane/Insane
4. ii) Apogee, iii) Requiem for the Lovers
5. Deus Ex Machina
6. Bloodless
7. Disconnect
8. The Gloaming
9. AVO

Disc: 2
1. Deus Ex Machina (Live at NEARfest, video)
2. Victorious Cupid (Live at NEARfest, video)
3. Les Malheurs (Live at Rockpalast, video)
4. The Gloaming (Live at Rockpalast, video)
5. Documentary (video)

Pure Reason Revolution on tour

Touring with Porcupine Tree:

7 Oct 2008 19:00 Incrivel Almadense (PT Support) Lisbon
8 Oct 2008 19:00 Teatro Sa Da Bandeira (PT Support) Porto
10 Oct 2008 19:00 La Riviera (PT Support) Madrid
11 Oct 2008 19:00 Apolo (PT Support) Barcelona
12 Oct 2008 19:00 Rockstar Live (PT Support) Bilbao
14 Oct 2008 21:00 De Pul, Uden
16 Oct 2008 21:00 Das Rind Rüsselsheim
17 Oct 2008 19:00 Rockhal (PT Support) Luxembourg
19 Oct 2008 19:30 Prog Resiste Festival @ Spirit of 66 Verviers

Note that the Madrid venue has been upgraded to:

La Riviera
Paseo Bajo de la Virgen
S/N 28005
Madrid

Looking back at my NEARfest acquisitions

Here's a quick look, one week later, at how I am faring with the new music acquired at NEARfest 2008:

Le Orme - Live in Pennsylvania 2-CD/1-DVD set. Sound quality is excellent. Video is also very very good...of course, I had a 20 minute tease of this on the NEARfest 2005 DVD. UNFORTUNATELY, this is not their full set, as it excises the material from Collage as well as their rendition of Rondo. Still, a wonderful reminder of seeing this great Italian progressive band.

The Red Masque - Fossileyes. Very good stuff. A bit shocking, actually...their last release had several expansive tracks. The material here is shorter, punchier, more metallic...and every bit as edgy and avant as their past efforts. This is a long awaited album indeed...

Pure Reason Revolution - Live at NEARfest. Post production helped boost what was an energetic set marred by level issues. Harmonies sound richer, thanks to the ability to bring Chloe's voice up in the mix. Are they prog? Who cares! They were energetic, trippy, and very cool.

Strawbs - Live at the Calderone on Witchwood Records. With yesterday's surprising yet not overly so announcement that John Hawken was leaving the Strawbs again, buying this live release (which does not feature him) seems almost...prophetic. Sound quality is a bit rough, as I think this was sourced from a multiple generation off air recording...but this is Strawbs at their rocking best. Well nigh essential.

DFA - Work in Progress Live and 4th. Haven't gotten in as many listens to these, but I like what I am hearing so far. Mostly instrumental Italian prog with a bit of a jazzier bent.

Progday 2001 2-CD set. Only one listen in, and there's a lot to swallow here. Only really familiar with the Muffins and Ars Nova, so there's some work to do here.

Banco del Mutuo Soccorso - Di Terra and Canto di Primavera. Two totally different sides to Banco. Di Terra is all instrumental and an unmitigated classic of the genre, while Canto di Primavera is shorter, song based vocal music, almost verging on pop. But both are excellent, and easily reward multiuple listens.

Kingfisher Sky - s/t. Haven't listened to yet :-)
Gerard - Sighs of the Water. Again, no listens yet. But I liked them when they played live at NEARfest 2002.

NEARfest 2008 post-fest wrapup part 1

Yeah, I blew all the posting last week. A lot happened. I'm on a more even keel today though, so things should pick back up. In the first part of my festival wrap-up, I'm going to post my list of swag I brought back.

It's a significantly longer than I thought it would be...

MY MUST BUYS
I had a short list of titles I had to buy. If I got these the rest didn't matter. I got all three of my must buys:

Le Orme - Live in Pennsylvania 2-CD/1-DVD set. Sadly not the whole show...it misses Collage and Rondo. But still nice to have about 100 minutes of the 2 hour set.
The Red Masque - Fossileyes. Got it early enough to score the promo DVD along with it.
Nice.
Pure Reason Revolution - Live at NEARfest. Does what it says on the label.

'IMPULSE BUYS'
This is kinda everything else :-)

Strawbs - Live at the Calderone on Witchwood Records
DFA - Work in Progress Live
DFA - 4th (both of these I got at Moonjune on the 2 for $25 deal)
Progday 2001 2-CD set (for 5 bucks I complete the collection)
Banco del Mutuo Soccorso - Di Terra (my friend Mark Guenther kindly picked this up for me)
Banco del Mutuo Soccorso - Canto di Primavera
Kingfisher Sky (the preview on the screen and PA sold this one)
Gerard - can't remember the title (my friend Kevin Cosentino was kind enough to pick this one up)

Fireballet t-shirt (free! and not in my size!)
Fireballet CD sampler (free! and IN my size!)

NEARfest 2008 T-shirt (in progfan size! dark grey with the dual twisted dragon logo)
NEARfest 2008 programme (for which a story exists for later)

Pure Reason Revolution: Band updates (and new release reminder)

British band Pure Reason Revolution have posted a few goodies and year in review (since 2007-ish) type things of late...rather than ctl-c, ctl-v them, I'll give you the links and encourage you to explore :-)

The 2007 year in review by drummer Paul Glover. Some neat tidbits in there, including one of the most enjoyable looks at NEARfest I've read from any band more familiar with the sweatier live pub scene in the UK and Europe.

The 2007 Year in Review Accompanying Video. Well, I don't see the link on the page, so it may go up in a bit. But supposedly including footage from their first US tour...again, including NEARfest.

And as a reminder, we are 1 week away from the official release of the new Pure Reason Revolution album Live at NEARfest 2007 (you can see the cover art HERE), coming out on (wait for it) NEARfest Records. It goes without saying that I plan on picking this one up early Saturday morning at Zoellner Arts Center on day one/two (depending on how you count it this year) of NEARfest X. They may not be a pure progressive rock band, but I love their infectious mix of swirling synths, Beach Boy-influenced vocal harmonies, and driving grooves and beats. Most definitely one of the more enjoyable new bands to come out the past few years...

Pure Reason Revolution: Live at NEARfest release announced

It is with great excitement that we announce the release of Pure Reason Revolution: Live at NEARfest 2007. The British upstart quartet took the NEARfest stage by storm with their unique combination of hard-driving riffs, Pink Floyd-esque soundscapes and fabulous vocal harmonies. Already known for their powerful live show, Pure Reason Revolution took it to yet another level with this energetic and raw performance. The band was in top form at NEARfest and is captured live for the first time on Live at NEARfest 2007. The album will be release on June 20, 2008, the first day of NEARfest X.

Tracklisting:
1. Intro/In Aurélia
2. The Borgen's Vor
3. Deus Ex Machina
4. The Bright Ambassadors of Morning
5. Victorious Cupid
6. Voices in Winter
7. The Twyncyn/Trembling Willows
8. Golden Disco
9. Aeropause
10. Apprentice of the Universe
11. Nimos & Tambos
12. Arrival/The Intention Craft

Personnel:
Jon Courtney - Vocals, guitar, keyboards
Chloë Alper - Bass, vocals, keyboards
Jamie Willcox - Guitar, vocals, keyboards
Paul Glover - Drums

Mixed by Adam Whitaker
Recorded and Mastered by Brett Kull

Download MP3 a rough mix of "Deus Ex Machina" at http://www.nearfestrecords.com/releases.asp?ID=18

Catlog Number: NFR0010

NEARfest Records
http://www.nearfestrecords.com

Several various updates (Yes, NEARfest Records)

YES:

This has been circulating some, but for the benefit of anyone who may not yet have seen it, the following was published by Billboard:

Even as it prepares for its 40th anniversary tour this summer, Yes is working on new material, frontman Jon Anderson has revealed to Billboard.

Anderson says the progressive rock heroes are preparing four new songs of the "opus" variety -- lengthy, multi-movement compositions along the lines of Close to the Edge and Tales From Topographic Oceans.

"They're very, very different," Anderson says. "It'll be interesting when we perform them, because we know that we want to try and perform them in a unique fashion."

But Anderson adds that he's not sure those songs will wind up comprising Yes' first set of new material since 2001's Magnification. "Putting together an album really isn't logical anymore," he notes. "Putting together a large piece of music or something that is really a jump in a musical direction takes a lot of commitment from everybody.... But maybe during the tour we will discuss making some new music."

Anderson says he'd also be amenable to some sort of reunion of the Yes lineup that made the group's triple-platinum 1983 smash 90125 as well as 1987's Big Generator and 1994's Talk. He and Trevor Rabin, the guitarist and co-producer in that incarnation of the band, have been in discussions about "maybe touring some of that '80s-period music, because it was very special." But Anderson says he and Rabin aren't necessarily thinking about resurrecting that version of Yes as a recording entity. "I wouldn't do it, like, Yes," Anderson explains. "I'd do it like me and Trevor aspiring to be the two of us making music and see what we come up with.

The Yes anniversary tour kicks off July 12 at the Festival d'ete de Quebec in Quebec City.



NEARfest Records:

Chad Hutchinson posted the following at ProgressiveEars regarding future releases:

2006 (DVD) is next on the plan, but time permits too much being done at that moment. I'll have plenty of time in my "retirement" to focus on it.

A 2007 DVD is a different animal as neither headliner allowed recording of any kind. We're not sure of the wide-spread appeal of a product from '07 without Magma and Hawkwind on it. Another option though, is to do a combo '06-'07 DVD. We'll see. It depends on the response from '06 bands for the most part, especially Mr. (Keith) Emerson.

2008 is in progress. In theory, I think they'll all agree to it. Recording agreements for both audio and video will be sent out in the next week or so.

My focus, NFR-wise, right now is to get the live PRR (Pure Reason Revolution) CD designed and manufactured in time for NFX. Gonna be tight!

Pure Reason Revolution updates

From an e-mail sent to people who ordered the band's new single, 'Virtuous Cupid' also known as...

"...the first part of Pure Reason Revolution's next stage of life. The band are busy completing the new album right now, I don't know what the release plan and such is, I'm sure they'll be telling us all soon, things are evolving and progressing rather nicely now - really impressed with what we've heard in the studio so far - don't worry, they're using their time well.

I'm sure you know by now that the band take a break from the studio to play a one-off gig this Saturday April 12th. The gig happens at The Water Rats (AKA The Monto), Kings Cross, London. Support is hand picked by us so please if you are coming get there early, you'll like the refined post-rock/math adventure of VESSELS (www.myspace.com/vesselsband), they're coming down from Leeds and they're on early at around 8.00, I think you'll find they compliment Pure Reason rather nicely. There are still some tickets on the door, not too many so if you don't have one and want to come advise is get there reasonable early, I should think if you turn up before 9.00 you'll get in. The gig runs at regular times so you should be OK for trains and such - if you're coming from afar and need a floor then get in touch...

ALBUM NEWS - Some of you will have heard now that Pure Reason Revolution have signed a new long term deal with rather good looking new alternative rock label Superball Music - the new home of And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead and Oceansize - this is good news indeed, here at Organ we've known the Superball Music people for years, real music fans running a label for the right reasons rather than just some corporation who just wants to sell you product, this is really good in terms of the band's long term creative output."

There's some other stuff in the works that I can't talk about yet, but hope to share with y'all soon.

Tiles and discipline. news...and a bit more besides

...The official Tiles "Fly Paper" CD release party details for Sunday, March 9th at the Magic Bag Theater in Ferndale, MI. Joining us for a special one-hour opening set will be the return of Discipline - reunited and hard at work preparing for their appearance at NEARfest X this summer.

Tiles with special guests Discipline
Sunday, March 9th
Tickets $10 and are on sale now at all Ticketmaster outlets & the Magic Bag box office - 18 and over please
Doors open at 7pm - show starts at 7:30pm

The Magic Bag
22920 Woodward Avenue
Ferndale, MI 48220
Telephone: (248) 544-3030



And in other newsy-type things, this time from Chad Hutchinson of NEARfest/Progressive Arts/NEARfest Records fame:

"We are starting work on a PRR live album, the NF06 DVD, & a Le Orme 2CD set. Btw Keith Emerson is buying his audio and video. More news to come."