The following bands have all been confirmed for the 2009 iteration of the Gouveia Artrock Festival:Stick Men (United States of America) feat. Tony Levin Pat Mastelotto & Michael Bernier to headline day two
Daevid Allen's University of Errors (Australia/USA) confirmed to day three
Koenji Hyakkei (Japan) confirmed to day three
PFM - Premiata Forneria Marconi (Italy) to headline day three
Volapük (France) confirmed to day two
Gatto Marte (Italy) confirmed to day two
October Equus (Spain) to open day one
Gordon Giltrap (England) confirmed to day two
Focus (Holland) to headline day one
KBB (Japan) confirmed to day two
More info:http://www.gaudela.net/gar/index-e.html
Rock In OppositionFriday - September, 18th - 20096 PM Electric Epic Main Hall
9.30 PM Magma 40 # anniversary Main Hall
Saturday - September 19th - 2009
2 pm Charles HAYWARD Main Hall
4:30 pm Aranis Main Hall
7:30 pm Combat Astronomy Main Hall
10:30 pm Koenji Hyakkei Main Hall
Sunday - September 20th - 2009
1 pm Yolk Main Hall
4 pm The Muffins Main Hall
7 pm Present Main Hall
10 pm Univers Zero Main Hall
Grand Finale
Univers Zero + Present
Ticket Info:http://www.rocktime.org/rio/tickets_english.htm
NF 2008 was in some ways one of the more challenging ones for me from both a physical and emotional level. Through most of the weekend, my body seemed to be conspiring against me. Despite this, some of the most memorable musical things happened.
Koenjihyakkei was a solid Saturday opener. I had some issues with the vocal/sax interplay, both of which seemed to stay in very similar ranges, making it difficult at times to discern which was which. But they also had "the" drummer of the festival for me in Tatsuya Yoshida, and his performance was the benchmark by which I compared all others.
Sorry, Mike Portnoy.
Discipline. Not fair of me to say anything. They exceeded my expectations a thousand fold, and I wept for the first time during the festival as they played "Into the Dream." It was a transcendent set for me, one I hope will eventually see some kind of official release. I should add that the rest of the guys in the band are brilliant as well...I've known Matthew Parmenter for a few years, but Mathew Kennedy, Jon Preston Bouda and Pual Dzendel were all a joy to chat with too.
Peter Hammill was superb. It was one of the diverging performances of the weekend, as his particular brand of existential despair and doom is not for everyone. But he played 'In the Black Room,' and 'A Better Time,' and 'Still Life.' A perfect English gentleman to talk to as well. Brilliant man.
Liquid Tension Experiment was good. I know they wowed a lot of people who expected nothing from their set. I did about 90 minutes of their set, and had enough. It's just not for me anymore. But kudos for incorporating a full fledged and rearranged rendition of George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" into their performance (Banco would echo this Sunday night, opening their encore with a soprano sax or clarinet solo that interpolated bits of the theme).
Morglbl on the other hand is LTE with Gallic humour. Cristopher Godin is a ham, and his stage presence was wonderful. Floral print tie and all. Great player, oozing character, and the bassist held his own! Very goofy, fun, party prog on the metal edge. Liked them a lot. I'll buy their albums I think. A perfect Sunday opener, and I think they got called out for two encores (and deservedly so), a first.
Radio Massacre International...I dig electronic music, but watching it can be tedious. It was somewhat here...and I was tired. And starting to hurt badly. Cyndee Lee Rule's violin additions helped, as did the occasional use of drums. But the set seemed disjointed.
Echolyn was also a lot of fun. they played several songs I'd never heard played before, like 'Winterthru,' 'The Great Men,' 'Entry 11-19-93' (or whatever the date in the title was). Very energetic set. No new material, but it was a blast. Again, I missed part, as before the encores I started to hurt so bad I was nauseous and crying (thankfully over the course of the rest of the evening I'd spend some time with the guys, which was brilliant as always. They are total class acts...).
Medication and food later, we had...
Banco del Mutuo Soccorso.
After their set, I walked around goofy saying "I just saw Banco." I'd walk up to someone and say "That was Banco." It was transcendent, and again, I wept. They were everything I heard on their albums and more. Far far more.
But for me, this year meant something more. This year I think I realised how important the people around me all weekend were. My friends helped me get through a very rough patch with kindness and concern and selflessness. That totally made it for me. Some of the past festivals' performances may have been individually superior, but I may remember NEARfest 2008 most fondly in the end.
Rock In Opposition France EventApril 17th, 18th & 19th 2009
The first edition of the France R.I.O. Festival, held in Carmaux in 2007, confirmed the enthusiasm of a large audience, coming from all over the world to attend this event, that some have labelled "historic".
To keep away from a certain "routine" that could harm the integrity of our musical choices and to secure firm financial and artistic partnerships, we decided that the next instalment of the France R.I.O. would take place in 2009.
So, the R.I.O. now becomes a biennial event. As the preparation of such an event is time-consuming, this frequency should provide us with the distance needed to conceive a programme as demanding and innovative as the first edition.
Once again, the Rock In Opposition 2009 will be an event of international quality. It will be held in the same musical venue that proved to be the perfect setting for listeners to enjoy really innovative music in optimal conditions: the "Maison de la Musique de Cap Découverte".
With an additional feature however: a special Opening Day will also be organised in Albi.
During the Festival, specific locations will be dedicated to record labels, press representatives or any relevant "movement" showing some fighting spirit in the field of contemporary musical expression.
Specific venues will also be provided to facilitate dialogue between the musicians and the audience.
Additional activities, such as artist residences, workshops, conferences, exhibitions and installations will also be organised within the framework of the festival.
The programme will be finalised by the end of September 2008 but the "Artists" section of the website will be regularly updated in order to keep you informed of "work in progress".
Rock is a struggle, a protest against injustice, a way of resisting everything that degrades the human being and his environment… A way of building a world more like us, a world based on self- and mutual respect… With no constraints and no concessions…
More than ever, Rock has to innovate, provoke, confront… More than ever, Rock has to be in opposition…
Roger Trigaux
From: http://www.somnius.com/amn/2008/05/09/rio-2009-festival-announced/
The tentative lineup includes:
Sleepytime Gorilla Museum (USA)
Koenjihyakkei (JP)
Daevid Allen/Hugh Hopper/Chris Cutler (Aus/UK/USA)
Univers Zero (B)
Charles Hayward (UK)
Yolk (F)
Peter Brotzmann (D)
