NEARfest day two: a review in brief...

If waking up Saturday was rough, you don’t want to know how waking up Sunday was. Still, I made the decision this time to have a couple glasses of water first thing, and we stopped off at the Dunkin Donuts before heading down to the venue. That water, and the bottle of OJ, really made the difference, and I had no problems at all Sunday. The place was pretty empty, and the vending rooms were slow. We were excited to see the first two bands, and thus we made sure to get up to the theatre in time for the Sunday opener…

QUANTUM FANTAY, from Belgium. So much energy. So much personality. So much more space rock. These guys got a huge response from the sleepy NF crowd…so much so that they sold out of CDs and other merch. They bounded around the stage, wailed on guitar and bass, thrashed the drums, and coaxed swirly synth sounds from their instruments. I wish I had picked up their CD/DVD set, but there’s always mail order. Sunday opener slots have seen some of the most exciting surprising sets at NF…Hidria Spacefolk, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, Guapo, and now these guys. Big things lie ahead for them I think.

BEARDFISH followed. I was really looking forward to them, and so was Sharon. Neither of us were disappointed. I love their vintage sound, with loads of great keyboard textures, excellent guitar, and above all, killer songwriting. They didn’t worry about the crowd, playing the ‘controversial’ “Roulette” and “The Gooberville Ballroom Dancer” as early as possible. Nothing like a healthy dose of bikers named Jesus and motherf*^&ers, eh? They played some stuff off the forthcoming album, whose release I now worry about with things getting as dicey as they are (SPV bankrupt, Beardfish and PoS pulled off the Prog Nation tour). I am glad I got to see them, and I hope to whoever is listening that they can be brought back over soon.

Lunch was bison burgers from the vendors outside. They were good. I was tired. The sun was out. We’d been hanging out with Ray and Tom from echolyn a bit, as one does at these festivals. We’d also been hanging out with the guys from Quantum Fantay a bit, and Rikard and the others from Beardfish, who as I said above were awesome. Time was growing short, so we headed in for the third band on day two…

TRETTIOARIGA KRIGET from Sweden. They’re a classic band…for a while, one of the few 1970’s Swedish bands you could find releases from. At their heaviest they are what Rush would sound like if they were a prog band. And yes, they played a healthy dose of the heavier stuff…and a lot of their quieter, more restrained pieces. I like them, and I liked their performance. I think they were the wrong band at the wrong time, really…they were too relaxed for a set late in the afternoon on the second day of the festival. I think DFA’s energy would have worked better here. And I know that people had a major issue with the falsetto vocals. Still, I liked them, and they deserved to be here.

Dinner break arrived, and I packed enough away to make sure I’d get through the final band. I had high hopes yet again, and I had a feeling they’d be met.

PREMIATA FORNERIA MARCONI did more than meet them. They exceeded them a thousand times over. One always worries when a classic band says they are gonna play a lot of newer material. Well, the songs from Stati di Imaginazione more than belonged in the set…they were every bit as vital as the classic material. And what a selection of classic material…’Dove…Quando,” “Impressioni di Settembre," “Out at the Roundabout.” I was waiting for “E’Festa,” and I was blown away…it take s a lot to get 1000 people at NEARfest out of their chairs, yet PFM achieved this. They got audience participation. I saw 1000 people dancing and jumping. I felt the walls shake. I heard them screaming on request. It was thrilling, and one of the best performances I have ever seen at NEARfest.

But this year’s NEARfest was about far more than the music. It was about meeting up with people I see once a year. It was about repaying the people who so graciously and generously allowed us into the inside, letting us become part of this breathing, living entity. It was about seeing the festival in a whole new light. If NEARfest 2009 was anything, it was a rebirth in so many different ways. I came out better than I went in. In the end, NEARfest 2009 will perhaps be the most memorable one for me.

Summers End announces PALLAS and QUANTUM FANTAY

From the official press release"

We are thrilled to announce the next two bands for the Summers End Festival, to be held at Lydney Town Hall, Gloucestershire on October 9, 10, 11.

Aberdonian legends Pallas will be familiar to most Prog fans as forerunners of the 80s revival. Following up their brilliant 2005 album "Dreams of Men", the band promise a return to the story first begun in "The Sentinel" 25 years ago in their new album due for release later in 2009. We are therefore very excited to welcome the band for their first appearance at Summers End - and not before time!

www.pallas.f2s.com
www.myspace.com/pallastherockband

Quantum Fantay from Belgium have been making waves internationally with their dynamic and accessible brand of liquid space rock fusion. With an appearance at the prestigious US festival Nearfest scheduled for June this year, we are particularly delighted to have lured them to Summers End as well!

www.quantum-fantay.com
www.myspace.com/quantumfantay

Previous bands announced:

Parallel or 90 Degrees www.po90.com www.myspace.com/po90degrees
Godsticks www.myspace.com/godsticksmusic

Further details of the Festival, including further bands and first news of the weekend schedule will be posted very soon.

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