Progday 2007: Nemo

How did I find Nemo? Not bad, but the second coming of Ange they are not. It seemed basic drums, bass, keys, guitar with fair vocals. Nothing complex--nothing dramatic. At best, I'd say they qualify as okay French neo-prog.

Progday 2007: Advent

I wanted to like Advent. I really did. The ingredients were all there. They certainly had the skills and command of their instruments. They had the heavy influence of Gentle Giant and the more pastoral moments from Trick of The Trail/Wind and the Wuthering era Genesis. Instrumentally, they nailed the cover of Free Hand!

So it hurts to say this: Their original compositions seemed to meander and oftentimes lacked any drive or energy. Nothing seemed to mesh. Worst of all was the lead vocals, performed by the founding keyboardist. While attempting what I believe is a GG-like alto tenor, his voice obviously wasn't up to task that day. Especially was this so during the cover of Free Hand. It pains me to relate how his voice seemed to crack and break, though to be fair, he seemed to have had problems with the mike. The performance of Free Hand should've been the most amazing cover ever. Everyone should've been ecstatic and rushed the stage. But, if the majority of attendees were like me, they cringed. If you are going to walk on hallowed ground, don't stumble!

Progday 2007: Skeletonbreath

Skeletonbreath were THE BEST OF THE FEST. A trio of violin, bass and drums--they sizzled! I was determined NOT to buy any albums from the performers this time around, attempting to save my money in order to buy ultrarare prog jems. However, I had to make this one exception. Louise only cost ten bucks, which I was happy to part with. I think they could've doubled the price.

I couldn't help contrast Robert Pycior with Indukti's Ewa Jablonska(as heard at Nearfest). Pycior delivers frantic lead violin, skillfully played, while Jablonska merely offered ornamental textures that probably anyone could have delivered given a few months training. Not to take anything away from Frogg Café's Bill Ayasse, but Robert Pycior obviously wins best fiddle--better than I've seen in a rocky context in quite a while.

Progday 2007: Qoph

Jim Morrison didn't die. He moved to Sweden and changed his name to Robin Kvist, eventually ending up in a bluesy hard-rock unit called Qoph. Hands down, Jim--I mean Robin Kvist was the best vocalist the entire weekend.

However, despite being from Sweden, Qoph didn't seem truly Prog. They didn't have the virtuosity, complexity, or sound. Of course, there's nothing wrong with that and I don't think they were trying to be. But then, one comes to a progressive festival primarily to hear prog.

Progday 2007: Frogg Café

I liked their complex instrumentals quite a bit, the blend of genres, and the addition of violin to the mix--not to forget, their great cover of King Crimson's Red. However, most of the time, I found the vocals grating, especially the "harmonies". Some groups should just stick to making great music rather than marring it with attempts at singing.

[[[If you noticed a discrepancy in the above photo (hint, hint: the violinist), it isn't because Bill Ayasse played through a transdimensional portal, but behind the speaker stack. The mishmash of one photo clip onto the other, well represents the vocal disharmonies.]]]

Progday 2007: Naikaku

From Japan, Naikaku's music consisted of two layers: A flowery melodic flute with an undercurrent of rocky guitar, bass and drums. The two layers blended quite well. However, to me, their set seemed overly long. Once, the top layer was taken away, my attention wandered in the heat. To their credit, from what I understand, they evidently were missing a member or two due to passport issues. Had they a full ensemble, I probably would have been raving.

Progday 2007: Oblivion Sun

Stan Whitaker and Frank Wyatt of Oblivion Sun were the biggest names at Progday, alumni of Happy The Man, giants of classic American Prog--and Virginia based at that! This was, for obvious reasons, my second favorite performance of the weekend. Bill Plummer(hidden by the left speaker stack), really floored me, taking the figurative Progday cake for best keys.

They played two HTM classics: Leave That Kitten Alone, Armone and I Carve The Chariot on the Carousel. For some reason, by Monday evening, my memory recalled Knee Bitten Nymphs in Limbo instead of Carousel. Unfortunately, the great outdoors really baked my brain with its oblivion sun.

Some say they are HTM on steroids, perhaps because the recent HTM album seemed rather feathery. To me, Oblivion Sun seemed like another permutation of HTM. Even in their heyday, they showed a lighter side half the time, almost "new age" by today's standards, before that wretched label came into existence. Energy is not always manifested as speed, but sometimes it comes like an imperceptible and unrelenting tide.