FROST*FEST LIVE

After visiting their website I found this EP and spent the next hour trying to buy the thing! After buying Milliontown on a recommendation from Classic Rock Magazine, I have avidly listened to Gem Godfreys output and seriously enjoyed it all. This EP is from their US gig in Phillidelphia and starts with an introduction of greater production value than some bands complete sets! The band line ups change as people come and go and this line up seems to play well together. The songs are a broad sweep thru their catalogue and it cracks on at afair old lick as prog rock should. Being quaintly English seems to warm the audience to the band, but nowadays even those collonials have heared of Frost* and the set is warmly appreciated by a knowlegable crowd. So if you know of Frost* (dont forget the asterix) this EP is a good taster for a new album, but if you are new to the band try try and try again on their website to buy this taster- you wont be disapointed!

I picked up Frost*'s "Experiments..." on reading recommends on ProgArchives, and glad I did. So naturally, when Frost*Fest came out, I had to give it a whirl -- Would they be any good as a live act? Whoa! And then some. The musicianship, vocals, and production are just as tight, but with even more vibrancy/energy than the studio cuts, if that's possible. Most times when I hear a live album, the applause serves as white-space filler. Not so here -- Instead I feel myself caught up and applauding right along with the audience. While the cuts represented from "Experiments" are pretty much verbatim, the Milliontown offerings feel lifted and fresher. This is a band to watch. I felt 2009 was a tough year for decent prog (decent music at all, for that matter), but Frost*Fest leaves me with hope of things to come. Easily my favorite new release of the year. Cheers!