NearFest X reviews

NEARfest Review of mine from PE, apologize for wacky font sizes; cut and pasted from a word document:

 Well I'm back, at ahem 01:54AMhundred East-coast time, at the start of this entry (and now ending at ~3:43AMhundred East-coast time) documenting NEARfest X's Zoellner Arts Center (apparently) "For Stoned People" performances - anyone ELSE catch that somewhat fading graffiti outside the entrance?! Stoned People I thought…isn't that the very…least? Being stoned is even too much in my case…hah.

First off let me commend/preach to the choir those whom are amongst the only people on Earth it seems these days who can actually still listen attentively, assiduously to music (except for obnoxious solipsistic balconite who like a fool would do, thought it commendable to share his feelings outright on a continuously insufferable level to my immediate and seahound-scented right; you know who you are amidst PE - 'nuff said and I will not continue with the singling out…)like it's an art.

Secondly, if I can make some absolutely miniscule criticism of the venue itself, NEARfest needs new mics as it is poorly miced AND easy, easy with the lights man...goddamn! Why/blasphemy w/r/t sound?! One would be quick to blame the bands/players/soundmen etc. but when you strain (and sometimes straining won't do it) to hear a) snare hits, b) low end, c) acoustic guitars, and d) any singled out instrument whilst the band plays simultaneously through most if not every band, you know something is definitely not set accordingly…if anyone can clear up whether it's just a matter of individual soundmen for every band or the venue itself or some other particular feel free to put me in my place!
Bands:

Observe: I didn't catch Synergy or Fish as my ride couldn't make Friday night…would've liked to BUT if it's of any consolation I saw Steely Dan that night instead who were fannntastic!

Koenjihyakkai - Arriving in from NY (and with a ride to boot this time hurrah!, no more 6-9 hour bus-trips…next year might not be so lucky as ride wasn't exactly thrilled with bulk of NF) I happened to hasten into K's set perhaps during the middle of their first number. Knowing they'd probably be the most extreme of all the bands I was prepped yet not unfamiliar. I'm not so sure these guys should be witnessed after a decent 2 hour plus car-trip and on an empty stomach…at times I sufficiently felt like I had left the world and the over the top rainbow lights really augmented my projection too; although, this might not have been a bad thing. Really excellent vocalist, rhythm section (tight, shifty, and slinky) and sax (loved the females' freak-out solos and dance moves heh)…Magma-esque but this goes with the territory. Can't say I remember any of the track titles off-hand and eventually all their material seems to blur together. B+

Discipline - Was mostly impressed with their guitarist who I feel on record doesn't come off as strong/competent in a live setting: very serpentine body language and aural equivalent; sometimes, especially in the new song they debuted/tested, he was very Starless Bible Black era Fripp like...there was even a Fractured bit therein. I recognized the majority of their songs however I find the problem with their material is that it tends to just overstay its welcome dragging and plodding along. Two songs within a forty minute time-frame and 5 overall can do that I suppose but I think it would've been more accommodating had they implemented the shorter pieces they've written into their set somewhere. Parmenter was in good form although I somehow expected antics/theatricality? Was he known to do more stuff like this a la old Genesis? The rhythm section was alright but I thought the bass was a bit too muddy and indistinct…again, would've liked to have heard The Nursery Year, The Reasoning Wall, and/or Faces of the Petty just to get a little diversity. B

Peter Hammill - Again kudos to those with ears…honestly the hush that befell the auditorium was palpable throughout his set. When the iconic Hammill stepped to his piano I knew the divide was going to form and up top in the balcony many walked out through the fury. While I listened to his set a thought that ran through my head: PH is the vocal epitome of Death. Death can be utterly graceful, graceless, raw, uninhibited, merciless, merciful, anxious, anguished, etc.…all qualities I feel very much serve his modus operandi/performance and how others view/are jarred by him…there were times when I felt like I was sitting in a funeral parlor, holy-white smocked wraith-like Hammill in the corner our aha, 'house music', and yet other times extremely soothed as if about to be let go…let me know if this is weird guys aha! I'm not familiar with all 40+ (or some such…) of his solo albums but am a paretty big VdGG fan. Some highlights/songs I recognized include Amnesiac, a song where he kept repeating the words "Out____" in a list-poem fashion (to which someone behind me heaved an "oh man" at its end - agreed!), and Still Life which absolutely slayed me, bringing me to tears. A

LTE - I'll preface this by saying I'm continuously on the fence with these musicians (mostly the DT guys, Levin is always quality; alas more on him later). But honestly, what the helll happened here? I can go on a looong ass rant about how miserably disappointed I was with LTE but to make things erhm...short (like the rest of this review so far hah?): a botched intro (of aggrandized classical-culled stupidity to which I'm not even sure the band KNEW was short-circuited/left us suspending in purple-tinted darkness), Portnoy's speeches in which he compared When The Water Breaks to Supper's Ready; you can't be serious! and said something to the effect of "we don't have much to work with here guys…so bear with us" (oh really!?), the kind of tailor-made 'musicianship' these DT guys masquerade under (does anyone actually think outside of Levin who as it is has a proven track record that these guys are GOOD improvisationalists? They play like clockwork, someone winds them up, they march. Feel or grove is not a necessity: how fast and how well we stick to what we wrote (because after all :bites nails: how/why change things?) seems to be their reasoning…how do we make our vapid etudes really RIP and how much can we fit within them is essential…especially when it comes to LTE it seems). IMO, IMO! You might have loved them, good, I didn't; hell someone fell asleep during their set! The majority of their set didn't breathe, stretch, or grove; being strictly by the books: add in a heavy dose of speed to our studio albums guys annnd see my above formula/reasoning! That long-ass 15 minute+ sh*tstorm which I erroneously thought was an intro to Chewbacca was just hoo…no comment. And le sigh, Tony Levin, where were you/WAS that you!? Now I know it wasn't his fault potentially but his work was mostly inaudible especially on stick…is it just me or does this instrument have a grueling time being LOUD/discernible at shows to begin with? His solo bits were cool but only because no one else was playing and you could focus in on him. I also don't feel like getting into the bass player sounding like feedback dilemma of being heard amidst the metal genre's knack for loudness and lack of melody but I wanted soo much more out of this set! Osmosis, When the Water Breaks, and Paradigm Shift were I think the best songs they played that night. In my opinion they did NOT deserve to be headlining with a performance such as this. C

Morglbl Trio - NOW, HERE was perhaps THE surprise of NFX. I went in dreading/not knowing much about these guys and quite frankly expected the worst. They didn't sell me the first song they played but as they continued I was extremely impressed…really a lot of fun hilarity (who would've thought?), tasteful, Zappa-zany, and tight…you got the sense that here was a trio who really came together nicely and played/communicated as an ensemble excellently. Their guitarist definitely gave Petrucci a run for his money: like what would happen if you combined Vai, Holdsworth, and Fiuczynski. They were reminiscent of Primus if Primus actually took considerable time to practice and expand on their chops and not stick to A-B vamps. Bassist wins MVP for me hands down and ones who play with no effects usually always impress me; seem to recall something about Fripp saying if you want sustain, physically give it sustain…you don't need extortionately priced/high-end gear to sound good, it's in your hands...sometimes…I suppose heh. He also, the bassist that is, ahah, reminded me and my friend of Mr. Bean. When I spoke to their guitarist afterwards (who weirdly enough looks like he's related to Jordan Rudess) I told them they should've headlined last night. In my opinion they totally upstaged LTE in sheer diversity of musicianship that worked and fit conducively without feeling tacky, on speed, and/or rushed. C'mon, they played two-three encores for a second morning opening band!..even though I still find Smoke On The Water painfully cheesy, good thing their's smoked. They're I mean, not exactly subtle work (although here and there there were nigh-Holdsworthian synth-axeish melodic moments) but again I felt very pleased with these guys who definitely deserve some attention in their…should we say fusion (?)…genre. A

Radio Massacre International - Here was another band in which the great divide fell. They were very Tangerine Dream-esque (just to make this catch-all of alleged 'electronica' and for the sake of brevity) with an emphasis on texture rather than actual playing which became a nice albeit somnolent change of pace. A bit too spacey (droning, warbling voice samples, keyboard loops, lackluster 'for the song' physical drum, guitar, and bass work) and I thought: if there was a band, now granted IF I were a drug-user, to take something to, it would probably have been this one, but of course I ask why do anything if what's deemed 'trippy', 'strange', etc. already can be experienced/engrained within oneself without the aid of chemical enhancement? Eh, you be the judge. Here again was the problem of audibility in their sax/flute and violin guests, more the sax/flute guy as there were points where he was playing but nothing was coming through. They played roughly 4 through-composed pieces and ended with a blues-ish number. Perhaps inappropriately I felt like Acid Mother's Temple would be a good choice to look into for next time around? B-

echolyn - Not going to lie, them, LTE, PH, and Banco brought me back this time around. I thought they put on an overall great performance although I feel like the guys in echolyn aren't too confident with themselves…they talk/preface material A LOT; it's almost like those guys/girls at poetry/anything creative readings who tell you everything you need to know about it before it's read. Let your work "stand on its own" guys, you can choose to explain or not afterwards! It almost got to the point where Ray Weston's - who I thought was in TOP form and who I consider to be one of the most underrated vocalists out there today - frustration (although in jest) at points became my own: if you hand four mics to five of your band members…things can get cluttered to say the least. Funny that Brett and I agree on track selections The Great Men and The End Is Beautiful...the former being his least favorite, the later his favorite. Really thought the added/different/jam bits to As The World, the duet of Lovesick Morning into the actual song, and Those Who Want To Buy were treats…it's just some of it felt a little rough around the edges/not so sure it worked for the best, but again, I think this just might be the ubiquitous sound issue. TEIB, the abbreviated versions of Mei and SFTEM's Those Who Want to Buy were definitely the highlights. I also wish they wouldn't play some of the more sappy acoustic material, if there's anything I can criticize with these guys in general it's that: they can get very maudlin/histrionic in their vocal deliveries/lyrics. Overall good job, must say! A-

Banco De Mutuo Soccorso - About what I expected from the Italian legends although I thought they would be a bit more straight-forward…didn't expect them to be MORE airy, different than albums, and synth led/heavy. Francesco's stage performance was in some ways hilarious and yet in others ponderous. Was he feeling ok…I seem to recall a surgery of some kind? Ahah, he looked downright bashful, about to hurl, and/or lugubrious at points; not to mention his wandering/just-woke-up stumbles to the mic whenever he came in…but when he came in, very moving and loaded with powerful pathos. Symptoms of the elusive guitar/aerophone audibility prevailed. Last three songs (including the encores) were the ones I definitely wanted to hear and they delivered in spades…also unexpectedly they had a much slower and darker vibe to all the songs they played. A song even with a tiny horn, can't remember its name! Either way they were greatly enjoyable. They DESERVED to be headlining. A

Overall I thought this year was MUCH, MUCH better than last year's by far. Looking forward to more good times musically in the future.