NEARFest Day 2
Zoellner Arts Center
Lehigh University
Bethlehem, PA
Sunday, June 24, 2007 11:00AM
Section Orchestra, Row A, Seat 33
When NEARFest is in Bethlehem, we never stay at the official band hotel. It sells out too quickly. Usually we stay at one of the cheaper motels by the highway. Last time, we stayed at a really nice place, the Hotel Bethlehem, right on Main Street. Unfortunately, it was sold out for the weekend, but we treated ourselves to a nice breakfast there on Sunday morning.
This time, we stayed at the same hotel as Linda and Jeff, but we barely saw them there. We did bump into them before we left for our fancy breakfast. Linda's first words were that we made the right decision to skip Hawkwind. She hated them! She made this "chugga chugga" guitar sound and said they sounded like a biker band all night. During the day, I polled a few people. Several hated them passionately, and a few liked them.
The first band on Sunday was Indukti from Poland. They were labeled as "melodic metal", with a distinctive mid-70s King Crimson influence. In fact, they sounded like a little bit of Larks' Tongues in Aspic Part I played over and over again. On every song. I could only stay for three songs before I had enough. They need more dynamics and more variation. And melody. The violin helped with the sound color - otherwise I would have left immediately. It was a nice day, not too hot yet, so I sat outside on the grass and read for a while.
After Indukti, I went to look for Roy. I found Tina and her friend Mark in the Indukti autograph line. We talked for a bit. Tina has been bringing her daughters to some festivals and other concerts. We joked about "The seven phases in the life of a hard-core prog fan" article in the festival program written by Rob LaDuca. Stage 2, fandom seemed to be written about me. "Your love of King Crimson is topped only by your obsession with Yes... Why do you need 55 different recordings of Roundabout?" Rob walked by, and I asked him about it. Nope, not anyone in particular, just that there are a lot of Yes fans. Roy's made it all the way to the final stage, Phase 7: Maturity.
I had high hopes for the next band. Back at my very first prog festival, I was familiar with all the big prog bands and a few local ones. My introduction to the Italian symphonic style was the legendary concert by Finisterre at ProgDay '97. (OK, legendary to an extremely small number of people, but we all remember it fondly.) Finisterre's bass player and singer Fabio Zuffanti is also a member of a number of different projects: one is one of my favorite recent albums Hostsonaten's Springsong and another is the band playing this year at Nearfest - La Maschera di Cera.
La Maschera are a full-blown Italian symph band, very influenced by the classics. Lots of analog synthesizers with a warm feeling, lots of melodies, lots of atmosphere. Not as pretty-sounding as Finisterre. They also had a singer with a great stage presence. I didn't like his voice all that much, but he sang with so much energy that I got into his performance anyway. Fabio would have been a better vocalist, but he stuck to playing bass.
I thoroughly enjoyed their performance, but a lot of people compared them to Finisterre. Someone asked if we were all jaded now - why weren't we blown away like we were in 1997? What did Finisterre have that La Maschera didn't? Was it just the newness of seeing a young band playing like this? The covers they threw in? How excited and charming the musicians were? I think Finisterre had better songs, even though La Maschera sounded great. Linda couldn't get into them because of the vocalist.
We got our time with Peter and Dan this day. The solo spotlight today was Robert Rich, an ambient musician. I have no interest in sitting in a dark theater watching ambient performed live. So we had a nice relaxed talk, just like I wanted the day before. They had a table in the same vending room as Roger Dean. Dan isn't really into this scene and wasn't a fan of Roger's, but told us "That Roger guy bought me lunch today." The two ate together during the last band. Lucky!
The next band was getting a lot of buzz. Pure Reason Revolution. They were described as Pink Floyd with Beach Boys harmonies. Sounded promising! I think they suffered from a poor mix - the vocals were low in the mix and indistinguishable. The rest of the sound, well, everything sounded bassy and no one was playing a melody line. Also, the band had recently lost a few members, so they played to some prerecorded sounds - drum machines and other samples. Maybe the vocals would have carried the melodies, if they stood out better. I left partway through. I heard later on from Jeff that they sounded very different from the albums. NEARFest had a lot of problems with sound at the larger venue in Trenton a few years back, I'm sad it's still the case in Bethlehem.
I bumped into Chris Richards and Tina's friend Mark in the upstairs lobby. Chris hated Pure Reason Revolution and lumped them in with 90's alternative rock. We all chatted for a while and Stella Vander from Magma walked by. Chris just beamed and called out "Bonjour!" and said he was looking forward to their set tonight. Stella thanked him. She looks so normal, it doesn't fit with Magma's live image.
Linda, Jeff, Roy, and I went out for dinner. I prefer small groups like this, where we can all have a single conversation with each other. They found an Italian place near the hotel. Our waiter was a hoot. Roy asked for a description of Italian Wedding soup, and the waiter struggled to say "It's like chicken noodle soup, with meatballs, but without the chicken and without the noodles." I asked what the vegetable of the day was, and he replied "I can't remember what it's called, but it's like a cake." Alright, it turned out to be a veggie quiche. The chicken noodle soup without the chicken and noodles just cracked me up. The waiter got into it too, and asked me how my cake was later on.
And then it was time for the last band, Magma. They've been around for 30 some years and are best known for recording a string of concept albums. The albums tell a scifi story about the planet Kobaia in a made-up language called Kobian. The music, while very repetitive, constantly builds in tension. The vocals are done by 4 singers and sound more like a chant. Everything is very dramatic and theatrical, even how the singers move about on stage. I never listen to their music at home, but I love seeing them live. It all sounds weird, but I get sucked in by the intensity of it. It's like opera.
The first time I saw Magma was at a club in Chicago. We stood in front of the vocalists. They were all dressed in black and wearing the Magma logo necklaces. They look so dour in publicity photos. But they all looked so middle aged and normal and happy doing these chants. An alternate universe Polyphonic Spree maybe? I liked it a lot better than I thought I would.
The next time I saw them was at NEARFest four years ago. The vocals were low in the mix. We were sitting six rows back. It lost something. But Chris is such a big Magma fan - the seats next to us were empty so I ran back and got him to join us. He still thanks us about that.
This time, I was worried about the sound. I was worried about sitting versus standing up packed at the Chicago club. And when we got back to the auditorium and saw how the stage was set up, I was worried our far left seats wouldn't give us a full view. Thankfully, Magma is a polarizing band and lots of people don't like them. There were some empty seats in the orchestra pit in front of us. We moved to the third row. I would have hated to sit so close in with everyone all weekend, but being this close to the stage and picking up the energy of the people around us really helped with Magma.
They are the real deal. Stage presence, professionalism, enthusiasm, good use of sound, dynamics, memorable music. They were captivating the whole time they were on stage. So many bands recently play with low frequencies, everything sounds bassy, and I have trouble discerning the individual sounds in the mix. It all sounds like a low rumbly mush to me. I notice even bands in the prog genre doing this. Not Magma. When the singers weren't chanting away, there was a keyboard high in the mix doing a solo or playing a melody line. I can't sing along to it and I can't dance to it, but it never lost my interest.
The first song was album-length, around 45 minutes long. We gave it a long standing ovation. I told Roy they were already my favorite band of the fest. Their second song was an unreleased song they started writing in the 70s but only recently started playing live. Those two songs were the main set. They came back out and did two encores, covering another half hour. By the end, I decided Magma was the best band of the whole weekend.
We chatted with a couple people on our way out of the theater and had breakfast with Linda the next day before driving back to Philly and catching our flight home. There weren't many traditional prog big name bands playing, polarizing headliners, and no true crowd favorite. But even though I walked out on three bands and skipped another, I was glad I came to the fest this year. It's always good to see my friends and I got to sample a lot of bands. Some were enjoyable and some were truly great.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Sunday, July 1, 2007
Worth Skipping Hawkwind for - Belew in Sellersville
Adrian Belew of King Crimson
Opening Act: Caryn Lin
The Sellersville Theater
Sellersville, PA
Saturday, June 23, 2007 8:00pm
Table 4
$29.50
We did not get lost on our way to Sellersville. No delays either. It was almost too easy. Getting the tickets was strange. The venue has a membership program, where only members can purchase the front cabaret tables and first few rows. The ones that haven't been purchased go on sale to the public a month before the concert. The nice lady on the phone even told me I could purchase tickets further back to ensure I had semi-decent seats, and then call back when the good tix go on sale, and exchange them for the close up seats if any remain. I did. We got seats in the front table, audience left.
There's not much in Sellersville, but there is a restaurant next door that is owned or affiliated with the theater. We ate there, outside. It was less than an hour til show time, but they got us our food quickly. Adrian was eating there too, and we said hi as he passed by on his way to the theater. I wanted to be cool about it, but my back was to the door and he already walked by when I saw him. I called out "Hi Adrian" and he looked back and waved hello. Another table also did the "Hi Adrian" thing after hearing me. Maybe I should have kept my cool and not called attention to him.
The opening act was an old favorite. Caryn Lin is an electronic violinist. She's also a friend of my ex-boss Kathy and was a guest at Kid's Corner, the program I used to work for, many times. I've seen her live-in-the-studio and in concerts before. She did a really good one-woman show and had a lot of personality. Got a standing ovation and encore from an audience unfamiliar with her before the show. I got to talk to her after the set, and mentioned my history with her and she said she remembered me. I worked for Kid's Corner ten years ago, so it was nice to make an impression.
Small piece of trivia - Caryn opened for echolyn for their As the World CD release party at the TLA in March, 1995. She told Kathy she was opening for a band that "sounds like Yes". Well, Kathy jumped on it and found out the details about the show. When I got to work that day, Kathy told me to go immediately to buy a ticket for this band I had never heard of and buy the CD on its release date a few days later. I've been an echolyn fan ever since, but I still don't think they sound like Yes!
I had hoped my seat would be right in front of Adrian - the last few times I saw him, he had been audience left. But he was front and center this time. We would be in front of the bass player, Julie Slick. I was not happy to be sitting in front of the bass player; the first time we saw Adrian with the power trio format, it was horrible sound, all we could hear was the bass player. Guitar was low, vocals were low. It was my least favorite Adrian concert. I know sitting in the front row doesn't offer the best sound, but it's usually decent enough. If a problem like this ever happened again, I'd leave my "good seat" and move further back.
This show started Writing on the Wall and had some technical difficulties. I had my earplugs in and all I could hear was bass. It wasn't just me. Adrian's mike wasn't working. After the song, they left the stage until it was fixed. I was worried about the bass sound. Roy told me to loosen my right earplug - the left one would still block the bass but all the guitar was coming from the monitor on my right. I don't know if they raised the guitar volume or the earplug trick worked, but the sound was much better afterwards.
They came back out and played Writing on the Wall again. Then, one of my all time favorite Crimson songs, Dinosaur. It was a good start, but I wasn't thrilled with the overall setlist. When it comes to Adrian's music, I'm more a fan of his songs than some of the instrumental heavy stuff. I like some of that, for instance Elektrik is one of my favorite recent Crimson pieces. I was worried when Side One came out that I wouldn't like it. I've still only listened to it a couple times. For me, this setlist had too few songs and too much time spent on instrumentals. Every time one started, I had to turn to Roy and ask him what it was. He replied "I think it's one of the Sides" for most of them. It's not that I dislike them, I'd just rather hear more of what I really love.
This is a setlist from another show on the tour:
Writing on the Wall
Dinosaur
Ampersand
Young Lions
Beatbox Guitar
Men In Helicopters
Matchless Man
Madness
Drive*
The Lone Rhinoceros*
Neurotica
Of Bow and Drum
Big Electric Cat
Three of a Perfect Pair
encore:
Elephant Talk
Thela Hun Ginjeet
*Adrian solo
This was our first time seeing the other musicians in the power trio. Eric and Julie Slick are brother and sister and have been playing with Adrian for the last year or so. They are in their early twenties and were students in the Paul Green School of Rock. They live up to their hype. Everyone makes a big deal about their ages, but Bill Bruford was only 19 when he joined Yes and played with a lot of maturity then. As a rhythm section, they were a powerhouse. Eric played with a lot of energy and a lot of movement. Julie was very precise. She knocked me out with Elephant Talk, hitting the notes out on her bass like it was a Stick. I watched her quite a bit since she was right in front of me. There were more equipment problems, with Eric's drums, but he handled it fine.
Men in Helicopters was one of the highlights for me. Also Three of a Perfect Pair. I love how quirky, but still so memorable, the guitar line is, and I love singing along with the audience providing the backing vocals. Neurotica was a nice surprise, with the spoken word part played back from a recording instead of done live.
Aside from my nitpicking with the setlist, it was a wonderful show. Lots of fun, lots of energy, and great performances. The music and the stage presence was so much stronger than what I had seen earlier that day at Nearfest. These were the professionals.
The most amazing thing happened after the show. I've been a fan of Adrian's since I was a teenager and have seen him in concert many times. He's one of my favorites. But we've seen him so often recently, and I've been reading his blog at http://elephant-blog.blogspot.com/ every day, it's like he's more a part of my everyday life than some musician I listen to once in a while. I've written comments on his blog as well.
Adrian came out to greet fans and sign autographs rather quickly. I don't think it was my turn in line, but Adrian turned to talk to us. We shook hands and told him that we were in town for Nearfest but blew off Hawkwind to see him instead. He didn't seem familiar with the festival, but he asked if his old friend Simon House was in the band. I didn't know who he was talking about, but Roy said he didn't think so, that this was the Dave Brock-led band. (Roy filled me in later that Adrian had played with Simon House in Bowie's band.)
We were getting ready to leave, when Adrian asked me what my name was. But he already knew. Just as I started to say "Rhea", he said it as well. We said it in unison. He even pronounced it right. Adrian must have read my comments on his blog and thought "I know who that is". And he remembered my name!! Even a week later, I'm still walking on air thinking about this. Then he said to me "I've seen you online." I wonder exactly what I wrote that caused him to tie my words together with me.
I don't think I was capable of conversation after that, so I didn't say anything more. We left after that. Headed back to Bethlehem for NEARFest Day Two.
Opening Act: Caryn Lin
The Sellersville Theater
Sellersville, PA
Saturday, June 23, 2007 8:00pm
Table 4
$29.50
We did not get lost on our way to Sellersville. No delays either. It was almost too easy. Getting the tickets was strange. The venue has a membership program, where only members can purchase the front cabaret tables and first few rows. The ones that haven't been purchased go on sale to the public a month before the concert. The nice lady on the phone even told me I could purchase tickets further back to ensure I had semi-decent seats, and then call back when the good tix go on sale, and exchange them for the close up seats if any remain. I did. We got seats in the front table, audience left.
There's not much in Sellersville, but there is a restaurant next door that is owned or affiliated with the theater. We ate there, outside. It was less than an hour til show time, but they got us our food quickly. Adrian was eating there too, and we said hi as he passed by on his way to the theater. I wanted to be cool about it, but my back was to the door and he already walked by when I saw him. I called out "Hi Adrian" and he looked back and waved hello. Another table also did the "Hi Adrian" thing after hearing me. Maybe I should have kept my cool and not called attention to him.
The opening act was an old favorite. Caryn Lin is an electronic violinist. She's also a friend of my ex-boss Kathy and was a guest at Kid's Corner, the program I used to work for, many times. I've seen her live-in-the-studio and in concerts before. She did a really good one-woman show and had a lot of personality. Got a standing ovation and encore from an audience unfamiliar with her before the show. I got to talk to her after the set, and mentioned my history with her and she said she remembered me. I worked for Kid's Corner ten years ago, so it was nice to make an impression.
Small piece of trivia - Caryn opened for echolyn for their As the World CD release party at the TLA in March, 1995. She told Kathy she was opening for a band that "sounds like Yes". Well, Kathy jumped on it and found out the details about the show. When I got to work that day, Kathy told me to go immediately to buy a ticket for this band I had never heard of and buy the CD on its release date a few days later. I've been an echolyn fan ever since, but I still don't think they sound like Yes!
I had hoped my seat would be right in front of Adrian - the last few times I saw him, he had been audience left. But he was front and center this time. We would be in front of the bass player, Julie Slick. I was not happy to be sitting in front of the bass player; the first time we saw Adrian with the power trio format, it was horrible sound, all we could hear was the bass player. Guitar was low, vocals were low. It was my least favorite Adrian concert. I know sitting in the front row doesn't offer the best sound, but it's usually decent enough. If a problem like this ever happened again, I'd leave my "good seat" and move further back.
This show started Writing on the Wall and had some technical difficulties. I had my earplugs in and all I could hear was bass. It wasn't just me. Adrian's mike wasn't working. After the song, they left the stage until it was fixed. I was worried about the bass sound. Roy told me to loosen my right earplug - the left one would still block the bass but all the guitar was coming from the monitor on my right. I don't know if they raised the guitar volume or the earplug trick worked, but the sound was much better afterwards.
They came back out and played Writing on the Wall again. Then, one of my all time favorite Crimson songs, Dinosaur. It was a good start, but I wasn't thrilled with the overall setlist. When it comes to Adrian's music, I'm more a fan of his songs than some of the instrumental heavy stuff. I like some of that, for instance Elektrik is one of my favorite recent Crimson pieces. I was worried when Side One came out that I wouldn't like it. I've still only listened to it a couple times. For me, this setlist had too few songs and too much time spent on instrumentals. Every time one started, I had to turn to Roy and ask him what it was. He replied "I think it's one of the Sides" for most of them. It's not that I dislike them, I'd just rather hear more of what I really love.
This is a setlist from another show on the tour:
Writing on the Wall
Dinosaur
Ampersand
Young Lions
Beatbox Guitar
Men In Helicopters
Matchless Man
Madness
Drive*
The Lone Rhinoceros*
Neurotica
Of Bow and Drum
Big Electric Cat
Three of a Perfect Pair
encore:
Elephant Talk
Thela Hun Ginjeet
*Adrian solo
This was our first time seeing the other musicians in the power trio. Eric and Julie Slick are brother and sister and have been playing with Adrian for the last year or so. They are in their early twenties and were students in the Paul Green School of Rock. They live up to their hype. Everyone makes a big deal about their ages, but Bill Bruford was only 19 when he joined Yes and played with a lot of maturity then. As a rhythm section, they were a powerhouse. Eric played with a lot of energy and a lot of movement. Julie was very precise. She knocked me out with Elephant Talk, hitting the notes out on her bass like it was a Stick. I watched her quite a bit since she was right in front of me. There were more equipment problems, with Eric's drums, but he handled it fine.
Men in Helicopters was one of the highlights for me. Also Three of a Perfect Pair. I love how quirky, but still so memorable, the guitar line is, and I love singing along with the audience providing the backing vocals. Neurotica was a nice surprise, with the spoken word part played back from a recording instead of done live.
Aside from my nitpicking with the setlist, it was a wonderful show. Lots of fun, lots of energy, and great performances. The music and the stage presence was so much stronger than what I had seen earlier that day at Nearfest. These were the professionals.
The most amazing thing happened after the show. I've been a fan of Adrian's since I was a teenager and have seen him in concert many times. He's one of my favorites. But we've seen him so often recently, and I've been reading his blog at http://elephant-blog.blogspot.com/ every day, it's like he's more a part of my everyday life than some musician I listen to once in a while. I've written comments on his blog as well.
Adrian came out to greet fans and sign autographs rather quickly. I don't think it was my turn in line, but Adrian turned to talk to us. We shook hands and told him that we were in town for Nearfest but blew off Hawkwind to see him instead. He didn't seem familiar with the festival, but he asked if his old friend Simon House was in the band. I didn't know who he was talking about, but Roy said he didn't think so, that this was the Dave Brock-led band. (Roy filled me in later that Adrian had played with Simon House in Bowie's band.)
We were getting ready to leave, when Adrian asked me what my name was. But he already knew. Just as I started to say "Rhea", he said it as well. We said it in unison. He even pronounced it right. Adrian must have read my comments on his blog and thought "I know who that is". And he remembered my name!! Even a week later, I'm still walking on air thinking about this. Then he said to me "I've seen you online." I wonder exactly what I wrote that caused him to tie my words together with me.
I don't think I was capable of conversation after that, so I didn't say anything more. We left after that. Headed back to Bethlehem for NEARFest Day Two.
NEARFest Day 1
NEARfest Day 1
Zoellner Arts Center
Lehigh University
Bethlehem, PA
Saturday, June 23, 2007 11:00AM
Section Orchestra, Row A, Seat 33
Patron seats: $240
NEARFest - the North East Art Rock Festival - is one of the most successful and professionally run progressive rock festivals in North America. It was started by my friend Rob LaDuca. He was a volunteer organizer for ProgDay one year, and he thought of all the ways he could improve the stability of a prog festival. He moved it indoors, to a more densely populated area of the country, booked better known bands, and promoted it better. There have been nine NEARFests, and all nine sold out. Some in a theater that held 2000.
That said, NEARFest is not my favorite festival, with so much going on it can be an endurance test. It scaled down a few years ago, and we stayed home for a couple years. I was now over the burnt-out factor and ready for the fest!
The bands on the first day were IZZ, Nebelnest, Bob Drake, Magenta, and Hawkwind. We were skipping Hawkwind in order to catch the Adrian Belew show in nearby Sellersville. Roger Dean, Paul Whitehead, and Annie Haslam were also there to sell artwork and chat with fans.
I needed to chat with some fans too. There are so many people I know at NEARFest, sometimes it feels like all I can do is say hi to a few people, not really build a relationship with them. Over the course of the weekend, we got to spend time with Linda, Jeff, Peter and his brother Dan, Mark from one of my Yeslists, Chris, Tina, and Krista.
We'd seen IZZ a couple of times, Roy more than me. IZZ played ProgDay on our wedding day, so they always remind me of that happy day. I like them well enough. They have two female backing vocalists who add a lot to their sound - I'd like to see them as co-leads and used more often. It gives more color to their sound. They're a traditional song based band.
During one of the breaks, we talked to Roger Dean. He had a bunch of new posters he was selling. Roy asked him to sign the live Asia CD we bought the night before. Roger confirmed that he did some additional artwork for the cover, but they made it the wrong color. He lamented about how hard it used to be to do a layout, and now "people who make coffee" can change his artwork. Roger also complemented Roy on his tshirt - the Big Electric Bear from the 2002 Bears tour. He thought it was a dog, and when I said it was a bear, he said "Even better!" He's always a good person to talk to, very polite, but very honest about what he sees.
I also talked with Annie Haslam, the former lead singer of Renaissance. I love that band and got to know Annie a bit because she lived near me and did local shows a couple times a year. She's also the friend of a friend of mine. I talked to her more like an old friend than a fan to a rock star. She hadn't seen our mutual friend in a few months, so I didn't get any news on him. I also told her how much I enjoyed all those concerts in the '90s. There was always some concert to look forward to when I lived in Philly, and hers were always great.
The next band was Nebelnest. I saw them years ago at ProgDay 99, and I didn't get into them. Same here. They're not bad, but all their pieces sound so similar, they don't keep my attention. Roy looked tired, so I
suggested we skip the rest of the set and get lunch. Roy got a chance to talk to Annie Haslam, and we both talked to Krista for a little bit.
We sat down with Peter and Dan for lunch. We had some time before Magenta was going on stage. I was thinking how nice it was to sit outside and have time to catch up with people. Damn it, I forgot about Bob Drake's set. We left quickly and made it back into the theater. Drake's spot was a "solo spotlight" that ran about a half hour. We were able to catch the last 20 minutes.
Bob Drake is a singer/songwriter/guitarist/producer. He's played with 5uu's and done some solo work that I like. His music and performance had a sense of humor. It kept me interested and entertained through unfamiliar material. His drummer was Dave Kerman, who has played at a few prog festivals. Instead of going offstage for songs without drums, he was wearing a robe and showercap, and brought out a pillow to nap when he wasn't needed. More twisted pop than "prog", but I enjoyed his set a lot.
The next band was the one that made me think "I need to go to NEARFest to see them". Magenta. I think they've played at Baja Prog and ROSfest previously and got great reviews about their live performance. We have their first two albums, and they sound great. They're another song-based symphonic band, with strong female vocals. The performance left me, I don't know, underwhelmed. Roy described it as their rhythm section getting into this groove that was hypnotic. Too much of the same sound, too little dynamics. I felt like I was watching it on TV rather than attending a live performance. Everyone else seemed to like it, so what do I know?
After Magenta, we left quickly and drove to Sellersville for the highlight of the day and the performance I was most looking forward to all weekend, the Adrian Belew Power Trio.
Zoellner Arts Center
Lehigh University
Bethlehem, PA
Saturday, June 23, 2007 11:00AM
Section Orchestra, Row A, Seat 33
Patron seats: $240
NEARFest - the North East Art Rock Festival - is one of the most successful and professionally run progressive rock festivals in North America. It was started by my friend Rob LaDuca. He was a volunteer organizer for ProgDay one year, and he thought of all the ways he could improve the stability of a prog festival. He moved it indoors, to a more densely populated area of the country, booked better known bands, and promoted it better. There have been nine NEARFests, and all nine sold out. Some in a theater that held 2000.
That said, NEARFest is not my favorite festival, with so much going on it can be an endurance test. It scaled down a few years ago, and we stayed home for a couple years. I was now over the burnt-out factor and ready for the fest!
The bands on the first day were IZZ, Nebelnest, Bob Drake, Magenta, and Hawkwind. We were skipping Hawkwind in order to catch the Adrian Belew show in nearby Sellersville. Roger Dean, Paul Whitehead, and Annie Haslam were also there to sell artwork and chat with fans.
I needed to chat with some fans too. There are so many people I know at NEARFest, sometimes it feels like all I can do is say hi to a few people, not really build a relationship with them. Over the course of the weekend, we got to spend time with Linda, Jeff, Peter and his brother Dan, Mark from one of my Yeslists, Chris, Tina, and Krista.
We'd seen IZZ a couple of times, Roy more than me. IZZ played ProgDay on our wedding day, so they always remind me of that happy day. I like them well enough. They have two female backing vocalists who add a lot to their sound - I'd like to see them as co-leads and used more often. It gives more color to their sound. They're a traditional song based band.
During one of the breaks, we talked to Roger Dean. He had a bunch of new posters he was selling. Roy asked him to sign the live Asia CD we bought the night before. Roger confirmed that he did some additional artwork for the cover, but they made it the wrong color. He lamented about how hard it used to be to do a layout, and now "people who make coffee" can change his artwork. Roger also complemented Roy on his tshirt - the Big Electric Bear from the 2002 Bears tour. He thought it was a dog, and when I said it was a bear, he said "Even better!" He's always a good person to talk to, very polite, but very honest about what he sees.
I also talked with Annie Haslam, the former lead singer of Renaissance. I love that band and got to know Annie a bit because she lived near me and did local shows a couple times a year. She's also the friend of a friend of mine. I talked to her more like an old friend than a fan to a rock star. She hadn't seen our mutual friend in a few months, so I didn't get any news on him. I also told her how much I enjoyed all those concerts in the '90s. There was always some concert to look forward to when I lived in Philly, and hers were always great.
The next band was Nebelnest. I saw them years ago at ProgDay 99, and I didn't get into them. Same here. They're not bad, but all their pieces sound so similar, they don't keep my attention. Roy looked tired, so I
suggested we skip the rest of the set and get lunch. Roy got a chance to talk to Annie Haslam, and we both talked to Krista for a little bit.
We sat down with Peter and Dan for lunch. We had some time before Magenta was going on stage. I was thinking how nice it was to sit outside and have time to catch up with people. Damn it, I forgot about Bob Drake's set. We left quickly and made it back into the theater. Drake's spot was a "solo spotlight" that ran about a half hour. We were able to catch the last 20 minutes.
Bob Drake is a singer/songwriter/guitarist/producer. He's played with 5uu's and done some solo work that I like. His music and performance had a sense of humor. It kept me interested and entertained through unfamiliar material. His drummer was Dave Kerman, who has played at a few prog festivals. Instead of going offstage for songs without drums, he was wearing a robe and showercap, and brought out a pillow to nap when he wasn't needed. More twisted pop than "prog", but I enjoyed his set a lot.
The next band was the one that made me think "I need to go to NEARFest to see them". Magenta. I think they've played at Baja Prog and ROSfest previously and got great reviews about their live performance. We have their first two albums, and they sound great. They're another song-based symphonic band, with strong female vocals. The performance left me, I don't know, underwhelmed. Roy described it as their rhythm section getting into this groove that was hypnotic. Too much of the same sound, too little dynamics. I felt like I was watching it on TV rather than attending a live performance. Everyone else seemed to like it, so what do I know?
After Magenta, we left quickly and drove to Sellersville for the highlight of the day and the performance I was most looking forward to all weekend, the Adrian Belew Power Trio.
21st Century Schizoid Hoople
Ian Hunter
Live at the World Cafe
Philadelphia, PA
Friday, June 22, 2007 (noon)
General Admission
free
All Four Original Members of Asia
Keswick Theater
Glenside (Philadelphia), PA
Friday, June 22, 2007 (8:00PM)
Section Left, Row G, Seat 21
$49.50
This past weekend didn't seem too hectic, but looking back, it sure was. Roy and I saw 12 bands over three days. One was a two day long festival, and the other three were individual concerts. Lots of good music. I saw two members of Yes, two members of King Crimson, and a band from France who topped them all.
The original point of this trip was to attend Nearfest, the North East Art Rock Festival. I went to the original one in 1999 when I still lived in Philly. Also went to the next five of them, but we skipped the last two years. We decided to go this year because of two bands - Magenta and Magma - and because we missed some friends that we haven't seen recently.
Some other concerts got added because of scheduling luck - Asia was playing in a Philly suburb the night before the festival. Adrian Belew added a show with his power trio in Sellersville, only 40 minutes from Bethlehem. We decided to skip the headliner that night to see Adrian again. The radio station I used to work at hosts free concerts on Fridays at noon; we were going regardless of who was playing, but it turned out to be Ian Hunter of Mott the Hoople. I sent Roy an IM saying we would be seeing a "not-too-young dude".
Roy and I flew into Philly on Thursday night after work. We stayed by the airport and slept in the next morning. The weather was beautiful, low humidity and temps in the 80s, quite good for a Philly summer. We made it to my old radio station WXPN for the free concert. I tried to get in touch with my old bosses. I keep in touch with Kathy, the host of Kid's Corner and my college substitute-mom, but unfortunately both she and Robert Drake were not in the office while we were there. I did see program director Bruce Warren and reintroduced myself to him.
I was expecting a seated concert and small crowd, but I was mistaken. It was standing room only. We grabbed a spot by the wall, so I had something to lean on and still an okay view. Ian Hunter opened with Once Bitten, Twice Shy. I knew the song from the Great White cover version, but I didn't know it was originally an Ian Hunter solo track. I'm amazed to see on Wikipedia that he is 68 years old. He played several songs from his recent solo album, and they fit in well. I thought the only song I'd know was All the Young Dudes, but I knew more of his material than I thought, another song was All the Way to Memphis. The band played for a little over an hour, and I enjoyed the show. I like daytime concerts, but after the show, the guitarist told the crowd to go back to bed. Perhaps noon is a little too early for rock and roll.
I was a little upset that I'm losing my connections to WXPN. The balcony of the theater (with seating) was closed off to all but VIPs, and I didn't have anyone to get me in. I used to be a person that could get in with just my name. I didn't visit with anyone, because the people I'd visit work nights and weren't there yet.
Roy and I did the tourist thing. We went to the food court at the Bourse for a quick lunch, and then walked around the city. Focused on Old City, north of the historic section. Roy had never heard of Elfreth's Alley, the oldest continuously occupied residential block in the US. So we walked up 2nd Street and looked at the houses and little museum.
The most fun I had that day was a trip to Franklin Square. When William Penn founded the city, he planned for five public squares, one in the center and one in each quadrant of the city, what is now the downtown Center City area. The center square now holds City Hall, and the other squares are the well-known Rittenhouse, Logan, and Washington. Franklin Square frankly was in a bad area and a hang-out for miscreants. No fancy apartment buildings and restaurants surrounding this park. But the area did improve, and the square was renovated. It's kid-friendly now, with a fountain, sand sculptures, playground, carousel, and a miniature golf course. The golf course has symbols of Philly, from the Liberty Bell to 45s for the Sound of Philadelphia. We rode on the carousel, and I felt like a kid. I loved the views. I hope this square does well, because it will have to be a destination unto itself - there's still not much in this area except for industry and some renovated loft buildings.
We walked around Old City and Society Hill for a little bit, and then headed out for dinner. The evening's concert was at the Keswick Theater in Glenside. I used to work in nearby Jenkintown, so I made plans to have dinner there with my old friend Debbie, her husband, and year old baby Robbie. These are old, established suburbs, from long before urban sprawl, so they have their own character and are pretty to drive through. Debbie got stuck in traffic, and they were a half hour late. It cut our time with them short, but it was still good to see them.
We left dinner later than planned, but still got to the Keswick in time for the Asia concert. I had screwed up the tickets, forgot when they went on sale, and then used Ticketmaster rather than the Keswick's own website to buy the tickets. We were about 20 rows back, not quite on the far left aisle. I was chastened when people sat in the row behind us and talked about what great seats these were. I kept comparing this show to the one we saw last year. That was a general admission concert, and we were in the front row, right in front of Steve. That one was so exciting.
This concert was well performed, but I missed the eye-contact and the feeling that I was adding to the energy of the show that I got when I was up front. I didn't get the adrenaline rush I got at the previous show. Maybe it was also because I was sitting instead of standing up and dancing. We were a few seats off the aisle, and I could have stood in the aisle without hassling anyone. I just didn't feel the need to, like I do with Yes. We saw Dian at the show, her seat was a few rows in front of mine.
It was practically the same concert as the last leg, with the songs in a different order. They made good use of video screens this time, showing closeups of the musicians and also clips of the videos from the songs playing. Kinda strange hearing John Wetton singing Video Killed the Radio Star and then looking up and seeing Trevor Horn on the video. It still felt like two separate bands to me - one doing the Asia songs and the other being a true prog supergroup playing the classics.
The actual setlist consisted of most of the first album, acoustic versions of Don't Cry, The Smile Has Left Your Eyes, and the non-album B-side Ride Easy, Roundabout, Court of the Crimson King, Fanfare for the Common Man, and Video Killed the Radio Star. I really got into Roundabout; it was the highlight of the show to me, but I wasn't as excited as I should be seeing two members of Yes. Enjoyable night, but not too memorable. This was my first time not seeing Asia from the front row.
After the show, all four of them came out to do a record signing. I think this is so classy. Roy bought their new live CD called Fantasia and got that signed. Dian had bought a poster, but she had to leave early, so I got that signed for her. Even here, I enjoyed meeting them more at the previous show - they were all more talkative there and I was more excited to talk to them then. I barely said anything to Steve Howe, and he's one of my all time favorite musicians. (Then again, all the other musicians I've seen so many times recognize me by now. More on that at tomorrow's show.)
After the show, we drove up to Bethlehem. No problem finding the hotel. We got to bed around 1:00 AM, and planned to wake up at 8 for the next day's activities.
Live at the World Cafe
Philadelphia, PA
Friday, June 22, 2007 (noon)
General Admission
free
All Four Original Members of Asia
Keswick Theater
Glenside (Philadelphia), PA
Friday, June 22, 2007 (8:00PM)
Section Left, Row G, Seat 21
$49.50
This past weekend didn't seem too hectic, but looking back, it sure was. Roy and I saw 12 bands over three days. One was a two day long festival, and the other three were individual concerts. Lots of good music. I saw two members of Yes, two members of King Crimson, and a band from France who topped them all.
The original point of this trip was to attend Nearfest, the North East Art Rock Festival. I went to the original one in 1999 when I still lived in Philly. Also went to the next five of them, but we skipped the last two years. We decided to go this year because of two bands - Magenta and Magma - and because we missed some friends that we haven't seen recently.
Some other concerts got added because of scheduling luck - Asia was playing in a Philly suburb the night before the festival. Adrian Belew added a show with his power trio in Sellersville, only 40 minutes from Bethlehem. We decided to skip the headliner that night to see Adrian again. The radio station I used to work at hosts free concerts on Fridays at noon; we were going regardless of who was playing, but it turned out to be Ian Hunter of Mott the Hoople. I sent Roy an IM saying we would be seeing a "not-too-young dude".
Roy and I flew into Philly on Thursday night after work. We stayed by the airport and slept in the next morning. The weather was beautiful, low humidity and temps in the 80s, quite good for a Philly summer. We made it to my old radio station WXPN for the free concert. I tried to get in touch with my old bosses. I keep in touch with Kathy, the host of Kid's Corner and my college substitute-mom, but unfortunately both she and Robert Drake were not in the office while we were there. I did see program director Bruce Warren and reintroduced myself to him.
I was expecting a seated concert and small crowd, but I was mistaken. It was standing room only. We grabbed a spot by the wall, so I had something to lean on and still an okay view. Ian Hunter opened with Once Bitten, Twice Shy. I knew the song from the Great White cover version, but I didn't know it was originally an Ian Hunter solo track. I'm amazed to see on Wikipedia that he is 68 years old. He played several songs from his recent solo album, and they fit in well. I thought the only song I'd know was All the Young Dudes, but I knew more of his material than I thought, another song was All the Way to Memphis. The band played for a little over an hour, and I enjoyed the show. I like daytime concerts, but after the show, the guitarist told the crowd to go back to bed. Perhaps noon is a little too early for rock and roll.
I was a little upset that I'm losing my connections to WXPN. The balcony of the theater (with seating) was closed off to all but VIPs, and I didn't have anyone to get me in. I used to be a person that could get in with just my name. I didn't visit with anyone, because the people I'd visit work nights and weren't there yet.
Roy and I did the tourist thing. We went to the food court at the Bourse for a quick lunch, and then walked around the city. Focused on Old City, north of the historic section. Roy had never heard of Elfreth's Alley, the oldest continuously occupied residential block in the US. So we walked up 2nd Street and looked at the houses and little museum.
The most fun I had that day was a trip to Franklin Square. When William Penn founded the city, he planned for five public squares, one in the center and one in each quadrant of the city, what is now the downtown Center City area. The center square now holds City Hall, and the other squares are the well-known Rittenhouse, Logan, and Washington. Franklin Square frankly was in a bad area and a hang-out for miscreants. No fancy apartment buildings and restaurants surrounding this park. But the area did improve, and the square was renovated. It's kid-friendly now, with a fountain, sand sculptures, playground, carousel, and a miniature golf course. The golf course has symbols of Philly, from the Liberty Bell to 45s for the Sound of Philadelphia. We rode on the carousel, and I felt like a kid. I loved the views. I hope this square does well, because it will have to be a destination unto itself - there's still not much in this area except for industry and some renovated loft buildings.
We walked around Old City and Society Hill for a little bit, and then headed out for dinner. The evening's concert was at the Keswick Theater in Glenside. I used to work in nearby Jenkintown, so I made plans to have dinner there with my old friend Debbie, her husband, and year old baby Robbie. These are old, established suburbs, from long before urban sprawl, so they have their own character and are pretty to drive through. Debbie got stuck in traffic, and they were a half hour late. It cut our time with them short, but it was still good to see them.
We left dinner later than planned, but still got to the Keswick in time for the Asia concert. I had screwed up the tickets, forgot when they went on sale, and then used Ticketmaster rather than the Keswick's own website to buy the tickets. We were about 20 rows back, not quite on the far left aisle. I was chastened when people sat in the row behind us and talked about what great seats these were. I kept comparing this show to the one we saw last year. That was a general admission concert, and we were in the front row, right in front of Steve. That one was so exciting.
This concert was well performed, but I missed the eye-contact and the feeling that I was adding to the energy of the show that I got when I was up front. I didn't get the adrenaline rush I got at the previous show. Maybe it was also because I was sitting instead of standing up and dancing. We were a few seats off the aisle, and I could have stood in the aisle without hassling anyone. I just didn't feel the need to, like I do with Yes. We saw Dian at the show, her seat was a few rows in front of mine.
It was practically the same concert as the last leg, with the songs in a different order. They made good use of video screens this time, showing closeups of the musicians and also clips of the videos from the songs playing. Kinda strange hearing John Wetton singing Video Killed the Radio Star and then looking up and seeing Trevor Horn on the video. It still felt like two separate bands to me - one doing the Asia songs and the other being a true prog supergroup playing the classics.
The actual setlist consisted of most of the first album, acoustic versions of Don't Cry, The Smile Has Left Your Eyes, and the non-album B-side Ride Easy, Roundabout, Court of the Crimson King, Fanfare for the Common Man, and Video Killed the Radio Star. I really got into Roundabout; it was the highlight of the show to me, but I wasn't as excited as I should be seeing two members of Yes. Enjoyable night, but not too memorable. This was my first time not seeing Asia from the front row.
After the show, all four of them came out to do a record signing. I think this is so classy. Roy bought their new live CD called Fantasia and got that signed. Dian had bought a poster, but she had to leave early, so I got that signed for her. Even here, I enjoyed meeting them more at the previous show - they were all more talkative there and I was more excited to talk to them then. I barely said anything to Steve Howe, and he's one of my all time favorite musicians. (Then again, all the other musicians I've seen so many times recognize me by now. More on that at tomorrow's show.)
After the show, we drove up to Bethlehem. No problem finding the hotel. We got to bed around 1:00 AM, and planned to wake up at 8 for the next day's activities.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Go Ask Alice (or Grace)
Grace Slick Art Exhibition
Wentworth Gallery
Westfield West County
Des Peres, MO
Saturday, June 16, 2007
free
Okay, this one isn't a performance of live music. But I got to talk to a true legend of rock, so I'm going to write about it.
My music taste evolution basically went from top 40 to MTV hair metal to classic rock to progressive rock and other arty rock. There were a lot of crossover years when I liked both metal and classic rock, but one more than the other. I barely like any metal these days. There was also a strange little crossover from top 40 pop to classic rock.
When I was 12, my favorite song was Starship's Nothing's Going to Stop Us Now. I even saw that awful movie Mannequin because the song was in the movie (and because it was shot in Philly). I bought both Starship cassettes. And then, I learned about the history of the band and how Starship used to be Jefferson Starship who used to be Jefferson Airplane. And so I bought Surrealistic Pillow. It was my first classic rock album, er, cassette. It warped my pointed little head.
Almost 20 years later, I still like the band. I have a few of their albums, and I still happily sing along with White Rabbit and Somebody to Love when they're on the radio. Sometimes I surprise Roy by singing along with Lather and Volunteers, because he doesn't know those.
I never got to see Jefferson Airplane live. :-( I had the opportunity, when they did a reunion tour a year later. One of my regrets. I've tried to never let something like that slip by again. I don't have much interest in any of the off-shoot bands.
So anyway, I was running around doing errands and went to a suburban mall, out near where my mother-in-law lives. This mall has an art gallery. There was a sign that Grace Slick would be there for an exhibition in a couple weeks.
Roy and I went. I thought about digging up my old cassette for an autograph. Roy thought it was a good idea, but I was embarrassed about it being a cassette and not an LP or something better. Good thing, there was a sign by the door that no memorabilia would be signed.
We looked around and there was no sign of Grace. The paintings were nice. Lots of portraits of 60s era musicians and art based on Alice in Wonderland. The originals weren't too expensive, starting around $7000, but the prints were in the $2000s. I wasn't planning on buying one anyway, but still...
While we were there, Grace came out to a roped off table. She still looks and sounds the same, but with white hair now. Anyone who bought a picture could go inside the ropes, get an autograph, picture, handshake. In between those, Grace was informally talking and answering questions from us little people on the other side of the rope. She didn't seem to mind, but she did tell us to speak loud because she's half deaf.
She seemed pretty open and friendly. One person tried to give her a CD demo. The guard took it, and Grace explained why she didn't listen to demos, but she was nice about it and tried to let the girl down gently. Another person asked her about places she has lived and if she gets back to her hometown in nearby Illinois often.
I knew in advance what I'd say if I got the chance to talk to her. I didn't want to interupt her, but it got quiet and she made eye contact with me. "Grace, my favorite song when I was 12 years old was Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now. It led me to buying Surrealistic Pillow." She replied, "It's a good thing you listened to Surrealistic Pillow and not". She paused there. I said quietly "No Protection", the album with that song on it, but she mentioned "Knee Deep in the Hoopla!", which she said disdainfully, like she's embarrassed by its existence. I followed up with how I've been enjoying her music for the last 20 years. We left after that.
I can think of so many musicians with similar histories - did creative important music and then got suckered into the top 40 limelight and now regret it. Yes, Steve Winwood, Heart, now Grace Slick, ... Not that these bands didn't do some good work then, but most of it is so superficial in comparison to their best work. It seems like the record companies matured into big businesses right around the time visuals became so important with MTV. Everything got pushed towards making money and being flashy.
The only band that comes to mind that moved from classic progressive rock to top 40 and is still happy with it is Genesis. I don't know why they're different, but I do like a lot of their 80s material.
And maybe the band I'm seeing tomorrow night. Asia, who had a strong debut album, but whose members did much more interesting things before that band. Howe, Wetton, and Palmer all consider their earlier bands Yes, Crimson, and ELP, respectively, as what they are most proud of, but they seem to be having fun playing Asia music again.
Wentworth Gallery
Westfield West County
Des Peres, MO
Saturday, June 16, 2007
free
Okay, this one isn't a performance of live music. But I got to talk to a true legend of rock, so I'm going to write about it.
My music taste evolution basically went from top 40 to MTV hair metal to classic rock to progressive rock and other arty rock. There were a lot of crossover years when I liked both metal and classic rock, but one more than the other. I barely like any metal these days. There was also a strange little crossover from top 40 pop to classic rock.
When I was 12, my favorite song was Starship's Nothing's Going to Stop Us Now. I even saw that awful movie Mannequin because the song was in the movie (and because it was shot in Philly). I bought both Starship cassettes. And then, I learned about the history of the band and how Starship used to be Jefferson Starship who used to be Jefferson Airplane. And so I bought Surrealistic Pillow. It was my first classic rock album, er, cassette. It warped my pointed little head.
Almost 20 years later, I still like the band. I have a few of their albums, and I still happily sing along with White Rabbit and Somebody to Love when they're on the radio. Sometimes I surprise Roy by singing along with Lather and Volunteers, because he doesn't know those.
I never got to see Jefferson Airplane live. :-( I had the opportunity, when they did a reunion tour a year later. One of my regrets. I've tried to never let something like that slip by again. I don't have much interest in any of the off-shoot bands.
So anyway, I was running around doing errands and went to a suburban mall, out near where my mother-in-law lives. This mall has an art gallery. There was a sign that Grace Slick would be there for an exhibition in a couple weeks.
Roy and I went. I thought about digging up my old cassette for an autograph. Roy thought it was a good idea, but I was embarrassed about it being a cassette and not an LP or something better. Good thing, there was a sign by the door that no memorabilia would be signed.
We looked around and there was no sign of Grace. The paintings were nice. Lots of portraits of 60s era musicians and art based on Alice in Wonderland. The originals weren't too expensive, starting around $7000, but the prints were in the $2000s. I wasn't planning on buying one anyway, but still...
While we were there, Grace came out to a roped off table. She still looks and sounds the same, but with white hair now. Anyone who bought a picture could go inside the ropes, get an autograph, picture, handshake. In between those, Grace was informally talking and answering questions from us little people on the other side of the rope. She didn't seem to mind, but she did tell us to speak loud because she's half deaf.
She seemed pretty open and friendly. One person tried to give her a CD demo. The guard took it, and Grace explained why she didn't listen to demos, but she was nice about it and tried to let the girl down gently. Another person asked her about places she has lived and if she gets back to her hometown in nearby Illinois often.
I knew in advance what I'd say if I got the chance to talk to her. I didn't want to interupt her, but it got quiet and she made eye contact with me. "Grace, my favorite song when I was 12 years old was Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now. It led me to buying Surrealistic Pillow." She replied, "It's a good thing you listened to Surrealistic Pillow and not". She paused there. I said quietly "No Protection", the album with that song on it, but she mentioned "Knee Deep in the Hoopla!", which she said disdainfully, like she's embarrassed by its existence. I followed up with how I've been enjoying her music for the last 20 years. We left after that.
I can think of so many musicians with similar histories - did creative important music and then got suckered into the top 40 limelight and now regret it. Yes, Steve Winwood, Heart, now Grace Slick, ... Not that these bands didn't do some good work then, but most of it is so superficial in comparison to their best work. It seems like the record companies matured into big businesses right around the time visuals became so important with MTV. Everything got pushed towards making money and being flashy.
The only band that comes to mind that moved from classic progressive rock to top 40 and is still happy with it is Genesis. I don't know why they're different, but I do like a lot of their 80s material.
And maybe the band I'm seeing tomorrow night. Asia, who had a strong debut album, but whose members did much more interesting things before that band. Howe, Wetton, and Palmer all consider their earlier bands Yes, Crimson, and ELP, respectively, as what they are most proud of, but they seem to be having fun playing Asia music again.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
It's a Dangerous Place!
King Crimson
Opening Act: California Guitar Trio
Sunday, June 4, 1995
Town Hall
New York, NY
Section Right Orchestra, Row M, Seat 23
$27.50
Three days after seeing King Crimson for the first time, I saw them again. Like I said before, I think I realized how much I like this band literally while looking at the tour dates. I realized this was not some band I could see once, but needed to see more. And given their history, before they broke up again.
I've been enjoying writing up some of these more memorable concerts. But I lose the autobiographical thread by jumping out of place. I don't want to get too in-depth with my mom issues, but here's a little background. When I was growing up, my mom and I had a lot of conflicts. Too many arbitrary rules and punishments.
I was a good kid. I realized that I had goals I wanted to achieve - go to a good college and get a good job. Be independent. Get away from home. I also realized that my mom's rules had nothing to do with my goals, and more to do with her frame of mind at the time. So if I could do what I thought was reasonable and not get caught breaking her rules, good for me.
This story could have happened with any parent, nothing spectacular, but I was not having this conversation with a typical parent. So, when I decided I was going to see King Crimson in New York, I was going to do it. The "big city" aspect didn't scare me, I grew up in Philly and that whole city was my playground. And I had been to New York before for concerts, albeit with older fan chaperones. I had street smarts. And I was an adult, I was 20 years old. But I had moved home for the summer and my mom raised a shitfit. "It's a dangerous place", she said, unknowingly quoting King Crimson. She was actually not going to let me go.
This could have been any mother's overreacting comments to a daughter. But I was hearing with the same voice as "you can't go out tonight" with no good reason or "you're grounded because you looked at me funny and have a bad attitude" or "you're just as bad as your brother" and every stupid thing I had to deal with as a teenager. This issue became my big fight to do what I wanted to do without having to sneak around to do it (except when I wanted to keep something private, of course).
Eventually, my sheer force of will won. It must have been, because logic never won an argument with my mom. I was going to take Amtrak up that afternoon. Go directly to the venue. Take a cab directly after the concert to the train station. The one point I didn't win was after arriving in Philly - I would have just taken the local train back home, but she insisted that she and my dad were going to pick me up at the train station in Philly at one in the morning. Fine with me.
The day of the concert, I arrived in New York City. I wore my new red tshirt with the VROOOM artwork. I ate at the train station. The weather was gorgeous. I asked a cop how to get to the venue's address and walked there. And sat there for several hours. The goal was to see the band enter the venue and get some more autographs. I brought my Discipline LP, where I only needed Fripp's autograph and my THRAK. I had only learned about Fripp's attitude about fans and autographs at the show in Philly days earlier.
I wrote up my encounter with Fripp for Elephant Talk a few months later.
"Fripp arrived and was walking towards the entrance of the Town Hall. Remembering the warnings I had received from other fans, I was careful not to walk right up to him. I walked to within ten feet of him, and asked him if he would please sign my Discipline album. He looked at me and said "Can I blow you a kiss instead?" This was not what I was expecting to hear from him, and for a moment I was speechless. He blew me a kiss and walked away. I think I thanked him afterwards. The rest of the day I remember being absolutely thrilled that Fripp spoke to me. Fripp is the only musician I've ever met who wouldn't sign an autograph for me. He has his reasons, and I'd never ask him again, but I'm really glad that he did take a moment to speak to me."
I was more successful getting Pat Mastelotto's autograph. He was very friendly and asked my name.
"Rhea."
"How do you spell that?"
"R-H-E-A"
"What is it again?"
"Rhea. R-H-E-A"
"Ohhhh. Like Rhea Perlman"
He signed it "To RHEA. Pat Mastelotto. Thanx!"
I don't remember talking to anyone else in the band, but Tony waved to me on his way out. I don't know if he recognized me from the other day in Philly. Later on, before the doors opened when a crowd had gathered out front, he opened up the stage door and started signing autographs for people. So cool.
I don't know if I was posting anywhere online at this point in time. I can't find any review I wrote of this show. I do have this show on cassette, and the setlist is:
coda: Marine 475
Frame by Frame
Dinosaur
Heartbeat
Red
B'BOOM/THRAK
Matte Kudasai
Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream
People
Vrooom Vrooom
Elephant Talk
Indiscipline
drum duo
The Talking Drum
Larks' Tongues in Aspic Part II
One Time
Vrooom
coda: Marine 475 (again)
Walking on Air
There was one additional song from my previous show, Heartbeat, but the setlist was in a slightly different order so you'd never know what they'd play next. The concert was enjoyable. I felt stifled sitting still in my seat, so I asked the people next to me if I could switch seats with them. I was now in the far aisle and up and dancing.
After the concert, I hightailed it outside and took the first cab to Penn Station. No problem catching my train. It was worth it not just to indulge my musical passions but to be able to go where I wanted to.
If you have a good eye, you'll notice that Fripp's signature is on my Discipline and THRAK covers. I'll tell that story some other time. ;-)
Opening Act: California Guitar Trio
Sunday, June 4, 1995
Town Hall
New York, NY
Section Right Orchestra, Row M, Seat 23
$27.50
Three days after seeing King Crimson for the first time, I saw them again. Like I said before, I think I realized how much I like this band literally while looking at the tour dates. I realized this was not some band I could see once, but needed to see more. And given their history, before they broke up again.
I've been enjoying writing up some of these more memorable concerts. But I lose the autobiographical thread by jumping out of place. I don't want to get too in-depth with my mom issues, but here's a little background. When I was growing up, my mom and I had a lot of conflicts. Too many arbitrary rules and punishments.
I was a good kid. I realized that I had goals I wanted to achieve - go to a good college and get a good job. Be independent. Get away from home. I also realized that my mom's rules had nothing to do with my goals, and more to do with her frame of mind at the time. So if I could do what I thought was reasonable and not get caught breaking her rules, good for me.
This story could have happened with any parent, nothing spectacular, but I was not having this conversation with a typical parent. So, when I decided I was going to see King Crimson in New York, I was going to do it. The "big city" aspect didn't scare me, I grew up in Philly and that whole city was my playground. And I had been to New York before for concerts, albeit with older fan chaperones. I had street smarts. And I was an adult, I was 20 years old. But I had moved home for the summer and my mom raised a shitfit. "It's a dangerous place", she said, unknowingly quoting King Crimson. She was actually not going to let me go.
This could have been any mother's overreacting comments to a daughter. But I was hearing with the same voice as "you can't go out tonight" with no good reason or "you're grounded because you looked at me funny and have a bad attitude" or "you're just as bad as your brother" and every stupid thing I had to deal with as a teenager. This issue became my big fight to do what I wanted to do without having to sneak around to do it (except when I wanted to keep something private, of course).
Eventually, my sheer force of will won. It must have been, because logic never won an argument with my mom. I was going to take Amtrak up that afternoon. Go directly to the venue. Take a cab directly after the concert to the train station. The one point I didn't win was after arriving in Philly - I would have just taken the local train back home, but she insisted that she and my dad were going to pick me up at the train station in Philly at one in the morning. Fine with me.
The day of the concert, I arrived in New York City. I wore my new red tshirt with the VROOOM artwork. I ate at the train station. The weather was gorgeous. I asked a cop how to get to the venue's address and walked there. And sat there for several hours. The goal was to see the band enter the venue and get some more autographs. I brought my Discipline LP, where I only needed Fripp's autograph and my THRAK. I had only learned about Fripp's attitude about fans and autographs at the show in Philly days earlier.
I wrote up my encounter with Fripp for Elephant Talk a few months later.
"Fripp arrived and was walking towards the entrance of the Town Hall. Remembering the warnings I had received from other fans, I was careful not to walk right up to him. I walked to within ten feet of him, and asked him if he would please sign my Discipline album. He looked at me and said "Can I blow you a kiss instead?" This was not what I was expecting to hear from him, and for a moment I was speechless. He blew me a kiss and walked away. I think I thanked him afterwards. The rest of the day I remember being absolutely thrilled that Fripp spoke to me. Fripp is the only musician I've ever met who wouldn't sign an autograph for me. He has his reasons, and I'd never ask him again, but I'm really glad that he did take a moment to speak to me."
I was more successful getting Pat Mastelotto's autograph. He was very friendly and asked my name.
"Rhea."
"How do you spell that?"
"R-H-E-A"
"What is it again?"
"Rhea. R-H-E-A"
"Ohhhh. Like Rhea Perlman"
He signed it "To RHEA. Pat Mastelotto. Thanx!"
I don't remember talking to anyone else in the band, but Tony waved to me on his way out. I don't know if he recognized me from the other day in Philly. Later on, before the doors opened when a crowd had gathered out front, he opened up the stage door and started signing autographs for people. So cool.
I don't know if I was posting anywhere online at this point in time. I can't find any review I wrote of this show. I do have this show on cassette, and the setlist is:
coda: Marine 475
Frame by Frame
Dinosaur
Heartbeat
Red
B'BOOM/THRAK
Matte Kudasai
Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream
People
Vrooom Vrooom
Elephant Talk
Indiscipline
drum duo
The Talking Drum
Larks' Tongues in Aspic Part II
One Time
Vrooom
coda: Marine 475 (again)
Walking on Air
There was one additional song from my previous show, Heartbeat, but the setlist was in a slightly different order so you'd never know what they'd play next. The concert was enjoyable. I felt stifled sitting still in my seat, so I asked the people next to me if I could switch seats with them. I was now in the far aisle and up and dancing.
After the concert, I hightailed it outside and took the first cab to Penn Station. No problem catching my train. It was worth it not just to indulge my musical passions but to be able to go where I wanted to.
If you have a good eye, you'll notice that Fripp's signature is on my Discipline and THRAK covers. I'll tell that story some other time. ;-)
Friday, June 1, 2007
It Was Twelve Years Ago Today!
King Crimson
Opening Act: California Guitar Trio
Tower Theater
Upper Darby (Philadelphia), PA
Thursday, June 1, 1995
Section Right Orchestra, Row M, Seat 23
$27.50
I got into King Crimson at exactly the right time. Sometimes, I've seen bands before I knew much about them. You know, I knew I'd love them eventually, but I had to see them in case I never got another chance. Or other times, I'd wait a long time to see a favorite performer. But Crimson's timing was perfect.
I bought my first King Crimson CD the summer after I graduated high school. It was Court of the Crimson King. I didn't know a note of it before buying it, but I had seen their name linked with my favorite band Yes enough times and I was curious. I didn't mean to buy Court over any other album, but it was the only one in stock at Tower Records. I liked it. A lot. In the days before I had a credit card, I slowly built my record collection. Over a year later, I bought Lizard, Red, and then on a single day, I bought Discipline and Three of a Perfect Pair on used vinyl from the Book Trader on South Street. This was spring of 1994. I was very interested by the time VROOOM was released.
I had the greatest job ever in college. I worked at my college radio station WXPN, a professionally run AAA format music station. I had nothing to do with the music played, I just did some office work and soaked up the atmosphere. My station loved 80s era King Crimson. The pay certainly didn't help pay for college, but it got me into some live shows, got me some swag, and got me some great experiences.
One day, I found the promo single to Dinosaur sitting in my inbox. The record company sent the station two copies and my boss knew I was a fan. I listened to it over and over again. Even before THRAK's release, I saw the tour dates online. Reading over them and thinking about the tour made me realize I needed to see this band and more than once. I think I became a bigger fan just looking over the tour dates. This was the summer before my senior year of college, and I had to schedule my shows around my GREs (SATs for grad school). I think all the Crimson fandom made me smarter.
Buying this ticket was an ordeal. The show was at the Tower Theater, so normally, I'd take the El there early on the morning the show was going on sale. But SEPTA, the public transportation system, was on strike. Angela, who is still my best friend, and I had actually gone to the Tower the night before for a Black Crowes concert. If I had been by myself, I probably would have just stayed in line overnight. But Angela was going to sleepover in my dorm room, so I had to go back with her. I couldn't afford to keep taking cabs back and forth to the Tower, and there were no Ticketmaster outlets near me anymore, so I had to deal with ordering my ticket over the phone. Didn't get the best seat, but I managed to get in before it sold out. I knew I wouldn't be able to convince any of my friends to go to this one, so I happily went solo.
One time at the radio station, Bill Bruford had come in for an interview on our big syndicated program that brought in all the rock stars, The World Cafe. How did I find out? I was at the fax machine when he sent a thank you fax for allowing him to be on the show. Very nice manners for Bill, but he was in the very same building as me and I missed out! My wonderful boss told the World Cafe folks that I should know about these things. They let me know in plenty of time that Bill and Tony would be stopping by the studio the day of the King Crimson show. This would be my first time meeting either of them. I wasn't allowed to sit in on the interview, but I talked to them in the lobby on their way in and out. Not bad for a day's work.
I got some autographs from them on their way in. They both signed my THRAK, VROOOM, Discipline, and Three of a Perfect Pair. Bill had also been a member of my favorite band Yes, and he also signed my Fragile special edition gold CD box and my Yes jacket - a denim jacket with the Fragile artwork airbrushed on the back, and autographs from various members of Yes all around it. (I'm only missing Trevor Horn. I stopped wearing it years ago because I'm worried it will get worn out or damaged.)
On their way out, I got to talk with them again and got some pictures. I told Bill that this would be my first time seeing King Crimson and how excited I was. He replied, "You can't trust a band you've never seen live." I guess I trust Crimson a lot now. :-D They both started making fun of my height - they are tall guys and I am quite short. Bill started to squat down as our picture was being taken - you can see me glancing over at him. Tony made me stand on something, and he's still almost a head taller. After the show, he was standing on the curb, and I was at street level. He told me, "You got shorter!"
I went down to the Tower early and got to meet Adrian Belew. I met him at one of his solo shows the year earlier, and this time he autographed a picture of the two of us from then, plus THRAK and VROOOM. There were some other fans there too, so I didn't get to talk to him much.
The show itself was wonderful. The opening act was California Guitar Trio, former students of Fripp's. I had never heard of them before, but really liked them. I think I've seen them more times than Crimson now. They were signing autographs at a table after the show, so I had them sign my program. Since then, I've actually worked their merchandise table for them at local shows here in St. Louis. They were a good complement to King Crimson's music. Roy also saw this tour, in Ann Arbor, and said he was so anxious to finally see King Crimson that he didn't want to have to sit through an opening act. But CGT changed his mind.
My seat was way over on the side, so I could stand up and dance for the concert. The band opened with the VROOOM coda and also closed the main set with it. The encore was Walking on Air and the soundscape at the end continued after the band left the stage. Lots of songs from THRAK and Discipline, plus Red, Talking Drum, and Larks part 2 from the 70s incarnation of the band. I love Indiscipline, always fun live. It was such a great performance, great playing. Wow!
The show started very early, at 7:00pm. The school year was over, and I was living at home again. My parents were always willing to pick me up from concerts, because my mom did not like me being out by myself at night. I asked them to get my at 11. By that time, the concert was over, the band had left, and I was sitting by myself out front. I was happy to have more time to hang out. I got Adrian to sign my tour program and I told him I'd see them again on Sunday. I'm always amazed when artists on tour know where they are and where they're going, but Adrian knew they'd be in New York and told another fan that show was also sold out.
Opening Act: California Guitar Trio
Tower Theater
Upper Darby (Philadelphia), PA
Thursday, June 1, 1995
Section Right Orchestra, Row M, Seat 23
$27.50
I got into King Crimson at exactly the right time. Sometimes, I've seen bands before I knew much about them. You know, I knew I'd love them eventually, but I had to see them in case I never got another chance. Or other times, I'd wait a long time to see a favorite performer. But Crimson's timing was perfect.
I bought my first King Crimson CD the summer after I graduated high school. It was Court of the Crimson King. I didn't know a note of it before buying it, but I had seen their name linked with my favorite band Yes enough times and I was curious. I didn't mean to buy Court over any other album, but it was the only one in stock at Tower Records. I liked it. A lot. In the days before I had a credit card, I slowly built my record collection. Over a year later, I bought Lizard, Red, and then on a single day, I bought Discipline and Three of a Perfect Pair on used vinyl from the Book Trader on South Street. This was spring of 1994. I was very interested by the time VROOOM was released.
I had the greatest job ever in college. I worked at my college radio station WXPN, a professionally run AAA format music station. I had nothing to do with the music played, I just did some office work and soaked up the atmosphere. My station loved 80s era King Crimson. The pay certainly didn't help pay for college, but it got me into some live shows, got me some swag, and got me some great experiences.
One day, I found the promo single to Dinosaur sitting in my inbox. The record company sent the station two copies and my boss knew I was a fan. I listened to it over and over again. Even before THRAK's release, I saw the tour dates online. Reading over them and thinking about the tour made me realize I needed to see this band and more than once. I think I became a bigger fan just looking over the tour dates. This was the summer before my senior year of college, and I had to schedule my shows around my GREs (SATs for grad school). I think all the Crimson fandom made me smarter.
Buying this ticket was an ordeal. The show was at the Tower Theater, so normally, I'd take the El there early on the morning the show was going on sale. But SEPTA, the public transportation system, was on strike. Angela, who is still my best friend, and I had actually gone to the Tower the night before for a Black Crowes concert. If I had been by myself, I probably would have just stayed in line overnight. But Angela was going to sleepover in my dorm room, so I had to go back with her. I couldn't afford to keep taking cabs back and forth to the Tower, and there were no Ticketmaster outlets near me anymore, so I had to deal with ordering my ticket over the phone. Didn't get the best seat, but I managed to get in before it sold out. I knew I wouldn't be able to convince any of my friends to go to this one, so I happily went solo.
One time at the radio station, Bill Bruford had come in for an interview on our big syndicated program that brought in all the rock stars, The World Cafe. How did I find out? I was at the fax machine when he sent a thank you fax for allowing him to be on the show. Very nice manners for Bill, but he was in the very same building as me and I missed out! My wonderful boss told the World Cafe folks that I should know about these things. They let me know in plenty of time that Bill and Tony would be stopping by the studio the day of the King Crimson show. This would be my first time meeting either of them. I wasn't allowed to sit in on the interview, but I talked to them in the lobby on their way in and out. Not bad for a day's work.
I got some autographs from them on their way in. They both signed my THRAK, VROOOM, Discipline, and Three of a Perfect Pair. Bill had also been a member of my favorite band Yes, and he also signed my Fragile special edition gold CD box and my Yes jacket - a denim jacket with the Fragile artwork airbrushed on the back, and autographs from various members of Yes all around it. (I'm only missing Trevor Horn. I stopped wearing it years ago because I'm worried it will get worn out or damaged.)
On their way out, I got to talk with them again and got some pictures. I told Bill that this would be my first time seeing King Crimson and how excited I was. He replied, "You can't trust a band you've never seen live." I guess I trust Crimson a lot now. :-D They both started making fun of my height - they are tall guys and I am quite short. Bill started to squat down as our picture was being taken - you can see me glancing over at him. Tony made me stand on something, and he's still almost a head taller. After the show, he was standing on the curb, and I was at street level. He told me, "You got shorter!"
I went down to the Tower early and got to meet Adrian Belew. I met him at one of his solo shows the year earlier, and this time he autographed a picture of the two of us from then, plus THRAK and VROOOM. There were some other fans there too, so I didn't get to talk to him much.
The show itself was wonderful. The opening act was California Guitar Trio, former students of Fripp's. I had never heard of them before, but really liked them. I think I've seen them more times than Crimson now. They were signing autographs at a table after the show, so I had them sign my program. Since then, I've actually worked their merchandise table for them at local shows here in St. Louis. They were a good complement to King Crimson's music. Roy also saw this tour, in Ann Arbor, and said he was so anxious to finally see King Crimson that he didn't want to have to sit through an opening act. But CGT changed his mind.
My seat was way over on the side, so I could stand up and dance for the concert. The band opened with the VROOOM coda and also closed the main set with it. The encore was Walking on Air and the soundscape at the end continued after the band left the stage. Lots of songs from THRAK and Discipline, plus Red, Talking Drum, and Larks part 2 from the 70s incarnation of the band. I love Indiscipline, always fun live. It was such a great performance, great playing. Wow!
The show started very early, at 7:00pm. The school year was over, and I was living at home again. My parents were always willing to pick me up from concerts, because my mom did not like me being out by myself at night. I asked them to get my at 11. By that time, the concert was over, the band had left, and I was sitting by myself out front. I was happy to have more time to hang out. I got Adrian to sign my tour program and I told him I'd see them again on Sunday. I'm always amazed when artists on tour know where they are and where they're going, but Adrian knew they'd be in New York and told another fan that show was also sold out.
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