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And now for NEARFest Day Two!!!
But first I’d
like to comment on Roger Dean.
His appearance at NF makes this whole event, at least to me, meld together finely.
Here we have an Icon in progressive music circles coming to
this event and signing “stuff” for two full days. He is so gracious, even to the
point of signing literally 20 or 30 original LP covers he created years ago. Some
people, like myself, purchased all of his LP covers/Posters for him to sign but even
if you purchased nothing, he gladly autographed anything and everything. A plus for
sure, and I hope he’s back next year as I will not forget my old LP covers like I
did this year!
One other thing, for the past two years each Sunday morning a
gentle man with a gentle soul has graciously set up what has become known as “Coffee
with Greg”. He provides some of the best coffee in the world and gives it away free
to anyone who shows up.
Last year he arranged to have one of his customers (Greg sells
gourmet coffee to coffee shops, specialty restaurants, etc.) open their small
restaurant on Sunday for the first “Coffee with Greg”. This year he arranged with
the management of the Marriott to allow him to set up his “specially designed”
coffee brewing machines and give away coffee to all.
Mr. Greg Jones is to coffee as God is to creation. He has
single-handedly opened many people’s eyes as to what good coffee REALLY is. And it
ain’t from Starbucks.
So next year, on Sunday morning as you are trying to clear
those late night cobwebs out of your brain, follow your nose to the restaurant and
taste what real coffee tastes like.
Okay, now on to
NEARFest Day Two.
I have one thing
to say about the Sunday opening band,
Spaced Out.
 Good band, wrong day. After the long night many had on
Saturday, this over the top fusion band was just way too much for this particular
Sunday morning.
Frankly, they would have been far better opening the event on
Saturday as their energy and musical overkill would have been a great lead in to the
wonderful music to follow.
On Sunday, and again to this reviewer, their overly energetic
style and sound just left me feeling like it would never stop.
I liked most of what I heard and listening to their CD
subsequently made it clear why they were invited to this event in the first place.
 The bass player, Antoine Fafard was so in your face. He was
clearly the leader of the band and without his guidance I’m sure they would not be
able to pull “it off” if you will.
I really think their name is misleading. They were not so
much “spaced out”, which almost implies laid back ambient styled music, as they were
speed/funk merchants.
One of the comments I heard and was very true to me was “Too
many notes”. I have to admit that it takes tremendous amounts of musical talent and
expertise to effectively play music “with too many notes”. Just not on a quiet
Sunday morning.
So, bottom line, these guys rocked, but they would have been
much better on Saturday with the much more mellow La Torre dell’Alchimista opening
the Sunday festivities.
Next up was the first Japanese band to grace a NEARFest
stage. Gerard
was another of those bands I came specifically to see, and I was not disappointed
one little bit.
 From where I was sitting, the sound was good their entire set.
And man, Masuhiro Goto, their super energetic drummer, certainly set the stage for
things to come. His powerful drum playing and solo at the end of the first song
made it clear that if the listener had ANY cobwebs left in their head, they would
soon be completely gone. Worked perfectly on this reviewer!
I had only heard one Gerard CD and loved it, so getting an
opportunity to hear more songs and see them live was a true job. Not unlike ELP,
but certainly NOT exactly like them at all.
 I’m really not sure that Greg Lake could play bass as good as
Atsushi Hasegawa, but I am certain that Masuhiro cannot sing as good as Mr. Lake.
Again, whatever Mr. Goto did, while suppose to be singing, was more like a walrus in
heat. Sorry but for these guys, singing can be dropped.
All in all they played tight, energetic, full figured keyboard
laden prog rock with a heavy emphasis on the rock part!
I was one of the many that helped them “sell out” the CD’s they
brought from home, and I hope they continue making great music.
 The third band on Sunday was another of those that I had come
to see. When Enchant was first announced I was very excited, as I have been
following them through their CD’s since they were first on Magna Carta.
These guys are tight. It was very clear that they played
together well and that each member was extremely proficient on their instruments.
I liked them but I did not love them like I had expected. In
fact, prior to NF I had been listening to Enchants entire catalogue. I found myself
getting about three quarters of the way through each CD and then turning them off.
After awhile, it sounds a little repetitive.
So live, I had expected them to pull it all off better then they did. Was this a
sound production issue? Not a bad performance but not a really great one either.
I’m still planning to purchase their new CD, but I’d not fly
across the US just to see them.
 The
next band on the bill was one that took me totally by surprise. I had never
paid much attention to that “Canterbury” sound, so I was very unfamiliar with
Caravan.
I had been sent a Canterbury sampler prior to NF by a dear
friend, so I had heard some Caravan and had some idea of what to expect. I was
surprised at how much better this style came across live verses from CD’s of music
recorded 30 years ago.
WOW!!!! Not that Mr. Hackett was NOT a headliner, but Caravan
ruled and could have easily been the final band of the weekend.
A soft and gentle sound that seemed to have no rough edges, it
grabbed me. Clean, clear and bright. Music that made you want to dance and at the
same time sit and listen intently. My wife leaned over to me half way through their
set and said, “This is British country music!”
That was like hitting the nail on the head. What a perfect
description. Laid back, very folk ‘sounding’ yet full of that almost rockabilly
attitude. I liked it a big lot, as did most, if not all, of the crowd.
Oh there was this one couple sitting next to my wife and I who
kept making “old fart” references and “Andy Griffith” wanna be type comments.
Luckily they decided to get up and leave before I had to
throttle them both!
There was so much passion and depth to their music. It was
bright and filled with light and sound. The quality of the playing (gotta love a
violinist who can hang out with rock & rollers), the depth of the compositions, and
the appealing lyrics made them a big success to me.
 I have one complaint however. Their live show does not sound
like their LPs/CD’s. Why? As I mentioned earlier, they come from the Canterbury
style and sound of progressive music. In the beginning and through most of their
recordings, their sound is filled with organ, some mellotron and other keyboards.
At NF the added guitarist, Doug Boyle, as counter point to Geoff Richardson’s Viola,
changed the entire complexion of this bands sound.
On that Sunday night these guys totally impressed me but in
listening to the same songs done originally I did not hear one thing that reminded
me of their live performance. I only hope that the live recording and DVD they were
shooting on that Sunday is true to what we were treated to that night.
This is in no way a condemnation of Caravan in any way. But
for this “Caravan virgin” it makes it very difficult for me to find a musical
release of theirs that comes close to the wonderful music I heard Sunday.
This night we were able to locate an Indian Restaurant not far
from the hotel where we could eat some okay food without spending an arm and a leg.
Not the best I’ve ever eaten, but far more enjoyable at half the price than what was
on tap at the “dinner buffet” at the Marriott.
After dinner, the Captain and crew returned to our hotel rooms
to once again properly prepare for the final band of the evening and event.
It’s always sad when this event comes to an end. Yes. We all
had tons of fun and music. And even being dead tired and knowing a 10 hour drive
awaited us Monday morning, it was sad knowing that many of your extended family
would not be seen again until the next North East Art Rock Festival.
Thus we
come to the final band of this most wonderful event.
STEVE HACKETT!!!!!
 What can I say that has not already been said about this man
and his music? I’ve loved his guitar work and sound since his days in Genesis. His
songs were some of the first I heard in this “progressive” music I would soon fall
in love with.
Firth of Fifth and the opening guitar on Supper’s Ready will
always be on my “desert island” music inventory.
But Mr. Hackett’s work has grown leaps and bounds since his
youth in Genesis and this night he made sure everyone present understood just
exactly where he had been and where he was now.
 Early in his set he went through the almost mandatory “Genesis
riffs” putting together a musical montage that touched me deeply. My lovely wife
and I fell in love listening to Foxtrot and Selling England by the Pound so those
musical touches Mr. Hackett played for us that night found us looking into each
other’s eyes and recalling those very early days.
Just as wonderful as this trip down memory lane were some of
his solo efforts. I have had Darktown for few months and was anxious to hear
selections from that CD and was not disappointed.
I will say Mr. Hackett is not much of a singer and those almost
chant/rap like growls he belched forth did not appeal to me all that much. His
singing however did not diminish the overall performance.
All in all, Mr. Hackett was a great conclusion to a terrific
weekend.
Jo and I left around 9:00 am Monday after saying our goodbyes
to many of our “extended family”. I guess if these ‘events’ went on forever they
just wouldn’t be as special.
All I can say is, “See y’all at ProgDay 2K2 over Labor Day”.
Y’all come back now, ya hear!
Review by:
Captain MDA
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