Keneally, Enchant, Izz, Morse, Norlander

Congrats to Papa J, He put on a hell of a gig. Next year I'll help get the noise around the Central California Valley.

My review:

What a great event!!!! It was my wife, Marty's first prog experience and she loved it. I gave her some IZZ to listen to a few days before we left and she said, "It reminds me of..." and started singing Roundabout. I thought, wow, she's hooked. On the way down Hwy 99 we listened to Ampersand, Asia (Not really prog, but close enough) and Spock's Beard (prep for Neal Morse, of course). 


Cal-Prog day!!!!! On to the venue: small, not too crowded.... wow, look at all the hippies and prog-nerds.... Was that Marijuana we smelled walking in? Memories, back in '76 I .......

Erik Norlander..... what talent.... no band..... cool Wall of Doom.... the singer looks like a cross between Arlo Guthrie and Kirk Hammett.... strong hair metal vocals. Lana Lane has power. Court of the Crimson King.... interesting take.... The Cello guy was cool.... gotta talk to him.

Bottled water and ..... look at all the CD's!!!! Bought Michael Shrieve "Two Doors" (anything with the late great Shawn Lane) and FM "Black Noise." Wandered over to the IZZ table and snatched up "Wombsong" from Brems. Found the Cello guy, Mike, claims he's a fan from San Diego.... talented fan, wot?

Show Call: back inside and meet Shawn Bishop.... nice guy. Introduction and a truly uplifting set from the East Coast Proggers. I kept laughing at the ease with which the boys pull off some tough changes. They played a tune I wasn't familiar with, "Crossfire" was played in a very inspired fashion.... powerful. Annmarie and Laura were stunning and sang with passion.
I kept checking the wife and she was enthralled. Cool.... Why does Tom keep meditating in the middle of Brem's solos? Planning his dethroning of Yes as the pathenon of Progressive Rock, no doubt.
John proves he's not JUST a bass player as he strangles a Strat, borrows some of Greg's kit to play percs and joins Tom on the keys... quite impressive, not to mention my wife checking him out and referring to him as the "hot one." Gag me already... bah!!!!

The interplay between Brian and Greg was exciting. Unfortunately, my fourth row, center stage view was not avantageous to watch the stick work. Greg sticks looked more like mallets from what I could see, and all but the well coifed head of Brian was hidden behind Tom's monitor. My ears told me what they were doing, almost an Alan White/Bill Bruford combo, without all the hoopla. Complimentary mayhem. Complexity with a groove? 

Brems "live" work is really stellar. I was very impressed. Where has this guy been all these years? It's hard to pin down his influences, he doesn't really sound like anyone else, Howe, Gilmour, Hackett, Hendrix, Holdsworth.... a taste of many styles. I wish he would have played some acoustic.... 

Mists of Dalriada, Double Bass and Star Gnoma Su were fun and chops heavy... but what struck the chord for my wife were the strong and well executed vocals, sweet harmonies and memorable melodies.... tunes that get stuck in your head. Magic. 

The Genesis medley capped a great set. I was sad to see it end. I guess they set was about an hour and a half, but it felt like 15 minutes to me.

I had a great time talking to the band, about music, beer and lyrics. Greg was very warm and funny, a proud dad and a real person. Brems was likable and engaging, but my West Coast ears are more attuned to Mexican Spanish than a Scottish brogue. "Baileys on the rooks" sounds good to me. Brian, hiding behind the beard, was very intelligent, articulate and above all, fond of Guinness. MAybe next time we'll get a chance to raise a glass. John was interesting and has a star quality, magnetic, which made it hard to talk to him, IMO - starstruck? Tom and Annmarie were charming and genuine. I would guess that Tom is a  classic type A individual, he didn't look comfortable sitting, mind constantly whirling like an over-charged hard-drive.

Next up: Enchant. A very professional band. They had done the lead guitar stomp.... stage stalking front man.... good drummer, funky bassist (I haven't seen anyone play a Factor Bass in 15 years) and a young Geoff Downes looking keyboardist. My only problem? Not my cup o' tea. I think I have an aversion to metal distortion tones. The band handle a few technical problem with some lively banter about the lack of beer and the cause of Jon Anderson's high vocal range.  Once Mr. Ott switched to the Tele and a softer, more natural guitar tone, my impression of the band rose. The worst part is that the best song they played was not theirs. A cover of Yes' Tempus Fugit was great!!! They nailed the bass and guitar parts to a "T." I didn't buy anything and felt like I had nothing to say to them, they played great, but ....... A shame, really. They rocked hard and put on a good show. My wife said she would have liked their set better had they preceeded IZZ. I agree.

Neal Morse took the stage with panache and even handled the technical problems in a fun and entertaining way. The auditorium was transformed into a jam seesion in my livingroom. Incredibly uplifting and nearly a religious experience (I guess that's Neal plan?). We were singing along to many great Spock's tunes, watching on the spot production with his Jam Band unit. Fun, inspiring, even self-depreciating.... call it what you will, but Neal's a true entertainer.  The encore with Ryo and Nick was plagued with techincal problems and Neal forgot the words to "the Doorway." He redeemed himself with a rousing rendition of "June."

Mike Keneally. Totally freaking crazed. He should have played earlier simply because that wild frenetic, complex type of music, which I love (Zappa fan, duh!!) takes a load of concentration. By the time they hit the stage, 10:30 or so, my wife was toast and I was running on empty... no beer, must have beer.... and I was feeling battered... like the last 4 miles of a marathon... too much, too much. I left at the beginning of "the Epic" so I don't know how it finished up. Burnt and yawning, we left. I did spy Greg in the back row with his eyes wide.... he looked intrigued.

On the way out we ran into Neal Morse giving directions to the woman running his table. I had a million questions I wanted to ask, but could only manage to say "thank you" and hold out my copy of "V" for an autograph. I felt like a dink for being too clouded to ask some pertinent questions, but, the bed beckoned like a siren in a storm. Fatigue enveloped me and, like a zombie, I staggered back to the Radisson and grabbed a well deserved Samuel Adams and crawled to the well worn mattress. ZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Breakfast at Sophie's. The Enchant guys were eating, we waved, smiled, nodded.... Saw a couple other prog-neards eating, too.... waved, smiled, nodded.
As we headed back to the heat and dust of the San Joaquin Valley, I put Wombsong in the CD player. Beautiful.... a very personal and poignant recording. Marty sang Loch Lommand along with Brems guitar and I couldn't help but shed a tear... Great work Brems!!!!!   We listened to Sliver, I Move and Ampersand. As the last notes of "Star Gnoma Su" ended, we pulled into the parking lot of the Raley's store two blocks from home. Picked up some Cocktail sauce for the shrimp we provided for a 4th of July party. We were home, but our minds were on the terrific bands we had just left.... I guess I can now refer to my wife as my prog-spouse, eh? 

Less than two weeks.... Gettin' anxious....