Live Prog-rock is Dying

Pure Reason Revolution and Oceanize are also two reasons why prog is still alive too.

darqDean,

Prog rock apparently is NOT dying in the UK!  Magenta RULES.  The freshest new prog I know of today! I ordered "Home" from them in early 2007 - they shipped it all the way from Cardiff to me for about 20 US dollars (about what the local sucky pop CD store in the mall would charge me).  I hope they do a USA tour someday!  I'd do my part to help with the promotion, let me tell you!

I'm not ready to call prog dead anywhere just yet.  My observation is that the formatted music that we listened to until about five years ago had to come by advertiser-supported FM radio, and that severely limited what kind of music people could hear.  Now there are a number of listener supported, advertisement-free "radio" sources - satellite (although not yet in Europe), internet radio, maybe DAB radio?  It's an exciting time, because whatever gets airplay will be truly the popular choice of the listening audience, untainted by the traditional business of using music to prop up ad sales.

Those who play prog, if they market effectively, can once again get airplay for six minute, ten minute, or longer works of music.  I just hope there are still enough "ears to hear" that kind of stuff.

audiobrian1 wrote: darqDean, Prog rock apparently is NOT dying in the UK!  Magenta RULES.  The freshest new prog I know of today! I ordered "Home" from them in early 2007 - they shipped it all the way from Cardiff to me for about 20 US dollars (about what the local sucky pop CD store in the mall would charge me).  I hope they do a USA tour someday!  I'd do my part to help with the promotion, let me tell you! I'm not ready to call prog dead anywhere just yet.  My observation is that the formatted music that we listened to until about five years ago had to come by advertiser-supported FM radio, and that severely limited what kind of music people could hear.  Now there are a number of listener supported, advertisement-free "radio" sources - satellite (although not yet in Europe), internet radio, maybe DAB radio?  It's an exciting time, because whatever gets airplay will be truly the popular choice of the listening audience, untainted by the traditional business of using music to prop up ad sales. Those who play prog, if they market effectively, can once again get airplay for six minute, ten minute, or longer works of music.  I just hope there are still enough "ears to hear" that kind of stuff.

What really sucks is that I love prog-rock/metal and I would LOVE to go and see them, but where I live I get nothin' at all.  I live in the good ol' bubble of Utah Valley, Utah of the USA.  It's hard enough to get prog-rock artists here in the US, but for them to actually come to Utah is even harder.  Just went to a Dream Theater show in Salt Lake City last summer and it had been five years since they had come.  Estradasphere came once, but I wasn't old enough at the time. 

And in order to go and see Kamelot I had to drive all the way out to Denver Colorado (eight hours, 200+ miles), and almost did it for Porcupine Tree last May but I couldn't miss that much school and it was during my final tests and graduation crap for high school.  You guys think it's rough, sometimes I just want to walk up to the artists and knock them on the head and say "Please come to Utah, you have a fan base in Utah Valley that's about as big as some of your shows else where in the US."  I've seen bands agendas were they go everywhere around Utah like Idaho... who goes to Idaho?  Who lives in Idaho (sorry I'm sorry if any of you do)? 

When I went to Kamelot I'd say there was probably a 100-150 people, kinda a weird to see European legends point directly to you and smile and laugh when you yell to them over the speakers that you came out form Utah.  Yeah... that's my vent, my whole family, extended and everything, is born and raised on prog-rock, and I've got all my friends into it as well and they've got theirs.

Wow... that felt good to vent!

Prog rock is already dead.

There is one prog supergroup that continues to defy the (dead or dying) market: Yes!
They have recently announced their North American "Close to the Edge and Back" tour:

http://www.yesworld.com/ywtour.html

Tickets go on sale March 29.  My wife (going for support, not artistic interest) and I will drive two hours, spend the night in Columbus, OH, and take the following day off from my job.  Strangely, I have never seen them live, so it's worth it to me!

Avantgardehead wrote: Prog rock is already dead.

Sorry - but I can't understand that - what a poor statement 

Prog Rock is a music genre - not a creature - even if it might not have a future (what I don't see)
there is a past and the now and here - not to eliminate ...

And there are actually so many talented bands submitted for an inclusion to our site for example ...

Slartibartfast wrote: I don't really think the future of progressive music is dependent on doing a large quantity of live shows and massive touring.  I first became a prog fan in the LP/Cassette/8-track era.  Touring was essential back then.  And you better believe I've seen more than a few shows in small venues, with small audiences, which is a wonderful way to experience great music.  Now, there are a larger variety of other avenues to spread your music to interested parties.  The amount of good live material on DVD for example.  I have a really nice large selection of concerts I can revisit anytime I like and the artists didn't have visit me or my area personally, I didn't have to drive too far if at all.  I can also get the accessory merchandise directly from the artist's web site.  When you can see the artists in person performing live, it's always icing on the cake.  I see in the future more shows happening in select locations and being shared by DVD.  If these are sold on the artist's web site, then the majority of the profit goes to them.  Buy things direct from the artist whenever you can! I think prog is well suited to adapt, is doing so, and reports of it's dying are premature.

tszirmay wrote: Slartibartfast wrote: I don't really think the future of progressive music is dependent on doing a large quantity of live shows and massive touring.  I first became a prog fan in the LP/Cassette/8-track era.  Touring was essential back then.  And you better believe I've seen more than a few shows in small venues, with small audiences, which is a wonderful way to experience great music.  Now, there are a larger variety of other avenues to spread your music to interested parties.  The amount of good live material on DVD for example.  I have a really nice large selection of concerts I can revisit anytime I like and the artists didn't have visit me or my area personally, I didn't have to drive too far if at all.  I can also get the accessory merchandise directly from the artist's web site.  When you can see the artists in person performing live, it's always icing on the cake.  I see in the future more shows happening in select locations and being shared by DVD.  If these are sold on the artist's web site, then the majority of the profit goes to them.  Buy things direct from the artist whenever you can! I think prog is well suited to adapt, is doing so, and reports of it's dying are premature. You are the echo of my thoughts!  As I have stated a few times already, Prog was singled out in 1977 by such illustrious rags as Trouser Press, Creem, Melody Maker and NME , who all jumped on the popular punk bandwagon and crucified what they adored a few years earlier. From 1978 to 1983 , Prog was like a pebble of sand in the Sahara : very lonely! Marillion's somewhat courageous stand kept the flame alive, albeit shakily ! By 1992 , the genre survived by going underground far from the media-fueled ridicule. New Wave is gone (unless you count elevators) , Grunge is nowhere to be heard, so every musical form survives the media glare and lives on . Prog never died and frankly never will, as there is simply way too many stellar groups TODAY . Spirits never succumb, we all should believe in at least that or else apathy (today's sickness) will overtake us all. Amen

Well, i am not from the LP/cassette/8-track era neither have experienced the arise, fall and the rebirth of prog rock, so i cannot know how important touring was back then. But i know some things about how today's media have affected prog fans nowadays. Having so many ways to know your idol without really knowing him neither seeing him play have brought some troubles, like the INCREDIBLE amount of "posers" and fans of the "in" band. Hell, when i went to the Dream Theater show on march 7 i could witness that: the incredible majority of people there did even knew what was going on when they played songs that were not from their last album. Just a bunch of old fans, me and my buddy knew the name of the song and its lyrics; everyone else just stood there!
OK, movie clips are important, and also DVDs, but the offspring that they create is hated or despited by the old fans/new fans who REALLY know the band (my case is the 2nd).

Angelo wrote: CCVP wrote: Angelo wrote: One to think over: last year we had a new prog festival (Symforce) in The Netherlands, and it was a huge success, also visitor wise. The program was a mix of classic prog, prog metal and some more avantgarde bands. This year we have Symforce II, so the succes may continue. However, looking at the program, the head liners this year are two very popular metal bands, Pain of Salvation and Opeth. I can understand this move, but the fact that those two bands, who are not my taste, fill up 4 hours in the program are keeping me from getting a ticket. I may be the only one, or not, but in cases like this (Symforce is just an example), isn't the need to make money - to be able to have another festival next year - conflicting with the amount of attention that the lesser known bands deserve? I'd rather go see 5Bridges, Feedforward, Jukka Tolonen or Bootcut when they play a small club, than paying 50 euro to see them, knowing that most of the money won't go to them. Just a thought.... 2 things 1st: not all countries are the size of a European country man. Hell, half of Brazil is bigger than the whole Europe. Here we got some prog festivals, but i have to drive/fly at least 250 kilometers just to go to the ones that are closer (in Rio de Janeiro) and around 500 kilometers to go to São Paulo or Belo Horizonte; because of that i am pretty much fooked when the talk is about prog festivals (by the way, there are not prog bands in my state, only bands that play covers of classic rock, including some prog). Errr, what's the point in relation to my post?

the connection is: i cant go to any prog festival or prog show, no matter the size, no matter the venue, no matter when. i just cant because i don't have neither the money to travel such distances nor the possibility to watch any prog rock bands EVER in the city where i live. And in Europe (Netherlands in your case) you have such abundance and are STILL cursing the Heavens, wishing smaller bands to have more space on big shows. Well, prog rock don't sell 60 million copies anymore so, besides the amount of the good anonymous bands, promoters are still more interested in make money.

To make money is the only reason why there are no more space for unknown bands on that festival and why there are only 1 progressive rock band in my state. Maybe thats the problem with capitalism: to put the products in front of the man; to put the HAVE in front of the BE.



Edited by CCVP - March 23 2008 at 15:24