ROSfest!

Of course I am concerned that the show was not sold out, but I would blame that on the economy more than anything else. I was very lucky to be able to attend myself, but considered the investment well worth it.

Three bands attracted me to Rosfest: Frost*, Abigail's Ghost and Moth Vellum. So Saturday was the day for me...

I've been hearing and liking these guys on net radio for the past year or so. When they came out on stage, I got a nice chuckle out of the "ice cream uniforms", but I also understand where the boys are coming from here. Their approach is to present a positive "clean" image, a Zen kind of feel, which is just fine by me.(We all could use some good karma these days, I think) I loved the harmonized vocals, the bass player's voice is very unique and combined with the drummers voice, I thought Moth Vellum music presents something quite different then just another band so obviously inspired by Yes.

I got to speak with these dudes for a bit at the rest of the festival, they were all really cool. I was talking to Johanes the guitar player about his sound. I mentioned I really enjoyed the tone he got out of his Les Paul. He told me he was playing through a Fender amp to achieve his clear tone. I also really liked the Howe-like "singing" sounds he squeezed out of his mounted guitar as well.

I also had quite a long conversation with the keyboard player who gave me some of the history and geography on these guys. One dude in LA, one in Portland and the rest in the SF area, which means they are a long distance affair. This was their first appearance on the East coast, so sadly, I get the feeling they may not be out this way again soon, so I am so glad to have seen them.

So cool to have two "lead singers" in a band, and I am always so thrilled to see a drummer that is so involved with vocal chores. An impressive feat for sure, but if there was one small complaint, it would be for some reason, the drummer's vocals seemed 2-3 notches low, he should have been louder in the mix.

Abigail's Ghost

I've been keeping an eye on these guys ever since Pindral posted some good reviews and comparisons to PT some time ago. I've heard them quite a bit on Myspace, and I had a few of their songs downloaded. (legally) I was really anticipating a great performance. I thought they were very very good, but unfortunately, they are not nearly at the level of a PT.(not even close) Of course, that may be too high a standard to live up to. After all, Ghost is a young band, they have only just released their 2nd album, and I got the feeling in talking to them that RosFest is by far the biggest thing that has ever happened to them.

But just like in PT, its pretty clear the lead singer and guitar player is the driving force here. I think Joshua is an impressive song writer, a very good singer and one hell of a guitar player. I also loved the drummer, very heavy but with plenty of variation and cool little drum rolls. I thought the keyboard player added that great "lush" feel that we all seem to enjoy.

Now about "that" guitar player. My first reaction when I saw him was to nearly ROTFL, he seemed to think he was at OZZFest, not ROSFest. :lol But I ended up having a long conversation with the young dude later on. Randy is new to the band, along with one of the other guys, they were not on the first album. When I found out they were from a town 100 miles from New Orleans, I was a little surprised, the backwoods of Lousiana would be about the last place I would expect a prog band to be from. I asked Randy if there was much of a prog scene in New Orleans. He said he knows of maybe 1 other band in the area that plays prog. Randy is still in college, so I think we can afford to give him a little bit of a break. I got the feeling he has not really been exposed to the prog scene all that much. He was having the time of his life out there, and why not. :D

But I think the vocal harmonies that I hear on the studio Ghost seemed to be lacking at this performance. I am not sure if the keyboard player is also new, but I think his mike was low and he did not really contribute enough backup vocals. Perhaps this is something the band will consider beefing up as they move forward. I think Abigail's Ghost has loads of potential, I picked up their first CD at the show.

I've had Milliontown for about a year now, it was stuck in my CD player for quite a while there. To see them perform most of that album and their new one was fantastic. 10 out of 10, truly far better then I expected. Jem was an absolute hoot, I was laughing my ass off at all his one liners. The talent level in this band is nearly unfair, every single player was just superb.

Gem's keyboards were so lush and clean, and both guitar players were stunning, John Mitchell is so precise and letter perfect. I loved Declan's very expressive style of playing and singing, he truly is a superior musician. The bass player's groove was so measured and in the pocket, his vocals also added so much to the entire package.

But Nick D stole the show for me! Holy crap he was so good. (I wished I was stage right so I could see him sing better, one cymbal blocked his face from my POV, though I did catch him on camera occasionally.) I am not real familiar with Spock's Beard, but I will soon be joining that bandwagon after hearing this monster talent. Nick was so engaged with the crowd and the rest of the band, his sound elevated this band to a level far, far beyond what I've heard on Milliontown.

A wondrous performance, which was certainly acknowledged by the Rosfest crowd. Without question there were more folks in the hall for them, there was a girl behind me who came all the way from Texas just to see Frost*. She sure got her $ worth. We were all so happy to stand and hoot and holler through a standing O for an encore. I was then rewarded with "The Other Me" for the encore, one of my favorite songs from Milliontown. That song along with Black Light Machine were my two favorite songs for the entire festival, and they both were performed at such a high level by everyone involved. I just loved the band when all the members were singing together with such lovely harmonized vocals throughout.

Lazuli

Before Moth Vellum hit the stage I commented to George's sister (who was selling Rosfest posters) that I thought the band order was wrong. I thought Frost* should have been the Saturday night headliner, just who are these French dudes anyway? So as the day went by I started finding out just who this Lazuli might be: "they cook", "I have their DVD, I love em" , was the kind of thing I was starting to hear.

If you told me a week ago, that I would be standing up and yelling for an encore from a French band who barely speaks a word of English and sings entirely in French, I would have told you that you're frigging nuts! How nice it is to be wrong about something. They deserved their headline status no doubt. (Even with how amazing the Frost* performance was) How nice it is to pleasantly surprised by a French band that makes music I'm not even sure I completely understand.

But his act was just so smooth and natural, enthralling as a performer from Cirque du Soleil, he had the entire hall in the palm of his hand throughout the show. Speaking of the palm of his hand, how about that astonishingly simple yet completely unique little trick of a personal spotlight in the "palm of his hand"?! I thought this was just such a slick and effective move, it was so dramatic and funny, he used the light like an expert for great emotional impact. Yet he did not overdo it, he used it for parts of one song, than he was on to other creative antics.

The rest of the band was endlessly entertaining as well, I loved the sound the Warr player got out of his amazing instrument, astonishing bass tones that I felt rattling my gut, I don't recall ever hearing bass sounds quite like the ones he coaxed out of the 10-inch wide neck of that amazing looking Warr bass/guitar.

I also enjoyed the drummer (the only "normal" looking dude) as he roamed around stage, with flailing drum sticks and mallets, adjusting his midi device (is that where the bass drum sounds came from?) and bashing cymbals and tom toms. Later on he even laid down some amazing guitar licks. Rounding out the rhythm section was a xylophone player who had like 3 sets of "Xylos" and an electronic drum kit. Adding those extra bell tones and polyrythmns that to me were reminiscent of something Ruth Underwood might do with Zappa. Meanwhile, the lead guitarist is creating some wild chords and leads out of his instrument, the tame (in comparison) Parker Fly guitar. Encircling the sound like a luscious, luminous cloud is the dude with the custom made instrument which is emanating this singing guitar tone that was quite unlike anything else I've ever heard. As they gathered at the xylos for a drum circle at the end I was thinking how universal music really is, and how little our differences really are in the long run. Very sublime and thought-provoking music, it was a welcoming feeling that seemed warm and accessible yet so utterly progressive and unique.

This was a performance that simply had to be seen to be understood within a proper context, I don't think an audio recording of the live show is even enough for someone to understand Lazuli. Maybe a DVD is close, but I think I can safely say that anyone who saw Lazuli will say that it was a performance they will never forget. George was right on when he said "Lazuli is about to blow your minds."

Indeed.