PROGDAY 2018

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OK, so this is a little late, but it's been a real roller coaster 
ride after ProgDay... vacation in Asheville, broken transmission on my 
car, funeral for a best friend in PA, and my 60th BD party. But here are
 my observations regarding this year's lineup at ProgDay...
None
 of the bands were known to me prior to their announcement for ProgDay 
(except for Par Lindh who I only knew from last year's ProgDay 
announcement). As I usually do, I listened to samples wherever I could 
find them, and formed some opinion of whether I would enjoy their 
performance or not. Oddly (or maybe not) most of my preconceived notions
 were completely turned around!  Bands that I thought I would love to 
hear live were disappointing, and bands that I didn't really care for 
became my favorites of the show.  A brief synopsis...

Ovrfwrd
 - I liked (and purchased) two of their studio albums, but their live 
performance left me wanting. They came across a little bit like a garage
 band or a jam band. Their compositions didn't shine as much as on their
 studio albums. Not as tight. But I still dig their music, and enjoy 
their studio work.

Par Lindh - Wow, what 
can be said? Fantastic keys, and a breadth of styles including 
classical, prog, blues, honky tonk, rag time, etc. His tribute to 
Emerson was touching.

Pixie Ninja - I 
didn't care for their studio work, so I took the opportunity to cool off
 in an air conditioned car.  I missed a lot of their performance. From 
what I did see, I really liked the bass guitar.

Karmic
 Juggernaut - This band was the big surprise for me.  After listening to
 some of their studio albums, I thought I would not enjoy their 
performance. Exactly the opposite happened! For me, it was the best 
performance of the weekend. Great bass, guitar, flute, vocals. 
Intriguing compositions. And the Cookie Monster sang! I'm looking for 
their setlist so I can buy the appropriate albums.

Soften
 the Glare - I loved Bon Lozaga's work with Pierre Moerlen, but his 
performance just didn't grab my attention.  On the other side of the 
stage, however, the bassist just blew me away!  I couldn't stop focusing
 on him the whole performance. Bright red hair aside -- the dude can 
wail on the bass. I gotta find some more of his work.

King
 Llama - Didn't care for them before. Don't care for them now. I thought
 they were just loud and noisy. No finesse. But that's just my ignorant 
opinion...

Alec K. Redfern - Another band 
that I thought I would not like (I'm not a big fan of RIO-type prog, but
 I do enjoy some now and then). They were absolutely captivating!  If 
someone asked my to describe their music I'd have to say "Klaus Schultz 
got together with Frank Zappa to play some zydeco music". On my purchase
 list now.

GEPH - I kinda liked these guys 
going in, and feel the same way now.  I like their heavy dark prog, but 
it comes across as a little noisy at times. A little more finesse in 
their dynamics would have sold me completely.

Fernando
 Perdoma - I like Fernando's personality, but I didn't find his guitar 
work particularly engaging. I liked his work with Dave Kerzner, so in 
fairness, I should give him another listen (or two).

Edensong
 - I absolutely love their studio albums, but their live performance was
 lackluster. I think they suffered from being the last band to perform 
while half the audience was either gone, or tearing down. I left my 
canopy and chairs untouched until they finished, BTW. The threat of a 
thunderstorm didn't help, and I think they were really hurt by the (bad)
 mixing job.  Whether it was their fault, or the mixer's, I don't know. I
 couldn't hear the keyboards or Koto. What a shame. Their studio work is
 still one of my recent favorites though!

All 
in all, my wife and I had a great time. Heard some new music. Made some 
new friends. She's already talking about attending next year! Woo hoo!

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