RIO 3: Guapo, Mats-Morgan, Present, Magma

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   And finally, better late than never... more ace photography from Victor accompanied by some words strung together by Syzygy... RIO Festival Day 3!

Guapo

Guapo were the opening act on the third and final day of the festival. The core duo of Dave Smith (drums/percussion) and Daniel O'Sullivan (keyboards) is currently augmented by Kavus Torabi, the Cardiacs' guitarist who has been part of the touring line up for a couple of years now, and newish boy James Sedwards on bass (he also plays with Miasma and the Carousel of Headless Horses). The band appeared in matching black outfits, with O'Sullivan and Sedwards sporting wide brimmed hats. Sedwards looked like the Witchfinder General in a 1970s horror film, and the presentation was influenced by horror movie director Dario Argento. They opened the set with a 25 minute version of Black Oni, Kavus throwing outrageous axe-hero shapes stage left, O'Sullivan looming over his keyboards stage right and Sedwards more or less immobile in between them. Dave Smith as ever lead the proceedings from his drumkit - he's one of that breed of drummers who know when to drive things forward, when to hold things together and, crucially, when not to play at all. The first part of the set saw a minor glitch with the Fender Rhodes (according to Smith they had requested a mark 2 but were provided with a mark 1; not the first time that this has happened) but this was quickly resolved and the band proceeded to turn in the best performance I have seen from them to date. Sedwards plays bass more melodically and with greater fluidity than either of his predecessors, while Kavus has made the guitar parts in Black Oni and especially 5 Suns his own. Black Oni was followed by a new piece from the forthcoming Elixirs album and was similar to the recent Twisted Stems ep - more subtle and nuanced than the previous 2 albums, but a logical progression from them. As the new piece drew to a close, Dave Smith emerged from his kit with a hand held gong and moved slowly off the stage into the audience, while Kavus and O'Sullivan produced melodicas and started playing a ghostly refrain, while Sedwards set up a bass loop and remained in place on stage. As Smith made his way through the audience, playing a slow but very precise beat on his gong, Kavus and O'Sullivan advanced up the aisles, assuming positions either side of the mixing desk, still playing. All three then made a gradual return to the stage and launched into a powerhouse rendition of 5 Suns. This is a piece that keeps improving as part of their live set - Black Oni and the newer material may be more sophosticated, but the 25 minute live version of 5 Suns is a spectacular, all-out showstopper that combines elements of RIO and Zeuhl and also rocks like a great big box full of rocks with some extra rocks piled up on top for good measure. The band were clearly in their element by this stage, launching into the piece like a pack of hungry wolves tearing into raw meat and maintaining health threatening levels of intensity throughout. The false ending took some of the audience by surprise, but at the end they received a standing ovation which, having just torn the roof off the place, they had more than earned.

Mats-Morgan

Mats - Morgan were next on stage, appearing as a trio (slimmed down from the 5 piece touring ensemble advertised on the festival website) with Mats and Morgan plus a new bassist who looked like a refugee from Abba and whose proficiency on his Fender Jazz Precision was on a par with the main player's outstanding chops. Morgan Agren is a phenomenal drummer who, in approximately the time it takes to blink an eye, can hit every single piece of his twin bass drum kit while shifting from 17/13 to 3/7 to 11/8 time. This was pretty much what he did for the first 20 minutes or so of the set - the keyboards and bass were buried somewhat in the mix, so it was like an extremely prolonged drum solo with occasional washes of colour in the quieter passages. I'm as much into virtuosic playing as any prog fan, but after a few minutes I was hoping that he'd slow down a bit or let one of the other musicians have a go at taking the lead, and I felt that I was witnessing a rather cold display of technique for its own sake. I have to report, however, that I was probably in the minority here; most of the audience seemed to be lapping it up, so maybe I'm just being a grumpy old git. Anyway, about halfway through the set things slowed down and loosened up a little - from my limited knowledge of their music I think that the opening part of the set consisted of Morgan's compositions, while the latter half was given over to Mats Oberg's music. This was rather more to my taste, with more sense of melody and marked contrasts between fast and slow passages, and at this point I started to enjoy their set a little more - the sound was better balanced by this stage as well, which was a big bonus. Mats played one piece where he played chromatic harmonica and accompanied himself on the keyboard, and for me this piece was the highlight of the set, along with the sight of Mats pirouetting behind his keyboards during the final number. They received a standing ovation from a clearly delighted audience, but as much as I had liked some of the set I couldn't quite see what all the fuss was about.

Present (Roger Trigaux far left)

Present made their second appearance of the weekend, here as an electric band. In addition to Roger Trigaux (who sat stage right as previously, this time with an electric keyboard and a guitar) the line up consisted of Reginald Trigaux on guitar, Pierre Chevalier on keyboards, Matthieu Saffatly on cello, Pierre Dessasis on saxes and an American rhythm section with Keith Macksoud on bass and Dave Kerman on drums, most of whom have appeared on Presents' recent albums. Roger Trigaux's role was much the same as for the acoustic set, for the most part conducting the other musicians and contributing the occasional keyboard or guitar embellishment. The set seemed to concentrate on more recent material, with a particular highlight in 'Limping Little Girl' from No 6, complete with Dave Kerman's interjections of 'Didn't you hear what your mother said?'. The cello and sax parts were thoughtfully arranged and really brought out the best in Trigaux's compositions, while Reginald Trigaux played some finely judged lead guitar and Pierre Chevalier turned in another sterling performance at the keyboards. Apparently the band hadn't rehearsed that much, but they sounded extremely tight and confident and delivered a set that was one of the festival's many highlights. The final number was enlivened by 2 events. First, a rather intimidating looking bloke in a kilt and hard hat wandered onto the stage and picked up a piece of scaffolding, on which he he beat out a rhythm with a hammer. Then, as the number drew to a close, Trigaux reached for his guitar and had a Pete Townsend moment when he smashed it to pieces over his keyboard. Anger? Frustration? Rock and roll showmanship? After the piece finished he retired briefly into the wings and stood there with his head in his hands before coming forward to receive a well deserved standing ovation from an ecstatic audience - Present had more than risen to the occasion and turned in a spirited performance, and whatever my reservations about the acoustic set they were magnificent on this occasion. Sound man Udi Koorman should also be mentioned here; he was at the controls for about half the performances and they all benefited from his skills, but none more so than this one. 

Magma

And then there was Magma. One glance at my avatar will let you know that there's not going to be much objectivity in what follows, but I'll do my best. The last time I saw them, about 5 years ago in London, they played La Trilogie (Theusz Hamtaahk, Wurdah Itah and Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh) which was wonderful, and I was hoping that some day I'd get to see them perform Kohntarkohsz. Well, Christian Vander had clearly realised this, and following a resounding 'Hamtai!' from Zeben Strain de Geustah himself that's what their set opened with. The line up was basically the same as last time I saw them and is also the same line up that recorded KA, with the addition of new member Benoit Alziary on vibes and keyboards. There were some sound problems during the first part of Kohntarkohsz - the vocals and keyboards from the left side of the stage were far too low in the mix - but these were soon sorted out. This rendition featured rather more vocals than either the original studio recording or the brilliant version on Live:Hhai. Guitarist James McGaw took the solo in part 2 that Didier Lockwood performed so memorably on Live:Hhai and more than did it justice - on the previous occasion I saw them I wasn't that impressed with his soloing on MDK, but he's clearly progressed a long way since then. The vibes added an interesting extra dimension, and Christian Vander took the lead vocal at one point (soundman Venux DeLuxe swung his microphone round on a large boom as and when required). The performance quickly developed into one of white hot intensity before the only completely full house of the festival. Anyway, Kohntarkohsz reached a thunderous conclusion and a rapturous reception. They then launched into what I thought would be a rendition of Rinde from Attahk, but as it unfolded and developed from the original 3 minutes it became clear that we were hearing another of Vander's unrecorded epics, presumably part of the same sequence as KA. At this point you may as well insert superlatives of your choice here; I pretty much lost any sense of time (I guess the second piece lasted at least 50 minutes) and was completely caught up in a Zeuhl rapture. Somebody (Royal Jelly?) commented afterwards that Magma's music is like the sun coming out - this was like seeing sunrise on a new planet for the first time. At one point Christian Vander stood up behind his drum kit to take the lead vocal, still swatting at his cymbals with hands like shovels and transfixing the audience with his slightly unnerving gaze. And the music played on, the vocalists retiring for a an instrumental break which included a splendid keyboard solo before the whole thing came to an earth moving conclusion propelled by some incredibly powerful drumming even by Vander's extraordinary standards. Following a prolonged standing ovation the band reassembled and Stella introduced the newest member and the rest of the band before Vander launched into an offering-style Kobaian ballad with minimal backing. Away from his drumkit he's an imposing figure with a remarkably operatic voice, and he brought Magma's performance, the evening and the festival to a graceful conclusion. Apparently there's another 'new' Magma album on the way - on the evidence of this performance it may well prove even better than the excellent KA.

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