Gouveia Art Rock 2009, Portugal, May 2009

 

October Equus (Spain) - not a big fan of their music, but even if I was, it would probably be dissapointing anyway. Too cold and emotionless, very technical but not perfect, all compositions sounded alike. Not a great start to the festival. The Spanish in the audience seemed to like it, but talk on the outside made it look as they were the only ones - probably a cultural thing. 4/10

 

Gatto Marte (Italy) - a trio consisting of violin, cello and piano and percussion. Interesting classic-jazzy pieces, often with that "soundtrack" feel to them, not unlike Yann Tiersen or even Aranis. Very pleasent concert, funny at times, but a great display of virtuosity and originality. 7/10   

 

Focus (Holand) - Thijs Van Leer is old. His vocal prowess is simply not the same, but his spirit is unbreakable. Focus produced the first real highlight of the festival, with an electric performance that got everyone in the audience roused up. Classics were not neglected, even if some songs turned out not as good as the original. 8/10

 

KBB (Japan) - this japanese quartet was completely unknown to me. At first I was a bit skeptical (violin-rock always makes me think of Vanessa Mae), but my fears were unfounded. A great display of virtuosity from all members, but filled with energy and joy. The band completely caught the hearts of the audience. 8/10

 

Gordon Giltrap (UK) - One man, one chair, one guitar - perfection. Gordon gave an excellent (if a bit short) concert, displaying amazing technique and energy is compositions going from folk to rock to blues, and a great sense of humour to top it all. 9/10

 

Volapük (France) - an oddity of a band, at times sounding like Magma playing KC's Larks Tongues is Aspic. Their sound and performance were again very skillful (virtuosism seemed to be the word of the day), but not dense at all. The drummer was simply amazing. 7/10 

 

California Guitar Trio (USA) - these Fripp disciples did great on their own songs, but I was really let down by their covers of Tubular Bells and Echoes. The highligh of their concert was the introduction of Tony Levin and Pat Mastelotto, who with the aid of the three guitar players opened their concert (and ended CGT's) with a cover of KC's Larks (Part 2, if memory serves me). 7/10

 

Unfortunately I had to leave earlier, after just two songs by Stick Men, so I couldn't honestly comment on it.

 

Koenjihyakkei (Japan) - Magma was the word on everyone's lips after this concert, often preceeded by the words better than. The japanese quintet gave a fierce and energetic performance, with every member displaying amazing ability, but none as much as the amazing vocalist Ah. Applauses at the end were short, for the simple reason that everyone rushed outside to get their albums. 8/10

 

University of Errors (Australia/USA) - Daevid Allen suported by an excellent band (amazing guitar player), doing a lot of space-rock takes and surprisingly great punk covers of Soft Machine and Gong. Absolutely amazing vitality the man has. Albums sold out in a flash. 9/10 

 

Premiata Forneria Marconi (Italy) - We're taking you on a journey through the band, so let's start at the beggining. Everyone was waiting for something from Storia di un Minuto. Instead we got an almost perfect rendition of 21st Century Schizoid Man. Soon after that, hits marched on, my only complaint being the choice of River of Life over Appena Un Po and the decision to play L'Isola di Niente without the wonderful choir sections. Weird thing, I was the only person in the audience to applaud when they announced they were going to play Cyber Alpha from their latest album. The public was actually the weakest link of the concert, with Franz di Cioccio constantly trying to get them involved, but with very few success. 9/10

 

Overall price: 5 euros/concert. Can't wait for next year.