Rosfest Reviews

[SteveSly]

They announced an Italian band for next year already, so Unreal City is probably out.

Who was announced? I never heard it.

[SteveSly]

They would never be invited to RoS. Not in a million years.
They don't have jazz/rock bands and they don't have instrumental bands.

The Fierce And The Dead were all instrumental this year.

[battema]

Who was announced? I never heard it.

I think Barock Project is the name...

[Steve F.]

The Fierce And The Dead were all instrumental this year.

Change 'never' to 'almost never' then!

[Poisoned Youth]

I don't find the ROSfest line-up very varied, they usually have one or two outliers each festival but I don't see any avant, zeuhl, krautrock, space, electronic, fusion and very few instrumental bands. To me it doesn't have a patch on NF's eclecticism. I remain hopeful each year that there will be 3 or 4 bands that interest me then I'd be there. Plenty of my friends are there every year.

This sums up my feelings as well. I'm glad it exists and it's not too far of a trip for us, but I'm less interested in going just to "bump into some people I know" and keep an eye on the fest each year to see if they cull enough music together of interest to me personally to take the plunge.

On another note, it's also somewhat of a testament to how much music is out there. I have a fairly diverse collection, and while I have heard music from most of the bands last weekend at one point in time, I only own albums from 3 of them. Usually going into a NEARFest, it was typically 75% or more of those groups. While I love discovering new music, I personally would rather discover them at home and then identify with what I have heard in a live setting.

[NogbadTheBad]

I personally like a mix of discovering new music at home and in the live setting, there's something quite invigorating about discovering a new band live that you knew nothing about and really hits the mark. I remember at my first RIO in '11 Trane told me I'd love Alamaailman Vasarat, they were the last band up on Sunday before the final 'headliner' Arno. I was quite burnt out by this time and seeing as I knew nothing about them I was happy to sit near the back & just zone out. Within a minute of them kicking off I was down the front bouncing around with the rest, superb shocking performance to me.

[battema]

As the person who first pushed back a bit on Sean's question...in fairness, I was being a bit thin-skinned. I didn't want a thread about RF reviews to turn into a "why isn't RF more diverse?" thread. But it is as valid a topic as any other, and clearly is a dividing line for some of you. Apologies for firing things up a bit.

For me personally, catching up with folks and enjoying the overall festival atmosphere (combined with the fact that it is very close and Gettysburg is a fun little area) is enough incentive to go even if some of the band picks aren't my favorite. I certainly respect feeling differently, and there are fests that I won't consider without some bands that are "can't miss" status because of logistics/cost/etc..

[Poisoned Youth]

I personally like a mix of discovering new music at home and in the live setting, there's something quite invigorating about discovering a new band live that you knew nothing about and really hits the mark.

True, but I prefer that to be contained to a night out at a club or (as you mentioned) a single group like AV. A whole weekend of that would not work for me personally.

[Camelogue]

The fact that I only enjoyed one of the four bands on Sunday is not an indictment of the festival. As long as their is an audience for the festival, more power to it. My personal taste is not Prog bordering on metal so The Fierce and the Dead may have been a fine band to many.

I attended the first Rosfest and many others that I enjoyed bands. The bands that I enjoyed over the years including RPWL, Asturius, Magenta, Mangalla Vallis, IZZ, and Sonus Umbra.

[NogbadTheBad]

True, but I prefer that to be contained to a night out at a club or (as you mentioned) a single group like AV. A whole weekend of that would not work for me personally.

Agreed - I need a fair number of bands I know to justify going in the first place but it's always nice to be surprised by one or two.

[SteveSly]

Change 'never' to 'almost never' then!

If I remember correctly Electric Asturias a few years ago was all instrumental as well, but yes it is a rarity for ROSfest.

[RaelWV]

My thoughts:

This was ROSFest number 7 for me (low compared to some folks, but it doesn't seem that long!). Kudoas as always to George and the crew who keep things running smoothly year after year. My thoughts on the bands:

Kyros - I liked them as Synathesia a couple years back and I think they've improved with (a little bit of) age. Their sound is heavy without being obnoxious and there's lots of juicky keyboard workto go around (it's a great ad for the Korg Kronos). Liked 'em, bought the new album. Note - this was the first of three keyboardist/frontmen for the weekend - surely a record?

Moon Safari - I like, but don't love, them (after about 90 minutes things just seem too sweet) but they delivered a good set, as expected based on their last appearance. The newer material didn't thrill me. I continue to be amazed at their ability to harmonize after two hours.

Aaron Clift Experiment - I thought this was generally good, melodic stuff, although as somebody else pointed out it wasn't particularly "proggy." Only a few tunes really connected. I liked the fact that they brought a string quartet (once the sound guy saw they were there). But I disapointed that the keyboard player didn't do more in a band with his name on it. Second keyboardist/frontman of the festival.

Unified Past - These guys just didn't work for me. Heavy prog with metal-style vocals with lots of instrumental pyrotechnics. Ephemeral Sun's John Battema apparently stepped in at late notice to keep the band from having to cancel, so kudos to him - their material gave him quite a workout! I thought the Christ Squire "tribute" was odd, given that the bass player (with his Rick!) walked off stage for it.

dB Unit - The surprise of the fest for me. As other's have mentioned, this was basically a few guys from Unitopia augmented by Steve Unruh (on violin, flute, and percussion). I only have one Unitopia album which is all right, so the idea of this collection of musicians didn't thrill me. But the music was great and nice contrast from the metallic bombast of the rest of the day. Unruh is amazing. If they don't make an album, I hope we get a recording of this set, at least. Slight demerit for using a bass backing track occassionally.

Neal Morse Band - Although I hadn't heard much of Neal's solo stuff going in, I knew what to expect musically from his days with Spock's Beard, Transatlantic and, now, Flying Colors (whose sedcond album I picked up). Aside from the prog-metal gloss on proceedings, it met expectations. Nothing stuck with me, but it was an enjoyable process as it went through. Neal and his band are all monster players and he's a great frontman (number 3 in the . . . trinity of keyboard-based frontmen), so it was fun to watch.

The Fierce and the Dead - I suppose they were the "weird" band for the weekend, given the all-instrumental music. A great way to start Sunday. They remdinded me of a heavier, more concsise Forever Einstein (if that makes any sense). There were a few bits where they spaced out and kind of provided some breathing space. Great rapport with the audience. Pity they're Arsenal fans!

Evership - This was another pleasant surprise. Young band (they've been an actual band less than a year) cranking out adventerous (in terms of lyrical themes) symphonic prog with a heavy (but not overwhelming) edge. Lots of acoustic guitar work added a nice texture. Plus, they had cool toys on stage - a theramin! a (pink) double-neck bass! a CP-80! Unfortunatley, the lead guitar tone cut through my brain like a laser.

Edensong - Every year I skip out on one band (there's only so much music a mind can handle) and I knew they'd be the one this year. I wanted to rest up for Anglagard and, having seen Edesonsong at 3RP long ago, knew their stuff really wasn't for me. I hung around for a few tunes (all new, I think) and confirmed that thought. Major demerits for using obvious backing tracks (especially considering ACE's string quartet from the day before).

Anglagard - This was my highest expectation of the weekend and they met it. They were a little looser (improvisational?) than I thought they'd be, but it worked. Loveed bathing in the glow of real Melotron strings for the evening!

All in all another pretty good year.

[JKL2000]

I've never been to RoSfest, but I'm surprised by the number of people who either just skipped some bands or left after only a little bit. I've almost never done that at a festival, Even if I'm not that into a band I kind of want to see everything they've got. I understand we're all getting slightly older and sometimes you just need a break. The nice thing about ProgDay is that if necessary you can totally space out, read, doze, etc.

As far as diversity, I don't really get bemoaning a lack of it. This is how RF has always been. It takes a certain tack. It's like complaining that NEARfest was too diverse.

If I didn't have the family responsibilities I have, I'd go to RF all the time, even if IDEALLY I'd want it to be a bit more diverse. It is what it is.

BTW, great review, Steve Sly! I wish I could always have your good attitude.

And I'm not putting anyone down, I just look at any Prog festival as a performance where I feel some responsibility as, to use Fripp's term, an audient, for all the bands.

[jeffworman]

I think Barock Project is the name...

Now this has me looking forward to ROSfest 2018 already! Barock Project is an excellent Italian band - - great ensemble playing, with outstanding musicianship all around. Their keyboard player has taken over the lead vocal duties, and although I really liked their previous vocalist, he does a credible job (now in English) in addition to his outstanding work on keys. If you haven't checked these guys out, you really need to!

[Poisoned Youth]

I've never been to RoSfest, but I'm surprised by the number of people who either just skipped some bands or left after only a little bit. I've almost never done that at a festival, Even if I'm not that into a band I kind of want to see everything they've got. I understand we're all getting slightly older and sometimes you just need a break. The nice thing about ProgDay is that if necessary you can totally space out, read, doze, etc.

As far as diversity, I don't really get bemoaning a lack of it. This is how RF has always been. It takes a certain tack. It's like complaining that NEARfest was too diverse.

In regards to skipping bands, I did that at NF (less at ProgDay), because you do need a break from my perspective. That many bands over two days *can* be overkill. It would be like going to a movie theater for 2 days and watching 10 movies. It's not natural. Like you said with PD you can take a walk or otherwise not be confined to a seated indoor concert setting.

In regards to if RoS is diverse or not, I think most agree with you that they should not change simply because we would like it to be so. I do think there is something to be gained by an established festival in that area "opening up their arms" to the audience that frequented NF but not RF by adding a bit more variety to their format. But I don't expect that to happen nor do I hold anything against the organizers for doing what works for them.

With that said, if you cater to one crowd's tastes, you may lose another. Just reading some of the reviews on PE over the years, you'll get very broad dislikes for music that doesn't fit a particular mold with comments like "too jazzy", "too metal", "too dark", "too weird", "too poppy", "don't like foreign language vocals", etc. For as "progressive" as we claim to be, I've observed the majority of prog fans are not very open to music outside their comfort zone.

[Plasmatopia]

In regards to skipping bands, I did that at NF (less at ProgDay), because you do need a break from my perspective. That many bands over two days *can* be overkill. It would be like going to a movie theater for 2 days and watching 10 movies. It's not natural. Like you said with PD you can take a walk or otherwise not be confined to a seated indoor concert setting.

In regards to if RoS is diverse or not, I think most agree with you that they should not change simply because we would like it to be so. I do think there is something to be gained by an established festival in that area "opening up their arms" to the audience that frequented NF but not RF by adding a bit more variety to their format. But I don't expect that to happen nor do I hold anything against the organizers for doing what works for them.

With that said, if you cater to one crowd's tastes, you may lose another. Just reading some of the reviews on PE over the years, you'll get very broad dislikes for music that doesn't fit a particular mold with comments like "too jazzy", "too metal", "too dark", "too weird", "too poppy", "don't like foreign language vocals", etc. For as "progressive" as we claim to be, I've observed the majority of prog fans are not very open to music outside their comfort zone.

Spot on, IMO. I could see RF going to a little effort to diversify a bit, but I think they have to be careful not to alienate their core audience. I've haven't been interested in RF in recent years just because I haven't seen enough bands I'm familiar with that would entice me. Part of that is my own lack of sufficient exploration into those types of bands. I'm wary of trying out newer bands in the RF zone as I feel I've been burned too many times with albums that didn't really hold my interest. So I'm more excited about exploring older bands (that often no longer exist) or bands that are would likely never be booked at RF.

NF did cause me some listening fatigue a couple of times and I had to skip a couple bands. Mostly that was just me and my mood/tolerance at the time. The most I skipped was 2-3 bands and some of that was after I gave them a shot for 20-30 minutes. The next year I didn't miss anything and never got fatigued.

In this regard, Terra Incognita is a great festival. There are only 3 bands per day, 6 total. They don't start until 3pm, so there's time to sleep in, have a leisurely breakfast, and head down into Quebec City and see the sights. Unfortunately (speaking only for myself), there is a bit of a ROSFest factor there that limits my interest some years.

[progeezer]

I just can't do indoor festivals anymore, period. The list of reasons why is far too long to post.

Sean's right about the difference between Progday and the other festivals. IF I can work out all the logistics so that the traveling convenience factor is acceptable to me, I may make a game-time decision to go to NC this year.

[NogbadTheBad]

I just can't do indoor festivals anymore, period. The list of reasons why is far too long to post.

Sean's right about the difference between Progday and the other festivals. IF I can work out all the logistics so that the traveling convenience factor is acceptable to me, I may make a game-time decision to go to NC this year.

See you there!!

[SteveSly]

I've never been to RoSfest, but I'm surprised by the number of people who either just skipped some bands or left after only a little bit. I've almost never done that at a festival, Even if I'm not that into a band I kind of want to see everything they've got. I understand we're all getting slightly older and sometimes you just need a break. The nice thing about ProgDay is that if necessary you can totally space out, read, doze, etc.

As far as diversity, I don't really get bemoaning a lack of it. This is how RF has always been. It takes a certain tack. It's like complaining that NEARfest was too diverse.

If I didn't have the family responsibilities I have, I'd go to RF all the time, even if IDEALLY I'd want it to be a bit more diverse. It is what it is.

BTW, great review, Steve Sly! I wish I could always have your good attitude.

And I'm not putting anyone down, I just look at any Prog festival as a performance where I feel some responsibility as, to use Fripp's term, an audient, for all the bands.

I have to admit that I am not as fanatical about seeing every second of every band as I used to be. This year I did miss a small part of two performances (got in a little late for one, and left a little early for another), but I still try to catch the majority of everything. It did seem like the crowed ebbed and flowed a bit more at ROSfest this year than what I have seen in the past. Maybe it was just the vantage point of where we were sitting upstairs, but Neal Morse appeared to have the largest crowd of the weekend as we had people sitting in the same row as us with Neal Morse shirts on that I never saw before or after. Some of the bands were definitely more sparsely attended than others.

Regarding prog overload…….you ain’t seen nothing until you have been to Progtoberfest. Cramming over 30 bands into 3 days there is no way you can see them all and I have had to take some breaks from time to time to get away from it a while. Of course it different from the other festivals since there is music pretty much playing non-stop.

[battema]

The Maryland Death Fest is one of those "nonstop" festivals. Runs for about 4 days across multiple stages. I end up seeing maybe 25-30% of what's there, and come away saturated. Until this year, it was mostly outdoors in a big pavillion-type setting so, much like Progday you could take in bands but also just wander around if something didn't work (unlike Progday, the MDF is in Baltimore and there are other businesses/restaurants/things to do within walking distance which also helps).

IMHO more isn't necessarily better.

[Camelogue]

Regarding prog overload…….you ain’t seen nothing until you have been to Progtoberfest.

I could never imaging going to this. Especially when you can't sit down.

[gryphs also]

Regarding prog overload…….you ain’t seen nothing until you have been to Progtoberfest.

I could never imaging going to this. Especially when you can't sit down.

That's my problem. I started feeling the effects of 28 years of multi-sports of high physical contact. There is no way I could stand for a whole show let alone a day's worth let alone a weekend's worth.

[3RDegree_Robert]

I wish some of you guys talking about Progtoberfest "band overload" and "seating issues" were with me over in the ProgStock thread! Kevin took me to task for mentioning it and I wasn't the one complaining!

[3RDegree_Robert]

It did seem like the crowed ebbed and flowed a bit more at ROSfest this year than what I have seen in the past. Maybe it was just the vantage point of where we were sitting upstairs, but Neal Morse appeared to have the largest crowd of the weekend as we had people sitting in the same row as us with Neal Morse shirts on that I never saw before or after. Some of the bands were definitely more sparsely attended than others.

Oh man. I've known that there are PLENTY (too many!) "fair weather" Rush/Genesis/Yes/King Crimson/Jethro Tull fans out there that I'd wish we can all convert to being more into this GENRE than just the best known 1-5 bands from the 70's still playing but now we have fair weather Neal Morse fans who only go to see him? ........Fuck.

[moecurlythanu]

^ It's possible the Morse-only fans are Christians who feel that listening to the other bands would be giving place to "The World" in their lives. Some would definitely avoid that.