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Thread: Virtual ProgDay 2020

  1. #1
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    Virtual ProgDay 2020

    Good Morning everyone ~

    So here we are, 2020. Looking forward to the first day, later, of this virtual ProgDay experience. In recent conversation with some Canadian music friends... we are living a first Labor Day weekend without our travels to Storybook, in 23 or 24 years. Storybook has been part of our musical 'being' for a relatively large chunk of our adult lives. Symptoms of withdrawal???... yeah!

    Observation will be interesting as to IF, this virtual experience may find way in to the future of our beloved festival!? So very clearly - this life time is a series of constant change. 2020 is certainly proving historical in so many ways.

    Let's review the weekend ~ Shall we?

    Carry On
    Chris Buckley

  2. #2
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    I won't be able to attend.

    Slow connection here - even YouTube stalls and hiccups, and I have to wait for it to catch up. I maybe need to get a better one.
    Last edited by Baribrotzer; 09-05-2020 at 11:46 AM.

  3. #3
    I'm here for the moosic NogbadTheBad's Avatar
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    Great first show from Stop Motion Orchestra, plenty of fun banter in the chat room.
    Ian

    Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on progrock.com
    https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-a...re-happy-hour/

    Gordon Haskell - "You've got to keep the groove in your head and play a load of bollocks instead"
    I blame Wynton, what was the question?
    There are only 10 types of people in the World, those who understand binary and those that don't.

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by winkersnufs View Post
    Good Morning everyone ~

    So here we are, 2020. Looking forward to the first day, later, of this virtual ProgDay experience. In recent conversation with some Canadian music friends... we are living a first Labor Day weekend without our travels to Storybook, in 23 or 24 years. Storybook has been part of our musical 'being' for a relatively large chunk of our adult lives. Symptoms of withdrawal???... yeah!

    Observation will be interesting as to IF, this virtual experience may find way in to the future of our beloved festival!? So very clearly - this life time is a series of constant change. 2020 is certainly proving historical in so many ways.

    Let's review the weekend ~ Shall we?

    Carry On
    Chris Buckley
    I will be sitting in on some of the shows. Listening to Vespro now.

  5. #5
    Outraged bystander markwoll's Avatar
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    Vespero was very nice. Going to have to get some of that.
    I'm in the middle of server upgrades at work ( from home ) so I missed a chunk of Stop Motion Orchestra. What I saw was pretty good.
    Not the field, but a reasonable facsimile thereof.
    "It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."
    -- Aristotle
    Nostalgia, you know, ain't what it used to be. Furthermore, they tells me, it never was.
    “A Man Who Does Not Read Has No Appreciable Advantage Over the Man Who Cannot Read” - Mark Twain

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    Looking forward to Vak, in mere moments!

    neil

  7. #7
    I'm here for the moosic NogbadTheBad's Avatar
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    Van were excellent, enjoying Le Evades now
    Ian

    Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on progrock.com
    https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-a...re-happy-hour/

    Gordon Haskell - "You've got to keep the groove in your head and play a load of bollocks instead"
    I blame Wynton, what was the question?
    There are only 10 types of people in the World, those who understand binary and those that don't.

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    Good Morning!

    Now the weekend went VERY well! Save for a few connection issues here on my end... the virtual experience was certainly a good way to fill that itch for ProgDay, and the kind(s) of music that have been presented over the years. This past weekend was no different in regard! Starting the virtual event was the Stop Motion Orchestra... the first band announcement prior to the cancellation. I was really looking forward to seeing them, based on listening samples only.... and over the past weekend they certainly did not disappoint. I'll let others here with a better sense for reviewing, chime in here with particulars!

    Early observation ~ I did not feel overly comfortable with the chats going on during the performance. For me... it took away from the concentration I want to give to the music being presented. Hahahaah this being said by one who can get yakky in the live setting(s), sometimes!

    Further thoughts?

    Carry On
    Chris Buckley

  9. #9
    Member Steve F.'s Avatar
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    Chris

    I was happy to be able to 'virtually' say hello to you before the music started. I didn't pay any attention to the chatting once the music started.

    Based on the little bit I saw, VIRTUAL PD worked just fine but - for me - something like this does not and can not come anywhere near to seeing a 'in the flesh' performance.

    It didn't scratch my PD itch or anything else; it just made me more sad about how life has turned out for the last six months and how it continues to be. Ugh.

    YMMV.

    In good news, on Friday, I actually went to a well run and 'as safe as it can be' real concert with real performers outdoors with all chairs pre-spaced to 6' or more apart and the audience limited to 40 attendees. I think that they (rhizomedc.org) are going to continue to do it once a week as long as the weather stays nice. That made me happy!
    Steve F.

    www.waysidemusic.com
    www.cuneiformrecords.com

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    Any time any one speaks to me about any musical project, the one absolute given is "it will not make big money". [tip of the hat to HK]

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  10. #10
    Marklar Jimmy Giant's Avatar
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    Great job Michael and all involved (Ann, Tom, etc).
    We caught 5/8 of the shows. Hooffoot and Mad Fellaz were on fire with great sets and pro production.
    Looks like the weather at Storybook was probably very nice this year. Figures.
    But this was a real treat not dealing with all the time and expense of travel. We loved lazing on a sunday afternoon!
    We'd like to see this as an option going forward.
    JG

    "MARKLAR!"

  11. #11
    Member wiz_d_kidd's Avatar
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    Many thanks to Michael Bennett, Tom Palmieri and Ann Rinaldi for putting together and hosting an incredible show! I thoroughly enjoyed every second of it! It was a bright spot that DID scratch my itch to see some live performances, and keep the ProgDay streak alive!

    As far as the chats were concerned, I was watching full screen during most of all of the performances, unless I was tipping or checking people's reactions to an incredible part of a performance. I found it nice to comment and get feedback from the musicians themselves during the recorded performances.

    Going in, I expected a lot from Vespero and Mad Fellaz -- two bands I was quite familiar with -- and they delivered BIG time! New discoveries for me (and why Michael & Tom were spot-on in their desire to expose people to bands they might not have heard before) were Hooffoot, Les Evades, and Gnarbot. They're definitely on my shopping list.

    I was glad that most performances were instrumental. Of those that employed vocals, those of VAK blew me away.

    All in all, it was a great weekend. While it's not as good as being there in person, I can see doing this kind of thing in the middle of winter to blow away some of the doldrums. And it was good to "see" some familiar folks in attendance. Maybe next year it'll be in person.

    Thank you bands! Thank you Michael, Tom and Ann. Thank you to the many volunteers and staff behind the scenes!

    Mark & Shirley

  12. #12
    Will any of the sets be repeated; Vespero in particular....somewhere...maybe on Bandcamp? I'd gladly pay for them.
    "Frozen flaking fish raw nerve...In a cup of silver liquid fire" - Jethro Tull

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    ^I believe that is up to the individual bands. I too, would like to see a few of the sets that I was interested in, but couldn't slot in to my weekend.

    I enjoyed both Vak and Hooffoot a lot. No substitute for the real thing, of course, but a very welcome substitute in these times of duress.

    neil

  14. #14
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    I was only able to catch 4 of the performances, but I really enjoyed it and it all came off much better than I had imagined that it would. I also really enjoyed the after performance “talk” segments that some of the bands did. Michael did a great job at asking questions and being the host. He is a natural at it. Michael you should seriously consider starting a YouTube channel where you interview bands. A few of us also did a virtual Zoom pool party later in the evening which was a lot of fun. All in all, it was a very cool event and getting to see bands from Russia and big bands like the one from Italy was a nice treat as bands like that would be cost prohibitive to actually bring to North Carolina.

  15. #15
    I'm here for the moosic NogbadTheBad's Avatar
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    Really enjoyed this two day experiment though it was a bit odd. Was great to see so many familiar names in the chatroom and had plenty of entertaining banter. Didn't see how many people attended but seemed to be a fair few, hope it was successful for ProgDay and the artists.

    My personal favorite acts were
    Stop Motion Orchestra - experimental instrumental played outdoors on the deck
    Vak - modern Zeuhl focused on keys and an excellent vocalist
    Hooffoot - heavy fusiony instrumental with guest violinist and trombone, grooved as hard as anyone
    Ghost Rhythm - instrumental avant jazz

    I also enjoyed
    Vespero - Russian Space Psyche that grooved
    Les Évadés - jazzy folky cinematic music featuring violin & cello

    Mad Fellaz weren't for me, Italian, Fusion, Zappa, Allman hybrid with a soso vocalist who played for about 2 hours which was at least 45 minutes too long. Others seemed to love them.

    Didn't see Gnarbot.

    Congrats to Michael, ProgDay and the ProgStock people who set it up. Was much better than anyone had a right to expect in these interesting times.
    Ian

    Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on progrock.com
    https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-a...re-happy-hour/

    Gordon Haskell - "You've got to keep the groove in your head and play a load of bollocks instead"
    I blame Wynton, what was the question?
    There are only 10 types of people in the World, those who understand binary and those that don't.

  16. #16
    Member moecurlythanu's Avatar
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    The timing ruled me out. Hopefully these shows will be available on a On Demand basis. I'm sure they can turn more viewers. (Like me.)

  17. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by moecurlythanu View Post
    The timing ruled me out. Hopefully these shows will be available on a On Demand basis. I'm sure they can turn more viewers. (Like me.)
    I have a hard time watching one song to it's completion on Youtube. I have so many unopened dvd's I haven't watched yet.
    NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF STUPID PEOPLE IN LARGE GROUPS!

  18. #18
    Outraged bystander markwoll's Avatar
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    I was present for all 8 shows.
    Sadly I was multitasking on Saturday so the last two shows happened, but I was distracted by database upgrades.
    I like Stop Motion Orchestra, I have most of their stuff.
    Vespero was nice, I have to select a couple of their albums. Much to choose from.
    Vak & Les Evades sort of were background sounds that did not stick. My fault entirely.

    Sunday I was more of an active watcher.
    Hoofoot was good. Very metal ( trombone wise ). Like the world influenced rhythms and timbres.
    Mad Fellaz did a nice job. They had a nice production for a live show. Varied material. A bit long, but ok.
    Ghost Rhythms was very nice. I dug the vibe.
    Gnarbot suffered from some tech stuff but pulled off a good sound show once the stream issues were worked out. Kind of weak vocals, but killer instrumentalists.
    "It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."
    -- Aristotle
    Nostalgia, you know, ain't what it used to be. Furthermore, they tells me, it never was.
    “A Man Who Does Not Read Has No Appreciable Advantage Over the Man Who Cannot Read” - Mark Twain

  19. #19
    BTW, living locally I have been to many PDs: the past weekend was the best. weather. ever....
    Missing the whole ritual, from Thursday night PD preview show with Howie on WXYC, many weekend guests from out-of-state, smoking it up at the edge of the woods with the usual suspects...
    About 5:45 p.m. Sunday I stood on the veranda, sigh, the last band is just starting...

    I'll try to save a few more dollars for next year's event. We might all boost the budget.?!

    be safe

    David

  20. #20
    Member moecurlythanu's Avatar
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    Next year at this time, I'll be retired, so making my first Progday (if it comes off) is a strong possibility.

  21. #21
    Member since March 2004 mozo-pg's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by moecurlythanu View Post
    Next year at this time, I'll be retired, so making my first Progday (if it comes off) is a strong possibility.
    You lucky bastard! I've got 6.5 years to go.
    What can this strange device be? When I touch it, it brings forth a sound (2112)

  22. #22
    Member moecurlythanu's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by mozo-pg View Post
    You lucky bastard! I've got 6.5 years to go.
    It helps getting to retire at 60.

  23. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by moecurlythanu View Post
    Next year at this time, I'll be retired, so making my first Progday (if it comes off) is a strong possibility.
    I hope to be in the same boat. Will hit 34 years with the same company in October.

  24. #24
    Member since March 2004 mozo-pg's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by moecurlythanu View Post
    It helps getting to retire at 60.
    Now I'm more pissed off!!
    What can this strange device be? When I touch it, it brings forth a sound (2112)

  25. #25
    Well...this may not help your mood...but I just retired at 64. SS benefits on the way too...Yahoo!!
    "Frozen flaking fish raw nerve...In a cup of silver liquid fire" - Jethro Tull

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