I am going. I haven't missed a Baja Prog yet. I will arrive around 1pm Wed. Our gang usually hangs out in the lounge chairs near the pool area. Don't hesitate to come by and say "Hi". I love to chat with all the PE's folks. We'll see if Gene brings the Mellotrons again this year. If I had to guess, I would say yes. It was funny last year. Gene needed a place to store the Trons after the show so I had them in my room. So I could actually say "I slept with a Tron";-)
Steve.
David I may need a room again this year will know when I hit LA in about. Six hours will pm you then
We should be there at about 12:00.Originally Posted by forever12
Yeah, it sure was fun....We'll see if Gene brings the Mellotrons again this year. If I had to guess, I would say yes. It was funny last year. Gene needed a place to store the Trons after the show so I had them in my room. So I could actually say "I slept with a Tron";-)
Steve.
Until the border crossing back to the US
We sat there for 90 minutes before we were even inspected.
Border gaurd, "Sure. A trailer full of vintage analog keyboards. A likely story."
And if there were a god, I think it very unlikely that he would have such an uneasy vanity as to be offended by those who doubt His existence - Russell
DAY 1
missed Moraine
Haken - Great music but that guys voice gets a bit tiresome
Museo Rosenbach - wow ... wow ... and more wow
their new album Barbarica is great too
Neal Morse - Did not have high hopes for this ... but now I know that this dude is a MUSIC GENIUS !
I may never buy another album by him, but he put on a fantastic, high energy show with compositions ranging from the simple Ballad to the most complex Prog epic. Fantastic, fun show.
Why is it whenever someone mentions an artist that was clearly progressive (yet not the Symph weenie definition of Prog) do certain people feel compelled to snort "thats not Prog" like a whiny 5th grader?
I can't even imagine getting to see Museo Rosenbach live. I bought their LP in a used record store in the 70's and it spun my head around!
One of these days I'll make it to Baja Prog
Here are some quick reviews and impressions.
Haken - Very good. Top quality musicianship, very good melodies, complex instrumental passages played with dexterity.
Museo Rosenbach - Brilliant performance of their only 70's masterpiece, Zarathustra. Stefano Galifi sounded great on vocals.
Neil Morse - No question he's a talented guy, but the preachy lyrics get old fast. Some great instrumental passages kept my interest, especially in "The Author of Lies", which I guess us about the mythical 'Satan' character from the Bible. Portnoy was fun to watch and the guitar player was one of the best at the fest.
FRAK - a lot pf diverse influences, including: Pink Floyd, electronica, KC and others, all added up to pretty unexceptional music. Nice enough for sitting by the pool and relaxing. I like the idea of disguising the wireless mic in the vocalist's fake nose costume.
GNU Quartet - prog classics played by exceptional musicians. Violin, viola, cello and flute. A pretty mesmerizing performance. The highlight was probably 'Peaches in Regalia'.
Il Costello Di Atlante - pretty much my memories from their previous performance. Decent enough compositions, but their amateurish musicianship detracts from their performance.
Moon Safari - the 'boy band' of prog. Very good vocals and multi-part harmonies, quite good musicianship, but every thing they played had the same emotional content. To paraphrase Nigel Tuffnel, "how much more happy can music get? The answer is, none, none more happy". Buy a minor chord, guys.
PFM - not much needs to be said. Some to the best compositions ever written in prog, played impeccably well, with tons of emotion. Their newish violin player was a monster. Franz Di Cioccio is freak'n 68 years old, and not only does he play drums amazingly well, but when is singing, he has the energy of a 30 year old. So glad to hear 'Out of the Roundaout' and 'Harlequin' from Chocolate Kings.
Felix Martin - Yeah, the guy has chops from hell, yeah they played super complex music, yeah I was bored. And I like this kind of technical metal/fusion, but he didn't do it for me.
Cast with the GNU Quartet - even though I'm not the hugest fan, I always enjoy their performances, And this time was better than ever with the addition of the GNU quartet. I don't know how Alfonso does it; organize this great fest, hardly sleep for days, then go out and perform with Cast at such a high level, then back to concert organizing, not getting sleep, etc. Major kudos for Alfonso!
Saga - not much for me to like. 'Wind Him Up' and 'On the Loose' are serviceable, slightly prog tinged songs, but the rest was pretty mundane, for me. And too loud.
Osanna - another vintage Italian band comes through with with an amazing performance. David Jackson sounded great on sax and flute. Geoni Leoni came out for a Hammond solo, but did not really play with the band.
And finally, FINALLY someone at the festival acknowledged the recent loss of Francesco Giacomo. Osanna did a great, touching cover version of 'Non mi rompete'. One of the highlights of the festival.
Elora - seems like they take after the 'Riverside' school of new 'crossover' prog, but not very good, IMO.
Spock's Beard - really good performance by one of the venerable bands of the prog resurgence. Even though it might not be a possible to ever replace Neil Morse, Ted Leonard has a great set of pipes. I am not much of a fan anymore, but it's hard to argue with the quality of their performance.
Shylock - one of the best France had to offer in the 70's, and sounding great in the 2014. Excellent performance by all members of their classic albums.
It always surprises me that a band like Saga gets a better reception than a band like Shylock. I don't get it.
Couldn't stay for Fish, the people that I came down with had to get home, so we left right after Shylock, and loading a Mellotron and a couple of vintage Moogs in the trailer. But then, I didn't have much interest in Fish, so no big loss.
All in all, another successful Baja Prog.
Last edited by simon moon; 04-07-2014 at 03:43 PM.
And if there were a god, I think it very unlikely that he would have such an uneasy vanity as to be offended by those who doubt His existence - Russell
Do you mean 'Author of Confusion'? That one is indeed killer!
but it's not really about satan...
It's about how mankind is in a constant state of confusion since he chose to rebel against God. How man's brain does not function perfectly the way it was originally designed because he chose a path of rebellion and wrought decay and death which were not the original design for him. Man creates what he haughtily calls the "perfect government" and it is full of corruption, backbiting and dysfunction. Man creates electronic gadgets which are supposed to make life better and they backfire, creating social dysfunction. The 'author of confusion' is the state of man's mind after he inherited sin and death. Whether you believe the Bible to be the inerrant word of God or not, this song rings true.
DAY 2
Frak - ehh... umm... the guy painted blue with the 10 inch pointy blue nose and the grampa 1960 hat can not sing... the music was pretty good though when he ever did shut up.
GNU Quartet - Very cool twists on some classic Prog tunes with Violin, Viola, Cello and Flute.
Il Castello Di Atlante - It's no wonder people think I hate all singing. There just are not many good vocalists in these vocal bands. Castello are fine Symph style Prog but neither "singer" can hold a tune.
Moon Safari - Now *this* band were a fantastic surprise! TONS of singing... but excellent. I never thought I'd see a day where a Prog band from Sweden weren't brooding and ominous sounding (which I love about the Swedes) but Moon Safari are very happy sounding and they are great at pulling it off. Great, feel-good Symph style Prog with great vocals.
PFM - Had seen them back in 2003 and they did a long, drawn out Pop tune from one of their 80s albums which tainted that great show. But this time they only did one of their 80s tunes and it was one of the better ones and they did not drag it out. They played a lot of their classic, first 3 Symph style Prog albums plus some stuff from the more Fusion style Prog album Stati Di Immaginazione. It was an absolute knockout of a show! The best of the Fest for my money and solidifying my opinion that they stand above all others in the Symph style of Prog music... way above Yes and Genesis IMO.
Why is it whenever someone mentions an artist that was clearly progressive (yet not the Symph weenie definition of Prog) do certain people feel compelled to snort "thats not Prog" like a whiny 5th grader?
Another great year, here is my 2 peso's.
Cool and windy, I missed the heat of last year.
Great selection of craft beers, I'd rather take my chances with the tap water than drink Budlight.
Ban umbrellas, every time I got a good spot someone puts up one right in front.
I guess no one has told them that smoking is bad for you, every one smokes.
Bands 1. Osanna
2. Saga
3. Cast
4. Gnu Quartet
5. Frak
6. Moraine
7. Moon Safari
All the rest were ok.
1. Biggest disappointment, Elora There cd is really great, but they had a totally different sound on stage and it was not good.
2. Biggest disappointment, still only one guy selling new cds and one guy selling used cds, there were more in the old days.
I also think it was interesting that Fish would go into these long talks with the crowd, but 90% don't speak English, could have sang 2-3 more songs.
I did like hearing the Marillion songs, but the rest were forgettable.
But I still look forward to next year.
I had my teenagers in tow, so it was interesting to see the bands through their eyes. My son thought Gnu Quartet was the best of the show until he saw PFM, who he has never heard a note of. Every Italian band at the show was terrific, but PFM (and Museo Rosenbach second) were incredible. They had the most fun watching Spock's Beard and IO Earth.
For me, Moon Safari was worth the trip alone. The surprise, however, was that I thought Fish ended up being "best in show". What a performer, love the banter, loved the old Marillion songs too (from Script and Fugazi, no less). He has his voice back and he "spoke" to my two teenagers the most, who ended up putting him as their favorite. Who'd a thunk!
Another great Baja Prog, maybe one of the best. Favs were PFM, Moon Safari, Museo, Spock's, Saga and hearing Shylock play Ile de fièvre. Great to see old friends (Rogue Elephant) and make new ones. Great cds too (thanks MYSTERIOUS TRAVELLER).
de nada
I'll bring the other Mouzons next year... you'll love em!
how do you like those Kraan remixes?
Why is it whenever someone mentions an artist that was clearly progressive (yet not the Symph weenie definition of Prog) do certain people feel compelled to snort "thats not Prog" like a whiny 5th grader?
Nice. Still working through the others.
Glad to hear Haken went over well. I had to miss and really wanted to see them. Maybe next year!
D'OH! forgot to finish my reviews...
DAY 3
Felix Martin - A musical genius who needs to mature in his composition style. Played a stringed instrument he invented that was like a Chapman/Warr style thingy with 10 strings. His compositions were of the flashy Prog Metal variety and got a bit monotonous by the end of his set.
Cast - I have seen them a few times and this time was better than before. Very accomplished compositions obscured by an abundance of vocals.
IO Earth - Got a late start unfortunately so I didn't stay for their whole set but the stuff I heard was nice enough. The singer made them easy to look at
Saga - uhh... should I even ask why they were at a Prog festival? I mean Saga is musically in the vein of The Cars or The Fixx. All 4/4 all the time. But I absolutely loved the show! Fun stuff! The Guitarist took a solo for the ages at the end of Catwalk... much better than the album solo. Michael Sadler is an entertaining frontman for sure... very energetic and a great voice. The Bassist nearly put us off though at the beginning cause he started strutting and making faces like a Sherwoodesque 'look at me I'm a Rock star, don't you love me'. But the music was so well performed we just ignored him
Osanna - The circus is in town! Come see the circus! Osanna were great but the mix was AWFUL! The Snare Drum was like an icepick in my temple and the Guitar was twice as loud as every other instrument. Then David Jackson's Sax was way too low most of the time. Other than that, they rawked! They played all of Palepoli and showed some TV footage from when they were a young band which was cool but in the end I turned to my wife and said "that circus wore me out!"
Why is it whenever someone mentions an artist that was clearly progressive (yet not the Symph weenie definition of Prog) do certain people feel compelled to snort "thats not Prog" like a whiny 5th grader?
Keep the reviews coming!
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