Progressive Nation@Sea 2014

Trying to organize some thought unto (electronic) paper about my last holiday, the now infamous progressive Nation at Sea 2014 on the Norwegian pearl featuring more prog bands you can shake a … I dunno what but indeed a lot of bands.

I’ll try to sum this incredible experience.

Arriving at the airport of Miami on the Friday night, I had the pleasure to see Danny Cavanagh waiting for the arrival of Lee Douglas before my mate can realise his backpack was missing.

The next day we arrived to embark… at the same time as Jon Anderson and his wife. Starting queuing for the customs service to enter the boat.

Next to us was Jonas Reingold, Devin Townsend and Hasse Froberg.

The check in is a bit long but we’re doing fine and finally after some photo shoot over green screen and some high five by Sixthmen Jennifer we enter the boat.

Straight to the free buffet (man to sum it up free food, great choice, good quality- kinda surprise everybody) dessert, free ice cream arghh… !! even 2 “real” restaurants were free… imagine dinning with the view on the rear of the boat and the endless sea gently disturbed by the slowly rotating propellers.

After some nice lunch and the first annoying attack of an artist, (sorry Ted... I’ve been asked to say hello) we head for the small room where we’ll crash after the last concerts. Nice and comfortable but really tight.

Let’s explore the ship and run around watch the many stages inside and outside.

The pool deck bathing in the hard Florida sun, the Stardust theatre complete with drapings, the Spinnaker with its beds and comfy seats, the atrium and Bar city.

Then it begins. To see the sound check Ryo and Neal laughing, to pass by some great musicians (Vinnie Cavanagh, the guys from Riverside, Jimmy from Spock’s Beard) even non playing artists: like John Wesley (met at the evacuation drill) and Randy George.

Ha ! The joyful pleasure to have a beer and the sun in my eyes and listen to the full performance of Transatlantic’s  Kaleidoscope.

Then it went on and on concerts at night on the cool night breeze listening to Anathema.

Despite the jet lag waking you at 4.30 am, up at 6.30 for a morning jog among the very few already up (Hey Pete, you’re really a light sleeper).

Then sun bathing, eating, meeting guys from bands walking around, in the jacuzzi (Hi Ryo, Jonas) and talking to lots of people (from everywhere, Norway, Brazil, Costa rica, England, Canada, Germany US of course…)

The fact of day 2 is that never sits down no matter what the hour is… you’ll probably always fall asleep. Poor Riverside with some microphones problems.

Second day is great stirrup bay, island with fishes in the sea, great music (snorkling and lifting the head to hear lamb lies down, operation mindcrime, perfect circle, smashing pumpkins… how cool can that be!)

Loosing to Costa Rica and Brazil on the second turn of the battleshots (damn those were light shots…)

Taking pics with part of Jolly and Riverside. Playing on inflatable rafts close to the shore (and getting a bleeding knee for the trouble).

On the down side it seemed that they were medusas around sadly… some people got sting.

Back for some more music. And the infamous 30 minutes gig. (the schedule was so that beside the opening act of Big Elf you could spend the first 30 minutes of every show and get to see everybody… that I almost try… went to see Anneke full time (with mike staying a couple of songs), went to the Flower kings only to discover the first 26 minutes song was the same as the day before… so there went the FK and I went back catch a glimpse of the Periphery (Hi John Wesley ! and oh hi Anneke and Julie !).

Then full time Devin Townsend (because it rocked!) and spent the rest of the night trying again to stay awake for The Dear Hunter.

Third day off to the Bahamas Island… And found the trick to escape the Washy washy happy happy mantra (but I did washy washy don’t worry).

Man did these reek of touristic industry… Parked into cars to either shop or beach, dollars dollars everywhere…. Managed to get to a small beach (very hot) and sunbath with Mister Macalpine and the Damian Fox family… reminded me of the Osbourne one… Funny seeing the singer of Big Elf in bathing shorts.

Then the grand finale.. seeing Anathema again and Spock’s Beard with Neal…. On the light.

Catching a glimpse of Thank You Scientist. And then Transatlantic, with some King Crimson and Yes with Jon Anderson.

Great moments… after that not enough will to go on partying... as the wake up call was at 6.30.

But even after disembarking, the dream continued as we saw Ryo and his wife in the streets if Miami as we were eating at a restaurant.

So many good memories and pics,

On the down side.

Sunburn sunburn !

Having to sneak out to try to do a jogging and either forgetting one shoe or the pass. L

Various small problems of technical problems, the worst being  Riverside 10-15 minutes with microphones problems.

Staying awake on seated venues.

Some scheduling problems… too much bands on the same timetable... A friend couldn’t see Pain of Salvation  because he had to tuck the kids in.. so no concert before 9pm… and the Dear Hunter were only around midnight…hard to stay awake for them.

The new millennium stage….It was at first hard to see lots of the main bands so to put small groups at the same time… lots of them seemed very empty  as I pass by the Bar city.

Could have been great to schedule them a bit earlier... If people did not wanted to see them all the same but we may have time in the morning or early in the evening to watch some of them new comers.

Flower kings set not very different especially when starting with a 25+ minutes song for an hour set… but I guess poor Roine did not have time to do much rehearsing.

The revealing science of god. For the start of a set, that was hard, especially past midnight.

Jellyfish in the waters not advertised.

On the plus side (I mean besides the awesomeness of it all ?)

Neal singing again with Spock’s beard with tears in his eyes… The Morse brothers together… I discovered SB with V, missed them live..  I was expecting the Snow touring (and we did get the start of the album !) then the split…

Max Portnoy being admonished by his aunt to run at his sound check pronto.

Jon Anderson, with Transatlantic. Hearing that wonderful voice live. Pure Magic

Big Elf‘s Damian Fox’s family on the beach.

Seeing people from bands everywhere, eating between Periphery, the Dear Hunter, Randy George and Rob from Haken. Sunbathing next to Riverside. Meeting people on elevators, lounges, almost colliding with Devin in the Garden Palace.

Discovering King’s X and the great feeling of musical peace distilled throughout the show.

Climbing up the stairs and falling face to face with Anneke, trying desperately to remember how to speak, even in broken English.

Talking Leprous music with a beautiful girl from Atlanta and being thankful for being red faced already from sunburn.

Most of all it is the joy and good spirit overall. Feeling to be among family, people who were here for the joy of music. Easy access to speak and mingle so that one day someone asked me what band I was with…( Considering I had no beard, no long hair, no tattoo, I really came on the short end of  being a stereotype of a band member but well…)  One nation under Prog. One family under Prog

And always remember… washy washy to be happy happy, smily smily all the tiiiiime ! (of all the sentences in all the songs in this boat, I have to only remember this one…)

Now of course as much as I want this to happen again, I must muse a bit on the possibilities and all.

First it was not full and I wonder how much was it possible to make it happen without loosing (too much) money.

Even thought the good word to mouth should help filling more empty slots, it might help to have a big name to sell it more. No offense to Transatlantic or Jon Anderson, but a bigger name (even for the poor secluded genre of prog could help.) like say, King Crimson or Rush or that band Mike left…

After that some adjustment in schedule could be done (see a little bit up for that)

Maybe a combo pack with T shirts and goodies can help secure reservations and satisfy the thirst for T shirts of the event (as they went sold out the Wednesday or so)

It’s a feeling that it will or may not happen again or at least not a second year in a row. Conflicting schedules and all that.

Good news is that the word to mouth was so great that lots of people would jump at an other shot at that.

The headliners were very great but really being sponsored by insideout, (besides anathema and some smaller bands) it seems the roster will pretty much be the same again and again (of course opening to Roadrunner, Kscope would help.)

So it would be nice but it would be a bit the same and the novelty may wear off the second or third time. Let’s hope and wait and see…

Review - -Desolation Rose by the Flower Kings

The new opus from the flower kings, getting back to their traditional every two years album, is not a double though but with bonus disc.

After the nice Bank of Eden, the new opus, called Desolation Rose is a direct follow up thematically wise. Not really a concept album, the disc is very tightly bound though from the political thematic and the lyrics and musical themes that run through it.

Strangely the album is less than a hour long and with only one epic… and a less than 20 minutes one to boot !

Opening, Tower One is a very nice song, typical of the Flower kings with great vocals lines.

The epic is a very nice and tight piece with a great finale.

After that strangely, the remaining songs kinda seems like leftovers exploring the theme of the disc. Short stuff with interconnecting lyrics and musical themes, giving a small sense of conceptual album and a strong unity and coherence also.

Strangely the bonus disc features even much shorter songs and instrumentals. And there are very strange and interesting songs there. Either catchy and odd or just plainly sorrowful gentle guitar weepings definitely worth getting if you’re buying the album.

So a nice epic and a cool bonus disc (cooler than most bonus disc we usually get), good disc for discovering but definitely not the best album out there by the Swedish prog masters.

Review FISH- Feast of consequences

Brand new Opus from the Scottish singer, few years after the bitter-borned 13th Star.

Reuniting with Robin Boult and with Foss Patterson (from the Internal Exile, Suits days) and with Steve Vantsis on bass guitar for the creative force, the former Marillion frontman delivers another disc. Always faithfully seconded by Illustrator Mark Wilkinson, Fish delivers here a brand new rock album in two editions, a traditional CD one and a deluxe with a dvd retracing the doubts stories and forces colliding during the conception of the album and a 100 pages book full of illustrations by Mark and his wife Julie.

I must of course talk about the art because they are so perfectly intertwined. Mark Wilkinson depicts and gives full life of the concepts between the songs that taking a dematerialised support is loosing a third of the Art.

That said, onto the music and the lyrics. The opening track is very progressive (in all the meaning of the term), taking off slowly and installing a great atmosphere, pretty much in the tone of the Apocalypse now movie.

The second track cut short of that and delivers a good old rock with acid lyrics on the reality TV and the desire of today to be famous for the sake of it. Very much in the vein of Incommunicado.

The next coming up is the obligatory ballad. The strength on this one (and pretty much on all the songs) is the lyrics which are about, not lost love for once, but the destruction of Mother Nature because of greed and no-action. The title track is more on the relationship statement and much more rock.

Then, as it seems that the album starts to slow its pace, comes the High wood suite. A big blender of songs, calm, rocky which great orchestration who once again showcase the craftsmanship of the Scottish lyricist. The Great world war is the theatre of these songs, a wonderful retelling of the events, the calling, the fear, the shells dropping and the dead and the survivors.

The album comes to an end with two nice songs with nice vocal additions by Liz Atnwi.

So all in all, what can be said of this album? Is it the greatest FISH album? No but it is far from its worst.

FoC is a great rock album with hints of prog whose primary strength are the great lyrics and universe depicted by the singer who is nicely backed by good musicianship and really great artwork. This album is definitely worth checking out from both old and new listeners. Fish now sails more into a nice lyric-based rock but songs like perfume river, shows that the prog affiliation still holds its ground in term of ambiance and strength in the very cinematic view of music that the singer has to offer.

Review Promises - The Boxer Rebellion

The fourth album from the english band is here. As the name (again) says it all, this album is (at least a bit) full of promises.

The basic structure is still the same, great musicianship for post pop prog rock, aerial guitars and lyrics with very repeated sentences and chorus.

The single that starts the album is a good indication of the things found in this new album. The songs are still catchy

The very highlight is the very sad ballad New York that starts only in piano before developing a great multi drums rhythm that reminds of the Bronx bands.

This albums is very tainted in its lyrics by Love and relationships, or sadly the loss of relationship that gives a bit more of sadness and depth in the songs, as bear witness the great  ending and title track promises.

With Promises, the band delivers a good and solid album with many great songs. Definetly a step up from the previous one and a experimentation that I hope will help the band strengthened their creative forces to deliver with the next album a bit more than just promises.

Review the cold still by the Boxer Rebellion.

(almost a month since posting.. damn concerts)

3rd album from the pop londoners of the boxer rebellion.
Once again the band  follow the path chosen with the second record (union) and goes into the popish , lavish rythms, with repeated lyrics, keyboards .
The cold still, sadly is a title that really fits the record
The songs on the album are more slow, nostalgic, less lively. Not completely unmoving in any ways but indeed the band seems to slow the pace, almost freezing the rythm, making more autumnals songs, slow and lingering (lots of acoutic guitars and keyboard) as the debut songs No harm heralds .
They experiment less, (a bit of organ sound  on the almost self title song ) take not a lot of risks, cimenting what they are building.

Is the record no good ? No but it is not a firm step forward, a mere tasting of the water... the cold still water.

Here's one of the best track of the album. (and most rocky)