Website: http://www.bajaprog.com
From: David Levkovitz <>
Date: Sun Mar 10, 2002 8:01 pm Subject: BajaProg
I just got back from Baja and here is a quick rundown for anyone interested.
1. Missed Glass, not really a fan
2. Murose de Aqua, good keyboard player and
drummer. Bass player played with a very obnoxious tone, don't know what he
was thinking.
3. Hamadryad, 30 seconds into their performance
I knew it was going to be incredible. Complex, tight, incredible vocals and
guitar playing. One of the best of the festival. Should have played Friday or
Saturday. Their version of Firth of Fifth was one of the best covers of it I
have heard. The entire keyboard intro was played beautifully on acoustic
guitar, it sounded so good it was scary.
4. Greenslade, nice keyboard playing but their
music sounded like generic prog.
5. Ergo Sum, the biggest surprise of the show.
Very intense almost fusion like compositions with a virtuosi guitar and flute
player. If there is one criticism I have it is that they did not vary the
intensity of their performance enough.
6. Thieves Kitchen, poorly executed music with
uninteresting melodies.
7. Raimundo Rudolfo, an amazing guitar player,
obviously had a lot of classical training. For the most, however, the music
had almost a new age, Manheim Steamroller or Sky sort of sound. For their
most interesting piece an absolutely beautiful woman with a great voice (she
obviously also had training) came out and sung with them.
8. Visible Wind, better than average Neo-prog.
Nice melodies. The singer sounds like Wetton
9. The Watch, slightly Neo-prog Genesis sound
alike band. The vocalist wore makeup and took himself way too seriously.
Their music had all the pieces except interesting melodies. Walked out early.
10. Akinoten Retard, these guys were serious
musicians. If you like your music intense and influenced by Magma and Henry
Cow (like I do) you would have loved their performance. One of the best
performances of the festival.
11. Cabezas de Cera, very interesting 3 piece.
Electronic percussion, Chapman Stick and winds. These guys looked to be about
18 years old but played like they are seasoned musicians. Slightly 80's King
Crimson influenced songs.
12. Omni, good Camel influenced prog. Beautiful
melodies but a little one-dimensional.
13. DFA, this is what I'm talking about. Very
complex, slightly fusion influenced music with a little Gentle Giant
influence. But their music never chooses complexity at the expense of melody
and emotion. How they play music this complex with such little effort is
beyond me. Truly a masterful performance.
14. Pendragon, I used to be a fan when they and
the other Neo-prog bands were the only thing happening in prog. I hate to say
it but they bored the heck out of me. There is just too much incredible no
compromise progressive music out there.
15. Kopecky w/ Par Lind, 4 very technically
proficient musicians playing some fairly poor, uninteresting compositions. I
think I am in the minority on this one.
16. Pulsar, reunion of 70s French band. These
guys wrote some of the most beautiful music in the history of prog and they
played it exceptionally well at the festival. They were a little too mellow
for most people, especially on the last day of a 4-day event, but I was in
prog heaven.
17. Il Baletto di Bronzo, what can I say? One of
the best ever prog albums, YS, played by one of the best keyboard players
ever in prog. Gioni Leoni has monster chops, the man can play. His new rhythm
section is also monstrous. My only complaint is that YS misses having a
guitar player.
I am interested to see other peoples opinions. David