Baja Prog '99 Page

From: Juan Jos?Salas R. <>
Here's some more info. about Baja-SUPER-Prog III, in Mexicali, M?ico.
BAJA PROG '98 Update No. 4
Hello Prog Fans!
Baja Prog '99, the Progressive Rock Festival to be held on March 3 thru 6, 1999 in Mexicali, Mexico is proud to announce the official program. Here is the discography of each of the participating bands:
ARENA (United Kingdom) - Welcome to the Stage (1998) / The Visitor / The Cry / Pride / Songs from the Lion's Cage
HALLOWEEN (France) - Silence..Au Dernier Rang / Merlin / Laz / Part One
TEMPUS FUGIT (Brazil) - Tales From a Forgotten World (1997)
ICONOCLASTA (Mexico) - Trece An~os (1996) / De Todos Uno / La Reencarnacion de Maquiavelo / Iconoclasta en Concierto / En Busca de Sentido /Adolescencia Cronica / Siete An~os / Soliloquio / Suite Mexicana / Reminiscencias / Iconoclasta
TEN JINN (U.S.A.) - As on a Darkling Plain (To be released early 1999) / Wildman
GALADRIEL (Spain) - Mindscapers (1997) / Chasing the Dragonfly / Muttered Promises from an Ageless Pond
QUIDAM (Poland) - Reflets Rock / Quidam (correction: Reflets Rock is from the French band Quidam, the second release from the Polish band Quidam is Sny Aniolow)
CRUCIBLE (U.S.A.) - Tall Tales (1997)
AFTER CRYING (Hungary) - 6 / Elso Visited / De Profundis / Megalazottak Es Megszomoritottak / Fold Es Eg / Overground Music
CAST (Mexico) - Imaginary Window (To be released February 1999) / A View of Cast...The Live Experience (To be released January 1999) / Angels and Demons (1997) / Beyond Reality / Endless Signs / Four Aces / Third Call / Sounds Of Imagination / Landing In A Serious Mind

From: Roy DeRousse <>
I wrote this in response to a review by Alan Mallery on rmp, but it stands well on it's own, so I thought I'd share it with you guys:
Like you, Alan, I had an incredible time! It was great to meet you and a number of other people as well as spending time with my other long-time friends. I mostly agree with your comments about the music, so I'll only add my unique thoughts to your review.
I enjoyed Codice quite a bit. Yeah, I could tell that they were having a few problems, but I cut them some slack because of the short notice that they were given.   I also figured that was the reason that they included so many cover tunes. It was cool to hear them, actually. Do you (or anyone else) remember what the King Crimson covers were? A special treat was their acoustic rendition of "Sylvia," a Focus song. First time I've heard a Focus cover live!   (Guess I'll have to see a Gary Hoey concert to see his version of Hocus Pocus.)   I'm listening to their CD right now. So far, so good!
The fest held two surprises for me: one good, one bad. Iconclasta was the bad one.   I was really excited to see them listed when Francisco Hernandez showed me the Baja Prog line-up at last year's ProgDay. I have all of their CDs, and while some of the later ones are a bit repetitive, I enjoy them all. They were the band that I was most looking forward to (until recently). Their set was OK, but didn't really move me as much as I expected. I can't quite place my finger on why not.
The good surprise was Arena. I really wasn't looking forward to them after seeing them at one of the ProgFests. (And this is from someone who does enjoy their studio albums to varying degrees.) I grew tired of them after about 15 minutes. I think it was mainly the sound quality and the performance aspect of their show that turned me off then. Well, the sound quality was excellent at the Baja Prog Venue, and I knew what to expect for the performance, so I ended up enjoying them quite a bit. A bonus came for me later that evening when most of the band stopped by at a private party I was attending at the hotel. Jon Jowitt and Paddy ended up staying until the Araiza served breakfast the next morning. (I finally had to go to sleep at 6:00 am.)   Very nice guys! Lot of stories and laughs.
Halloween was a killer! I enjoyed them at ProgFest '94, and they were even better at Baja Prog. In a way, it was a bit sad when Geraldine took the stage after an instrumental performance by the rest of the band. Their music holds up quite well on its own. As soon as Geraldine took the stage, it was hard to look at anyone else.   Her performance was riveting (and she wasn't too bad too look at either.)   Funny, but during their set I was thinking thinking that they could do justice to a UK cover song... and they ended up doing just that. Very cool!
I wasn't as impressed as you were with Tenn Jinn. They were OK, but too slick or something for my taste. I was looking forward to them but came away disappointed.   Talented musicians, no doubt, and I actually do like their first prog/pop CD.   Haven't listened to their new CD yet.
This was my 5th time seeing Cast, and I always enjoy them. Somehow, they seem even better indoors than they do at ProgDay. I don't know why. I've heard rumors that they may not perform at next year's ProgFest since Alfonso is so busy organizing the fest. I hope that's not true, although I couldn't blame him.
I'm afraid that I have to agree with you about Crucible. They are very good musicians, but their set had a sameness that literally put me to sleep. I ended up leaving before their set was over - only the 2nd time in my life that I've done that.   (The first was 15 minutes into an ELO concert that I saw after Triumvirat opened the evening.) I thought they were OK at ProgDay, although not outstanding, so I'm not sure exactly what was different here. I do know that the keyboard player missed his mellotron, but I can't believe that was the entire problem.
After Crying! They were the band I was most looking forward to. I expected them to be great, but they were even better than that! The only thing I can compare this performance to is Anglagard's first ProgFest appearance. Very few in the audience had heard them (or even heard OF them) before, and we were simply blown away by them. I got the same feeling during After Crying's performance. Standing ovations after almost every song. This is what progressive rock needs for a shot in the arm - something very different from all of the other bands out there performed by some outstanding musicians.
After that, I felt sorry for Quidam. How could they possibly follow After Crying, a band which had so obviously electrified the audience right before them? Thankfully, they were up to the task. I enjoy the 2 CDs that I have by them, but their performance was vastly different, primarily due to the powerful vocals by their lead vocalist. She has that rare voice that combines power and control across a wide range of octaves. I was entranced by her performance. The rest of the band was good, although not in the same league with the singer. One problem I had with some of the songs was their "square" rhythmic feeling which I felt could have used more variety, but that is a small quibble with a very enjoyable set.
In article <>, says...
>The encore was a party over at Alfonso's house. What a great and generous guy, there was charge for all the food and drink. A great chance to see a
I assume that you meant "no charge." (If not, I owe Alfonso some pesos!) I still can't believe all of the time, money, and effort that must have gone into the party. What a fun time!
> lot of band members and chat with people. Highlights: Watching the members of Halloween playing ping-pong. watching After Crying's vocalist perform with the Mariachi band, and AC's keyboard player do a little impromptu concert on Alfonso's grand piano.
Arghh! I missed those things! We left around 2:00. Next time, I'll stay 'till
the end. So can I expect to see you at next year's Baja Prog? ;)

From: "Luna Negra S.C." <>
> I enjoyed Codice quite a bit. Do you (or anyone else) remember what the King Crimson covers were?
Yes, they did "Lark Toungues in Aspic" and "Red".
Other covers on the Baja fest?
TEN-JINN: "Steaming Pipe" (Happy the Man).
QUIDAM: "Ranyarth" (Camel), "Firth of Fifth (guitar solo)" (Genesis), "Child in Time" (Deep Purple).
HALLOWEEN: "In Dead of Night" (UK).
> lot of band members and chat with people. Highlights: Watching the members of Halloween playing ping-pong. watching After Crying's vocalist perform with the Mariachi band, and AC's keyboard player do a little impromptu concert on Alfonso's grand piano.
By the way, Gabo (After Crying singer) sang in an extraordinary well spoken spanish! Zoltan (AC keys) was joined by drummer Laslo in a great impro piano concert at 3 am. Wow!