the_eggwhite (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
the_eggwhite) wrote2008-09-30 11:16 pm
the_eggwhite) wrote2008-09-30 11:16 pm
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I've been off being proggy (Part 2 - Saturday)...
The first full day of Summer's End began with one of the fine breakfasts I mentioned earlier. After both of us were eventually vaguely awake, we set out for a morning's exploration. Doors weren't until 12, with the first gig due for 1pm, so we had a couple of hours to kill. We decided to kill them by going to a place called Puzzlewood, near to Coleford. It's a place I'd never managed to go to whilst I lived in the area, or even over several visits back there after I moved away. Boy, had I been missing out. Some of the most stunning scenery I've ever seen, and I could have easily spent a lot longer wandering around in there. Not least because it's quite mazelike and finding our way out could easily have become an issue were it not for my rather good sense of direction.
After that, we continued on to the venue, where we took in the beginning of Overvibe's set. Unfortunately, they didn't hugely grab me... although I do like what I've heard online of their stuff. I just didn't get into them live. It probably didn't help that I heard most of the first song from the bar, which didn't exactly have the best sound in the world. In fact, it sounded like somebody had set the PA to "flatulent" for their set. So we went off and did a bit of shopping nearby for their set. I might give them another go at some point, and see if that was just an "off" gig.
We came back from our short shopping stint in time for me to catch the last half of Abarax's set. They were solid and interesting, but I'm not sure how best to describe them other than as clearly being heavily influenced by Pink Floyd (especially when they had a moderately decent stab at Comfortably Numb as a tribute to the late Richard Wright). Their stage presence wasn't great, however, and at a live gig I find that it's a band's ability to work with the audience that makes or break the gig... so overall, they were very good musically, but somehow a bit lacking. I had planned on picking up one of their CDs anyway, though, but was going to wait until later as I couldn't afford to buy CDs from every band, and it was still quite early in the weekend.
Unfortunately for Abarax, Quidam (also on myspace) came on and totally blew me away. Clearly there's something in the water in Poland, because they're really churning out some fine progressive rock right now. Between Quidam and Riverside they've got a lot going on. They had fantastic stage presence, even with what was clearly a bit of a language barrier getting in the way. They worked a couple of progged-up rock classics into their set, usually as medleys with their own songs, which certainly helped to get the audience moving for them... but to be honest, they didn't need it as their own material was phenomenal. I could see some pretty strong influences in there, but none so strongly as to make me question the band's ability to do their own thing. They were also clearly enjoying the gig - only their second in the UK - immensely. I do think they may have been a bit frustrated at the apparent stillness of much of the audience, but I think everyone was too busy being shell-shocked that a band this good had managed to pass under so many people's radars. I bought their latest CD as soon as I found it. I didn't even wait for the gig to be over, and I wasn't alone. I think they got one of the biggest, most heartfelt rounds of applause of the whole festival.
Then there was a short break whilst Magenta got set up and sound-checked, which gave us an oportunity to grab a bit of food and a drink, then to queue impatiently as they were one of the bands we'd both really been waiting for. They didn't disappoint, even with some sound problems early on in the set. If the PA had been set to "flatulent" for Overvibe, it was clearly set to "prolapse" for the opening number (The Ballad). However, things seemed to get sorted quickly and I got the impression that the early glitches made the band even more determined to give it their all... and they really did! I had always expected them to be one of the highlights of the weekend and that's exactly what they were. They gave a performance full of passion and emotion, and made it all come to life in a way that not many bands can manage. They also seemed totally at home on the stage and treated the audience as friends rather than fans, which is always a plus.
There was then a longer break before IQ came on. Unfortunately, this break was rather too long as I'd not had much sleep the night before and I had been aching everywhere even before Magenta's set. The result was that I only stayed for the first few songs. I mentioned the steadily evolving lighting rig earlier... By this point it had turned into what I'd call a proper lighting rig. It had grown some frontlights over the course of the day, and now had some moving mirror lights, a bunch more parcans and a couple of colour scrollers, which I think came with the band. As a result, IQ were the best lit band of the Gig, and had clearly put a lot of work into their staging as they even came with three screens worth of video projection behind them. I'd not heard much IQ before this gig, but from what little I did hear before we had to call it a night, I'd quite like to hear some more to get a bit more of an idea of what they're like.
So ended my second day of the Summer's End festival... driving back to the B&B whilst my back was still flexible enough to fold it into the driving seat of my car and still be able to steer and operate the pedals. I'll get on to day three in the near future...
After that, we continued on to the venue, where we took in the beginning of Overvibe's set. Unfortunately, they didn't hugely grab me... although I do like what I've heard online of their stuff. I just didn't get into them live. It probably didn't help that I heard most of the first song from the bar, which didn't exactly have the best sound in the world. In fact, it sounded like somebody had set the PA to "flatulent" for their set. So we went off and did a bit of shopping nearby for their set. I might give them another go at some point, and see if that was just an "off" gig.
We came back from our short shopping stint in time for me to catch the last half of Abarax's set. They were solid and interesting, but I'm not sure how best to describe them other than as clearly being heavily influenced by Pink Floyd (especially when they had a moderately decent stab at Comfortably Numb as a tribute to the late Richard Wright). Their stage presence wasn't great, however, and at a live gig I find that it's a band's ability to work with the audience that makes or break the gig... so overall, they were very good musically, but somehow a bit lacking. I had planned on picking up one of their CDs anyway, though, but was going to wait until later as I couldn't afford to buy CDs from every band, and it was still quite early in the weekend.
Unfortunately for Abarax, Quidam (also on myspace) came on and totally blew me away. Clearly there's something in the water in Poland, because they're really churning out some fine progressive rock right now. Between Quidam and Riverside they've got a lot going on. They had fantastic stage presence, even with what was clearly a bit of a language barrier getting in the way. They worked a couple of progged-up rock classics into their set, usually as medleys with their own songs, which certainly helped to get the audience moving for them... but to be honest, they didn't need it as their own material was phenomenal. I could see some pretty strong influences in there, but none so strongly as to make me question the band's ability to do their own thing. They were also clearly enjoying the gig - only their second in the UK - immensely. I do think they may have been a bit frustrated at the apparent stillness of much of the audience, but I think everyone was too busy being shell-shocked that a band this good had managed to pass under so many people's radars. I bought their latest CD as soon as I found it. I didn't even wait for the gig to be over, and I wasn't alone. I think they got one of the biggest, most heartfelt rounds of applause of the whole festival.
Then there was a short break whilst Magenta got set up and sound-checked, which gave us an oportunity to grab a bit of food and a drink, then to queue impatiently as they were one of the bands we'd both really been waiting for. They didn't disappoint, even with some sound problems early on in the set. If the PA had been set to "flatulent" for Overvibe, it was clearly set to "prolapse" for the opening number (The Ballad). However, things seemed to get sorted quickly and I got the impression that the early glitches made the band even more determined to give it their all... and they really did! I had always expected them to be one of the highlights of the weekend and that's exactly what they were. They gave a performance full of passion and emotion, and made it all come to life in a way that not many bands can manage. They also seemed totally at home on the stage and treated the audience as friends rather than fans, which is always a plus.
There was then a longer break before IQ came on. Unfortunately, this break was rather too long as I'd not had much sleep the night before and I had been aching everywhere even before Magenta's set. The result was that I only stayed for the first few songs. I mentioned the steadily evolving lighting rig earlier... By this point it had turned into what I'd call a proper lighting rig. It had grown some frontlights over the course of the day, and now had some moving mirror lights, a bunch more parcans and a couple of colour scrollers, which I think came with the band. As a result, IQ were the best lit band of the Gig, and had clearly put a lot of work into their staging as they even came with three screens worth of video projection behind them. I'd not heard much IQ before this gig, but from what little I did hear before we had to call it a night, I'd quite like to hear some more to get a bit more of an idea of what they're like.
So ended my second day of the Summer's End festival... driving back to the B&B whilst my back was still flexible enough to fold it into the driving seat of my car and still be able to steer and operate the pedals. I'll get on to day three in the near future...