Prosaic Paradise

Last weekend I was off on that quest for really interesting, whole-head-engaging, bite-down-and-taste-it new music. I went to ProgDay for the third year. As usual, I made sure I didn’t listen to any of the bands in advance and just let the organizers surprise me (with one exception). Armed with a cooler, a lawn chair, an umbrella, and a positive attitude, I settled in at Storybook Farm Saturday morning ready to be surprised.

Within a few minutes VonFrickle took the stage in all white suits, white headgear including creepy white masks. Did I mention it was over 90? Yeah, that can’t have been comfortable. I guess it’s a testament to their dedication to the work, which, by the way, produced a fabulous sound. It’s interesting because I often associate a band’s music with the show they put on and with the people I see playing that music, and that element was removed here, which is part of their point. Well, it worked. And I don’t typically care for all-instrumental sets.

I guess that means I was set up to dislike the next band, Holding Pattern. Still no vox and a sound I couldn’t quite connect with. They were terrific instrumentalists, but not my cup of tea. I liked it, but didn’t looove it. The drummer dropped in some solos that didn’t feel like part of the music, which while I appreciate skill, is kind of irritating. In the middle of this I did some front gate duty, which was nice because I got to meet a few people and not just keep to myself.

Then there was Abigail’s Ghost. Hailing from New Orleans, the band that everyone lumps in with Porcupine

Abigail’s Ghost

Tree and Riverside and dismisses as “alterna-rock” was maybe facing a little prejudice in the prog crowd? If so it was only a little, I hope. Definitely more melodic, more moody, and yes maybe a little more mainstream, the songs and lyrics appeal to me as a former moody pretend-goth. (I don’t mean that to belittle their style or musicianship! Just to make a self-deprecating joke.) I already had their album but I can say that the set they played would have me buying it all over again. I enjoyed watching each member of the band work their magic in person, and thought they really seemed invested in the music, like they really loved playing it. I kind of didn’t get into Ain Soph, the Japanese canterbury-style group. Can’t like everything I guess. I tried to run back to the hotel in time to swim before the monsoon… but failed. I had sushi with my friend John and was too shy to go out by the pool later to mingle with the other proggers.

Sunday was kind of a blur, although one thing that was not blurry was the morning wake up call of Cheer-Accident. (Not to mention the show opening rainbow underpants jester hat stage handery.) Cheer-Accident just projected good fun and good musicianship and kept my attention riveted! This is one where I can’t put

Cheer-Accident

into words exactly what drew me, it just felt right. It helps that later I chatted with some of the band members and they were all really fun to talk to. I mean, Jeff came from behind the merch table to give me my first tattoo-related hug!

Pinnacle was very good, although I think their music is the kind I need to let sink in. Of course they also closed their set out with a Peter Gabriel cover (Here Comes the Flood) so that sort of won me over at the last minute. Canvas Solaris was up next. Metal-math-rock-ey things happened. While not my bag, the instrumental prowess was obvious and made their set fascinating in a whole other way. After that, I was volunteering at the beer stand, and so couldn’t get the full brunt of either a) the rainstorm or b) Mirthrandir and their outstanding set. By far the best vocals of the weekend! I should have picked up one of their cds. To my tremendous regret, I had to leave before the last band went on, who I heard were a-maz-ing. I was hot and tired and had a cold and was meeting my friend Donald from college who I hadn’t seen in maybe 13 years so I don’t regret that at all! But it sounds like I missed something really special. Next year I vow to see the very end of ProgDay for the first time.

I anticipated ProgDay this year even more than last. I now knew I could trust this to be a musical experience that really got into my heart, from the kind and friendly audience to the amazing setting to the vast array of music brought together under the banner of “prog”.

ProgDay Dog

In fact, I had a number of discussions this weekend about audiences and promotion, and I had some things to chew on about that. It seems so clear that flying the prog flag attracts people looking for that banner; and the fact is that there are both musicians and fans out there in the world that play or listen to music you could call prog, and there is a chicken-egg situation about whether organizers are accidentally excluding these people, or these people are dismissing “prog” because of the various crufty connotations it has accumulated. In the end, I think just as in any era, there are audiences out there looking for something off the commercial grid, and despite the wonderful world of the internet (perhaps because of the abundance involved), sometimes it’s still hard to connect those people with artists they might like.

But I digress. Perhaps next year with my pre-reqs wrapping up I can spend a little more time figuring out places to promote the festival. I know it’s a niche, but really, I feel like it’s not as much of a niche as people think. The fact that I was having those conversations means that I actually met some people! Sunday night I screwed up my courage and went down by the pool and socialized. The guy who’d been sitting next to me at the concert was there. We’d been chatting like gangbusters all day and enjoyed lunch together so that helped. I don’t usually feel like anyone’s “too cool” for anyone in this crowd. It’s great.

Stuff I bought: Cheer-Accident Enduring the American Dream, PFM Storia Di Un Minuto, Circulus Lick the Tip of an Envelope Yet To Be Sent, Beardfish Sleeping in Traffic Part 2, Osada Vida The Body Parts Party. I have high hopes for most of these picks, some of which I’ve been waiting to get for a long time, and some are total impulse buys. Maybe I can try my hand at half-assed pollyanna music criticism later.

Tags: Music, ProgDay

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