Venue: Patriot's Theater, Trenton, New Jersey  Date: 29th/30th June, 2002

Saturday 29th: Nektar, Echolyn, Isildur's Bane, Miriodor, La Torre Dell'Alchemista.
Sunday 30th: Steve Hackett, Caravan, Enchant, Gerard, Spaced Out.

To say that this was something of a "hot ticket" would be somewhat of an understatement.  Nearfest - the North East Art Rock festival - held every June in the greater Philadelphia area, is a rare opportunity to see 10 world-class progressive acts in a pleasant, indoor venue.  This year's event, having moved from a 1,000 seater venue last year, to the superb 1,800 seat War Memorial Theatre in Trenton, New Jersey had sold out in an astonishing 45 minutes back in February, so it was a real privilege to be there.

This is my diary of the event...

Friday 28th June, 7pm. Mike, my companion, and I arrived in Trenton to check out the venue and get a spot of dinner.  Trenton was closed (on Friday night?), but the venue looked superb from the outside; a magnificent mock Grecian structure glinting in the still-hot evening sun. There were few signs of activity but, by the stage door, we bumped into Bryan Josh of Mostly Autumn looking relaxed and an interesting shade of beetroot. Though MA were not on the bill, Bryan was there working as a stills photographer with his record company, Classic Rock Legends, who were to video Nektar and Caravan for future DVD release.  We exchanged pleasantries and Bryan seemed genuinely excited to be there.  We gave up on food and headed out of Trenton to somewhere a little more lively...

Saturday 28th June. 10.45am. We arrived back in Trenton to find the place transformed. The venue was buzzing with vendors selling their wares and excited festival-goers in prog-related t-shirts of all shapes, sizes and ages. We made our way to our seats which, though in the balcony, were excellent with superb sight lines.

11am.  Bang on time, heroic organisers Rob LaDuca and Chad Hutchinson welcomed us all to the event and introduced the first band, Italy's La Torre dell'Alchimista. Those of you that have read my review of their debut album on this site will know that I am something of fan - the band did not disappoint, despite getting perhaps the worst of the otherwise excellent festival sound. Mainly playing songs from that album, this skilful six piece band cope without a lead guitarist, but build their melodic, jazzy, symphonic sound round the virtuoso keyboards of Michele Mutti and the mobile flute of Silvia Ceraolo.  Their eponymous song, with its gorgeous synth riff, and the Focus-like 'Delerio' are excellent examples of this approach, with Michele Giardino's vocals understated yet powerful. Live, the band has considerable charm, not to mention a quirky, slightly naïve sense in stage clothes.

12.45. After a brief (and expensive) lunch, we filed back into the hall for Canada's Miriodor. Entirely instrumental, the band are more an example of progressive music than progressive rock, using saxophones and violin (in addition to bass, guitar, drums and keyboards) to add texture, while injecting a great deal of jazz and serious musical influences into the heady mix.  The result was dense, intricate, intense (though often quirky) and, I had to admit, I find them rather hard going. Others seemed to disagree, and they seemed to go down well with the Nearfest crowd.  A good band then, but not to my taste.

2.45. Despite the prospect of two slightly difficult, entirely instrumental bands back to back, I had been looking forward to Swedish band Isildur's Bane, having enjoyed their double live album 'Mind Volume 2'.  They are clearly excellent musicians, with the skilful mallet percussion of Klas Assarsson well used, and they are considerably more accessible than Miriodor with a more prominent sense of melody. However, though the band played their material well, making reasonable use also of trumpet and violin, their music demands considerable concentration - and I have to admit that, after the first 30 minutes, I began to wilt.  The introduction of vocalist Christof Jeppsson for a couple of pieces was only a partial success. It seems to me that in a live setting, over an intense hour and a half, their music is a little similar and one-paced. Perhaps they are better enjoyed in smaller doses.  Again, a good band but a disappointment on the day.

5.15. I spent the hour-long setup period after Isildur's Bane in a state of some excitement. Next up were Echolyn, one of the main draws for me this year.  I had been a fan of the band since the 'As The World' album in 1995 and had never thought I would see them live, so this was to be an ambition fulfilled.   Arriving back in the venue, we were presented with a stage set with the usual instruments plus concert percussion and chairs for a small orchestra!

Set list: As the World, Human Lottery, Carpe Diem, 67 degrees, In Every Garden, The Cheese Stands Alone, Mei.
Encore: Brittany.

Echolyn's take on prog is an interesting one.  The music is dense, yet melodic, rewarding multiple listens with its complex structure and intricate vocal harmonies. Dual lead vocalists - Guitarist Brett Kull and Bassist Ray Weston alongside drummer Paul Ramsay provide the hard rocking edge, while keyboard player Chris Busby provides a jazzy, atonal quality.  The band appeared in their usual (latterly, anyway) formation, and launched into the frantic 'As The World' - well played, despite almost inaudible keyboards and following it with a further five songs which dipped into all four of their existing albums.

Then Brett announced something special; they were to play their new album 'Mei', a continuous 50-minute piece in its entirety, with the help of a concert percussionist, acoustic guitar player and small chamber orchestra. This struck me as very brave, and the performance, thankfully, went off without a hitch - though the length and unfamiliarity with the piece probably troubled some I suspect, though I enjoyed it immensely.  The extra musicians seemed to enjoy it as well and I left the venue for dinner with a big smile on my face!

9.00. After Echolyn, the headliners Nektar were always going to be an anticlimax for me. Yet, I was intrigued.  Bluntly put - who were they?  This performance was being hailed as a triumphant return to American shores of a legendary band in its original lineup after 26 years.  Though British, I can only imagine that their legend shines brighter in the USA.  So how to describe them?

They played a two-hour set of tight, rapturously received, skilfully played psychedelic rock.  There were suggestions of krautrock, AOR, Hawkwind-style head music and prog.  I was impressed; especially with the skilful guitar playing of Roye Albrighton, yet unmoved although the band were clearing delivering an excellent performance.  Special credit went to synth player Larry Fast whose rock-solid playing helped keep the set together, and also to Mick Brockett, their original lighting designer, for delivering a good approximation of an early 70s light show.

Sunday 30th June. 11am. Back again.  The weather was still hot, and the temptation to be outside was strong, nonetheless we braved the air conditioning for Canada's Spaced Out.  They are a highly skilled fusion quartet, building their sound around the amazing bass playing of Antoine Fafard.  Having said that, I must to admit to liking my jazz-rock a little more melodic than this, and it struck me that this was music that is more fun for the musicians than it is for the listeners.  By the end of their hour, I felt that I had been bludgeoned by a large, heavy, and enormously crooked stick.

12.45. The all-instrumental theme continued after the break with Gerard a Japanese three piece of keyboards, bass and drums. This was a set largely devoted to power despite the array of keyboards on display, with subtlety at a minimum. Though the band were obviously highly skilled and had, in Masuhiro Goto, the hardest hitting drummer of the weekend, it suddenly occurred to me that this was a power metal band without the guitarist; a view born out by the growled vocals on their only non-instrumental piece. My mood was not improved by being offered what seems to be a sweet by my next-door neighbour, only to find, after putting them in my mouth and chewing thoughtfully, that they were ear-plugs!

2.15. Moving outside the venue, we both had cameras thrust in our faces by the Classic Rock Legend people wanting our thoughts on Nektar. We failed dismally to make it on the DVD by not gushing suitably.  However a mutual photography session then took place with a considerably less sunburnt Bryan Josh, who was clearly chuffed with our excellent display of Mostly Autumn t-shirts - as were many other people at the festival who talked to us in a steady stream about how much they would love to see the band in the USA.

3.00. California's Enchant were next up and came as a blessed relief to some (like me), but perhaps not to others, with their melodic, metallic take on prog. At times they sounded like Kansas, especially with Ted Leonard's Steve Walsh-like vocals, and often Doug Ott's excellent guitar work suggests Alex Lifeson. Their set wisely ignored some of the poppier moments on their most recent album 'Juggling Nine and Dropping Ten', going for longer, slightly more complex pieces like 'Enchanted' and 'My Enemy'.  Additionally, Ted's song introductions injected a note of much-needed humour into the proceedings and, while on balance, they will never be my favourite band, I hope they find a wider audience.

4.20. At last an opportunity to mingle with some of the bands. I gushed enthusiastically at Echolyn's Chris Busby, who graciously laughed at several of my jokes, while Mike chewed the fat with the members of Enchant...

5.20. And so to another band that I had been looking forward to; the venerable Caravan. I had never seen these (genuine, this time) legends live, and their music had really passed me by - but I have to say I thought they were quite superb. Mixing up their shorter songs with longer, jazzier Canterbury style workouts like 'For Richard' and 'Nine Feet Underground', they played with skill and humour. Though the band gelled wonderfully, hats should be raised particularly to keyboard player Dave Sinclair and the wonderful interplay between viola player Geoffrey Richardson and guitarist Doug Boyle ... I have a lot of albums to catch up on!

9.20. And so on to Sunday's after dinner entertainment; Mr. Steve Hackett. This was the first time I had seen the great man live since 1982 - and I was not disappointed.  Steve and his great band, including regular keyboard player Roger King and inventive sax player Rob Townsend, played a varied set against a theatrical, atmospheric light show.

Thankfully, Steve has laid his demons to rest, and the set now includes cleverly rearranged versions of Genesis classics 'Los Endos', 'Watcher of the Skies' and 'Firth of Fifth', alongside material from the album 'Darktown' including the title track and the haunting 'In Memoriam' (which Steve dedicated to the late John Entwhistle).

Much to my delight, Steve also delves into his early solo career to revive the beautiful 'Spectral Mornings' and 'Every Day', the haunting 'Steppes' and 'Camino Royale'. It was also good to see that less well-known songs from his more recent repertoire, like the menacing 'Vampire with a Healthy Appetite' and soaring 'Sierra Quemada' from 'Guitar Noir' have remained in the set. What sets Steve apart from many of the acts at Nearfest is variation - sometimes he makes the guitar weep, sometimes it growls, without technique dominating ... a true artist.

So Nearfest ended; another great event, superbly organised.  Not perfect, of course, there were perhaps too many instrumental bands lumped together this year, but frankly I'm just glad that the festival exists, and I consider myself immensely fortunate to have seen all these bands in one place. Roll on next year...

Stephen Lambe