June 13, 2005
ROSFEST 2005
Here is a great review of the Rites of Spring Festival that our friend Sylvain Descoteaux wrote for us. We are privileged to literally live vicariously through his great review of this wonderful progressive music event.

text by Sylvain Descoteaux, 13/06/2005
Well time sure flies, we had our ticket for Rosfest since last February, and now it`s already gone and only the memories remain, and what wonderful memories they are, I will try to give you my personal impressions of what I experienced during my time spent there, the text is really not intended to be a real review of the shows, but just a résumé of my experience and my overall general feelings. First of all, Rosfest (The Rites of Spring Festival) happens every year in Phoenixville Pensylvania, at the "Colonial Theater" a very nice old-fashioned theater, and to top it off, the place has some actual history attached to it, it was the actual filming location for the 1950's science fiction film "The Blob" starring Steve McQueen.
 
AN AMAZING LINEUP
The line up this year was absolutely fantastic... Eyestrings, Kino, Tiles, Magenta, Cryptic Vision, Man on Fire, Sylvan and The Tangent. England's Mostly Autumn were scheduled to be the headline act for Saturday night, but had to cancel because of Visa problems to get in the United States. A lot of people were very disappointed when the news was posted on the Rosfest site, including me and my girlfriend, but I have to say the the replacement that the organizers found on a very short notice was  a revelation to all of the attendees – Kino – featuring members of such groups as Marillion, It Bites, and Arena, They gave an electric and highly entertaining performance.
 
I have to say that I missed Friday night's pre-show performances, (Arena , Dennis Haley and Myriad) but we sure found out when we got there that they all gave memorable performances also.

Myriad
Dennis Haley
Arena, featuring IQ's John Jowitt on bass
Rob Sowden of Arena
We got to our room very late Friday night, after close to 14 hours on a train from Montreal, to New-York, to Philadelphia, and then to a small station not far from our hotel. We got there very tired of course, but very excited about all the wonders that lay ahead of us.

SATURDAY, APRIL 30th
The next morning, we had breakfest at our hotel, (The Hampton inn) and we were lucky to find out that the guy seated next to us was George Roldan, one of the organisers of Rosfest. We introduced ourselves, and we asked if anybody could drive us to the Colonial for the first show of the day. He promply introduced us the nice gentleman who was sitting with him, and so that we could ride with him to Phoenixville . (There was a 20 to 25 minutes ride from the hotel to the venue) I found out that his nice fellow was none other than Steve Katsitas from the progressive group "Little Atlas"  we talked a little while on our way to the Colonial, and Steve told me they had a new CD out on Progrock records called Wanderlust. This album by the way was one the CD's I bought during the week-end, and this was also a revelation for me, if you like neo prog in the vein of Spock`s beard, IQ, with influences  from Gentle Giant, with a slightly rougher sound, you will like "Little Atlas" a lot.
 
Anyway, this was how lucky we were at the begining of that great week-end. We arrived at the Colonial about 30 minutes before the first show, and went to our seats right away, My girlfirend had gotten gold tickets for the event, so our seats were awsome, 4th, row to the left of the stage!
Then it started...
 
The first band to come on was Eyestrings  a young progressive group from Detroit Michigan. They have one cd out called Burdened Hands, which features Ryan Parmenter: vocals, keyboards, trombone – Alan Rutter: guitars, backing vocals – Matthew Kennedy: bass, Moog – Bob Young: drums. I have to say that I was not familiar with their music, but they gave a nice performance considering the fact that they had the difficult task of opening the day at such an early time. They sounded really good, but like I said, they are a young band and they looked like they lacked a bit of experience on stage and the singer keyboardist Ryan Parmenter admitted to having a cold, which made his singing very difficult. The crowd welcomed them very well though, and I will probably try to get their CD because I liked their compositions and they are a promising new act!
Eyestring
Eyestring
After this first show, we got out and went to get some coffee and  chat with some new friends. We met so many nice people during the week-end, is it me or progressive music seems to attract the nicest human beings in the world?
 
The next show coming up was Kino. Now this band is far from being beginners, here is their line up: Pete Trewavas (Marillion) – John Beck (It Bites) – Bob Dalton  (It Bites) – John Mitchell (Arena/ The Urbane)... you just can't go wrong with this! Kino's participation at Rosfest was announced just about two weeks before the festival, so I went out and bought their CD Pictures almost as soon as I heard they were  in the line up. I liked the cd very much, I could not say I was crazy about it, but I would say that 80% of the songs I really liked. Boy was I in for a surpise!!!
Kino featuring Marillion's Pete Trewavas
Kino featuring Arena's John Mitchell
Kino
Kino
Kino came on stage , and right away the energy and the magic struck everyone in there. The songs from Pictures gained a whole new dimension when performed live, and those guys are such pros! John Mitchell was absolutely amazing, what a guitar player, what a singer, what a performer! He has such magnetism when you watch him perform, and it sure made me regret I was not there the previous night to see Arena, but luckily, they will be here in Montreal, next November. Pete Trewavas plays on stage like every song is more important than the one before, and John Beck sings so well also, and he has such a unique style. They played almost all of Pictures plus a song called "The Judas kiss" from "It bites" and i think a Marillion song also... (i am no too sure about this one, though) They won the crowd easily, and the show was absolutely brilliant! Then came the lunch break, so we ran out  and went to eat and chat some more.

Next band to perform was Tiles, with Paul Rarick:Vocals – Jeff Whittle: Bass – Chris Herin: Guitar and Keyboards and Pat DeLeon: Drums and Percussion. I am not a fan of Tiles, I once bought their CD Window dressing and it just did not work for me. The band played an energetic set, but somehow, it still did not do it for me. Each musicians individually is great,but one factor that I think contributed to the fact I did not enjoy it as much personally was the complete absence of keyboards. Their blend of hard rock prog metal was maybe a bit out of place  but this is only my opinion as I am sure that other attendees enjoyed them very much. So another break came and then we started to get really excited as the next band to perform was going to be Magenta, headlining the evening, a group that me and my girlfriend both love so much!

I bought their CD Seven because they were in Rosfest's line up, and at that time I did not know them at all. Seven is a masterpiece, the first time I listened to it, I was overwhelmed. The music is amazing. Real symphonic, progressive with such emotion, complexity, tenderness...  amazing musicianship! Everything is there. Magenta are: Christina Maria Booth: vocals – Rob Reed: keyboards, vocals – Chris Fry: guitars, vocals – Martin Rosser: guitars, vocals – Matthew Cohen: bass – Allan Mason Jones: drums. We were treated to a nice bonus this time as Magenta were introduced on stage by none other than the great Annie Haslam of Renaissance's fame. Then Magenta, headliners of this great Saturday of music came on stage. What a show it was! You could see all through the show that all the members were really enjoying themselves, and the performance they gave was flawless! I have to say that Christina's voice is like that of an angel, it's so beautiful, she sings with passion, sensitivity, emotion energy. There was a small acoustic piece with only her and guitarist Chris Fry at one point, and you could hear a fly in the room, everyone there was completely under the charm and thoroughly captivated! The only thing I can add is this concert was one of the best concert I have ever seen, and I have seen many! This is a band to discover, and to see perform! The crowd gave them a well-deserved ovation and I really can't see any other way this magnificient day could have closed on a more perfect note. I was very happy later on to have a photo taken with Christina, and to have her sign my CD Revolutions for me!
 
AFTER HOURS...
Like I mentioned before, me and my girlfriend had gold tickets, so this meant that we could attend the after hours party at the Sheraton who was located just beside the Hampton Inn where we were staying. The party was held in a great big room downstairs at the Sheraton, and everybody with gold tickets could come plus all of the artists from the many groups would also be there. A small stage with musical instruments was set up so that anyone (artists or not) could go up there and jam, play or just have fun with the instruments. You can imagine that a lot of memorable and fun stuff happened in there. We ended up sitting at a table and having beers just beside Clive Nolan, Rob Sowden and John Jowitt, (John was playing with Arena for this event). The guys from Sylvan, the german band, were also next to our table, and these guys I must say are extremely nice and friendly and while chatting with them, I discovered that Marco, the singer, speaks very good french. Up on stage a lot was happening, at some point, Jonas Reingold and John Jowitt were giving us a double bass improvisation, and then the almost complete Tangent line up joined them and we were treated to some very nice improvised blues. Sylvan also did a few songs, and  Rob Sowden, Clive Nolan and a few more ended treating us to some nice "party" music. Being in the same room with all those great prog legends was a moment I will never forget. A moment worth mentioning was when the Flower Kings' road manager Bob Snyder got on stage and played guitar and sang the Who's Behind Blue Eyes and quite well I might add. When I saw him at Le Medley a few minutes before The Flower Kings went on stage last June 2, I asked him if he was going to sing Behind Blue Eyes again for us, He laughed and told me "not tonight" he said tonight it would be With a Little Help From My Friends from Joe Cocker! Very friendly guy!
Jonas Reingold having fun
Magenta's Christina Booth with Sylvain
A supergroup! Jowitt, Nolan, Tillson and Sowden!
Marillion's Pete Trewavas with Sylvain
What can I add also, a fabulous day ending also in a fantastic way, so we went back to our room to get some sleep and be ready for another day full of great music coming up the next day.

SUNDAY, MAY 1st
The first group on Sunday morning was Cryptic Vision. I knew them having bough their CD Moments of Clarity a few weeks before Rosfest. The band is from Tampa bay Florida and here is the line up: Rick Duncan: drums and keyboards – John Zahner: keyboards, vocals – Todd Plant: lead vocals – Matt La Porte: guitar, vocals – Sam Conable: bass, vocals. If ever a band was better suited to wake us up the right way after partying late at the after hours thing, Cryptic vision was it! Boy they really Prog-rocked the house! Their set was amazing, and they were a revelation for a lot of the people I am sure, Their sound reminds me of the old Kansas with a touch of Genesis, Yes, ELP and a bit of Dream theater. Todd Plant in my opinion has one of the great voices in the field, the guy sang his heart out, and even in the early morning hours like this, his vocal performance was impeccable and the high notes were dead on! The band did a tribute medley of all the great prog legends, featuring bits from Genesis, Yes, Kansas, ELP, Dream Theater, and they got a standing ovation when they finished, in fact they got more than a few standing ovations during their set! Great band, Great way to start the day! I got to meet them all after the show, and got my CD Moments of Clarity signed by all the guys!

Next came on stage Man on Fire, featuring Jeff Hodges: Lead Vocals, Keyboards, Zendrum – Eric Sands: Guitars – Richard Meeder: Fretted, Fretless Basses, Vocals – Rob Sindon: Drums, Percussion, Vocals, with special guest:
Steve Katsikis: Keyboards, Vocals. They presented their new CD Habitat in its entirety. Man on fire gave us a very "polished" performance featuring a video presentation on a screen behind them, and you could see that they invested a lot of time, talent and originality in creating and designing the concept behind Habitat Musically very impressive (Steve Katsitas of Little Atlas was on keyboard) featuring some nice fretless bass playing I would not say that Man on fire is easily categorized as "progressive", they write good songs, with a prog feel, but I personnally found they have more of a "pop" sound than progressive. Overall another nice show and again the crowd reacted well to their presentation. After another little coffee break, me and my girlfriend were really excited about the next act we would be seeing in just a short while.
Man On Fire
Man On Fire
Man On Fire
The famous Gary Strater autographed guitar
Germany's Sylvan has been a great favourite of mine since last December when I bought their CD Artificial Paradise. In fact, that album made such a big impression on me (and on my girlfriend as well) that I went out and bought their complete discography in the following weeks! The members of Sylvan are: Marco Glühmann: vocals – Volker Söhl: keyboards – Kay Söhl: guitars – Sebastian Harnack: bass – Matthias Harder: drums. They have a very unique sound and Marco's voice has a very distinctive sound, like a signature to the band's  overall blend of prog and rock. The show started to a very enthusiastic crowd and they played mostly material from X-rayed, Artificial Paradise and Encounters. A great show by a  very talented and original young group.You could feel that the guys were a little nervous on stage, but it did not prevent them from giving an excellent and energetic performance!
Sylvan
Sylvan
Sylvan
Sylvan
Sylvan's exuberant singer, Marco
Sylvan
I was a little annoyed though during their set, but not by the band, but by the mixing of their sound. I don't know if the sound engineer was familiar or not with their material, but it's a little frustrating when you know their songs as much as i do, to notice guitar solos entering in the mix late, or piano parts way too low in the room or Marco's voice sometimes not loud enough... I like Sylvan very much, and I am sure that these guys will make a major impact in the future, and if they ever tour again close to Montreal, I will be there for sure! We had a lot of fun with those guys at the after hours party, we even got ourselves filmed by Matthias the drummer at one point.

Well, it's hard when you realize that it's close to the end already. Seven bands played already with just one to go! Time sure flies when you're having a good time! It was time now to go eat something, and when we would come back, The Tangent would be the next group to treat us to their wonderful music!

The line for the Tangent at Rosfest consisted of: Sam Baine: piano – Andy Tillison: keyboards and vocals – Krister Jonsson: guitar and vocals – Jonas Reingold: bass – Jaime Salazar: drums – Theo Travis: saxophone and flute. The Tangent took the stage at 9:00 PM, and let me tell you that they were absolutely fabulous! Everything was perfect, and of course they played songs from their two CDs and as an encore, they gave us a dynamite version of King Crimson's 21st Century Schizoid man. I already knew like everybody else of the high caliber of the musicians in The Tangent, all of them need no introduction, but for me, Andy Tillison was quite a revelation. The guy is amazing, his hands are everywhere on the keys, he sings, he programs, he animates, and during some of his little monologues between the songs, he was hilarious and funny as hell.
The Tangent
The soul of the band, Andy Tillson
Jonas Reingold
Theo Travis
The Tangent
Sam Baine
The Tangent
Jamie Salazar
The Tangent
the extraordinary Andy Tillson
The Tangent, in all its glory!
I spoke with him a little in the afternoon before the concert, and I found out that he also speaks French, in fact he lives in France at the moment. It felt really good listening to them but inside I also felt that this magical week-end was closer to the end, so it was a mix of joy, happiness and also sadness that it would be soon over.

IN CONCLUSION...
A great festival, with an incredible line up, and I really enjoyed the venue, the Colonial Theater. It is a really nice place, the sound was most of the time perfect, never too loud (sometimes too low) the lighting was impressive and everyone, the organisers, technicians, musicians, etc... did a fabulous  job! and everyone we met were extremely helpful and friendly, we always found a ride in time to move from the hotel to the venue... 

The time spent at the after hours party was priceless and we will always cherish the memories we brought back with us. Having photos taken with Christina of Magenta, the legendary Pete Trewavas, the members of Sylvan, all great souvenirs to look at and make us remember what a wonderful and extraordinary week end it was!!!!  

For sure we will do everything in our power to attend next year also. 

Rosfest rules!