Day 2 started with some catching up with friends and numerous great conversations. Mid-morning, we headed to the venue and prepared ourselves for a long and lovely day of music. There are some really cool exhibitors in the Black Box Theater. Deane Arnold is a pumpkin sculptor who has been featured on numerous television shows such as Outrageous Pumpkins, and was joined by the lovely Sarah Blostein (AKA Bloodstain). Paul Whitehead is here, and created several lovely works of art throughout the festival during different acts. EMEAPP (Electronic Music Education and Preservation Project) was there, along with artist Victoria Flowers, who created several evocative prints during the festival. Michael Bennett, who is the producer of ProgDay, came with his lovely art. There are many more people in the exhibitor’s hall, so forgive me if I’ve left you off! Come and chat and I’ll feature you tomorrow.
Dave Cureton and Adam Gough
I knew I would enjoy this set, as I was familiar with IO Earth and had seen them at Cruise to the Edge, but I absolutely loved this set. It was a fabulous way to start the second day. Dave and Adam played a set of contemplative tunes, equally balanced between ponderous and heartfelt vocal driven tracks and blistering instrumentals. Mike Keneally joined them for a track (which, honestly, is proving to always be a good idea) and Dave and Mike traded passionate, fiery guitar solos. It was absolutely brilliant from top to bottom.
As a side note, or perhaps more than that: IO Earth’s HQ was destroyed relatively recently in a devastating fire, and every little bit helps as they recover from tragic loss. Please click this link and continue to support their music to help them recover these tremendous losses.
Advent Horizon
In 2016, my brother and I decided to start a podcast to go along with our website, Proglodytes. The first band we interviewed was Advent Horizon, who had just released their album Stagehound not too long before. I liked their music enough to ask them if we could use their song “Invasion Theorem” as our podcast intro. So, all of this is to say; I was more than excited to see Advent Horizon rock the ProgStock 2024 stage. Considering my existing support, I’ll try my best to be objective.
They played through their latest release, the critically acclaimed A Cell To Call Home, and boy, did they deliver. It was incredible to see this band own the stage. The sound quality throughout the festival has varied from band to band, but something about this act really felt unusually magical. The soaring vocals and harmonies popped and resonated through the hall, the distortion was chunky and in-your-face, and the band sounded massive and powerful. It could be that this was one of the overall louder acts, but the mix didn’t drown anyone out in my estimation.
Rylee McDonald vocals and delivery were pristine and powerful, and guest vocalist Kristen McDonald provided additional lead and backing vocals that blended so well. Grant Matheson and Cason Wood both multi-tasked, providing guitar and bass (respectively), but also significant support on keys. Grant sang backup and some very powerful lead parts on nearly every song. Drummer Mike Lofgreen played some incredibly powerful and intricate drum parts, channeling everyone from Mike Portnoy to Stewart Copeland, and also wins the award for most double bass so far at the festival, bringing the Prog metal to the Prog festival. And saxophonist Jamison Smeltz played an absolutely searing solo and traded some lines with Rylee, who was up for the task. I also want to point out that both Cason and Rylee had to play solos that were originally played by Jordan Rudess and Randy McStine (respectively), and they absolutely slayed.
They wrapped up their album play through and closed with “Serpentine” from their prior album Stagehound, featuring both Jamison and Kristin and the rest of the band. As an audience member, I could feel the palpable enthusiasm that followed their set, as they delighted their fans, but judging by the cheers, applause, and standing ovations, they clearly won over the morning crowd today with their powerful, energetic set.
Melanie and Martin
What an absolute pleasure it was to hear this group of musicians. Melanie Mau and Martin Schnella, known around the festivals as Melanie and Martin, were joined by Mathias Ruck, who provided a third voice as well as cajón. Sometimes the association one has with a more acoustically oriented act, but as a total slut for harmonies, this act was an utter delight and just as dense and challenging and complex as anything else at the festival. Their tight 3-part harmonies blended so well. I loved how they threw in counterpoint so casually, even singing parts of “On Reflection” by Gentle Giant and handling it expertly. They closed their gorgeous and charming set with a 3 part harmony laden cover of “Tom Sawyer” by Rush.
Circuline
I had remarked last time I saw Circuline that they were one of the most elaborate and charming acts of the festival that year, but after a hiatus and a new album, they’ve come back with an even more elaborate stage show and an even bigger presence. The lineup has had a few changes since the last time they played ProgStock. Lead singer Natalie Brown, keyboardist and singer Andrew Colyer, and drummer Darin Brannon are joined by prolific multi-instrumentalist Dave Bainbridge on guitar, as well as Michael Gauvreau on backing vocals and percussion. KYROS’s Shelby Warne was missed on the bass, but the endlessly talented Matt Dorsey substituted for this performance, with a masterful performance as always.
Circuline is a band that is stacked with so much talent and personality, and I’ve always enjoyed their broad array of themes, ranging from political to interpersonal to fantastical. They more than delivered with a powerful performance, which provided some wonderful sonic diversity and some really great dynamics from song to song. Their material has some heavier, moodier songs, as well as some optimistic, bright, and joyful songs, and I appreciated the variety of tone.
As a drummer, I particularly loved when all of the band members formed a drum semicircle with different percussion instruments and pounded out some intense interlocking grooves, “Rhythm of the Heat” style. Many of their songs tonight are from their brand new album C.O.R.E., which was released on September 20th of this year. If you haven’t heard it, go and check it out immediately!
John Mitchell and Jez Fielder
I have been a fan of John Mitchell for several years now. I first heard him on his Lonely Robot album, and have loved his prolific output ever since. I’ve been lucky enough to see him play a handful of times in a handful of bands, and even had a great chat with him not too long ago. John’s a terrifyingly talented guy, and had already shredded faces with the David Cross Band the night before. He’s consistently brilliant and I’m a big fan.
For this appearance, John was joined by his friend Jez Fielder, and made the performance more like a Storytellers show (or, in John’s words, an interactive TED Talk). Jez proved to be a lovely addition, adding in some fantastic high harmonies and guitar, hilarious commentary, and an anarchic slideshow that sowed some mischief into the set. Saga was having some technical issues, so John and Jez were not completely sure how long they’d have on stage, but they were able to play some tunes from It Bites!, Kino, Frost*, and even Cyndi Lauper. Their performance added some welcome levity to the evening, which was at that point an hour or so behind schedule, and they put on a great show. They closed with one of my favorite Mitchell compositions, “Please Come Home”, from Lonely Robot’s first record.
Saga
After some serious technical issues were identified and resolved, legendary Canadian prog band Saga took the stage. What I observed as both a musician who has performed countless shows and also an audience member was a masterclass in endurance in the face of very challenging technical and logistical issues. The early parts of the set had some mic feedback issues and we could tell the other instruments needed some tweaking. Yet, Saga was unflappable and each member punched through at the level that only true professionals can.
Michael Sadler, the brilliant frontman and longtime supporter of ProgStock, recently had a significant surgical procedure- as in, a few weeks ago, and has since recovered and hit the road to perform. It is moving to have him here, and a testament to his generous spirit that he’s made it to the festival. He is a frontman’s frontman, with so much power and gravitas in his voice and presence, and it is always inspirational to see him groove along, passionately signaling cues and cheerfully channeling the energy of the band. Sadler’s performance so soon after his operation was a testament to his love for the art, his immense ability as frontman, and his ironclad will.
The lead keyboardist (there were 3 gentleman with keyboard rigs on stage!), Jim Gilmour, was energetic and flashy, and sang lead on several great tunes. I was incredibly impressed by the two musicians that were tapped to fill in for Ian Crichton and Mike Thorne. Dusty Chesterfield handled the guitar parts incredibly, and his solos were tasty as hell. Mike Borkosky provided strength and power on the bass and a significant portion of the keys. The drummer, Brad Park, was incredible and so much fun to watch. I sat next to Mike Lofgren from Advent Horizon and we couldn’t stop commenting on how much we loved his groove and finesse. The adverse circumstances may have presented some challenges, but the gentleman of Saga powered on and gave an inspiring performance to an eager and enthusiastic prog-loving audience.
Day 2 was fabulous and I can’t wait for Day 3.
Proglodytes 