Progressive Promotion Festival – Das Rind - Rüsselsheim – Saturday 22 September
Saturday was an earlier start at 4pm with 4 bands. The earlier start meant a more relaxed day with plenty of time between the bands.
Figuresmile
First band of the day was Polish band Figuresmile whose singer also played acoustic guitar. The drummer triggered samples for several of the songs. The other members of the band were a guitarist and a bass player. I think that they could have probably used a keyboard player to give the guitarist some room, but on the occasions when he did solo, they were neat and concise.
They also did a cover of Lavender, which struck me as a strange song to cover. Also, at the end of the set they played some unusual but somewhat effective excerpts from famous songs “Riders on the Storm” over bass and drums, and then the vocalist sang “Another Brick in the Wall” whilst the guitarist riffed to “Whole Lotta Love”.
Check out Figuresmile here -> https://www.facebook.com/pages/Figuresmile/144066285654445
Here is a youtube sample -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqnxAkUeV4s
Seven Steps to the Green Door
After a trip to the Chinese Restaurant next door, I returned in time for Seven Steps to the Green Door. The stage was pretty busy as there are seven members of the band (drums, guitar/ backing vocalist, bass, female vocalist, male vocalist, 1st keyboard/ saxophone, 2nd keyboard/ backing vocalist). And they came on stage wearing black t-shirts with different slogans. Unfortunately I couldn't see them all and I couldn't understand them all. There seemed to be a counting theme, but I'm not sure.
At the end of the sound check, they did a quick burst of “Barbara-Ann” which got a good cheer, and then they left the stage only to return a few minutes later.
With all that on stage, it would have been easy for the sound to disintegrate into a mush, but the sound was perfect – as it was for the whole weekend – the sound guy really knew his stuff.
The 1st keyboard player (Marek Arnold) was clearly the artistic leader of the band (on return to the UK, I learned that he played the wind instruments on Guy Manning's Margaret's Children album). There were some really lovely keyboard parts, but the guitarist also knows his stuff. And the male/ female vocal combination worked really well. At times they bordered on jazz, and at other times there was some heavy rifting.
Check out the band here -> http://ssttgd.de
And a youtube sample -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBUY054ebWs
Moon Safari
Of all the bands that were performing at the weekend, Moon Safari were the one that I was looking forward to the most. I count myself lucky to have seen them at Winter's End a couple of years ago, and I will be seeing them in two days time at Summer's End. They will wow the place.
Since then, they've added a sixth member – a third Åkesson brother (Sebastian) playing 2nd keyboard. As far as I could tell, the only member of the band who wasn't singing was drummer Tobias Lundgren. Lead vocals were shared by Petter Sandström (12 string acoustic guitar), Simon Åkesson (1st keyboard) and, occasionally, Johan Westerlund (bass). That leaves guitarist Pontus Åkesson. The multi-part harmonises were beautifully crafted. But the band is much more than this and there were numerous wonderfully tuneful keyboard and guitar solos.
We got to hear the new song (“Skellefteå Serenade”) and it is epic – 25 minutes of blissful harmonises and lovely solos. They didn't play many songs – “A Kid Called Panic”, “Heartland”, “New York City Summer Girl”, “Skellefteå Serenade”, and by choice “A Doorway to Summer” - but every single moment was superb.
And, of course, they cam back to sing “Constant Bloom” a capella. That was probably the highlight of the weekend for me.
Best wishes to the band on their upcoming tour to Japan.
Check out Moon Safari here -> http://www.moonsafari.se/
And a youtube sample -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teMLC1uxvSg
Lazuli
Lazuli came on stage at about 11pm – a time where most gigs in the UK are coming to an end. By this time, Das Rind was rammed. The five members of Lazuli came on stage. These are versatile musicians. The lead singer (Dominique Leonetti) played 12 string or electric guitar. There was a main guitarist (Gédéric Byar) playing the ugliest guitar that have ever seen, and Claude Leonetti on Léode. Behind these three, were Romain Thorel who was usually the keyboard player, but also played French horn and drums, and the drummer Vincent Barnavol, who played the marimba (at least I think it was a Marimba – it was tuned percussion of some sort).
One instrument not mentioned above is a bass guitar. I was covered in bass and after they finished, I still couldn't figure out where it was coming from. The keyboard, the léode, the guitar – I suspect all of them at different times.
They played many songs from the “4603 Battements” album and some others which I did not recognise. My favourites got played “L'Azur” and “15H40”.
Occasionally the singer read a script in German. These went down very well. I understood most of them.
About half way through, the whole band gathered around the microphone and sang a short song to a fan with Dominique Leonetti playing ukele guitar.
The main set came to end, and they came back to play encores. By this time I was too tired to stay any longer. But I've seen one of the encores on youtube and it is stunningly good.
Check out the band here -> http://www.lazuli-music.com/
And a youtube clip -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZvG7yKN6yY
And so that was Progressive Promotion Festival 2012. As always, many thanks to the people who organised the event. Every band was introduced in English as well as German. Lazuli were introduced in French as well. It was a well run event and I will try to go back next year.