On Saturday morning, after a huge American style breakfast, we went for a walk around the local neighbourhood to get a feel for the area, after which we returned to the hotel to find the band were undertaking some final rehearsals in one of the conference rooms.
As the morning wore on it was time to secure a lift to the venue and set up the merchandising stall. Sadly rather than being in the downstairs auditorium we were placed in an upstairs lobby, and while it was possible to hear the bands on stage from here, nothing could be seen.
One of the nice things about working on merchandise is that you get the chance to talk to people from all over and without exception I was impressed at what a friendly bunch of people attend the RoSFest event. We quickly struck up a good rapport with the people in the stalls around about and got to chat with some of the guys from both Abigail’s Ghost and Moth Vellum who had performed earlier in the day.
Trade began fairly briskly even while Justin and I were setting up shop, and the new FrostFest t-shirts (initially available in green or black) quickly proved to be a popular option. In fact things were so busy at times that our new found friends from the Abigail’s Ghost stall next door were lending a hand to help us to cope with the demand. As the day wore on supplies of FrostFest t-shirts quickly started to dwindle and the point came when someone asked for the Green in Large size only to be disappointed to find we had sold out - the only one left was the one I was wearing, so I did the proper thing and literally sold him the shirt off my back (quickly pulling on the same design in black so as not to frighten the fans too much).
Frost took to the stage at 5.00pm in the afternoon and just ahead of this things had quietened down sufficiently for me to go downstairs and watch the start of the set from the back of the hall. The specially recorded Frost intro tape was a master stroke on the bands behalf and it injected the right level of humour into the afternoon’s entertainment and I sincerely hope that this is included in the planned live CD of the concert as it proved to be quite memorable.
Sadly from my point of view I had to return to my duties selling the merchandise at this point, taking the occasional peek into the hall from the stairs when there was a sufficient lull. The band sounded fantastic though and from what I did manage to see and hear Nick D'Virgilio was doing a great job on the drums (as I would expect from a man of his standing). The set ran to the maximum time allowed and included some new material as well as classics such as Milliontown, Black Light Machine and Other Me, all performed to the obvious enjoyment of not just the audience but the band as well. This was truly a great performance and my only disappointment was that I had not been able to see the whole thing - still at least I was there! There are currently some good quality clips available to view on YouTube that give a good impression of the Frost show and I recommend checking them out!
By the time the band finished their set we were down to a handful of t-shirts and a dozen or so CDs and once again I had to resort to selling the t-shirt I was wearing to satisfy demand - thankfully Abigail’s Ghost came to my rescue giving me one of their shirts to wear as we had none left at all at this time. At this point from my perspective my work was done and I was happy to think that on returning home none of the merchandise was coming back with us!
After the show, the band were available for signings and while this went on it was time to grab a bite to eat backstage, after which we all retired to a nearby bar for a drink or two (I'm sure it was only two ;) ) to celebrate a great evening.
I headed back to the venue to catch the headline band Lazuli, who I had last seen a couple of years back when they played at the SymForce festival in Holland. Despite some slight technical problems at the start of the set the band put on a great show. Some of the songs I recognised from the CD 'En Avant Doute', and I suspect there were also some new numbers in the set as there is a new CD coming out very soon. The music is a great mix of styles and, with all the vocals sung in French, the band certainly leaves their mark. The set was really very impressive from start to finish and from talking to people after the show it seems they won a lot of new fans that night.
Back at the hotel afterwards there was the inevitable after show party, with more music and drinks a plenty, but after an hour or so I decided enough was enough and it was time to turn in - it had been a long but enjoyable couple of days and we were not done yet!
Wednesday, 13 May 2009
Sunday, 10 May 2009
RoSFest 2009 - part 1
Visitors to the main New Horizons website will be aware that there was no site update last week due to the fact that I was heading off to the USA to RosFest (Rites of Spring Festival). I thought I'd get this blog underway by sharing a few thoughts and impressions with you about the events of that weekend!
2009 was my first experience of RoSFest but, I have to say, I hope it won't be my last. A superb venue, great bands and to top it all off a great bunch of people both organising and attending the event made for a really great weekend.
The reason I was there at at all was down to the fact that I have been working as one of the crew for the band Frost* since their European tour last summer (when they supported Spock's Beard), and when the opportunity came up to work the festival with them it was a chance not to be passed up.
We left the UK on Friday May 1st, travelling from London Heathrow to Philadelphia with British Airways. Most of the band had left a few days earlier for rehearsals with stand in drummer Nick D'Virgilio, who was on loan for the show from Spocks Beard, leaving myself, fellow roadie Justin and the irrepressible John Mitchell to round off the party. John had been touring with It Bites and had played a gig in Europe just the night before, hence the reason for the delay.
The journey out was amazing since by good fortune the guy responsible for dispatching the plane was a fan of John's music (Frost, It Bites etc), and he had arranged for the three of us to be bumped up to Club Class as soon as everyone had boarded. Oh how the other half live! Non stop food and wine all the way across, loads of room and a seat that doubled up as a bed all made for a very very comfortable trip. If I ever get the chance to travel this way again I'm taking it. Thank you BA!
On arrival at Philadelphia we were met by Krista who had arranged transport to our hotel, the only thing was we had to wait for the French band Lazuli to arrive on thier flight before we could hit the road. In the meantime John was needed urgently at the rehearsal studios and headed off in a taxi while Justin and I started what was to be quite a long wait.
Airports are not the most exciting places on the planet, but we made the most of it with our new found friend, Krista, and eventually the guys from Lazuli arrived albeit a little later than expected.
The next hurdle was getting everyone back to the hotel which was some 40 miles away, but with a minibus and a car everyone was somehow squeezed in and finally some 3 hours after arrival off we went.
Luckily despite the time of day, traffic was not too bad, and we made good time - even so on arrival at the hotel, what with the time difference and the effects of a long days travel catching up on me, it was too late to consider trying to make the journey to the venue (some 4-5 miles away) to catch any of the first nights entertainment. Instead I opted for a quiet evening and an early night until I heard the sounds of british voices in the corridor heralding the return of the band from rehearsals at which point a few drinks in the bar seemed like an excellent idea as indeed it proved to be.
Chatting with the band it transpired that they were very pleased with the way things were sounding, and Nick it seemed was fitting in very nicely indeed. With a few suprises in store and some new songs lined up, the Frost show was promising to be something not to be missed.
There was a real party atmosphere in the hotel bar and this proved a great opportunity to chat to some of the other fans visiting the festival, all of who were having a great time. From the conversations I had I was sorry to have missed both The Syn and Nektar, both of which bands were very well received, still there was much to look forward to over the next couple of days both in terms of the music and the excellent local beer which put a lie to many of the widely held beliefs about the quality of ale brewed on the other side of the pond!
Entertainment was also laid on in the shape of an excellent Jethro Tull covers band, whose name sadly escapes me. Despite rather than because of, my weary state I really found them quite enjoyable and while much of the evening has disappeared in a hazy memory I am left with a vivid recollection of the superb job they did with the song Aqualung, a favourite of mine for a long time.
Finally the day caught up with me and it was time to hit the sack - tomorrow was our big moment and I had a job of work to do selling merchandise, tales of which will follow shortly.....
2009 was my first experience of RoSFest but, I have to say, I hope it won't be my last. A superb venue, great bands and to top it all off a great bunch of people both organising and attending the event made for a really great weekend.
The reason I was there at at all was down to the fact that I have been working as one of the crew for the band Frost* since their European tour last summer (when they supported Spock's Beard), and when the opportunity came up to work the festival with them it was a chance not to be passed up.
We left the UK on Friday May 1st, travelling from London Heathrow to Philadelphia with British Airways. Most of the band had left a few days earlier for rehearsals with stand in drummer Nick D'Virgilio, who was on loan for the show from Spocks Beard, leaving myself, fellow roadie Justin and the irrepressible John Mitchell to round off the party. John had been touring with It Bites and had played a gig in Europe just the night before, hence the reason for the delay.
The journey out was amazing since by good fortune the guy responsible for dispatching the plane was a fan of John's music (Frost, It Bites etc), and he had arranged for the three of us to be bumped up to Club Class as soon as everyone had boarded. Oh how the other half live! Non stop food and wine all the way across, loads of room and a seat that doubled up as a bed all made for a very very comfortable trip. If I ever get the chance to travel this way again I'm taking it. Thank you BA!
On arrival at Philadelphia we were met by Krista who had arranged transport to our hotel, the only thing was we had to wait for the French band Lazuli to arrive on thier flight before we could hit the road. In the meantime John was needed urgently at the rehearsal studios and headed off in a taxi while Justin and I started what was to be quite a long wait.
Airports are not the most exciting places on the planet, but we made the most of it with our new found friend, Krista, and eventually the guys from Lazuli arrived albeit a little later than expected.
The next hurdle was getting everyone back to the hotel which was some 40 miles away, but with a minibus and a car everyone was somehow squeezed in and finally some 3 hours after arrival off we went.
Luckily despite the time of day, traffic was not too bad, and we made good time - even so on arrival at the hotel, what with the time difference and the effects of a long days travel catching up on me, it was too late to consider trying to make the journey to the venue (some 4-5 miles away) to catch any of the first nights entertainment. Instead I opted for a quiet evening and an early night until I heard the sounds of british voices in the corridor heralding the return of the band from rehearsals at which point a few drinks in the bar seemed like an excellent idea as indeed it proved to be.
Chatting with the band it transpired that they were very pleased with the way things were sounding, and Nick it seemed was fitting in very nicely indeed. With a few suprises in store and some new songs lined up, the Frost show was promising to be something not to be missed.
There was a real party atmosphere in the hotel bar and this proved a great opportunity to chat to some of the other fans visiting the festival, all of who were having a great time. From the conversations I had I was sorry to have missed both The Syn and Nektar, both of which bands were very well received, still there was much to look forward to over the next couple of days both in terms of the music and the excellent local beer which put a lie to many of the widely held beliefs about the quality of ale brewed on the other side of the pond!
Entertainment was also laid on in the shape of an excellent Jethro Tull covers band, whose name sadly escapes me. Despite rather than because of, my weary state I really found them quite enjoyable and while much of the evening has disappeared in a hazy memory I am left with a vivid recollection of the superb job they did with the song Aqualung, a favourite of mine for a long time.
Finally the day caught up with me and it was time to hit the sack - tomorrow was our big moment and I had a job of work to do selling merchandise, tales of which will follow shortly.....
New Horizons Blog Site
The main New Horizons website at http://www.elrose.co.uk/ has been running for almost 10 years now, and for a small independent site, run primarily as a labour of love, this is something of an achievement and is also something I am very proud of. Starting from nothing we have built up a loyal and regular readership, and I am greatful for the support I have received from fans and bands alike over the years.
When the site first started up magazines and fanzines were commonplace but the internet seemed to be the way forward. Now however attitudes are changing once again, and with the ever increasing number of blog sites and the advent of twitter, the old style website is starting to look a little long in the tooth. Furthermore with the ever increasing popularity of sites like MySpace, which give bands a chance to air their music to the public, the need for old style CD reviews is perhaps less relevant than before. You don't afterall need me to tell you what an album sounds like when you can go and hear sections of it for yourself.
That said, even in the modern marketplace, sites like New Horizons can still serve a useful purpose in helping to make our readers aware of what is out there and directing you towards it - but once there, you can form your own opinions as to what you think of the product.
With this in mind we have decided to try to dispense with the old style of CD and gig reviews and go for the blog approach instead to see how this fares with our readership. By taking this line we feel we can still provide useful information to you, but using a more informal approach we can do so without the need to go into such depth. Instead we will try to act as a guide to help you the reader to find your way towards the wealth of fantastic music that is available out there!
Initially the main website at http://www.elrose.co.uk/ will continue as before with the emphasis being on our News and Tour dates services. CD reviews have been thin on the ground of late, mainly becuase finding the time to write detailed reviews has proved impossible with the demands of the real world of work! With this in mind although CD reviews will continue to be published on the main site I expect them to be few and far between.
Instead I am hoping to start posting regular blogs pointing out CDs that you the reader may enjoy, along with links, where appropriate, so you can hear the music for yourself.
We will give this a trial for a few months and see how it goes and at the same time give you the readers a chance to comment on what you think, and to tell us if you think this is the way to go - if it works then further changes to the main site may well follow.
More to follow very shortly.........
When the site first started up magazines and fanzines were commonplace but the internet seemed to be the way forward. Now however attitudes are changing once again, and with the ever increasing number of blog sites and the advent of twitter, the old style website is starting to look a little long in the tooth. Furthermore with the ever increasing popularity of sites like MySpace, which give bands a chance to air their music to the public, the need for old style CD reviews is perhaps less relevant than before. You don't afterall need me to tell you what an album sounds like when you can go and hear sections of it for yourself.
That said, even in the modern marketplace, sites like New Horizons can still serve a useful purpose in helping to make our readers aware of what is out there and directing you towards it - but once there, you can form your own opinions as to what you think of the product.
With this in mind we have decided to try to dispense with the old style of CD and gig reviews and go for the blog approach instead to see how this fares with our readership. By taking this line we feel we can still provide useful information to you, but using a more informal approach we can do so without the need to go into such depth. Instead we will try to act as a guide to help you the reader to find your way towards the wealth of fantastic music that is available out there!
Initially the main website at http://www.elrose.co.uk/ will continue as before with the emphasis being on our News and Tour dates services. CD reviews have been thin on the ground of late, mainly becuase finding the time to write detailed reviews has proved impossible with the demands of the real world of work! With this in mind although CD reviews will continue to be published on the main site I expect them to be few and far between.
Instead I am hoping to start posting regular blogs pointing out CDs that you the reader may enjoy, along with links, where appropriate, so you can hear the music for yourself.
We will give this a trial for a few months and see how it goes and at the same time give you the readers a chance to comment on what you think, and to tell us if you think this is the way to go - if it works then further changes to the main site may well follow.
More to follow very shortly.........
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