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.....