RoSFest 2009 - part 2

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!