Veroodstock 11th edition or The black star on Veruno 2Days Prog+1 had to give up

All Photo by Vincenzo Nicolello except where indicated

Hi to those who read me!

Even if there's low activity on this blog, I can see always a good number of contacts who stop on the silly things I use to write! I'm proud of it! Thank you!

So here we are once more to talk about the most famous Italian Prog Festival, which takes  place in the little town named Veruno.

The Festival, now is at its 11th edition, is growing year by year, faster than some years ago!

I realized that on the very first day, on Friday 6/9/19, the audience was about 2000 people, and this hardly happened in the preceding editions! Great!

There are many reasons why this happens:

1.  Veruno Prog (as we use to call it in short) is totally free of charge. You have only to buy some soap to remove the stamp printed on you hand when you come in Piazzetta della Musica (Music Square), where it takes place!

2. Veruno Prog is greatly managed and everyone, from the musicians to the audience, feels free, happy and fully satisfied. It's not a mystery that several musicians would like to come back and sometimes they do it with another band or as audience!

Veruno is Magic!

This year also the food (apart pizza, but I'm from Naples... try to understand me!) was better than in the past!

3. Friendship. The Festival management and crew, the audience and the musicians are happy to talk one to each other without being bored by useless and stupid fanaticisms like banners or posters or silly choirs.
Surely there are musicians we face with more admiration than others , but we all love music and it's great to talk with them about it!

Particularly, there's always a festive atmosphere which leads to smiles, jokes and enthusiasm.

In those three days all of us have the chance to meet people who are difficult to reach during the rest of the year, and there are enthusiastic hugs and kisses everywhere!
They come from different places on Earth: Italy (obviously), England, Japan, France, Austria, Germany, Greece, Peru, United States, Northern Europe and so on!

Surely in those three days everyone leaves behind his everyday problems and lives music and friends like never in the rest of the year. That's why I use to call it Veroodstock! 

4. The bands which take turns on the Main Stage (but also in the Auditorium) are always fine and quite good, regardless of  everyone's taste. This means, you may like them or not, but the level is always quite high.

5. The Neighbourhood is beautiful, since Veruno is a country land between two astonishing lakes: Lago Maggiore and Lago D'Orta. So in the morning you can go and enjoy breathless landscapes and typical northern Italy towns.

6. The Weather is generally fine, even if this year was a bit too cold for the very beginning of September and it rained more than usual.
Alberto Temporelli's motto is "In Veruno always shines the sun... of good music"!

Unfortunately this edition was born under a black star.

Caused by familiar unpleasant events the two headliners which should have played on saturday (Bjorn Rijs and King's X) have given forfait just few days before the opening of the Festival!

I can only vaguely imagine what passed in Alberto Temporelli's head in that moments!

But our hero immediately raised up a task force and quickly replaced the bands with others of high (in one case higher...) level!

The following lineup shows the ultimate version, with the "substitutes" Lazuli and Alan Simon's Excalibur. 

WHAAAAAT? LAZULI?

We always use to say that Veruno Prog is ONESHOT and Lazuli came in 2012!

Ok. "If rules are to be broken, better to do it in the best way" said Octavia Brown, our dear Fairy presenter  in a Facebook note!

However Lazuli have always been "rule breakers" for Veruno!

In 2012 the band was the first (and unique until now) "not last headliner" to be forced by the audience to come back on stage for the encore!

Lazuli were called on Thursday night to come on Friday night from France and play on Saturday. Only PURE FRIENDS act like them! And Lazuli are Veruno Prog and Temporelli's great friends!

OK. Let's come back to the Music.

As usual the band were introduced on stage with verve and sympathy by Octavia Brown, who this year showed a new kind of Fairy wings, enlightened in blue light! Very beautiful!

(Photo by Enrico Rolandi)

I think that the worst attitude of nowadays Prog is the lack of personality.

Since there's still a growing interest around this kind of music, there are lots of bands which grow up as mushrooms, but unfortunately they all play "as someone else", not as themselves.

In several cases, when often I find it boring to my ears and musical taste, I use to say they play adopting a "low level wilsonism", or in other cases they are a "Genesis pale simulacrum" (or Pink Floyd, or others) or more, they play "uselessly complicated", as if they thought about a song, found it was 4/4 and forced it to 7/8 or another odd tempo.

This is NOT the case for UNIVERSAL TOTEM ORCHESTRA, one of the great examples of a great band born in Italy.

UTO are almost unique with their powerful rhythm section, the great guitar and sax openings, the brilliant voice of the singer Ana Torres Fraile. 

UTO music is not easy or immediate, since it merges jazz, classic/lyrical and rock motifs, but it's fascinating, enriched with stratified interweaving of instruments, that only great musicians can create and play live on stage!
Someone uses to link them with Zehul, but I find their rhythm section, their harmonizations and their musical structures are more complex and effective than Zehul.
Maybe they should have deserved a better position in the line up than the Festival opening...

If you love something different, not too easy but fascinating, you should taste UTO music!

This is NOT the case for LAZULI, one of the greatest LIVE bands in the prog neighbourhood! 
LAZULI shock the audience with their power, with the desperate sound of Leode (yes, it always seems to cry!) played by Claude Leonetti, with their impressive wall of sound!
Even before Dominc Leonetti (their parents are from Abruzzo-Italy) starts to sing, you can feel something that brings France in your mind.

The magic of LAZULI music is that if you listen to their albums, comfortably sat on your sofa, you cannot reach the emotions that shock you when the band is on stage! 

This NOT the case for IL BACIO DELLA MEDUSA, where you can feel a taste of Italy in every music passage, where Eva Morelli's saxes and flutes are not a backside instrument, but an important part of the sound of the band, where
Simone Cecchini's histrionic voice is powerful and roaring and the other musicians are greatly proficient and talented. You may listen to something jazzy, especially in sax lines, or dark prog in the way of northern Europe bands, but the happy choice is to search for melody and passionate lyrics as in the beautiful "Discesa agli inferi di un giovane amante".

The true happy choice, for the audience, was to be down the stage during their performance!

I have to admit I was a bit skeptical on BALLETTO DI BRONZO performance, maybe because I was thinking that it may sound as a bit dated music.

OK. I was really very wrong! 

Gianni Leone's skill has reached its high recreating a new and modern rhythm section and giving to music coming from the seventies an updated dress! 

Happy to notice I was in error!

Leone, as in the usual way of musicians from Naples (Osanna, for example), also offers a great theatrical show on stage, wearing dresses and masks, always speaking and mocking to the audience! Really great!

What could I say on ACQUA FRAGILE if not that Bernardo Lanzetti is still one of the best singers we have in Italy?

Still now his voice is powerful, well modulated and rich with emphasis.

I have noticed a great work on vocals harmonies, sometimes very surprising!

Musically is not my cup of tea, but the audience was on fire. Good!

In the end I was really shocked by the audience at the ARENA performance!

I truly was not aware they have such a huge number of fans in Italy!

I have to be honest with you: in the past I had a little love affair with ARENA, but it rapidly vanished when my NewProg idiosyncrasy grew fast...

But during their performance I've found myself singing their old songs, and it's been as meeting an old friend: never heard and seen anymore for a long time, but with the sensation you have talked with him the day before! Goosebumps!




I have also to say that I've found CANTINA SOCIALE, the band that played on the first two days at the Auditorium, very delightful!
While OVERTURE seemed to me too classical and down with energy and dynamics.

"The Rest will flow" sang Steven Wilson in his Porcupine Tree days...

In the rest of performances I didn't find something really interesting.
Obviously they are all good bands and you know it's just a matter of taste, but CARAVAN played a playlist too easy-listening, and I found amusing to listen some tracks from In the Land of Grey and Pink with the beautiful 'Nine Feet Underground' among them.
FLOR DE LOTO are very talented, sometimes it seemed to me to listen to something like Inti Illimani heavy rock... but that's all.
VERBAL DELIRIUM I preferred the very first part of their performance, where I heard something coming from Greece, than it slipped in something too generic, not interesting to me.
ALAN SIMON'S EXCALIBUR, since it was prepared in a very little time, didn't seem at their best. But I also have to say that this kind of experiments rarely gain my attention. They always sound too pompous and uninspired!
ARCADELT are too Genesis-clone to gain my attention.
At the end IRON BUTTERFLY... they share with Vanilla Fudge (Seen in the preceding edition) the same amount of Prog attitude. Both bands made a single psychedelic song more  than the rest of their rock blues songs ('In a Gadda Da Vida' and 'Some Velvet Morning' respectively) and after 50 years we assume they can be among Prog bands...

As always at Veroodstock, Music is important for two things: one is to listen to bands you already know and to approach new bands otherwise you would never even know  their existence (for example last year I found Universe by the Ear and Smalltape very interesting); the second is that you always find old and new friends to share moments with: having fun, walking, talking, smiling, kissing and hugging apparently without any reason (but the true reason is we all are happy to be together once again!), drinking and eating until deep night!

it's always traumatic when it all ends and you're forced to come back to everyday life!

Veruno is Magic!

I cannot promise to you (once again) to be more prolific on this blog, but please, don't forget it!
I have some interesting things to say, but it's hard to find enough time to write them down!

See you next time!
Hopefully BEFORE 2Days Prog+1 12th edition...

2Days Prog+1 – 10th Edition.Veroodstock confirms the magic!

Hi to those who read me!

Those, for better or for worse, who thought this blog was dead and buried were wrong! 

Even if I'm not posting anything since September 2017 (I have lots of items to talk you with, but time and tiredness are tyrants!), the number of monthly visitors is widely satisfactory. For this I would like to thank all visitors, from Russia (without love, but never say never!) to America and Japan!

But let's talk about the on topic item: the 10th edition of 2Days Prog+1 Festival in Veruno, by now well known in the whole world, confirmed its magic!

Just to confirm it, let me say that I met some people who came to attend to a single day that, after breathing Veroodstock atmosphere, have chosen to sleep in their car to enjoy the rest of the festival! Great, isn't it?

As ever the Festival management has been very clever (with Octavia, Alberto and Daina running continuously from the main stage to Auditorium and vice versa.. and you now the hill is not so gentle!): all musicians felt very comfortably, food and drinks were always on tap, even after headliners performances, merchandising was rich and varied (but I think next year the space reserved to them should be larger, because they are increasing), the police (not the band!) continually controlled that all was going in the right way and all of us, organizers, exposers and audience, were happy to meet again after one year, as it would be the chance to re-unite the family around the Christmas table!

Even this year the audience was very copious and coming from different places in the world. The maximum was reached with the Banco del Mutuo Soccorso performance, but also on Sunday, with Vanilla Fudge there were lots of people.   

All the young band who played, even in the Auditorium or on the main stage, were quite good: Isproject (helped by Cellar Noise components for the Live performance), Mindspeak (quite good but a bit expectable) from the Auditorium. Kyros (quite good, progmetal/alternative oriented) and the surprising Smalltape, with their (not only) jazzy influences, on the main stage.

My exhortation to young bands is always the same: dare, dare, dare! Move over the prog style, use longer musical phrases, join the experiences and the influences... we all passionate listeners are waiting for real new music which can break the old rules to give us satisfaction!

 The ordeal of Festival opening was given to Panther & C. from Genoa, with their sound ranging from Jethro Tull to Camel. They reached the difficult goal of catching the audience attention, while they were still entering Piazzetta della Musica (is its real name, as you can see!) and waving and kissing to each other!

Among the bands which came in succession on the main stage I found very interesting The Universe By Ear, with their particular sound, sometimes echoing King Crimson,especially in some structures, choirs and in the heavy riffs.

In my opinion the best main stage performance was Banco's, where only Vittorio Nocenzi stays as genuine member. But I must confess I risk not to be objective due to the immense love and affection I have for this band!

(http://proglessons.blogspot.com/2011/06/il-banco-del-mutuo-soccorso.html)

The singer Tony D'Alessio, though showing a vocal extension a bit less wide than Di Giacomo's one, has shown good personality and great power... if only he would remember when it's time to start singing!

"Uomo non so, se io somiglio a te" (Man, I don't know if I look like you), lacks of meaning without "Uomo non so" (Man, I don't know)! 

Magic Pie was very good. they played songs from their four albums (I only know Motions of Desire, their first one, which I like), while less interesting to my taste were Von Hertzen Brothers, too easy for me, and Ranestrane (because of my well known idiosyncrasy towards Neoprog).

Good performance from the historical french band Ange and their incredible frontman Christian Decamps, especially at the very beginning and at the end (with the great "Capitaine Coeur de Miel"), while it was a bit too easy in the middle, where took place songs from the last works.

Amon Dull II were not as "trance inductive" as I remeber in my youth, maybe it's a matter of age, but their performance was good and Renate is great! 

Great groove and Mark Stein's fascinating voice, even if they are not really a prog band, from the Vanilla Fudge, of which maybe only "Some Velvet Morning", whose execution exalted the audience, has a resemblance with 100% prog style! 

But I have to confess that the most emotional moment of the whole 3 days festival hasn't come from a band, neither from prog songs, but from the piano solo Gianni Nocenzi performance at the Auditorium on Saturday!

I wasn't the only one who moved to tears while he was playing!
A giant musician and artist who deserves, as ever, all my respect and affection, also for the sincerity he showed to the audience.

After the last performance is always nostalgic to thank the management, wave and kiss each other, because we know we have to come back to everyday life, waiting for the next edition!

2Days Prog+1 (or Veruno Prog, as we nickname it with affection) is a rare beautiful jewel, an happy oasis, but it's important that musicians, exposers and also the audience conform to management rules, which are not tantrums. If the agreement with the musicians is, for example, that the first two bands have to play for 50 minutes and the last two headliners for 90 minutes, no one should violate it. If anyone isn't headliner he cannot assume the right to be. It's a matter of respect!
Moreover, time and duration are in accord with local administration which could apply a fee in case of violation, causing the loss of all the gains due to the efforts by organization and sponsors.

It comes natural to ask why on the first day they ended at one 'o clock in the night, even starting at 6,15 pm, while in the next 2 days the end was reached in perfect time, starting at 6,15 pm as well: egoism, arrogance and lack of respect we would like never take place in Veruno Prog ecosystem!

Last positive note: they enlarged the portion of "grill meat with fried potatoes"! Quite good for the next future!  

Thank you to all of you and hope to be more frequent with my posts!

 

 

Veroodstock (Veruno 2 Days Prog + 1 2016 edition) - three lovely, enchanting, free and musicfriendful days!

Hi to those who read me!

Yeah, I know I'm not as frequent as I'd like to be on this blog, but many things happen, as you know...

Here after you can find the posts about the preceding editions I commented:

http://proglessons.blogspot.it/2014/09/veroodstock-ovvero-il-festival-prog-piu.html

http://proglessons.blogspot.it/2015/09/veruno-is-always-veroodstock-2-days.html

So Veruno Prog has reached its 8th edition.

As you can argue from the shot on the left, taken with my cell phone during the Uriah Heep concert, Veruno Prog is growing fast (about 5000 heads banging!), and maybe in the next future, hopefully for the 10th edition, they will need more space and different organization for food and drink needs, since on friday night collapsed!

By the way... we are only in it for Music!  

And at Veruno 2Days Prog + 1 you can listen to something very near to the best one! And as ever... it's all FOR FREE!

You only need to take a look at the complete lineup on the right.

First of all I have to say that the progressive (hey!... the right word in the right position!) opening to progfusion, started with Area last year, is bearing its fruits.

To my opinion, among the best performances there are Special Providence and Soft Machine Legacy, even the first are surely up to date, with their metal influences, with the respect to the second ones, more jazz and Canterbury (if not them...who?) oriented.

But this edition has given to its wide audience a lot of good vibrations, as I'll try to say after in this post.

Also this year the bands were presented by the always smiling and sunny Octavia Brown, but maybe for the narrow times between the bands and the other duties in which she was involved, I had the feeling she couldn't express with her own spontaneity as in the past edition.
But don't worry... good job and nice presence, after all!

DAY 1

As in the past I noticed for FEM, once more I have to say that the band which opens such a Festival, always has more shivers than the others, for a great number of factors: they play at 18.30 with still the sunlight beating on the stage, the first day lots of people come late in the evening because of work, something always has to be tuned up, the excitement to find friends you don't see since last year takes advantage on the stage performance, and so on.

Ubi Maior (Italy), with their histrionic singer/violin/trumpet Mario Moi, the great work on keyboards of Gabriele Manzini and the talented guitar player Marcella Arganese (who I had to calm and shake before the performance) seemed to be the best choice.

The crowd, before distributed all along the location in search for friends, CD, LP and other merchandise, slowly has approached the stage, caught by their music. 

I have to say, I heard UM many times before, in other locations in Milan neighbourhoods, but never I noticed such a power in their music. 

At the moment it seemed to me their best performance I ever heard!

Veruno has its fascination, its mystical microclimate, and everyone gives his best on stage... and also the powerful equipments have their importance!

Here is an example of their music.

Special Providence (Hungary), as before mentioned, are something new in Veruno Festival, with their sound mixing fusion and metal, above all.
I first met SP at Casa di Alex and I was as impressed by their music (and their virtuoso drummer Adam Markò) that I bought all their albums.
They enchanted the audience with their complex rhythm patterns on which captivating melodies lay on, sometimes almost danceable, as the last performed at Veruno, 'Lazy Boy'.

Pleace notice that in their discography there's a lot of good music, especially from their second and third albums, to my opinion the two best releases until now.

Mystery (Canada) are in newprog stream and since I developed a strange idiosyncracy for this kind of music, I can only say that the audience was enthusiastic and moved by their music, but I found the way to go to have dinner.

Unfortunately the crowd was so great that I didn't have dinner until the next end of Uriah Heep performance!

Here after you'll find a beautiful song by this band.

Uriah Heep (England) were the first headliner of this edition. 

I have their Very 'eavy Very 'umble LP and I've always filed them as hardrockers, not progrockers.

But what does it matter? Their exploding energy made us jump and headbang for the whole performance! How amusing!

DAY 2

To my feelings this has been the weakest day. 

Nemo was one of my proposals to Alberto Temporelli (fulfilled! Thank you Alberto!), and I enjoyed them so much, I already knew about Airbag's devotion to Pink Floyd music by listening some songs from the Youtube, and I was curious about Saga, never heard before to know them LIVE directly, but I felt not as impressed as I thought I could have been, apart the greatness of their frontman.

Cheeto's Magazine (Spain) I lost their performance to go to pick up a friend at Borgomanero rail station. The audience was divided in "crazy but good" and "crazy and stop", but the craziness was saved!

They stayed also after their performance dressed in their strange coloured costumes, smiling, laughing and signing their autographs on the bottoms of who was according to!



From what I listened in this video, they maybe wouldn't have been my cup of tea...

Nemo (France) Is a band which, in my opinion, is grown CD by CD, reaching its highest with double Le Ver dans le fruit (2013) and the latest double Coma (2015). The dark atmospheres are typically french, and the guitar work reaches high levels. As an example I post a beautiful song, not performed at Veruno's Festival (but I talked about it with Jean Pierre Louveton after their performance), containing one of the most impressive (to me) guitar solos of the last five years.

However they didn't reach the goal to create the same atmospheres you can find in their albums.
Funny the end of their performance, with the stage assistant thumbing up to say "ok", and JP answering with a thumb up saying "one more?" and started to play! Amusing to us but not for the musicians, who were disappointed to be forced to end up the song!

Encores are permitted in Veruno only for the headliners, since the stage shift between bands has to be very fast!

Hope Jean Pierre was not as angry as it seemed in a subsequent post on Facebook! Don't mind! Things can happen! Your performance was great!

 
Airbag (Norway) are a carbon copy of Pink Floyd, with a little different and more powerful rhythm section (you don't need too much to be more powerful than Nick Mason...). It sounded me not interesting, too well known and sickly, so I decided to go to dinner...in this case successful! 

However I have to notice that a great number of people was satisfied by the performance and by the gilmourish guitar solos.

As Philip Ball says in his book 'The Music Instinct': "If you ask to music nothing more than what you already know, that's your loss"

 
Saga (USA) Once more I have to say that I intentionally didn't heard anything of this band before, to listen them LIVE.

I can't say why I felt so uninspired after two or three songs. Maybe I expected something different from a pompous easy-yes-ish, Toto-like band. 

Maybe I expected something like Echolyn or Umphrey's Mc Gee or many other bands that in USA perform good prog music.




No problem... the wide open place was almost full of happy people that enjoyed the music, danced and sung with Michael Sadler and this is what matters!

Veruno to me is important also in this way!

DAY 3

Maybe the best in terms of good vibrations, confirmations and surprises!

Syndone (Italy) They are acknowledged as one of the best prog bands in Italy. 

Their unusual lineup, with three keyboards, a vibraphone and no electric guitar,  is greatly supported by the powerful rhythm section formed by Maurino Dellacqua (bass) and Martino Malacrida (drums), one of the most talented young drummers in Italy.

Their frontman Riccardo Ruggeri has a powerful and delicate voice at the same time and generates deep melodic emotions on the harmonic strucures created by the founder/main composer Nick Comoglio.

Syndone music is not readily for all, but when you're in is great and satisfying!

Frequency Drift (Germany) I heard something on CD and found them quite good. The electronic Harp played by Nerissa Schwarz gives to their music a particular sound. Unfortunately they were forced to play without their singer Nadja Jaye, so the performance was a little poor and influenced by the forced guitar work by Michael Bauer, sometimes out of tune.

Pay a good attention to the above track, and you will realize that Veruno performance has been a pale example of their beautiful music.
I have to notice that they were the only band which spent a word for the Amatrice earthquake victims, and this is a signal of their sensitivity.

Anekdoten (Sweden) One of the most awaited bands in this edition, which I know from their CD Vemod, From Within and the latest beautiful Until All the Ghosts are Gone.
Sadly to me they've been the deepest delusion: the singing was poor, even if it was from the guitar or the bass player and frequently off-tune, the guitar was sometimes off-timing and this, in my opinion, compromised the whole performance.





I never heard them LIVE before, but some people said their singing has always been their weakest point.
No problem. Now I know it's better to listen to their great music from studio CD than LIVE.

Soft Machine Legacy (England) They've been the best way to end this exciting festival edition.
I have to admit I wasn't sure they could catch me, so I said to my friend: "OK, we are going to listen a couple of songs and than we'll go home."





I was wrong... starting from the very first tune I realized we'd stayed until the end of the along acclaimed encore!
Their music is formed by incredible soft and magnetic melodies on a magic carpet of rich rhythm section. Theo Travis (sax) and John Etheridge (guitar) mixed together the Canterbury style with a special soft jazz (which is actually already present in Canterbury style), with great solos and interplays, ending up in a fascinating and captivating mood, greatly satisfying. Really GREAT and touching performance, really great and talented musicians!

So, if the great bands acted their best (apart someone, as before mentioned), giving us the expected good vibrations, I have to say that, for the first time with such a powerful impact, the young bands from Auditorium have surprised the audience so high.
El Tubo Elastico (Spain) and Eveline's Dust (Italy) proposed quite good music and have reached good satisfaction in merchandise.
But the most beautiful thing is that they both fraternised with those crazy boys of Cheeto's Magazine and at the ED's encore, a melange of prog songs by Wilson, PFM, and so on, the other two young bands danced and jumped down the stage in front of them, to join together at the end. GREAT!









Once more I have to say... If you are going to attend Veruno Prog for the first time, surely you're not prepared at what you will find: Enchanting location and surroundings, powerful equipments, friendship, freedom, wellness, astonishing, unexpected and crazy situations, owed to the exciting atmosphere you breathe. It's a fantastic, unique moment of life and everyone at the end says: "I'll be here next year!"

And all is continuously supported by good music in the best way you can listen to!

Already waiting for the 9th edition!

http://www.contagiorni.it/contatori/id/162056/

Veruno is always Veroodstock ! - 2 Days Prog + 1 2015 Edition

Veruno - Piazzetta della Musica - 2 Days Prog + 1 Location

Hi to all who read me!

Since the progressive (omen nomen!) internationalization of both Veruno 2 Days Prog +1 Festival and my blog, also this post will be in English language... and maybe all the future ones!

For those who are not familiar with my true love for the Veruno Prog Festival, here is a link (sorry for the foreign people... it's in Italian language):

http://proglessons.blogspot.it/2014/09/veroodstock-ovvero-il-festival-prog-piu.html

The latest edition of Veruno 2 Days Prog + 1 had two lineups, because of the forced defection of the great italian sunday headliner Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso, caused by a cerebral hemorrhage occurred to the great composer and keyboard player Vittorio Nocenzi.
Luckily now he is fastly getting better and this is what really  matters... isn't it?

The true lineup you will always find in the annals of the Veruno Prog Festival 2015 is the one you can see on the left, with the brilliant band Area in the place of BMS.

To confirm the internationalization process of the event (please notice... ALL FOR FREE) organized by Alberto Temporelli, with the collaboration of a lot of local sponsors, this year on stage we have seen and listened to bands coming from Italy, Germany, England, France, Sweden, Norway and.... JAPAN!

Even the audience was mixed up with people coming from different places on Earth, so it was necessary to let them understand the introduction of the bands, which has been reported in Italian and English language by a brilliant and extroverted Octavia Brown.

In spite of the weather forecast, predicting heavy rain on friday, we had fine weather with some rain, but always out of the time of music performances... so good!!!!

Alberto Temporelli uses to say: "Veruno is always brightened by the Music Sunshine" and sometimes I imagine he has some important friendship above the sky!

Now let's become serious (you know who I am and how I usually behave) and talk about the bands which succeeded on stage day by day.

DAY 1 

SYNCAGE - Italy

The sum of the ages of this young italian band from Vicenza doesn't reach my age!

Real talented musicians, they all are multinstrumentalist.

As you may imagine, it's very difficult to be the first band opening such a convention, but they are quite sure of their skills!

Their sound is full of energy and contaminated by different musical influences, sometimes hard rock, sometimes jazzy, and they also use trumpet in their compositions, which is not so usual in this kind of music.

Their singer/guitarist is very communicative, high toned in timbre and a proficient guitar player.

I think they are a real promise for the future!
At the moment they have only an EP out.

Very nice!

YUKA & CHRONOSHIP - Japan

What can I say?
Yuka's eyes, her sweetness and pleasantness conquered the whole audience!
You may think they're an instrumental keyboard driven prog band, but this is not 100% true.
The guitar player Takashi Miyazawa is really great, his solos find a large place in the compositions  and are intense and rich with feeling.
Yuka & Chronoship music is a mix of symphonic and jazz rock, with some influence of New Age atmospheres, especially when Yuka performs her trills with her mystical voice.
The audience approval has been total, since their merchandise has been literally stormed by fans!

They have 3 album out and the 3rd was presented in Italy for the first time in Veruno.
Surely one of the true revelations of this edition!

Yuka & Chronoship members stayed at Veruno Progfest also the day after their performance, kidding and smiling with people and the other musicians, almost as they were italian people!
Really great musicians and nice persons!


BEARDFISH - Sweden

Beardfish is one of the most well known bands in nowadays Prog landscape.
Their sound is a bit different from the other prog bands from Northern Europe, because of their warmer attitude.
Unfortunately the singer Rikard Sjoblom (also guitar and keyboards player) was a bit down with his voice, but this band has really a good sound, heavy personality on stage and great experience.
They played songs from their 8 albums discography, passing through their different moods, from the heavy prog of the early days to the more melodic one of their latest +4626 - Comfortzone.
Really appreciated by the audience they left the stage under crowded applauses.
And they deserved it!
Only one thing I didn't understand... why the Hammond Organ was put in the center of the stage obstructing the visuality for those who weren't in the center of the crowd (also those who were in the center couldn't see the drummer!)?. Unintelligible choice!

MAGMA - France

Along awaited and desired, Magma's presence has collected a great number of fans of this 45 years old visionary band headed by the drummer Christian Vander.
The opening song 'Kohntarkosz' really surprised me for the great drumming impact and the fantastic vibraphone job performed by Benoit Alziary. Great example of wonderful melting of jazz, rock, opera and don't know what else!
The band has surely great musicians and I've noticed the great talent of the bass player Philippe Bussonnet.



The subsequent part of the performance, though I appreciated the single attitudes of the instrumentalists (and also the harmonization of the three voices), didn't give to me more emotions.
Maybe it's because of the vocal ostinatos which lasted all the long songs, almost like a mantra (and maybe it was!), while the only variations seemed to be on the drums and sometimes on the bass.
Far away from the "I-Ao-Za-I-Za-O-Ma-I-Ma-O-Ta-I-Ta-O Now" mantra coming from Planet Gong, where the music contribution seems to me really astonishing!
OK. They are part of the history of modern music, they are really unusual and great musicians, but this is not a good reason to let me say "I like it" without being truly sure of what I say.
I prefer to attract the possible disapproval of some pompous musical reviewer and of their fans (sometimes they both force their approval only to show their wide and unusual music knowledge, sometimes in bad faith), but I prefer to say what I really feel about!
Furthermore, I took some impressions about their performance immediately after the show and most of the people was in accord with me. Maybe some of them will change idea tomorrow "only to show... etc. etc.", but we know this  is often one of the bad habits of prog people!


Immediately after the band performance it came a rainstorm which forced us to take the way home. Maybe also Temporelli's above sky friends were a little bored!  

DAY 2

RUNAWAY TOTEM - Italy

While Magma seem to be fully immersed in their mysticism, the Runaway Totem seem to take their own with more hilarious mood.
If you only think about their name... there's nothing more stable than a Totem fixed in the ground, so how could it run away?
Under their mystic concept that the Runaway Totem musicians exist since the beginning, but they show themselves only when another has completed his function, they propose great music, in my opinion more interesting than Magma one.
They mix together tribal or complex rythms , with a vocalism sometimes very near to Demetrio Stratos (Raffaello Regoli is a singer who studied Stratos' attitude and teaches it in musical school courses), but also electronic music and large amounts of harmonic and melodic components.
I have to admit I had never heard before of them, but I was surprised since I heard their music during my partecipation at Radio Tempi Dispari (www.radiotempidispari.net) for the Veruno Progfest launch night episode!
They have 9 albums since 1993 and though this is not pretty my preferred kind of music, surely they need in-depth analysys!

ARABS IN ASPIC - Norway

The second true revelation of this edition.
I still can't forgive myself to have gone to have dinner during their performance, so I lost a part of it.
The problem is that I remembered the night before, when to be present to all performances I risked to starve down the grass!
Great vocal harmonization (never dropping tone), good energy, music skill and a good amount of feeling are the characteristics of this band made by members as mad as the maddest madcow!
During their stay at Veruno they fraternized with ANYONE!!
I've seen them talking, dancing and singing with every single person passing near their desk, also with Yuka Funakoshi and her band, who doesn't know a single English word... let's imagine Norwegian ones!
Really cheerful guys! Who says that Norwegian people is cold?
They have 4 albums, the latest out in 2015, all well approved by musical critics (even this thing not always seems to be so good!)

The following two bands I unite together for joking, under the tag "Sanremo Moment"
You know Sanremo Festival is the Festival of the Italian Song,  that is italian easy listening music festival.


THE PINEAPPLE THIEF - United Kingdom

I have to be honest... in the past someone gave to me their discography in MP3.
I listened here and there some tracks but I never felt interested by their music.
Now that I've had the chance to see them live, I know why.
Too easy to my taste!

JOHN LEES' BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST - United Kingdom

The first song they played sounded like George Michael's 'Last Christmas'.
The others were too easy, flat and poorly executed.
The lowest moment of the whole festival, to my opinion.

DAY 3

FABIO ZUFFANTI + Z BAND - Italy

Fabio Zuffanti is one of the most prolific musicians in Italy. He is involved in several projects (most of all of his own creation) like: Hostsonaten, Finisterre, Z Band, Maschera di Cera and so on.
He is well known in the whole world as one of the RPI renaissance authors.
To be honest I don't like his whole musical production and I prefer Hostsonaten and Z Band to other projects, but there are also some excellent moments of great music jumping here and there in all of his works.
We can say that Zuffanti's music is the prototype of RPI, but with some fusion contributions, italian popular music and foreign influences (Arabic, Indian music and so on).
To celebrate his 20 years carreer, Zuffanti has created the Z Band, composed by important musicians of the italia prog scene as Giovanni Pastorino (keys), Simone Amodeo (guitars), Paolo Tixi (formerly drummer of  Il Tempio delle Clessidre) and the great Martin Grice (sax and flutes, member of the legendary Delirium) and has toured through the whole world, proposing revisited and actualized songs from his multiple projects and from his latest interesting work La Quarta Vittima.
At the end of his performance, for the last song 'La Notte Trasparente', he has called as guest on stage Alessandro Corvaglia, formerly singer of La Maschera di Cera, now with Delirium and other projects, who has sung with his usual intense and inspired vein.

MASCHINE - United Kingdom

Maschine is a band composed by young english people.
Luke Maschin is the founder (from his surname the name of the band).
He's such a talented guitarist who played also with The Tangent  and It Bites.
You know I'm not a great follower of Prog Metal (with the exception of Riverside and few others), so I'm the last who can give you informations on this band.
To my opinion their harmonic structures and melodic concepts are quite good and show several nice ideas, but, among the other things, maybe it could be important to remember to the drummer what Bill Bruford stated in his autobiography: "you can identify a good drummer from the pauses"



What you can listen in the studio album is really different to what they proposed on stage, where sound confusion and drumming excesses disturbed the whole performance, in my opinion.

SYLVAN - Germany

Typical German prog band: all fine musicians, good harmonies and melodies, but musically academic and a bit predictable.
Their neo-prog music is quite similar to Marillion atmospheres, with great guitar moments and catchy melodies, but I didn't find any surprising moment, no shiver.
I've noticed that the powerful singer Marco Gluhmann was a bit forced in high tones, so he had dropped several times, maybe for technical problems due to the monitor spy, since in the albums he is very clever and appreciable, as you can listen in the following track.

Not my cup of tea, but listenable after all.

AREA - Italy

I've seen Area a couple of times in a few time and their performance is alwasy relaxed, cheerful, highly inspired, politically and socially active and technically exemplary.
Since Demetrio Stratos departure they avoid to exhibit with other singers, but their music lingers on fresh, always new and emotionable.
I can say I've been lucky to see them still with Ares Tavolazzi on the bass the preceding time. Now he decided to stop his contribution to the band.
Their sound is enriched with jazzy and electronic music contributions, killer bass patterns and the incredible work of Patrizio Fariselli on the keyboards and Paolo Tofani on guitars.
They use to talk with the audience during the performance, to explain the origin of the songs, tell stories and anectodtes or simply discuss and joke among them!
Really great musicians, great persons and great band!

The Area incredible performance closed the Veruno 2 Days Prog + 1 in emotional and moving crescendo.
Then there was the melancholic kisses and embraces, hand tights and the quick getaway.
Tomorrow the whole of us would have to come back to everyday life.


At the end what can I say?

Surely I can't say to have listened or found something really new, but I'm, happy to have tasted positive vibrations and to have known some good bands once unknown and met lots of people.
This is what really matters.

Once again I have to make you notice that Veruno Progfest it's not only the place where to listen to great progressive rock music...

During these three days this little town seems under an enchantment which lets heap love, passion, friendship and cheerfulness in such a huge amount that the musicians, when down the stage, melt with the audience chatting, smiling, embracing, singing and dancing with them! Pure joy for all!

In the following video, taken by Luca Ragni of Altrock label, there is an example of what I'm trying to explain...





Here Arabs in Aspic members were at the Mariotti's Guitars stand, singing (please notice the completely improvised harmonization of vocalism!) and playing, only to express their delight to be at Veruno Progfest!

As Marcella Arganese (great talented guitar player of Ubi Maior italian prog band) said, coming back home from this Veruno Progfest edition : 

"Veruno has its own microclimate made of Music, Emotions, Sweetness and Energy"

It's difficult to find a better definition!

So, at the end... we already are waiting for the next Veruno 2 Days Prog + 1 2016 !

One year doesn't last so long, if passed with Music!

VEROODSTOCK ! Ovvero il Festival Prog più libero del mondo.

Ciao a chi mi legge!

Questo post è dedicato a tutti coloro che hanno condiviso e condividono con me questo splendido evento annuale che può riassumersi in tre parole: musica, libertà e amicizia.

Da qualsiasi punto del mondo si parta, per raggiungere Veruno (NO) occorre attraversare boschi fitti di alberi e strade più o meno asfaltate.
Sono ormai più di quattro anni (e cinque edizioni del Prog Fest) che la raggiungo, più volte all'anno, ed ogni volta mi sembra di entrare in un mondo diverso, quasi incantato.
Io non so cosa provò Eddie Valiant, in Chi ha incastrato Roger Rabbit, attraversando il tunnel per recarsi a Cartoonia, quando vide lo scenario cambiare repentinamente, rivelando un mondo di colori, gioia e spensieratezza, ma credo di essergli molto vicino!

Non ci è dato di sapere quanto sia spensierata la popolazione di questa piccola cittadina, che non ha neanche uno sportello Bancomat per i prelievi di contante, ma sicuramente è estremamente socievole, empatica ed ha un innata predisposizone all'ospitalità!

Predisposizione che peraltro sperimento di persona da tre anni ormai e mi sento sempre in debito verso le splendide persone che si prodigano per me, e quest'anno anche per mio fratello, che mi ha reso felicissimo condividendo con me (e con il mio amico che mi ha fatto conoscere la manifestazione) questa esperienza. 

Dopo le centinaia di mani strette, le presentazioni e gli slanci affettivi nei miei confronti da parte dello staff organizzativo, dei musicisti che si esibiscono o che intervengono come spettatori e gli avventori che vi partecipano, immagino che abbia compreso perchè sono tanto legato a questa manifestazione e a queste persone!

Veruno è definita Città della Musica per via della sua filarmonica ormai centenaria, e il 2 Days Prog+1 (si chiama così perchè in origine era organizzato su due giorni e ora su tre) è inserito nel contesto del Settembre musicale Verunese, che comprende questo evento di musica rock, un evento di musica jazz e uno di musica classica.

Per quanto mi riproponga sempre di partecipare a tutti e tre, per un motivo o per un altro non vi sono mai riuscito ... ma al 2 Days Prog+1 non rinuncio mai!
Tutti gli eventi sono rigorosamente gratuiti e questo è un altro punto a favore di questa splendida iniziativa che non trova eguali in nessuna parte del mondo!

L'aria che si respira in questo piccolo centro, nel periodo del festival, è incredibilmente festosa, romantica e soprattuto si ha la sensazione di essere completamente liberi e sempre a contatto con la natura, la musica e la gente.
Ci si incontra tutti, musicisti, organizzatori e appassionati, scambiandosi sorrisi, offrendosi l'uno con l'altro una bibita (in generale birra!), discutendo amabilmente di musica, scartabellando allegramente fra i CD, i DVD e le decine di bancarelle che offrono di tutto, sempre in tema musicale!

I musicisti, che poi si avvicenderanno sul palco, sembrano sentire questa atmosfera particolarissima ed appaiono rilassati e disponibili, non si tirano mai indietro, sia per le foto e gli autografi che per vivere qualche momento conviviale. L'anno scorso i Three Friends (emuli degli originali Gentle Giant) parteciparono con noi ad una scorpacciata di carbonara gentilmente preparata ed offerta da Massimo Dolce, chitarrista/compositore dei Gran Turismo Veloce! Fu una splendida nottata piena di gioia e divertimento!


E' meraviglioso respirare a pieni polmoni questa atmosfera quasi surreale!
Proprio per questo, nei tre giorni della manifestazione, la piccola Veruno diventa la grande Veroodstock! Nome che ho inventato l'anno scorso e da allora entrato nel lessico dei progsters!

Ma veniamo alle mie impressioni sulle bands che si sono avvicendate sul palco, rigorosamente in ordine di apparizione:



1° Giorno

FEM (Forza Elettro Motrice)

E' una band che seguo da tempo ed ho visto già varie volte LIVE.
Il loro album Sulla Bolla di Sapone, uscito quest'anno per la Altrock ha riscosso buone critiche.
In effetti il loro sound è fresco e ricco di contaminazioni che spaziano dal RPI del Banco del Mutuo Soccorso a qualche venatura jazzrock di buona fattura, usano strumenti poco frequenti nel genere (come il trombone) e mostrano una buona originalità.
Rispetto alle prime esibizioni il gruppo, che ha alcuni nuovi innesti, si è amalgamato ed è cresciuto, la performance è più fluida e questo ha migliorato la musicalità dei brani LIVE.
Il timbro di voce del cantante Massimo Sabbatini permane alle mie orecchie poco congeniale (ma ritengo che sia un mio problema), però è intonato, non stecca mai dal vivo (cosa frequente, specie fra i giovani cantanti) e la sua naturale comunicatività gli dà una marcia in più.


Franck Carducci and Band



Nella migliore tradizione olandese/francese la band è molto teatrale, il leader istrionico e comunicativo e i musicisiti sono di grande esperienza e perizia tecnica.
La loro musica non segue propriamente i dettami del Progressive, imperniata com'è su riff blueseggianti e linee melodiche accattivanti, ma tramsette una buona carica e i musicisti sanno fare grande spettacolo!
Nel brano 'Alice's Eerie Dream' la cantante si è trasformata in una specie di Alice di Carroll in abiti succinti, suscitando sorpresa ed ammirazione nel pubblico (specie maschile!)


Martin Turner plays Wishbone Ash

A mio modo di vedere la nota dolente di tutto il festival.
Noiosi, banali, ripetitivi e poco interessanti.
Ammetto di non conoscere i Wishbone Ash e mi hanno riferito che i brani proposti erano, in fondo, i punti più bassi della loro discografia.

Focus

Qui è stato il contrario.
Conoscevo poco della loro discografia, e  non ero convinto che mi avrebbero impressionato, invece sono rimasto sorpreso dall'impatto del muro di suono che ci ha investito. Bella performance, ottima musica e bravi musicisti!
Thijs Van Leer, istrionico leader e membro fondatore della band, ci ha regalato alcuni momenti di alta classe musicale, miscelando il suo yodelling con splendidi virtuosismi alle tastiere e al flauto e con un ottimo lavoro del suo bravissimo chitarrista.
Sempre secondo la mia opinione, leggermente troppo dilatati i momenti solistici verso il finale, reminescenze del modo di fare spettacolo negli anni '70 e non più attuale.



2° Giorno

Kingcrow

Non si può dire che sia una band emergente, visto che ha 5 album al suo attivo, l'ultimo In Crescendo è uscito nel 2013.
Il gruppo, di origine romana, suona un progmetal piuttosto affine agli ultimi  Porcupine Tree, ma anche ai Riveside, con ottime linee melodiche innestate su un'ossatura musicale piuttosto heavy.
Sicuramente interessanti, credo che meritino un approfondimento!


Overhead

Interessante anche questa band finlandese dai brani lunghi e variegati, di ispirazione talvolta pinkfloydiana, talaltra crimsoniana.
Lievemente didascalici, un pò orientati più alla forma che al contenuto, ma si sa... provengono da climi freddi!
Hanno al loro attivo 4 album, l'ultimo dei quali nel 2012, ma hanno proposto anche un unreleased che sarà sul loro prossimo album.


Spock's Beard

Devo essere sincero... non mi aspettavo niente di buono dalla loro performance, visto che gli ultimi due album non mi sono piaciuti granchè, ma la band americana ha tirato fuori una playlist di grande valore, spaziando su tutta la loro discografia e tirando fuori brani da The Light, The Kindness of Strangers, Snow, Feel Euphoria e i nuovi album.
Ted Leonard ha mostrato di avere un timbro di voce molto vicino a quello di Neal Morse, ma non la sua estensione vocale, cedendo sugli acuti.
Troppo gigioni nelle loro movenze sul palco, in questo tipicamente americani, ma preziosamente supportati dalla splendida chitarra di Alan Morse e dalle tastiere di Ryo Okumoto. Qualche imprecisione di troppo, che non credo di aver colto solo io. Jim Keegan impeccabile e preciso... ma non ha il talento e la sensibilità di Nick D'Virgilo.


Änglagård

Sogno, estasi, immaginazione che sfugge al controllo, stile, fascino, solennità, ritmo, paure ancestrali e echi di mondi lontani!
Queste sono le sensazioni che ho provato ascoltando questa grande band che giunge dalla Svezia.
Avrebbero dovuto suonare prima degli Spock's, ma per problemi organizzativi hanno invertito i turni... e forse è stato meglio così, perchè la notte è stata loro amica e complice... ed ha contribuito a creare un'atmosfera densa e a tratti surreale, sulle note di questo fantastico quintetto che usa soltanto strumenti analogici, nulla di computerizzato.
Come ho avuto già modo di dire in altra sede, non è musica per ascoltatori frettolosi e distratti. E' Musica Classica Attuale, non me ne vogliano gli spocchiosi!
Sicuramente non per tutti, ma una grande gioia per le orecchie, il cuore e la testa di chi riesce ad apprezzarli!




3° Giorno

Barock Project

Grande giovane band italiana (3 album all'attivo) dal "tiro" eccezionale e dotata di notevole intensità espressiva.
Hanno aperto l'assonnata terza sessione (potrete ben immaginare che non si dorme granchè a Veroodstock!...) scaldando immediatamente il pubblico con le rampanti tastiere di Luca Zabbini, anima virtuosa e compositore principale della band.
Avevo avuto già la fortuna di ascoltarli LIVE a Milano quando presentarono il loro ultimo lavoro Coffee in Neukolln e ne ero rimasto impressionato già allora.
Al termine dell'esibizione qualcuno scherzando ha detto che tutto sommato il terzo giorno poteva anche terminare lì, tanta è stata la carica emotiva che hanno trasmesso questi giovani musicisti!


IO Earth

 Seconda splendida presenza femminile sul palco di Veruno (chi ha detto che nel prog ce ne sono poche?), questa volta in abito da vestale.
Il timbro di voce di Linda Odinsen ricorda quello di Heather Findlay e la band ha un sound a metà fra Mostly Autumn e Curved Air, ma con interventi più heavy, principalmente orientati a mettere in luce le buone qualità del chitarrista.
Musica di buona fattura ma che non lascia un segno permanente.


Leprous

I "lebbrosi" norvegesi suonano un progmetal piuttosto estremo ed hanno suscitato emozioni contrastanti tra il pubblico.
C'è chi li ha apprezzati immediatamente e chi li ha demoliti senza ritegno.
Personalmente li ho trovati musicalmente abbastanza interessanti, anche se i loro eccessi me li rendono un pò invisi.
Quello che non riesco ad apprezzare è il modo di cantare, altalenante fra un falsetto urlato e il growl, entrambi piuttosto ostici per i miei canoni musicali.
Da rilevare che i brani più recenti, dove il sound si è spostato verso un prog più melodico (come hanno fatto anche gli Opeth a partire da Heritage) presentano una maggiore intensità emotiva.


PFM - Premiata Forneria Marconi

La band che, insieme con il Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso, ha gettato le basi dei canoni stilistici dell'RPI non necessita di presentazioni.
Sulla scena ormai da 35 anni ha riempito le nostre vite di splendide melodie, accattivanti ritmiche e testi taglienti ed efficaci.
Quando sono saliti sul palco abbiamo notato gli inevitabili segni dell'età su ciascuno di loro, ma appena hanno preso a suonare, così ricchi di energia e passione inalterata, siamo tornati tutti indietro nel tempo e ci sono sembrati improvvisamente di nuovo giovani, forse merito anche del funambolico Franz Di Cioccio, mai fermo un momento.
La playlist ha attinto brani da una buona fetta della loro immensa discografia, passando per 'Impressioni di Settembre', 'Il Banchetto' e giungendo a brani dall'ultimo lavoro PFM in Classic. L'encore, degno finale di una splendida 3 giorni di musica, è stata la sempreverde 'Celebration', dove tutti abbiamo incominciato a saltare e ballare, compatibilmente con lo spazio disponibile, visto che la piazzetta era gremita in ogni ordine di posto.
Peccato non poter rivedere nulla della loro esibizione nel consueto DVD di Ver1 Musica a causa di una (per me) incomprensibile riserva sulla liberatoria. Unica nota stonata di una band che riesce ancora ad emozionare.


Il 2 Days Prog+1, nel breve periodo di sei edizioni ha catturato l'attenzione di tutto il mondo, è seguito dal Giappone, dove c'è una folta schiera di amanti del RPI (Rock Progressivo Italiano), dagli USA e da tutta l'Europa.
Come qualcuno ebbe a dire qualche tempo fa, è una delle rarissime isole felici in un mare di colpi bassi, sotterfugi e scortesie, sempre presenti in questi ambiti.

Con la collaborazione delle istituzioni e principalmente con la benevolenza degli sponsor, sempre pronti a gettare il cuore oltre l'ostacolo anche in tempi bui come questi, il  2 Days Prog+1 è una perla di rara bellezza, un appuntamento al quale non si può rinunciare!
Anche perchè, attraverso i social network, TUTTI noi appassionati contribuiamo alla sua diffusione ed alla buona riuscita della manifestazione.
Ci sentiamo così tanto partecipi che, a distanza di meno di una settimana dalla fine del festival, stiamo già dando, all'organizzatore Alberto Temporelli (cui vanno sempre i nostri infiniti ringraziamenti per la dedizione e la passione che mette ogni volta), indicazioni e suggerimenti (forse anche sognando un pò!) per le band che vorremmo vedere calcare il palco nel 2015!

Se questo non è amore spiegatemi cos'è!