By Pete Pardo

While there are now a few progressive rock festivals in various parts of the US year round, none have been as successful or consistently drawn the crowds that NEARfest has since the festivals inception in 1998. What started out as a small gathering of 400 in Bethlehem, PA in 1998 has grown to close to 2,000 for the two-day event this year in Trenton, NJ. If you count the Friday night pre-event with Dr. Nerve and McGill/Manring/Stevens, that is plenty of exciting prog for the casual and hard-core fan to enjoy over a hot weekend in June in New Jersey.

Starting with the Friday pre-show, a crowd of a few hundred packed into a local club in Trenton to see the aforementioned bands. While my group and I missed Dr. Nerve, we did get to see a smoking set of instrumental fusion from McGill/Manring/Stevens. Playing tunes mostly from their soon to be released CD Controlled by Radar, this band wowed the audience with their musical dexterity, especially bassist Michael Manring, who managed to get sounds out of his bass that surprised many. A big surprise, which was missed by 80% of the crowd who had filed out by then, was the appearance of Dysrythmia, a prog/punk trio who ended the evening and played a supercharged set of hard-driving instrumental rock that left the few of us in the audience totally out of breath. I'm sure we will hear more from this group of youngsters in the near future.

Saturday began the first day of NEARfest in the lovely War Memorial theater in Trenton. La Torre dell 'Alchimista kicked things off in grand Italian fashion, and for a relatively new band showed lots of poise and chops. Borrowing much from the classic Italian bands such as Banco and PFM, the group played select tracks from their debut album, and showcased the symphonic keyboard playing of Michele Giardino. After a short but powerful set, the band was treated to a nice standing ovation from the crowd. Miriodor followed, and the Canadian veterans had the crowd on their feet with their blend of RIO, fusion, and symphonic instrumental prog. Drawing mainly from their last two albums Mekano and Elastic Juggling, Miriodor proved that complex music can still have melody and finesse. The synergy between Bernard Falaise and keyboard player Pascal Globensky was quite impressive, and the fluid violin work of Marie-Soleil Belanger twisted and turned around the melodic sax from Marie-Chantal Leclair to great effect. Miriodor was without a doubt one of the highlights of the festival according to many.

Sweden's Isildurs Bane performed a symphonic set of classical influenced prog, which was pleasing, but perhaps following Miriodor on stage was a tough assignment for any band. The band debuted a new singer for the show, who really did not fit in, as his voice was a bit too showy for the bands music, which seems best suited as instrumentals. Guitarist Jonas Christophs was the star of the group, as his David Gilmour influenced fretwork showed lots of emotion and chops. After a little break, the legendary Echolyn took the stage to a rousing ovation. It was nice to see the band on the main stage this year, after they played the Friday pre-show a few years back in a sweaty, 100-degree plus dungeon beneath the Crocodile Rock club in Pennsylvania. The band played a few favorite numbers from their last few albums, like "As the World", "Carpe Diem", "Human Lottery", "The Cheese Stands Alone", and "In Every Garden", then unveiled the 49 minute song "Mei" from their brand new CD of the same name. With a small group of classical players joining them onstage, the band successfully plowed through this epic concept piece in front of an audience who had never heard this song before, which would be a brave attempt for any band. Those wondering if Echolyn had any more tricks up their sleeve would be well advised to pick up Mei, which is a wonderfully melodic, yet amazingly complex piece of music. Needless to say the crowd was most appreciative.

The nights headliners were the reunited Nektar, with the original line-up (plus keyboard wizard Larry Fast) playing live together for the first time in over twenty years. Their set was an exuberant set of psychedelic, prog, and hard rock, which left the audience screaming for more. Playing such classics as "Tab in the Ocean", "Nelly the Elephant", "King of Twilight", "Recycled", "Desolation Valley", "Marvelous Moses", and the complete "Remember the Future", the band was in fine form. Guitarist and lead vocalist Roye Albrighton led the charge with his chunky riffs and stinging solos, while Derek "Mo" Moore romped around the stage with his Rickenbacker bass. Keyboardist Allan "Taff" Freeman and Larry Fast showered the songs with raging Hammond organ, electric piano, synths, and tons of Mellotron patches. Also, as an added special treat, lighting director Mick Brockett brought his complete line of visual effects, which added greatly to the early 70's feel that the band permeated. The crowd roared their approval many times, and as the hour approached midnight, day one was over.

Those who were not out late listening to the heavy sounds of Mastermind at a local bar hopefully made it into the War Memorial for Sundays first band, Spaced Out. A powerhouse of a fusion band, this Canadian band rocked the house with plenty of chops in the UK/Allan Holdsworth/Kenso school of instrumental prog. Spaced Out played an assortment of tracks from their two albums on Unicorn Records, with the virtuoso playing of bassist Antoine Farfard and guitarist Mark Tremblay the highlights. Next up was Gerard, who came all the way from Japan to deliver one of the most rousing sets in recent memory. Led by keyboard marvel Toshio Egawa, this band steamrolled through songs from many of their CD's, and especially the new release Sighs of the Water, with the vigor of a prog-metal band. Egawa's keyboards were over the top, and bassist Atsushi Hasegawa and drummer Masuhiro Goto were awesome as well. The band was extremely well received, and probably deserving of an encore, but being that NEARfest creators Rob LaDuca and Chad Hutchinson run a smooth but tight ship, the show had to move forward.

California's Enchant followed, and provided a great set, although as history of this event shows, the bands closest to the prog-metal sound usually get somewhat ignored by the crowd. Close to half the audience was busy doing other things in the hallways or outside the theater during the Enchant set, but those who stayed were treated to a melodic and expertly played mix of neo-prog and prog-metal. Drawing from their soon-to-be-released CD Blink of an Eye, as well as Juggling 9 or Dropping 10, Break, and their earlier material, Enchant gave the festival a nice swift kick of melody and more song based material, after a healthy dose of instrumental bands. Guitarist Doug Ott proved to be an awesome talent, and singer Ted Leonard had plenty of pipes to spare.

Due to travel restrictions and another commitment, I was forced to leave the festival midway during Caravan's set. What I did manage to catch was the veteran bands quirky take on the Canterbury style, but in a more vocal format. While the band seemed less complex and instrumentally powerful as many of the other groups on the bill, the crowd seemed to be adoring them, this their first US show in over 25 years. Former Genesis and GTR guitarist Steve Hackett was the festival headliner, and according to reports played a long set of solo material interspersed with snippets of pieces from various Genesis songs. It was a shame to miss him, but still the weekend was a complete success, and proof once again why NEARfest has become the prog festival to go to. The addition of legendary artist Roger Dean at the festival for the second straight year also adds a nice aura to the weekends festivities. Now the question for Rob and Chad is, what to do if the 2003 installment sells out quicker than the 45 minutes it took 2002 to sell out in? According to sources, NEARfest 2002 could have sold approximately 3,000 , which means that there is a possibility that in the next two years we could see this festival at another city once again, in an even bigger facility. Until then, see you all in Trenton next June.

Pete Pardo