Gig Report -
ProgDay 2000, USA
(Sat 7th & Sun 8th October)...For those who may be unaware, the ProgDay
festival has been held every year since 1995 at 'Storybook
Farm', set amidst the beautiful greenery of North
Carolina, USA, in what is a truly idyllic setting. It is
a weekend of great fun and great music which has been
supported by some extremely loyal Prog-rock fans. The
festival is the idea of (and mainly organised by) it's
'benevolent benefactor & dictator' Peter Renfro
(pictured).
That said, mention must go to a bunch of people without
whom ProgDay would not take place. Firstly, there is
Peter's 'partner-in-crime', Debbie Preston -
involved from the beginning. Among others, behind the
scenes, are Gerhard Wessel, Craig Tucker and Carole
Bergen.
Thanks must also go to the sound crew who consisted of Matt
Riddle (stage manager) plus Robert Wessel,
Dennis Haley, Geoff Logsdon, Jay Taylor and others.
Apologies to those not mentioned here but, needless to
say, a superb job by all involved.
ProgDay is the only outdoor Progressive rock festival in
North America and as such is very reliant on the weather.
This years ProgDay was being held slightly later in the
year than usual and the weather was quite changeable.
Fortunately, day one (Saturday) could not have been
better in that Storybook Farm was bathed in bright
sunshine, clear blue skies and a temperature of about 75
degrees. Add to this some good food, plenty of drink and
(most of all) some good quality Prog from all the bands
and you have the makings of a 'great gig'!
Landmarq took to the stage as the final band of
the day and received an excellent reception from the
audience. For the band themselves, the set was a slightly
strange experience in that all their equipment
was 'borrowed' - including individual instruments. But
ever the true 'pros' that they are, they got on with the
job and were very pleased  with their performance and thoroughly enjoyed
their first gig in the USA.
Special thanks must go to Brian Preston, of the
band Smoking Granny, for the loan of his bass
guitar and equipment and to Bob Gennovario for
the loan of his guitars and effects.
Day two was not quite so fair, weatherwise. The
temperature had fallen overnight by a good 20 degrees or
more, which saw most people huddled in coats and
blankets. Peter Renfro did announce on the previous day
that the festival would likely be moved to 'The Cat's
Cradle' venue in nearby Chapel Hill. However, following
pleas throughout the day from both audience and band
memebers for him to keep it at 'Storybook Farm'
regardless, the festival continued right where it
started.
The chillier weather did not deter anyone from returning
for what turned out to be an equally entertaining day of
Prog-rock and more. Dedication or what?!
Unfortunately, after six years and due to work
commitments, Peter Renfro has decided to call it a day
and bow out of organising a ProgDay for 2001. It has been
thrown open to the supporters to possibly take on the
task of a possible festival for next year.
Landmarq would like to thank Peter and wish him
the very best for the future.
Mention must be made of the other artists/bands appearing
at ProgDay 2000. Here, then, is the schedule for the
weekend:
Saturday 7th October (Storybook Farm)
11.00am - Yoke Shire (USA)
12.45pm - Kopecky (USA)
02.30pm - Mary Newsletter (Italy)
04.30pm - Landmarq (UK)
(at the 'Cats Cradle' club, Carrboro, NC)
09.00pm - Matthew Parmenter (USA)
09.30pm - Salem Hill (USA)
Sunday 8th October (Storybook Farm)
11.00am - Discus (Indonesia)
01.00pm - Tiles (USA)
02.45pm - Malibran (Italy)
04.45pm - Hoyry Kone (Finland)
Landmarq's set comprised of:
1. Pinewood Avenue; 2. Solitary Witness; 3. Science Of
Coincidence;
4. The Overlook; 5. Between Sleeping And Dreaming /
Reprise; 6. The Vision Pit; 7. Medley: Ta Jiang/Narovlya;
8. More Flames For The Dancer; 9. Heritage; 10.
Lighthouse; 11. (Encore) Summer Madness
See
the 'ProgDay Pix' page in the 'Photo Gallery'.
ProgDay
2000 website.
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some very
big names in rock and blues pass through it's doors,
among them Lynyrd Skynyrd.
which was being given
it's first live airing, entitled 'Entertaining
Angels'. Lyrics are by Tracy Hitchings,
music is by Uwe D'Rose with the arrangement by
the band. The song received a great round of applause
from the very appreciative audience who, when asked by
Tracy what they thought, gave it a hearty thumbs-up.