Archie Shepp Quintet - Body & Soul - LIVE

Archie Shepp has always had an influence on Progressive Rock, whether its fans realized it or now. The inventor if Free Jazz, and a cool dude too. He's a friend of mine. We've been hanging out together fairly regularly for the past twenty years. I got him and Wil Lettman to sit in with Jon Fishman's band Pork Tornado at Pearl Street in Northampton once. Now THAT was cool...

Tangerine Dream - LIVE (2001)

Tangerine Dream videotaped live in London, England on May 12, 2001. Recorded at Shepherds Bush Empire by INET-TV. Tangerine Dream is Edgar Froese, Jerome Froese, Iris Kulterer, and Gerald Gradwohl. Saw these guys in Boston at the Orpheum Theater back in 1984. They were great live.

Rush - Tom Sawyer - LIVE

Canadian power-prog trio Rush perform Tom Sawyer, with a great little South Park intro. Go Lil' Rush!



Make sure to catch RUSH in Concert this Summer!

Gentle Giant - Octopus Medley - LIVE (1974)

ProgRock favorites Gentle Giant play a medley from Octopus, live in concert in 1974. Vintage footage.

Yes - Ritual - Nous Sommes du Soliel LIVE (2001)

Yes peformes Ritual, one of my all-time favorites, live in concert in 2001. I love this song. From the album Tales from Topographic Oceans.

Adrian Belew - Three of a Perfect Pair Solo Acoustic (2000)

Riveting solo acoustic performance of Three of a Perfect Pair by Adrian Belew during King Crimson's 2000 Tour.

Dream Theater - Octavarium (2006 Live In Seoul)

Epic live performance by Dream Theater in Seoul, South Korea. Great jams, lots of long instrumentals. Pretty nice video overall.



Brought to you by Positronic Design, The SEO Company, a new fan of Dream Theater.

Jethro Tull - Living in the Past - LIVE (1975)

Great clip of a live performance by Jethro Tull playing "Living in the Past".

Sweet flute jams. Enjoy!

Porcupine Tree on National Public Radio (NPR)

Porcupine Tree, one of my favorite Progressive Rock bands, had their new song "Drawing the Line" from their latest album "The Incident" made Song of the Day on NPR for March 30th, 2010.

Congratulations boys. It takes a long time for things to catch on, and every bit helps, and I'm sure you picked up quite a few new fans today, people who had never in their lives heard of you before.

Bravo.

Tony Vacca - Balophone Player Extraordinaire

Tony Vacca has been playing amazing rythyms in Western Mass. and around the world for a long time. Here he's doing an amazing performance at the Positronic Design Rock-n-Roll Business Networking Keg Party. See all the videos at Positronic.TV.

Thanks Tony. You Rock!

Tony Vacca - Music for Don Cherry

Genesis - Watcher of the Skies - Live (1973)

Just came across this tasty little nugget. I posted earlier a clip where Phish did a cover of Watcher of the Skies as part of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony for Genesis.

This is the TRUE original.

Totally rad. Gotta love Peter's getup.

U.K. - In the Dead of Night - Live 1978

One of my all-time favorite "supergroups" in the Progressive genre was the band UK. Formed by Bill Bruford of Yes/King Crimson, John Wetton of King Crimson, plus Eddie Jobeson and Allan Holdsworth.

This is a video of a live performance they gave in 1978 of their biggest song, "In the Dead of Night".

Enjoy.

Shawn Lane - Amazing Guitarist

A friend of mine who works with me at Positronic Design, The SEO Company (he's our main SEO inbound-link guru here), was watching a bunch of the Phish videos I posted with me the other day and said, "If you like Trey, you'll like this guy Shawn Lane".

Several videos later, I'm sold...

Here Shawn Lane, Jonas Hellborg and Jeff Sipe play "Stellar Rays" (aka "Time is the Enemy"), at Atlanta Drums & Percussion, Atlanta, GA, on 8/19/96.

Check it out for yourself, it's pretty good.

Stanley Maxwell - No Good Reason - Live at the Positronic Design Roots'ellar

Stanley Maxwell is the (largely) undiscovered Progressive Rock wonder of Connecticut. This is a song that they wrote, "No Good Reason", and performed at the annual Positronic Design, The SEO Company, "Spring Into Summer" Party (the next one is coming up soon, so if you can get invited, Go).

They played a great set, and there's more of it on Positronic.TV that you can listen to, including a very funky version of Phish's "You Enjoy Myself", (I dare anyone to click the link on the left if they don't think Phish is a Progressive Rock band, listen to the song, and then, if they still have that opinion, leave a comment as to why, but I digress...) and a similarly Jazzy version of Led Zeppelin's "The Ocean".

Check it out...

Stanley Maxwell - No Good Reason

RPWL - Breathe In, Breathe Out, Start the Fire, and Roses (live)

This is another band I've come across during my Pandora sessions. RPWL is a German band that has a strong sonic congruency with Pink Floyd. I've enjoyed their stuff whenever I've heard it. Here's a nice piece from their live DVD. The Music Genome Project is really something that any music lover should check out. It's introduced me to LOTS of music I otherwise would probably never have come across, and I've loved almost all of it. My current Pandora station consists of Porcupine Tree, Sound Tribe Sector 9, Jethro Tull, and Phish. Try it out, it's a nice mix.

In the meantime, enjoy a couple of nice live videos from RPWL.

RPWL - Breathe In, Breathe Out (live)



RPWL - Roses (Live) with Ray Wilson



RPWL - Start the Fire (Live)

Phish 2010 Summer Tour Dates and Information

Phish has scheduled a fantastic Summer Tour this year with lots of dates all across the country, including many multiple-night sets.

Here's the itenerary for the first part (June 11 - 22)

All Tickets to All Shows: $50.00

=========================================
June 11 - Chicago, IL
Toyota Park
7000 South Harlem Ave, Bridgeview - (708) 594-7200
Doors: 5:00pm - Show: 7:00pm
Tix on sale: Friday 4/2/10 - 9am EDT
Tix online at Ticketmaster or charge by phone at (800) 745-3000
Tickets also at select TicketMaster outlets and at the venue box office.
Tapers will need a GA floor ticket.


View Larger Map

====================================
June 12 - Cuyahoga Falls, OH
Blossom Music Center
1145 West Steels Corners, Cuyahoga Falls - (330) 920-8040
Doors: 6:00pm - Show: 7:30pm
Tix on sale: Saturday 4/3/10 - 1pm EDT
Tix online at LiveNation or Ticketmaster or by phone at (800) 745-3000
Tickets can also be purchased at select Blockbuster outlets and at the venue box office.


View Larger Map

====================================
June 13 - Hershey, PA
Hersheypark Stadium
100 W Hersheypark Drive, Hershey
Doors: 5:30pm - Show: 7:00pm
Tix on sale: Saturday 4/3/10 - 10am EDT
Tix online at Hershey Entertainment or by phone at (877) 598-6504
Ticket also on sale at the GIANT Center (550 Hersheypark Dr.)
Tapers will need a GA floor ticket.


View Larger Map

====================================
June 15 - Portsmouth, VA
nTelos Pavilion
901 Crawford Street - (757) 393-8181
Lots: 5:00pm - Doors: 6:00pm - Show: 7:30pm
Tix on sale: Friday 4/2/10 - 1pm EDT
Tix online at Ticketmaster or charge by phone at (800) 745-3000
Tickets can also be purchased at select TicketMaster outlets and at the venue box office.


View Larger Map

====================================
June 17 & 18 - Hartford, CT
Comcast Theatre (Meadows)
61 Savitt Way - 860-548-7370
Lots: 4:30pm - Doors: 6:30pm - Show: 8:00p
Tix on sale: Friday 4/2/10 - 1pm EDT
Tix online at Ticketmaster or by phone at (800) 745-3000
Tickets can also be purchased at select Blockbuster outlets.


View Larger Map

====================================
June 19 & 20 - Saratoga Springs, NY
Saratoga Performing Arts Center
108 Avenue of the Pines, Saratoga Springs
Doors: 6:00pm - Show: 7:30pm
Tix on sale: 4/2/10 Noon EDT
Tix online at LiveNation or Ticketmaster or by phone at (800) 745-3000
Tickets can also be purchased at select Blockbuster outlets.


View Larger Map

====================================
June 22 - Mansfield, MA
Comcast Center (Great Woods)
885 South Main Street - (508) 339-2333
Lots: 4:00pm - Doors: 6:00pm - Show: 7:00pm
Tix on sale: 4/2/10 10am EDT
Tix online at LiveNation or Ticketmaster or by phone at (800) 745-3000
Tickets can also be purchased at select Blockbuster outlets and at the venue box office.


View Larger Map

Hope to see all y'all at the shows!

Click here for complete Phish Summer Tour Info.

Sound Tribe Sector 9 (STS9) - Compellingly Dancable Hypno-Prog in Action

One band I came across a few years ago, and have liked ever since, is the band Sound Tribe Sector 9. Originally from Georgia but now based in Northern California, STS9 has managed to create a compellingly hypnotic and dancable blend of styles, rythyms, textures and tones. The closest thing that an old-school-progger would probably think of to compare them to would be Tangerine Dream.

Enjoy, and dig around for more stuff, it's out there.

Bill Bruford - Beelzbub - LIVE with Jeff Berlin and Allan Holdsworth

Speaking of Bill Bruford, I was in Boston back in 1984, coming out of a Bill Bruford / Patrick Moraz concert at the Paradise Rock Club on Commonwealth Avenue, when a guy approached me, imploring me that I give a listen to what was playing on his headphones. I was in a good mood, so I said, "Sure", and proceeded to listed to some really amazing music. It was a live broadcast on WLIR-FM of a Bill Bruford concert from My Father's Place on Long Island. He had taped it off the radio and was selling copies of the tapes for $7.00.

I was so impressed I bought one, and proceeded to listen to it regularly for the next many years.

Long, long, after that, I saw it packaged as "The Bruford Tapes" on CD at a record store. I bought it and have listed to that album many, many times as well.

Now I have the whole thing on my iTunes.

Funny how things work out sometimes, eh?

Check out one of the songs that appeared on that release, Beelzbub. Great live version.

Genesis - Supper's Ready Live with Bill Bruford

When I was 17, I saw this show on TV that blew my mind. I was already a fan of Yes and Genesis and other progressive rock bands, and had seen Yes live at the Boston Garden (Drama Tour), but this was the craziest thing to do with music that I'd ever seen on television. The first Genesis tour sans-Gabriel featured Phil Collins as their new lead singer. When he was doing this, somebody had to play the drums, and the only guy they trusted to do the job was Bill Bruford. This is them playing Supper's Ready in France.

Check it out, it's sweet.

Ozric Tentacles - Always - Outrageous Psychedelic Extravaganza

If you ever wondered what true psychedelic progressive rock LOOKED like, you should check out this video.

Absolutely crazy/amazing color visualizer montage set to sweet music. Brings you back to the days when little square pieces of paper were popular...

Ozric Tentacles - The Hidden Step - Cool Video

I stumbled across this Ozric Tentacles video on YouTube tonight after I heard this song on Pandora. Nice fan-made video involving packs of wolves running through the snow and lots of other cool landscape shots.

Thought it was worth sharing, especially for fans of psychedelic progressive rock.

Enjoy!

Unit 7 plays Sissy Strut by The Meters - Funky, jazzy, grooves with a hint of Prog...

Eric Olsson and the boys from Unit 7 may not strike everyone as a "Progressive Rock" band, but I've been watching them play for many years (they've been a frequent headliner at the Positronic Design Business-Networking Rock-n-Roll Keg Parties), and I've seen them break into some pretty sick jamming, followed by sweet beautiful melodies. Check out this video of their version of The Meters' Sissy Strut. It's from a concert they played at the Iron Horse in Northampton, MA in 2007. Click here to see the whole show.

Discovering God is an Astronaut..

I first heard of this group a few weeks ago while listening to my Porcupine Tree Pandora station. Ever since, I've caught myself looking, saying "Who is this", several times, only to find it was them.

Really sweet experimental melodies with an uptempo lift.

Check 'em out...

God is an Astronaut (GIAA) - Ascend to Oblivion

Porcupine Tree at Radio City Music Hall - September 24, 2010

That's right, amazing progressive rockers Porcupine Tree will be appearing on September 24th at 8:00pm at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Should be an awesome show. I saw Phish at the Radio City Music Hall during their Farmhouse tour. It was crazy good, and this one should be the same.

Tickets on Sale Now!

Here's another video, for your enjoyment, from their new album, The Incident.

Porcupine Tree - Way Out of Here - Live

Porcupine Tree is the band who's Pandora station inspired this whole blog, so I thought I'd drop in a taste. Recorded live in Tilburg, Holland Oct.2008 - Taken from the forthcoming live DVD which is set to be released early 2010. Directed by Lasse Hoile. Rocking jams. Great vocals. Nice song.



Enjoy.

Phish - Seven Below / Ghost - Albany 11/29/09 - Amazing Jamming

Quite possibly the best 48 minutes of music I've ever heard at a concert.

Totally psychedelic, rip-it-to-shreds, operatic progressive rock jamming.











Enjoy!

Panic Room Bassist Alun Vaughan on Soundcloud - Matt Stevens and Imogen Heap remixes!

Burning Bandstands Remix by AlunVaughan

Via Prog Rock Tweets

Trey Anastasio - Genesis Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Speech

Wow, I'm floored. I always thought of Phish as a lot more like Genesis than anyone else I've ever met, so when I saw this speech by Trey Anastasio, lead guitarist of Phish, telling about his appreciation of their music and the differences he saw in their music compared to most of the rest of the music out there, I was deeply gratified.

Apparently, he was influenced by them as much as I suspected he might have been. Anyone who thinks Phish doesn't have the soul of a true Progressive Rock band, watch this speech...

Phish Inducts Genesis into Rock n Roll Hall of Fame with rendition of Watchers of the Skies

Wow. I can hardly believe it. After all the debate about whether or not Phish is a "Progressive Rock" band (which I think is surely true by any real definition), they finally laid the debate to rest, in my opinion, and hit it out of the park with their great rendition of "Watchers of the Skies" at the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.

Great footage. Priceless.

NEARfest Tickets On Sale Now!

The North East Art Rock Festival

NEARfest, the Progressive Rock Festival in Bethlehem, PA, opened their ticket sales today, and they've got quite a lineup this year.

The festival will be held on June 18th, 19th, and 20th (Fri, Sat, Sun) at the Zoellner Arts Center in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

The complete lineup for the 2010 Festival is:

Eddie Jobson, The Ultimate Zero Project(England)

Steve Hackett(England)

Three Friends (England)

The Enid (England)

Iona (England)

Riverside (Poland)

Forgas Band Phenomena (France)

The Pineapple Thief (England)

Astra (United States)

Moraine (United States)

So get your tickets now, cause it's gonna be great!

I'm going to do my best to attend, and bring a few friends. Readers should leave a comment if you're planning on going.

If you've never heard of NEARfest, check out their History Page. It's a pretty amazing story about people with a love for music that worked hard and made something great happen. Year after year.

Here's a video from one of the bands I've recently discovered that will be opening the festival on Friday night, Riverside, Warsaw, Poland.

They're great. Check 'em out...



Gonna be a SICK weekend...

Mae, Oh My!

Tonite while listening to my Porcupine Tree Pandora Station, I came upon a new band that I'd never heard of before.

Their name is mae, and they're great.

"mae", is an acronym for Multi-Sensory Aesthetic Experience.

As they put in on their web site:

WHATISMAE?
Multi-Sensory Aesthetic Experience
is the study of sensation, perception,
emotion, and meaning in art and music.
 
Here's a link to the video for their song Suspension.
 
And here's the video for the song Embers and Envelopes.
 
And Someone Else's Arms.
 
They don't seem to let their MUSIC videos be embedded, but this is a pretty interesting video they did about their participation in Rock the Vote. Pretty thoughtful folks for a bunch of young guys in a rock band. Nice.
 

 
 And one more video, this one is rockin'

Sometimes I Can't Make It Alone

- PRF
 
 

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Welcome To ProgRock Fanatic

Greetings, and welcome to ProgRock Fanatic, a place for all things relating to Progressive Rock, both vintage bands like Yes, Genesis, and Gentle Giant and new acts like Porcupine Tree, Dream Theater, and Ozric Tentacles.

So sit back and enjoy, and we dig around the internet to bring you song reviews, concert tour dates, festival information, new album releases, live videos, and lots more!

Here's a tasty bit to start you out.

- PRF

Ozric Tentacles
Chewier (Live) 2006 Roadburn Festival - Tilburg, Holland
From the album, "Spirals In Hyperspace"