Liquid Tension Experiment to headline NEARfest in 2008

[rockyracoon]

Liquid Tension Experiment to headine Saturday night in 2008

"We are very pleased to announce the Saturday night headliner for NEARfest X - Liquid Tension Experiment! The supergroup consisting of Mike Portnoy, John Petrucci, Jordan Rudess and Tony Levin are reconvening and preparing to tear the roof off of Zoellner Arts Center next June. Portnoy and Petrucci are founding members of progressive metal's 5-headed monster, Dream Theater, and have won accolades from fans and critics alike for their prowess on the drum kit and guitar, respectively. Rudess is was previously known for his blazing keyboard work with the Dixie Dregs and the Rudess/Morgenstein Project and joined Dream Theater officially after the second Liquid Tension Experiment album sessions. Tony Levin needs no introduction - Stick and bass maestro, two-time NEARfest alum, and played with everyone from King Crimson to Peter Gabriel to Yes to Sarah McLachlan. Liquid Tension Experiment's two studio albums, Liquid Tension Experiment (1998) and Liquid Tension Experiment 2 (1999), are filled to the brim with everything from blazing, chops-laden sonic attacks ("Paradigm Shift") to melodic anthems ("When the Water Breaks") to humorous jams ("Chris and Kevin's Excellent Adventure"). The improvisational nature in the writing sessions permitted the band to stretch out to many different influences, including rock, metal, prog, funk, blues and even ragtime. It is a great honor to host this ensemble of legendary, virtuoso players on the NEARfest stage for our 10th anniversary."


Pretty cool shit. I've always wanted a chance to see these guys live, so hopefully this isn't a one-off show. Otherwise, I guess I've gotta go.

 

[Ascension]

Huge announcement without a doubt...hopefully life will allow me to make that.

 

[metropolisimages]

I may have to work in a road trip for this.

 

[Pellaz]

I'm guessing it will be a one-off show, sadly.

I have to assume the sacred presence of Tony Levin will counterbalance the, shall we say, unusually crunchy nature of this NEARFest headliner. From what I've heard, it's a pretty sedate audience overall.

 

[kellsco]

My boyfriend and I were talking about this during PP. Trying to work out the logistics of blowing off his July trip here and I'll go to NY in June instead. Kind of a no brainer.....it's freakin LTE!

 

[metropolisimages]

My boyfriend and I were talking about this during PP. Trying to work out the logistics of blowing off his July trip here and I'll go to NY in June instead. Kind of a no brainer.....it's freakin LTE!

EXACTLY!

 

[Meteornotes]

I'm guessing it will be a one-off show, sadly.

I have to assume the sacred presence of Tony Levin will counterbalance the, shall we say, unusually crunchy nature of this NEARFest headliner. From what I've heard, it's a pretty sedate audience overall.

Nearfest has an interesting audience. Though they all pretty much seemed to greatly enjoy Indukti last year, so I'm thinking that LTE should go over pretty well.

There is a certain vocal subsection, though, that only like traditional and/or avant garde prog and gets very angry when any other type of band is playing. This is why we wear metal shirts to Nearfest every year, to annoy the progsnobs. This is, after all, the festival where I heard someone exclaim after Pallas that "this is the worst band I have ever heard", a statement that could easily be proven untrue if this person admitted to turning on the radio at any point in the last ten years...

dt

 

[rockyracoon]

For someone unfamiliar with the typical music/scene/etc. at Nearfest, could someone give me a little insight about this fest.

 

[Meteornotes]

^It's a prog festival. Do not expect metal or even prog metal (LTE is a very odd booking for them). They do try to balance the roster with different styles of prog (traditional, RIO, symphonic, fusion and so on), but it will be all progressive stuff. There's a Friday showcase with (usually) three bands, then four bands each on Saturday and Sunday, with a short "solo spotlight" act between the second and third band. The festival itself is well run, and the theater they hold it in has excellent sight lines from any seat and amazing acoustics. One huge difference between this and PP (besides the music) is the amount of time between bands. The changeovers are long, including a 2.5 hour or so one between the third and fourth band each day. This is good and bad, as the long breaks allow you to get food (there are usually food stands set up outside the theater if you don't want to go somewhere), and bad if you are skipping a band and waiting for another one. The crowd is sort of different, more mellow, though there is the Angry Prog Fans as we like to call them, who can be heard bitching loudly to anyone within earshot about any band that plays that they don't feel is "appropriate" for the show. I've found that wearing metal shirts to NF keeps these people from talking to you.

Hope that helps. PP is still my favorite festival, but we do go to NF and enjoy ourselves, depending on the line up each year.

dt

 

[Pellaz]

I simply must go someyear. And wear a Cradle of Filth tee.

 

[TheLongshot]

^It's a prog festival. Do not expect metal or even prog metal (LTE is a very odd booking for them).

Not really. There is usually one band who is "heavy", whether it is Enchant or Under The Sun or someone else.

I was planning on being there anyways, so this announcement is just gravy.

Jason

 

[Angrafan]

For someone unfamiliar with the typical music/scene/etc. at Nearfest, could someone give me a little insight about this fest.

I've been to 2 Nearfests and I gotta say, I hate the atmosphere...

The venue is GREAT, the sound is incredible... But I can't stand the way the festival is run and the crowd is pretty depressing... 1 1/2 hours between bands is waaaaaaaaaaay too much! and there are even some 2 hour dinner breaks...
They close the vendors rooms during the shows... so, if there's a band you don't like, you can't kill time by looking thorugh the vendors...

Crowd participation is non-existant... of course I don't expect people to be as loud as in a metal show, but they could be a bit more into it...