DPRP Gig Review - Summer's End Festival 2013

Summer's End Festival - Town Hall, Lydney, U.K. - 4th to 6th October 2013

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Unto Us ...Some of the songs were familiar but the band have a whole swathe of excellent new material and speaking to Huw later he confirmed that their debut album is (finally) almost finished and should be out in the near future. Based on the quality of the songs played tonight it promises to be a great release and I hope that we don't have to wait too much longer to hear it. Drawing plenty of appreciation from the enthusiastic crowd, this was a great start to what would become a great weekend.

Haze ...The songs certainly benefit from the live interpretations, The Barrister And The Bargast being a case in point, Chris and Paul swapping lead vocals in the tale of the two titular characters. The band's mix of folk and classic rock is very engaging and the enthusiasm with which it is delivered was infectious. An unexpectedly great, upbeat performance from a band I'd very much like to see again.

Sylvan ...A shame but it seems that Sylvan are just not for me and with the evening now running very late - past midnight and with a long trip home imminent - the decision was taken to call it a night during the last number of the main set. Whilst most of the crowd were clearly enjoying Sylvan I found them anthemic but lacking exhilaration.

Silhouette ...Despite the issues with the sound the band performed well as a unit with additional guitarist Daniel van der Weijde making an impact and keyboardist Erik Laan very impressive. Brian swapped from electric to 12-string guitar, varying things up to good effect, and performed well in the frontman role, doing well to get the audience on side, particularly with his heartfelt "don't forget to buy our cds and t-shirts or we can't get home!". The band received a good reception for their brand of melodic prog with the familiar influences of Genesis mixed with Pendragon and the like making for an enjoyable set. A shame about the sound but Silhouette deserved the applause.

Jump ...With time getting on and the draft running times now completely out of the window, Jump were graciously allowed a well deserved encore and returned with The Sniper, a song that they had intended to play earlier in the set but dropped due to the overrun. A fine set of entertaining and enjoyable songs from a worthy band delivered with humour and style: a fine way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

Overhead ...When Overhead returned for a particularly well deserved encore they brought the house down with a rampaging chase through King Crimson's classic 21st Century Schizoid Man, complete with some of the vocals edging into Death Metal territory, all played at breakneck speed - I'm sure there were some sore fingers after that! A wonderful way to finish a great set by a band that I for one certainly need to hear more of.

Ravens and Lullabies with Gordon Giltrap and Oliver Wakeman ...Oliver Wakeman has a wonderful keyboard touch but I sometimes find that his compositions, like some of his Dad's solo work, can be a little 'chocolate boxy' and unashamedly romantic for my taste. This however did not detract from a very enjoyable couple of hours in the company of seasoned professionals and a truly legendary instrumentalist who is still a master of his craft. It was an absolute pleasure to finally see Gordon Giltrap play. The encore, again more than well deserved, was the classic Heartsong from Gordon's 1977 Perilous Journey album, apparently last played live by a full electric band at Glastonbury in 1981, and a fine way to close.

Lazuli ...It's one o'clock when they finish and thankfully Lambsie agrees that they can play a quick encore. There would no doubt have been a riot if they hadn't so at the end of a slightly truncated set the band quickly drag the marimba to the centre of the stage and perform their party piece - 9 Hands Around the Marimba with all five members playing it at once. The tune is complex yet mellifluous and they even include a few phrases from Peter Gabriel's Solsbury Hill whilst smacking each other with their marimba mallets. The perfect way to end really! DO NOT miss this band if you ever get the chance to experience them live as they are jaw-droppingly good at what they do. It is difficult not to fall in love with Lazuli, they really do have it all.

Sean Filkins ...The band performed admirably with a particular mention going to guitarist Daniel Maher. Due to ill health Sean's regular keyboardist was forced to withdraw, his place taken gamely at short notice by Dan Parratt who did a good job despite struggling a bit with some of the parts. He seemed to be apologising a lot to his band mates but no matter as just about everyone in the hall understood the situation, the band getting enthusiastic support throughout. A fine set, culminating with the mighty Epitaph For A Mariner, from a very impressive band. I look forward to Sean's next release with anticipation.

Thumpermonkey ...The quartet performed their quirky stop/start songs with wit and intelligence, at times sounding like Guapo with a cheeky sense of humour. The three man frontline were animated and fun to watch, the whole set being a bundle of energy, with fine lead vocals from Michael Woodman. A-Levels have always had a place in prog but at times you'd need a degree to get the gist of what Thumpermonkey do and their music is all the more interesting for that. The set contained a couple of as yet unreleased tracks which bode well for the next album and I know there'll be plenty of people who had never heard of the band who'll now be looking forward to that.

Landmarq ...As for the music, the lengthy pieces were all very well played, the rest of the band generally happy to stay in the shadows behind Tracy and professionally deliver their parts but unfortunately the music just didn't grab me. Their brand of melodic rock with a hard edge remained a little one dimensional. The band are certainly no slouches concentrating on an ensemble approach which suits the music and Tracy makes for a fine focal point but, like Sylvan, Landmarq are another example of a band with real quality that fail to ignite that necessary spark of enthusiasm in me.

Focus ...Guitarist Menno Gootjes was mightily impressive, filling in the Jan Ackerman role with style, but not overshadowed by his reverred predecesesor and proving himself to be a truly great player. Drummer Pierre van der Linden, a member from the heyday of the band, was a ball of energy, his jazz influences coming through as he drove the band along. His solo section could have been a little shorter, as is often the case with these things, but it was indeed a fine performance. Despite all this the stage belonged to Thijs, his fantastic keyboard touch and deft flute marking the music apart. His solo piece was simply breathtaking, bringing real classical beauty into the set and he also successfully got the crowd going with call and response vocalisations. A great man and a true legend, Focus may be all about him but as a unit they can certainly deliver and deserved the headliner/Legend slot.

Fragile featuring Claire Hamill ...It seemed that a little more rehearsal may be required as Claire missed a couple of cues and elsewhere the band were not quite as sharp as I've seen them in the past but no matter, brilliant songs well played leaving the tired but still enthusiastic audience to leave happy for the journey home to start a new working week.