OFF/HW: Strange Daze '99 (again)

[Keith Henderson]

Hi Folks...finally finished my 'official' review.

STRANGE DAZE '99

OK, well, my departure for the Ledges was delayed as usual, due to various
commitments here at the office.  But at 2:15, I began the three-hour journey
from Columbus, and with a pretty good traffic situation, got there in time
to catch the last bit of Oranj Climax' set.  Of course, I was frantically
grabbing stuff out of my car for both camp and setting up my little stand
next to Jerry's official table for Aural Innovations (and as it turned out,
merchandising for most of the festival bands' themselves!).  I brought
around 125 CDs that I'd picked up in various second-hand and closeout bins
in stores around the country, and a few online.  I wasn't looking to make
much of a profit (probably a stupid idea), since I've only ever been a
'dealer' on this very occasion, so I kept them cheap and as a result was
popular once again.  I'm glad to provide this service for folks who likely
don't spend as much time as I searching for space rock bargains.  My hope is
that these bargains I'm passing on to Strange Daze attendees becomes
something that makes them decide to come back next year....that's the idea,
anyway.  So this is the only festival where I actually come home with *more*
money that when I left!  But still, I now am the proud owner of about a
dozen new titles I hadn't ever found before.

So my only recollection of Oranj Climax is that it was spacey ambient music
that seemed an appropriate 'intro' to the festival as a whole.  I can't tell
you a lot more about them, but I know Jerry has a copy of their disc e-Noise
and so eventually I'll have the pleasure of hearing them in a more conducive
setting (i.e., not so preoccupied).  Soon, after numerous 'Hello, I always
see you here's' and 'Glad to finally meet you's', Canis Minor came onstage
for the first of their two performances.  With the cancellation of Tribe of
Cro, this spot remained open even after much effort was made to bring in
additional regional artists...always one member with a conflict.  Oh well,
Canis Minor knew from last year (where they played onstage despite not being
on the program, due to a travel situation with ArcMet) that being prepared
to go on at any point can be fruitful.  Again, it was competition with more
friends and shoppers that took my attention away from their performance, but
here the duo (with a guest or two) did some interesting proggy stuff with
the Chapman stick giving them that unique sound for a 'space' band.  There
was one cool tune that I remember that I swore had some guitar soloing in
it, and I looked and looked and saw no guitarist, so I thought it must've
been a DAT recording piped in along with what they were playing live.
Whatever, it was really an excellent piece.

It was sometime around then that I talked for Jim for the first time, and
the first thing out of his mouth was 'You know, Helios isn't here.'
Jesus...I spent all that time worrying over whether my program was going to
be accurate - I guess there really wasn't any way to prepare for these sorts
of occurrences.  Perhaps next year, the program will say 'To Be Announced'
for each and every time slot!  Well, anyway, I don't understand why they
weren't there for their set, but if they don't want to show, we'd just as
soon see someone else who did!  And that turned out to be Born to Go, and
boy did they ever show!!  Going on just as it was getting dark, they got the
added advantage of playing with Solar Fire's excellent lights.  Wow...every
performance from this lot is more impressive than the last.  Above the stage
was the obligatory projection 'screen' and there were lots of newly-acquired
NASA-type stills to go along with the usual projection wheels and such.
Well, anyway, back to the music...Born to Go plays bass-heavy space blanga
tunes that are reminiscent of Doremi-era Hawkwind.  And why not?
Vocalist/bassist Marc Power always gives us a little intro for most tunes,
telling us what alien creature or particular mysterious event he'll be
singing about just then.  The robots were lounging back at the hotel I hear,
or they would have made an appearance for the show...oh well, their
signature 'Robots on the Rise' was still scary enough as it was.  So after
ninety minutes of killer original space tunes, we all could see by our
watches that there was still thirty minutes before the main stage curfew was
invoked.  Hmmmm....what to play then to fill up that time?  OK, how 'bout a
25-minute version of Orgone Accumulator!  So in a sense, it was perhaps a
little ridiculous to play a few simple chords and sing a few simple lyrics
over and over again, but for me it was the most enjoyable moment of the
entire weekend!  Those of you there, perhaps you even noticed!  :)

A new feature of Strange Daze offered this year was the 'late-night' tent,
which also acted as merchandising center (and temporary rain shelter) during
the day.  To keep the neighbors from complaining, the after-midnight music
had to be kept relatively quiet and so the performing acts were chosen
accordingly.  First up on Friday night was Drumplay, a local-based
percussion combo that seems to grow in size and dimension each time I see
them.  Last year's Sunday morning performance was quite nice, but this one
was trully impressive.  Each piece is spontaneously created...you can think
of it as kind of a 'professional drum circle.'  But then the addition of
Matthew Abelson on the hammered dulcimer and an additional guest on the
vibraphone created additional lead 'voices' (to James Onysko's xylo-marimba)
that really gave the unit a fully-orchestrated feel.  And there was even a
brief appearance by Thom the World Poet, who stopped by the offer one of his
unique musical wordplays.  Towards the end, the fire-eater who goes by the
name 'Insanity in Motion' came by and provided even more colorful
entertainment.  Quite a few folks decided to hang around on this pleasant
late evening, and they got to catch one of the weekend's many highlights.
And as I strolled around the campsites nearest the tent, I found folks were
grooving along to the music drifiting through the trees, and not their own
boomboxes (thankfully!).

Sometime around 2 AM, the Boston-area electronic duo Bionaut brought out
their loads of gear and set up to do an additional late-night show.  I think
having the tent was a fabulous idea, but I discovered the attention span of
the festival as a whole runs out at about 1:30.  So only the hardy few hung
around to see them perform their improvised space-borne electronics, though
I've heard people say they could hear the music from across the lake.  By
then, the music was only competing with crickets and the crackling of
campfires.  It was a time for me to wind down and prepare for what I
expected to be a restful night of sleep (which unfortunately didn't happen),
so Bionaut's ambient sounds were just the thing.  And as it turned out, they
got a 'real' chance to play for the SD'99 crowd on Saturday afternoon, and
then they played some pieces that were really interesting and quite a bit
more lively.

Saturday opened with Quarkspace firing up right on time at 11 AM, and
fighting off the delerium of a restless night (thanks in part to Mr. Barky,
the dog next door), I eventually was able to groove along with the cosmic
sounds.  I'm a bit spoiled in having Quarkspace in my back yard (I got to
see them again just two days later), but the band seems quite difficult to
mix correctly, and this was one of the rare occasions where I got to hear
all the instruments together.  Usually, either Chet Santia's bass, or Dave
Wexler's gliss-style guitar, or Jay Swanson's keys...something's almost
always buried in the mix, but not this time.  The band played mostly
material from the brand new 'Hidden Moon' double CD, including some of the
very best, like the very Floydian 'The Circle' and the journey down the
'Outerspace Highway.'  And I even really got into the techno-ish tracks
(like 'Starbridge Freaks'), since Paul Williams' programmed loops weren't so
invasive on this day.

What I thought was the end of the Quarkspace performance turned out to just
be a temporary break in the action, since Texas' Light Bright Highway failed
to show.  I guess they used the hurricane as an excuse, which I could easily
accept if they were from Houston.  But being from north of Dallas, I don't
understand it!  Anyway, Paul and Dave kept their stuff on stage and went
back to do a set as their alter-ego National Steam.  Not too different from
Quarkspace, especially towards the end when they went into full improv mode
and Chet and guest guitarist Stan Lyon showed back up to join in.  I was a
little busy with merchandising efforts (a brief rainshower or two brought
the folks into our tented area) so I wasn't able to focus too heavily on the
music, but I enjoyed what I heard as always from this lot...and I'm not
saying that just because they're friends of mine!

Bionaut's second impromptu performance came next, and as I said before, they
did some things here that I got into a little more.  The funny thing was,
after nearly an hour of playing, I thought they'd finished and so I went
back to my 'table' and was chatting with folks nearby.  A bit later, I
casually asked Jerry what they were playing over the PA (thinking it was
just a tape or CD), and only then discovered it was still Bionaut on stage!
My thought was that I wanted to find this disc and add it to my collection,
and so weirdly enough, I simply stood up and grabbed Bionaut's newest CD
(Big Causeway to Gone) from Jerry's table and handed over the money.  Easy
enough, eh?

Alien Planetscapes were up next...always a treat!  The band have been hit
with some recent health difficulties, which you might think would've slowed
them down a bit, but they were as vibrant and rockin' as ever.  Doug
Walker's synths were maybe a little less prevalent in the mix this time, but
then every so often I used to feel he went a little overboard, so his
spaced-out effects were just perfect on this afternoon.  The newcomer Josh
Gazes was impressive on guitar, and they cranked out a lot of new tunes I
didn't recognize and is now making me very anxious to hear the upcoming
'Victims of the Blacklist' CD.  They're a headlining quality band that
probably gets way too little respect in their home territory.  Us
midwesterners really appreciate their journeys to Strange Daze.

Of course, when 'planning' my activities at SD'99, I fully intended to take
notes and try to keep track of setlists and such.  But of course, when the
time came, I just said "Fuck it," got loaded, and went a little nuts.  I
guess you could say I got into the spirit of things!  Anyway, I think I made
a bit of a miscalculation, as I have absolutely no recollection of Saturday
night's Nik/Farflung show whatsoever (despite being 'awake' and vertical the
entire time).  Somebody said something about dancing alien girls on
stage...I have no clue what he was talking about.  I vaguely remember Scott
Kuti coming out as the Spaceman again, but I probably remember that more
from a similar appearance last year with Pressurehed.  That'll teach me to
mix rum and space rock!!  (I *do* remember yelling out 'D-Rider' during
Nik's solo jam, and being surprised that he said, 'We've already done that
one'.  I thought, What?  Really? Damn, I missed it!!  What else did they
play?  That was the beginning of my return to active consciousness!)

Anyway, I do easily recall the earlier hour-long Anubian Lights performance,
which was limited by daylight putting the kibosh on Rob Jacobs' excellent
movies and images (they worked very nicely indoors at Sunday night's
Symposium show).  And then Nik never came out to play flute with Len and
Tommy, though they did include the Soul Herder track in the main performance
later.  Eventually, the band morphed into Farflung, and things start to get
kinda hazy at this point. I do remember being a little disappointed it
wasn't nearly loud and heavy enough for my current mood.  That, and "Where
the hell is Nik?"  I was hoping to hear Belief Module stuff, but couldn't
begin to tell you if they did any of that.  It seemed more spacey and
hypnotic than I expected, without much of that crunchy buzz-guitar you
expect from this lot.

Eventually, Nik did come out (they tell me), and put on a stellar show.
Having seen it Sunday night, I can agree!  I'd only seen Nik on the '94 tour
here in Columbus, a terrible gig mainly due to the abysmal sound.  But the
Sunday night show was stellar.  D-Rider just ruled.  And Free Fall...how
cool was that??  (Note:  Tommy did the vocals, not Nik...and he did them
straight from Calvert's performance on Sonic Assassins EP. And he did them
very well!  Nik played flute bits here and there.)  Of course, the
obligatory Brainstorm and Master of the Universe were offered.  Super-sub
Steve Taylor (a local musician who's played with the likes of Nick Riff and
Sun Machine) was guesting as lead guitarist and his playing was really quite
impressive.  (In fact, I think he was better in this role than as fill-in
bassist for last year's StrangeWind ensemble.)  At 11 (I assume), the
Saturday show ended only to have Nik come out to do his patented solo sax
jam, taking requests from the audience.  Versions of Silver Machine, Little
Black Egg, Space Invaders, and In the Mood were to be heard (I remember these!).

Here was the setlist from Sunday (not exact order):
Sonic Attack
Brainstorm
some heavy instrumental jam I didn't recognize
Opa-Loka
Soul Herder
Free Fall
Watching the Grass Grow
D-Rider
The Awakening
Ejection
Master of the Universe
-----
You Shouldn't Do That

After the show, I found myself in the company of a trio of poets (Roger
Neville-Neil, Don Falcone, and Thom) and Thom was running through a rapid
fire delivery of concepts and anecdotes way too abstruse for my brain to
comprehend at the time.  So I wandered back to the tent where I'd earlier
seen a bunch of strange people engaging in antics that I couldn't figure
out.  I realized then that they were the Circus Kaotica as advertised, and
that they were *supposed* to be there.  I guess one of their tarantulas got
loose in the process only to be found later by some unsuspecting folks,
which no doubt was one of the more memorable happenings!

Anyway, eventually, Canis Minor came on for their second performance of the
weekend, and it was really quite excellent.  Solar Fire's Scott Kuti had
busted his ass all day to get the lightshow prepared, and it turned out
awesome.  The far end (where the band set up) had been closed up, so that
when the fog machine was cranked up, the place turned into a soupy mist
amongst which the rotating colored beams would dance and fight to penetrate
through.  Canis Minor played ambient trance music all along, and it really
soaked into my being in my near-vegetative state.  The lateness of the hour
and the lack of sleep on Friday really dulled my senses, though the chill of
nightfall helped keep me awake.  But it wasn't until Bob Lennon (Hawk-US)
nudged me that I even realized that Nik had come by to play a little flute
with the duo.  I think they played for about two hours (or more), but it
seemed like one single timeless moment.  Strange Daze should have something
like this every year!

I think it was about 2:45 AM when it seemed like things *must* be coming to
a close, but Mike Burro's Sloterdijk was still left to get his tent-time.
Like Friday, the tent crowd thinned to just a few, so Mike gets the award
for 'Most Underappreciated Artist' of SD'99.  Which is too bad, since his
brand of ambient music was worthy of praise also.  Burro (with guest
percussionist Jay Adcock) used frequent voice samples to color the
electronic throbbing, and then the occasional stream of guitar would slice
through the thickening haze.  By this time, Scott was going crazy with the
fog (I don't think I ever really saw the band actually),  and I can only
imagine that it looked like a spaceship landing scene from the other side of
the lake.  Thom the World Poet again came by and delivered some more of his
inspired 'musical-prose' through a crappy PA that made it seem like he was
speaking through a megaphone or a stadium loudspeaker from a long way away.
Actually, it was a rather cool effect, even if unintentional.  I think it
was around 3:30 when the power was finally cut, and this time I fell asleep
almost immediately upon crawling into my tent, not to wake until well after
sunrise.  I needed it!

Despite the uninterrupted rest, it was still difficult on Sunday morning to
walk upright and erect.  I managed to remember to eat, and then make a
little conversation with folks who were far more alive than I.  But promptly
at 11 AM, the music started up once again, and soon I was recharged once
more.  W.O.O. Revelator came on first, an improvisational psychedelic/jazz
trio (for lack of a better term) and they were all over the place.  At
times, they would diverge into a no-man's land of atonal and tempoless
sound, but then just minutes later be fixed into a steady groove that would
prove to be outstanding.  There were two or three occasions when the WOO
clan simply were brilliant without peer.  The 'star' of the trio is colorful
sax/flute-player Bonnie Kane, but Ray Sage is a truly phenomenal drummer.
He's almost too good for 'space rock'!  If they'd just refrain from the
random high-pitched sonic squeals, I think I could hang with WOO for another
ninety minutes.

Das Ludicroix is a Massacusetts-based 'band,' but they also featured guests
Doug Walker of Alien Planetscapes (synths) and Doug Pearson of Primordial
Undermind (violin).  And they're less a 'band' than a collection of
acquaintances from over the years, so this unit was an assemblage of people
who had hardly met, let alone played together.  So it was evident a time or
two from the funny glances or a brief rough spot that the group was
unrehearsed, but still I enjoyed every minute of their performance.  I think
that the Das Ludicroix bunch came closest to re-creating the sound of Space
Ritual-era cosmic blanga, Ron Scott playing the part of Lemmy and Carl
Anderson's strings and foot petal playing the part of Dave Brock.  Ron was a
monster on the bass in fact, and it surprised me when Carl told me that he
knows nothing of space rock, as he could easily become Bass Assassin No. 3.
The mix was randomly evolving through the performance such that some
instruments would be lost for a spell, but eventually Doug P.'s violin came
through and it was a perfect fit.  Soon thereafter, I thought we'd lost him
again only to realize he'd switched on some effect that made it sound like
an additional synth.  All in all, a really strong performance by a band who
(up till then) were probably more linked through cyberspace than in real life.

A good number of folks hung around until the final bell, and they were all
rewarded with a strong performance from Indianapolis' Tombstone Valentine.
A five-person unit with no drummer, they came across with a number of
organic, hippy tunes that floated out across the lake with ease.
Musically-speaking, there really isn't that much there, but Richelle Toombs
is a vocalist of rare talent, a powerful yet beautiful voice with perfect
vibrato control and a soulful quality that carries the music to exceptional
heights.  I couldn't hear Randy Schwartz' violin much at all, and the music
was generally heavy on the simple, repetitive basslines of Rick Wilkerson.
Gave it a 'hippy krautrock' feel.  Amazingly, their set ended within a
minute of 4:00 PM, the scheduled closing time, and topped off a three-day
schedule (wrought with cancellations) that 'seemed' to go off without a
hitch (though far from it, I'm certain) and be exactly on-time all the way
through.  Amazing.

Well, to sum up, I'd have to say that SD'99 was a more enjoyable event than
SD'98.  From what I hear, there were a lot less folks than last year (which
is rather disturbing), but it never really seemed that way to me.  I guess
that the ones who came this time were just more into the music, since I
believe that the daytime bands got perhaps even more notice and hopefully
sold more product.  The tent was a perfect addition, both as a
'community/merchandising' center and also as a late night venue, though (as
I hinted at before) there should probably only be one act booked each night
to be fair to the performers.  Some people think the Ledges is a crap venue
and future fests should be moved into an indoor facility in a major
metropolitan area.  Perhaps it would attract more folks, but I'd argue
against it.  Outdoor festivals have a charm that couldn't exist in a
sterile, policed environment like a city theatre.  (Here, the police only
bothered people *outside* the grounds.)  Let the prog folks do those
festivals...space rock belongs outside in open space.

Hopefully, Jim Lascko sold enough T-shirts and SD'97 CDs to cover the losses
from running this year's event, such that SD2K will become a reality.  Talk
of the Ozrics performing has already gotten out, and is starting to produce
some excitement already.  Let's keep the momentum rolling and actually find
some bands who have the dedication to actually show up at the venue!  And
let's encourage the lazier folks that didn't make the effort to come this
year, to get up off their butts and head to SD2K wherever and whenever it
takes place.  We thank you for your support!  :)

Keith H. (FAA)