There were several very good performances over the two days, including the first time I got to hear Flatbed, featuring former members of Red Gills. The band’s country rock with lots of twang but still a lot of rock was pretty darn good and all original. Flatbed played in the recording studio inside, which was used to keep the bands playing almoston-stop throughout the festival, along with the main stage outside adjacent to the studio.
Another great performance featured Lance Diamond, backed the Swillberries, playing a set of revved up classics, mainly Motown with some Muscle Shoals. For you non-Western New Yorkers, Lance Diamond is a consummate showman, performing weekly at the legendary Elmwood Lounge as well as major civic affairs and parties. Diamond, one of the friendliest and classiest persons in the music community, has also recorded several songs with the Goo Goo Dolls on their albums, including “Down on the Corner” and “I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man.” During Music Is Art, dressed in a shiny red tux, black hat and soon to be removed black bow tie, Diamond was the happy aggressor, singing song such as the opener “Get Ready,” “Sugarpie Honeybunch,” “I’ll Be There,” “My Girl” and a long, smoldering version of “Soul Man.”
Val and I came to some, different conclusions about Klear, one of the most popular bands in Western New York and one many are predicting big things for soon. While the lead singer has a rather good voice and is too good looking for my liking, he also appears to have all of the rock (and alt-rock) clichés and moves down; the little girls certainly seemed to understand, but he struck me as heartfelt as a presidential candidate on his or her 10th state in 8 days needing a cue card to know where he or she was as he or she went out to address a crowd. The songs ran the
But heaven knows, Klear has more to it than Veil, whose popularity to people beyond the 1980s metal scene (I’ve called them basically a lost Metal Blade Record band before) baffles me. Since I prefer judging bands on their music to other things, I’ll try not to fixate on the Count Chocula goth/punk look. Displaced played crashing argh rock; boy, do these guys feel pain. Kelly Warner sang behind prerecorded backing tracks early the first day; why? Instead of getting an answer, I watched the stage crew mop up where she was standing when she was done; double why I asked, until I realized that dance troupes were to follow.
