NEARfest – Zoellner Arts Center - Bethlehem, PA

Friday, June 20, 2008

By Mike Flavin

This was my first Nearfest, and I have to say I was very impressed by what I saw during the one night I was able to get a ticket for. The Zoellner Arts Center in Bethlehem, PA is a very nice sounding theater with very good sightlines. Balcony seating is pretty tight however, and access to seats in the center of the section involved climbing over long rows of knees. One of the nicer things about the facility (and the festival) is that access to the vendors doesn’t require a show ticket, so those of us who were left out for the Saturday and Sunday performances were still able to do some early holiday shopping (we were also able to check out the groups via a monitor in the lobby).

Synergy

Opening the show was keyboard solo artist Larry Fast, who records under the moniker of Synergy. Armed with a number of computers & synthesizers, his impressive performance showed not only what today’s technology is capable of, but also reminded us just how amazing it was that he had originally produced and recorded many of the pieces using the ‘ancient’ technology of the late 70’s and early 80’s. To this end, he paused midway through his set to pay tribute to the late Robert Moog, whose daughter (and foundation president) was in attendance. Most of Synergy’s music (and a good deal of prog music) probably wouldn’t exist without Moog’s innovations.

Synergy is the cream of the crop when it comes to symphonic electronic music. It sounded wonderful in the hall, and it was very enjoyable to experience a performance by one of the original masters of this style.

Fish

Headlining the night was singer Fish. I had my concerns about what his performance would be like, as my only experience with his live shows was the Return to Childhood DVD, on which his voice appears to be nearly gone and the band is not quite up-to-par with the material. Not on this night, though. Fish tore through a great set, drawing mostly from his new album 13^th Star and Marillion’s Clutching at Straws. Although I couldn’t make out much of the stories through his thick accent and balcony sound, he was energetic, talkative and engaging. Definitely a charismatic performer that you don’t want to take your eyes off during a show. One of the set’s highlights was a dramatic version of “Faith Healer”, during which he wandered out into the audience for a laying on of hands (he seemed to focus most of his attention on the ‘baldies’ he joked about earlier in the set). His new material worked very well alongside the older songs, although one of the strongest tracks off 13^th Star, “Going Home” was left out. Perhaps not surprising, given the personal nature of the song, but it certainly has the potential to turn a normal performance into something far more intimate and personal. It could also be a total downer, and I think for this night Fish decided to have some fun.