PNIX

Pre-PNIX The Friday Night Get Amongst Itness 

This was the first Prog Night to feature both Pre and Post events. Let it not be said that we don’t break fresh ground and continuously push the boundaries of what is and what isn’t, taking into account the what could be but frankly after some discussion actually that’s a no no.

After some delightful sounds courtesy of Daniel Cavanagh’s ‘Monochrome’ (an album that’s more Anathema than an Anathema album?) we munched on suspiciously healthy salad wraps before settling into some serious viewage….

• Marillion – The Making Of Fear. The band discuss how it was made and why. Essential viewing for the fans and a lovely peak behind the curtain.
• Steven Wilson – The Making Of To The Bone. A completely different vibe from SW – gone are the deluxe wood panelled live studio rooms of the last few albums and instead he records in what looks like someone’s house that’s been invaded by a large amount of studio gear, by that I mean swamped, there is the feeling that the structure of the building is being held up by the various amps, pedals, instruments – a proper Aladdin’s cave of goodies – if only you can find the power supply!
• Yes – The Making of Fly From Here. Which is essentially a short film about Trevor Horn. With Steve Howe trying to rewrite history in front of your very eyes…….oh dear.

After that we hit the sack……..

The next morning our brave travellers headed up the cycle path in search of nutritious goodness. They failed to find any but did return with ice cream and who doesn’t love ice cream, Snetterton goes utterly nuts for it as you can imagine.

Having returned from the foraging run the weather demanded that we sit in the sun eating ice cream and trolled Pete Cheers who at this point was crawling across the country in various forms of public transport – train, bus, rickshaw, canoe…

Whilst we prayed for Cheers (#prayforcheers) we fed into our ears the following –

• Everything Everything – A Fever Dream
• Eno & Hyde – Someday World
• Public Service Broadcasting – Every Valley

We then retired back to the main room to await the arrival of the one who is in your ears….

He appeared while I dropped the kids off at the pool and thanks to some quick thinking from Flat Sky was able to make me grateful that I had…..and so it began.

PNIX Prog Night Nine – The Rush Special

In the run up to the event there had been talk in hushed tones of the fabled ‘ Fez Completion’. The emptying of the Fez in one sitting – it had never been done, some said it was madness to even consider such a thing – the maths just didn’t add up – no one could take that much Prog in one go – besides there just wasn’t enough time….

HA! and again HA! we laughed in the face of the naysayers and the counting on more than one hand types who said it couldn’t be done…..besides thanks to the early arrival of Cheers we were kicking off at about 1500 – loads of time…..The Fez Of Choosing was filled and away we went……what follows is the order in which the Fez Of Choosing guided our listening….

1. Jon &Vangelis – Short Stories (PC)
2. Hawkwind – Hall Of The Mountain Grill (PC – Pete Cheers’ Leftfield Doozy)
3. Caravan – For Girls Who Grow Plump In The Night (UT)
4. Lonely Robot – Please Come Home (FS)
5. Anathema – Weather Systems (FS)
6. Rush – Power Windows (UT)
7. Roger Waters – Is This The Life We Really Want? (UT)
8. Rush – Permanent Waves (PC)
9. Big Big Train – English Electric pt.2 (PC)
10. Porcupine Tree – In Absentia (FS)
11. Robert Fripp and David Sylvian – The First Day (UT)

Now the eagle eyed amongst you will note that that is only 11 albums – however both myself and Flat had put Power Windows in, causing much hilarity and thigh slapping 70% of the time on 3/8ths of the days that fell on 1 of 3 occurrences in 9 out of 12 possible outcomes.

Editors note – during the proceedings The Box Of Wrong was opened and ‘enjoyed’. Those who tasted the pickled plums will not taste pickled plums again.

Flat Sky ensured that Prog Night remains fresh by putting in artists that had never featured on an album based Prog Night before, although they did feature individual tracks as part of the playlist orientated early events (thanks to the Prog Night archives for valuable assistance). Pete Cheers raised his own bar with regards to his Leftfield Doozy choice and I was amazed that I didn’t put any Marillion in…..

The important thing is that we achieved Fez Completion and had filled our ears with astoundingly good sounds. As is the way of the Prog Night. Also the social medias were awash with #PNIX tweets/toots/posts and of course Pete’s Pnix Pics. What else was there to do but to brush ourselves off and head to the sleeping department ready to face the frankly odious task that we had set ourselves for the next morning…….

Post PNIX – The Sunday after the Friday before

The records do not show at what point it was decided that we would ‘revisit’ the last Yes studio album ‘Heaven and Earth’ over breakfast but that is exactly what we did. After a night fraught with disturbing dreams caused by the backwash of what we were about to subject ourselves to we sat huddling hot beverages and munching loudly on toast to try and drown out the true horror that was emanating from the speakers.

Insipid.

Turgid.

I can’t type any more other than to say that it’s only the brilliant Roger Dean artwork and packaging that has stopped the cd being hurled out of a fast-moving car or fed to some particularly angry rodents.

After the hugely offensive item had been removed from the player we settled down to some Squackett just to show what can happen when Squire gets going. We then followed that with some live Fish and played Prog Connections ahoy.

Then seemingly too soon it was time for Flat Sky to venture forth back to the westerly bits of the West Country…. The Cheers and I took advantage of a break in the non raining weather for a brief excursion to get milk and also to follow the SCPC cleansing team to render the main room safe after the toxic filth that had spilled from the speakers earlier.

Warning: DO NOT attempt to repeat the experiment detailed above. Those taking part were highly trained individuals with years of experience. Listening to that kind of shit can damage you for life.

Once we returned we sat down to begin the serious work that is the Post Prog Night experience – here’s what we covered….

• Caravan – If I Could Do It All Over Again, I’d Do It All Over You
• Soft Machine – Third
• Roxy Music – Live in London 2001 (DVD)
• Hawkwind – Levitation
• JMJ – Sessions 2000
• Snippets of Deep Forrest and Enigma

The Caravan and Soft Machine were prompted by the NEEEEEED to research a bit more around the Canterbury Scene, the Roxy because it’s Roxy and a damn fine slab of Prog/Art/Pop and features castanets. Hawkwind was continuing the direction led by Pete Cheers’ Leftfield Doozy and the rest was prompted by the unveiling of E+A Night – an extravaganza of Electronica and Ambient music which will occupy the space allowing Prog Night Ten (PNX) to occur on the tenth anniversary of Prog Night (lawks).

Following a well deserved trip to the chippy we feasted on the following –

• Yes – Yessongs 1972 film (restored footage)
• Rush – Classic Albums (2112 and Moving Picture)
• Marillion – Childhood Memories (documentary about the writing/recording/touring of Misplaced Childhood)

Yessongs filmed at the Rainbow theatre in London in 1972 is a perfect demonstration of why Heaven and Earth cannot be viewed with anything but utter contempt, this concert film shows Yes at one of their peak moments – Anderson, Howe, Squire, Wakeman and White absolutely tearing the stage apart with incredible versions of what are now Yes classics. To think that Heaven and Earth deserves to be refered to as a Yes album just

The rest of this ‘discussion’ as been removed due to the rather offensive nature of the language used.

The Rush and Marillion documentaries go pretty deep inside the chosen albums and both offer some lovely little snippets of ‘well I did not know that’. More essential viewing for the hardcore proggers which left us ready retire…..

The next morning Cheers departed and that was the end of that.

PNIX – ‘We dived deep into the seas of Prog and swam like Gods’