Now that I can at least see above the piles...

This was seemingly (for me, anyway) as much of an unfitting place for prog
as I could have imagined... crossing the border into Mexicali, one would
certainly expext to see a hotel marquee read "Mariachi Conference" or
something of the like, but "Festival De Rock Progressivo"... it was a
great evening! Meeting several folk whom have previously been seen only
through this damn box, talking about all sorts of things (admittedly, the
fate of Prog Fest was a common discussion.. more to follow later).

The venue was the lounge of the Ariza Inn - a tight venue for the 250+ in
attendance.

NOTE** Proggers in the US... SOMETHING IS WRONG!!! gazing across the
audience in the Bar Guaycura, it was CLEAR that at least HALF of the
audience was FEMALE! THIS was indeed a strange sight to behold for a prog
performance!!! :-)

Land's End opened - I had seen them previously at the infamouns "Pre-Prog"
show in Nov. '95, and was marginally impressed then... they had a lot of
problems, but they showed some promise. Saturday evening, everything
seemed to be tuned in - they've also matured quite a bit (musically) -
despite drummer Mark Lavallee's need to suddenly become ambidextrous
(left-handed playing right-handed = or vice versa), he was obviously
having fun playing the set prepared for him. Francisco Neto, on guitar,
was the strength of the group, handing out riffs like there was no
tomorrow. Ron Fuchs (US IQ Fan Club fame) rightfully commented a
similarity to Pink Floyd ala "Live at Pompeii", especially on some of the
seemingly free-form jams. Although 95% of the audience had no idea of
what was being said on the mike, they certainly enjoyed what Land's End
had to offer.

Argentinian "Ekus" was next... this 3-piece from Buenos Aires was
certainly a pleasure... For the first half of their relatively short set,
instrumentation was Bass, Keys, and Drums. Very tight musiocally,
agressive (but not overwealming) vocals, and having a touch of Marillion
influences (at one point, I would swear I was hearing a Spanish version of
Marillion's "White Feather"... hmmm.) They were joined for the 2nd half
by Cast's own Francisco Hernandez on guitar - this made such a perfect fit
- they were rather impressive. As we speak, they're in Cast's studio
recording their first CD... I will anxiously await this release (slated
for mid-summer).

Cast hit the stage with a vengence that would only be seen in their
home-town. Playing much from their recent release "Beyond Reality", they
were really showing off improvements in their style since their previous
releases - their pace was quickened as they played tracks such as "Spirit
of Man" and "In The Light of Darkness" from the two previous releases (as
well as other tracks seemingly familiar tracks). Vocalist Dino Brassea
was jovial and animated, as usual - Antonio Bringas Caire, on drums, was
fanatic.... he commented to us as we were leaving a post-show dinner "I
hope you're not too tired (it was about 4am by this point!)"... to which I
replied that we were *exhausted* by just watching him play! Roldolfo
Quiroz' playing on the bass had some added tricks that I had not noticed
either at their Pre-prog show, nor on their CD's... certainly enhancing
their punch. Francisco Hernandez continued his signature sound, and also
brought forth a seemingly stronger conviction when he took to the vocals
on a few cuts - bringing forth the mystic showmanship that comes forth in
his writing. Finally, Alfonso Vidales on keyboards was extremely tight
that night - flowing flawlessly through the evening (at the Pre-Prog show,
I do recall a good deal of technical difficulties... this certainly was
not a problem!).

Clearly, Cast is and will be a force to be reckoned with - when you have a
full band of very talented musicians getting together, the stage is bound
to catch fire!

Fortunately, with my copy of "Beyond Reality" in hand, it found it's way
'round in my CD player a few times on the 5-hour ride home, finding fond
memories and intricate nuances with each listening!
WOW!

thanks for lasting this long... I tend to blab sometimes :-)

ciao!

Hank