[photo courtesy of Wikipedia]
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[photo courtesy of Wikipedia] |
THE LORELEI PROG FESTIVAL, ST GOARSHAUSEN, GERMANY, JULY 2013 [1] |
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Feature links: THE LORELEI PROG ROCK FESTIVAL, ST. GOARSHAUSEN, GERMANY - 2013 - [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] |
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It had been a four years since
I last attended The Lorelei Night of the Prog Festival, which had been
headlined by Steve Hacket and his band. Imagine my surprise to learn that
the organisers had managed to lure the likes of Steve Wilson, founder of the
band Porcupine Tree, to showcase his extraordinary music talent on the
Saturday night of the 2013 event fresh after the release of his latest solo
album "The Raven that Refused to Sing". His presence alone had made the
decision to attend this, the 8th incarnation of this festival, an easy one,
a fait accompli, in fact. Having persuaded my Hungarian friend
Zoltan, now based in Zurich in Switzerland, to attend, all that remained was
to resolve the logistics. Zoltan had very kindly offered to fetch me from
Frankfurt Hahn Airport Saturday night. With a late finish Sunday night,
spending a relaxing day Monday in Germany before returning home seemed the
right thing to do, before returning to work in Ireland the next day.
Zoltan had stipulated one proviso, that we book into a hotel, as he wasn't keen on having to camp as I had always done in the past. Consequently, a booking had been secured at the Contel Hotel in Koblenz, some three quarters of an hours drive to the venue at Freilichbuhne, site of the famous Lorelei, a rock on the eastern bank of the Rhine near St. Goarshausen, Germany, which soars some 120 metres above the waterline, amrking the narrowest part of the river between Switzerland and the North Sea, and is the most famous feature of the Rhine Gorge, a 65 km section of the river between Koblenz and Bingen that was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in June 2002. The name comes from the old German words "lureln" (Rhine dialect for "murmuring") and the Celtic term "ley" (rock), which has inspired many tales steeped in folklore. In 1824 Heinrich Heine seized on and adapted Brentano's theme in one of his most famous poems, Die Lorelei. It describes the eponymous female as a sort of siren who, sitting on the cliff above the Rhine and combing her golden hair, unwittingly distracted shipmen with her beauty and song, causing them to crash on the rocks. The Night of the Prog is not likely to break any records for attendance at a festival and certainly provides no competition to the likes of Glastonbury but then it doesn't pretend to. Perhaps that's what I like about it. It attracts an appreciative audience able to enjoy a genre of music that saw it's heyday in the early 70's which inspired a period of rock musical freedom, expression and creativity that is unlikely ever to be equalled. It is improbable too that the popularity of the music form will attain the dizzy heights of that era, progressive rock has shown signs of making a serious comeback, as a new generation of bands have brought forth fresh ideas which, coupled with elements of the past, has led to a resurgence of the genre. Having said that, the choice of bands varies considerably from year to year, incorporating retro prog with bands forging a more modern sound. Night of the Prog in 2013 was all about Steve Wilson, a resounding success however his appearance aside, it will not go down as one of the more memorable years, personally speaking. Sunday's line-up, which included the Devin Townsend Project and Swedish band Opeth, swayed too far towards the metal format for me. |
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The Rhine in the direction of Koblenz, as viewed from the Lorelei. |
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Vineyards on the slopes of the Rhine.i |
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The Lorelei Amphitheatre [photo courtesy of Zoltan Kiss]. |
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Gates Open 13.30 h
Gates Open 11.30 h
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One fan amongst many. |
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Feature links: THE LORELEI PROG ROCK FESTIVAL, ST. GOARSHAUSEN, GERMANY - 2013 - [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] |
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Other links: [Night of the Prog - Official website] [A review of the music at Lorelei 2013] [Caravan] [Magma] [Opeth] |
