The opportunity to see the progressive rock band Riverside in the city of Katowice in Poland was part of my motivation for travelling to the Summer Fog Festival. Travelling with a friend from university we shared many reflections on our experience so I thought I would write about a few of them.
Being progressive is a fairly central construct for me about how I live my life. The progressive social and economic transport projects I help implement, emphasise inclusion and fairness. Nobody was left out as Mariusz Duda added a new crowd to the Riverside family. At a progressive rock event the lyric declaiming divisions “so are you neo or post?” was pertinent since what matters most is being inclusive. Riverside shared joy with thousands of people realising the ambition, inclusion, experimentation, vision and competence that progressives seek.
A number of years ago I contributed to a consultancy project planning investment in the railway network of Silesia, centred on Katowice, so I had a particular professional interest in local railways. The progression from 20th century experiments with communism to 21st century ambition for social and economic progress is everywhere, making Poland a fascinating country to watch. Many of the people at the festival were particular Pink Floyd fans, and the iron curtain would have precluded most from attending the legendary 1981 Wall concerts, so I did not meet anyone else that had also seen Pink Floyd at these concerts 42 years ago. I am still trying to tear down walls today.
I purchased Pink Floyd’s Meddle album as a 12 year old, and “Echoes” from that album has never left my top 10 favourite songs of all time. So when Nick Mason rolled off this and many of Pink Floyd’s other forgotten favourites he wistfully reflected “Don’t think the Polish Pink Floyd do this one”. I sometimes feel like that too as I am sure everyone does. It is great that people like what you do, but why do they never like the best bits?
As a child I never shared many of my friends’ enthusiasm for Steve Hillage’s music but as he reeled off his repertoire, the young Polish girl who sat next to me at the festival joined in every word. Steve certainly looked very happy signing records and CDs of 50 year old music for today’s youngsters. Conversely Steve Hackett did not seem to be having fun meeting people. The other members of Genesis often observed that he was not an easy person to have around, but we don’t need to be good socially to make people happy, and when he sang “what is the use of friendship” in Everyday he lit up thousands of lives.
For those constantly seeking perfection there was IQ. I expected them to be the best band at the event and I probably enjoyed them most. But does their ambition, experimentation, vision and virtuosity outstrip their desire for solidarity with the fans? Mike Holmes clearly was not happy with the quality of the performance of Further Away and did not take a bow with the rest of the band. I wondered if maybe I am like that sometimes too, driven to seek perfection rather than celebrating something good.
Ultimately the home crowd gave the biggest cheers to their local heroes the Silesian Blues Band. They are known as a progressive rock band but I don’t think they are particularly ambitious or experimental or visionary but the heavy blues and simple repeated chord patterns made for a good live atmosphere with instrumental showmanship. Perhaps they have a lesson for the progressive movement more generally. If our motivation comes from wanting to make the world a better place, we must not miss it when it happens by striving for something better. And it is also good to be home.
