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The NEARFest Show Reviewed

The extent of information that can be gleaned from the fossil record never ceases to amaze. Not only have we found enough hollow, light, and delicate bird bones to understand much of the Aves Class evolution into modern birddom, but apparently we can also reconstruct the jams that these birds used to dig. Patterning their music on the tabulated charts of the more dominant birdsongsmiths in the Mesozoic Hall of Fame, Birdsongs of the Mesozoic mines the archives of these traditional indigenous scores from millennia gone by, concentrating particularly on the early Cretaceous period when the Phylum Chordata really started coming into its own. They use a satisfying combination of sounds ranging from soft and natural (grand piano and flute) to rough (edgy guitar and sax) and artificial (electric keyboards and programmed percussion). Their chamber rock music is an adventure of the unexplored and unexpected, oddly evoking "unfound" moods, yet arranged in a reasonably accessible format. Despite the lack of a standard drum kit and bass, the band could be a force to be reckoned with. Alternately, it could be beautifully stark. The stone etchings can prove cumbersome, which provided an amusing moment when Rick Scott fumbled a tablet from his note stand, causing the priceless relic to hit the floor and scatter into pieces! He shrugged his shoulders, grinned sheepishly and played on, never missing a Mesozoic beat. A brilliant beginning. ... More (external link)