Classic Rock Festival 2002

I just got home from Trenton, it is 2 am and I have to get up at 6am to go to a meeting at work. But, I owe it to you all to at least tell some tales, and folks they may seem like tall ones. You won't believe me, but here goes anyway. Friday night Heep fan Jam was fantastic, 2 utterly talented awesome drummers and a killer keyboard player showed up, and they were awesome.

The night was going very well, then at 10:15 Pm, Uriah Heep, the band, walks into the firehall. The place went nuts!! They stayed for 2 hours, hung out, talked, signed autographs etc. Then just before they left, they all walked up to the front, picked up instruments and played Lady in Black, joined by a happy heepster chorus.

Then they went outside and waited for a van that never came. So a few of us had the big thrill of driving them back to the hotel. I chauffered Phil, Trevor and Charlie (sound technician). And I mistakently thought the rest of the weekend could not live up to that!! Susan was the life of the party and cooked up a storm, so everyone was well fed. We also went through 300 cans of beer. Pete Wharton, only drank 50 of them, the rest of us did nicely too!! :-)

Saturday night, Heep rocked the place with the electric set, they did Magicians Birthday, and most of the songs they do the last year or so. No big surprises, other than Thyjs Van Leer played flute on Tales. Encore was Easy Livin and Bird of Prey. They opened with RTF, I remember Universal Wheels, Only the Young, Stealin', July Morning, Gypsy, Logical Progression, Keep on Trying and Look at Yourself. LAY was the best song and Phil did a new killer piano solo. Also Bernie tripped over a cable, and hurt his ankle so badly he sang several songs sitting on the ledge in front of the drumset. There were lots of technical difficulties too, but Heep delivered in a professional manner. They are the greatest!!!!!!!!!!!

Sunday Night, the Accoustic show was awesome. I remember Rainbow Demon, Tales, Blind Eye, Other side of midnight, Thats the way that it is, Why did you Go, The Wizard, Rain, Dream on and then the Encore, Lady in Black. About 15 of us were invited onstage to sing the Heepster Chorus with Heep. Also Dave White, Rob Dwyer (played guitars with heep) and my new buddy Craig The Cigar Man Stewart, played bongo drums.

My God, we were onstage with Heep!! The partying was huge after both shows, all the band members showed up at the hotel bar, and Asia, Nektar Focus, all of the bands hung out with the fans. Greatest weekend of my life. I will tell more, but I must sleep, but you deserve a report. I am sure this will have the most feedback, and was the greatest heepvention of all time. I once said, nothing could top HV2K, last Dec. I said nothing could top TMBP. So we shall see. Judge for yourselves, by what you read and when you get the DVD/CD package, that Classic Rock puts out!! First thoughts are they will do the entire show!! Keep your fingers crossed. Say good night Gracie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After Day 1:

Well, its over and it was fantastic, Heep did show up and hung out with us as the Heepsters band played, and played very well, but the highlight was when Heep decided to play a quick version of Lady In Black, which was a once in a lifetime event to never be forgotten, simply breathtaking, I need to rest up for the first big night of music.. Dave S.

After Day 2:

Well,, Heep rocked the theater tonight, first up was Mostly Autumn who are really a good band with some really nice songs, a great opening band, and Heather is really a good singer. Asia was next and if your an Asia fan they were great, I think, Im not an Asia fan. And now for Heep, as they Return to Fantasy and they came out on fire, but after 3 songs Bernie twisted his leg on a cord and sat down for the next 3 songs, Tus Van Leer(can`t spell it?) played flute on Tales, but other than that no surprises. Heep did have the largest audience of the night. More after tomorrow nights show. dAVEs

Well, tonight was the acoustic show and though they did`nt play any new song`s there was a few surprise`s, and another highlight to a great weekend that was hard to believe, Wow!!! More soon.. DaveS.

I'm sort of surprised to see so few reviews written yet about this weekend. But then again, today was a travel day for the majority of us, so I'm sure many very happy Heepsters are either on the road still or just sorting things out at home. I just got finished making the 1,000 mile trek from Trenton to Atlanta about an hour ago. I drove from Trenton to Washington and then flew the rest of the way. I'm quite tired, but grinning VERY big! Here's my take on Heepvention 2002.... FRIDAY: I found the Slackwoods Fire House around 4 PM. At least a dozen people were there already to begin setting up the place for the jam. Due to the ancient wiring of that building, we did have our concerns that we would be blowing some fuses in there! But as far as I know, the only rooms that went out were one of the bathrooms :-) The nicest part of the whole weekend was getting to meet so many of you for the first time. The Heepsters I met this weekend were some of the finest people I've ever had the privilege of meeting. The list is much too long for me to name here, but I did my best to spend a little time with each and everyone who came. Ed Halliburton took care of the mixing duties at the show and did a fine job! Yes, EVERYTHING was recorded on video and audio. Ed did a board tape, I used a Minidisc to capture the room sound and an 8mm Video Camera to get all the performances and Lannis filmed a video from the back of the room. I know that there were also lots of pictures taken and maybe even a few other audios? Once I have a chance to sort it all out, I will be making a CD of the Heep Jam and posting MP3 samples too! The jam itself was a blast! I know that many of the musicians (like myself) were very critical of our performances that night, but overall I thought we played some beauties! You really can't expect perfection with absolutely "NO" rehearsal beforehand with a bunch of guys who have never played together before. But I thought much of the jam went very well. Andre handled the keyboards for nearly every song (expect "Circle Of Hands", which featured Dave White) and made an extraordinary effort to learn the songs in such a short time. We wouldn't have sounded like Heep without him! Craig S. handled the drum chores for most of the night and sounded great! I really enjoyed playing alongside him, since I tend to listen to drummers mostly to hold the songs together. Mac and Muzzy hammered down the bass end of things, while Dave White, Keith Shaw and I filled out the guitar parts. We also had a revolving door of singers such as Dale, Big Dog and Brad Todd, who all gave very heartfelt and spirited performances. I'll have to listen back to my recordings to know the whole story about how we sounded, but my faves in the first set were "July Morning", "Circle Of Hands", "Sweet Lorraine" and "The Wizard". But the big moment happened halfway through the jam when the entire band of Uriah Heep walked through the front door! Everybody flipped out and Dale got on the microphone to announce that "Uriah Heep is in the house!". It was absolutely surreal to see Mick, Trevor, Phil, Bernie and Lee all laughing and talking with everyone. Not knowing exactly what to say to Mick when I finally met him, I shook his hand and boldly said, "I'm going to play Magician's for you". He shook my hand and said, "Jolly good, mate. Go for it!" So when the musicians reassembled for the 2nd half of the set, the pressure was definitely on! We would now be playing Heep songs for Uriah Heep themselves!! Can you imagine? "Gypsy" was the first song played and nerves were definitely rattled. Dave and Ronny both took longer solos during this to blow off some steam. After this, I told Dave that I wanted to move "Magician's Birthday" up in the set list, so we did it! And amazingly, we pulled it off VERY NICELY! It's not an easy song to play, especially without rehearsal! Ron told me that the band was watching us intently during the 2nd set, as we played several songs that they haven't gone near in years. Highlights include "Wonderworld", "Come Back To Me" (Dave G smoked this one!), "Sympathy", "Weep In Silence" and "Free 'N' Easy". Things were definitely more spirited as the evening progressed. The ultimate highlight came when the band asked us to let them take the stage for a song. Hey, NO PROBLEM!!! :))) It was amazing to watch Uriah Heep kick into "Lady In Black" in this little firehouse in the middle of New Jersey, with all the Heepsters singing along in unison. It was like "pinch me, is this for real?" I had to turn down the opportunity to sing along in order to capture this highly special moment for posterity. I have a beautiful film of this impromptu performance and will post a clip soon. The band hung around for several hours to allow us photo opportunities and chances to speak with them. Truly an AMAZING night! And that was just Friday.... More reviews to come! Rob Dwyer

Hello people of Heep.

I know that a lot of you are waiting for the definitive report of the events of this past weekend.
This may take some time. Be patient, please. Some of us (me included) have just returned home and have not had any sleep
for the past 30 hours.

We older members on the list need some time to recover before writing something of substance. Just let me say that if you were not
in NJ this past weekend, I'm sorry. It was so wonderful as to be unbelievable! The other groups playing this weekend were very enjoyable.

The groups which appeared included Nektar and Asia and we heard one of those fans exclaim during Heeps' acoustic set, "You guys are great!
Why don't you come back next year.?"

The mere fact that I had the unique opportunity to run the sound system for HV was an honor (some technical problems aside)
but to be able to have some in-depth discussions with Bernie, as I drove him back to the hotel after the impromptu performance,
and Trevor about the status of the new album was beyond words and certainly were way beyond all expectations. More later, maybe,
but right now I'm very tired and I've got to get to bed.

One last word for now: If you have seen the Trenton concerts don't exclude London and the MBP. It will have a different setlist.
Now, all I have to do is to determine how I can afford to do London this year, too. (??)

Heep it up,

Ed

This was one hell of a weekend. Memories will carry me for
many a day.

We saw Heep two times, they attended the jam and
we got to be on stage with them not once but twice. Meeting up with
old friends, new ones and just having the time of my life. So the
positives outweigh any negative remark even in thought.

Special thanks to Bob for being Bob. Great talks with Rob, Ed,
Mac, Dave (all of them), Brad, Dale, Louis, Pete, and Kevin
(this guy needs serious help!) Meeting new faces (some more
Daves), Kendall, John, Keith, Alan, Ronny, Joe Kelly, Charlie
Gibb, Andre, Craig Stewart, Barry M., Snore, and about
forty others I forget at this moment in time.

I'll remember this weekend forever. Oh, this isn't a review. That
will come later.

Not to make this long, but these are a few memories I have of
Friday night. The jam band were great, a few small mistakes,
a slight set back in getting set up, but when it worked it was all
magic to the ears. First I was tired having driven all night and
by time the night was over I had not slept in 40 hours. Strange
that I didn't even notice from all the excitement.

When the band showed up, it was clear they had a great time.
I saw Mick and Bernie watching them do Magician's Birthday.
These guys nailed it. Rob and Dave trading guitar parts, BigDog
and Brad exchanging vocals at the end, and Muzzy and Craig
kept up the rhythm to a tee. I spoke to Mick right after and
asked him what he thought and he responded, "Excellent, this is
not an easy song to play."

We sold a few copies of our Heeplore book and noticed that
the band were signing them for those who asked. Bernie read
the whole thing and offered a few comments on stuff he disagreed
with. Cool! Damn, I wish we got a signed copy for ourselves but
I was to busy going back and forth throughout the room, I kept
running out of beer!

The tapestry drawing was won by Mac, and no it was not rigged.
I'm glad I was not the one who drew his name. Thanks to others
who donated door prizes, Alan I owe you one.

Thanks to everyone who made this night possible, other then Bob
and Susan we must not forget the efforts of Dale and Helen, Dave
White, Mac, Keith Shaw, Joe Kelly, Lannis and Bobbie, Ed for
running the board, the jam band participants who worked hard to
learn their parts, and of course the Heepsters themselves for traveling
hundreds or thousands of miles to be there.
Plus a big thanks to the other Bob, Mr. Carruthers himself for his effort and support.
Last Dave Owen, after all he did deliver the band to us. Oh, I should mention a certain
English rock band that played at the end,
the name escapes me at this time. This took lots of work, hundreds of email exchanges and
many hours on the phone by ALL to make
it happen. It worked!

Ron

well, am finally in from my marathon nightmare bus trip from Binghamton, which should've taken 6 hours, but ended up being 14!!! anyway to HV.... WHAT A WEEKEND!! I took the bus to Binghamton where I was greeted at 7:30 am to another short guy in the bus station [1 of about 3 people around] holding up a sign for 'Goat Boy'! :-) It was David Bateman, and i think we got on great. Dave's a genuinely great guy, who put with me for the weekend! :-) Thanks again dave for your generosity and helping me get there. We arrived in Trenton and spent the next hour + looking for the hotel. I honestly did not to see the bandmembers as much and as easily as we did until arriving at the hotel and seeing Phil at the check in and 2 minutes later meeting Bernie in the elevator. It was something else. HV on Friday was incredible. It was great to get to meet Ron finally! And to see Mac, Bob, Dave W. and everyone else again was a blast. Not to forget Pete Wharton, who is a true classic character in himself; great bloke. The music was great that night. the last HVs i attended [4 years back] were great too, but this surpassed it I think cause there was so many more guys up there playing. Rob D and Dave did a great job on guitar and the singers and everyone did a great job too. Very well played and entertaining. The obvious highlight would've been seeing the band come in. Bob in 'speech' mentioned a 50/50 chance of them coming, but i really wouldn't believe it til i seen it. Amazing!! It was great to chat, drink with, and hang around with the guys - they were amazingly cool with us, and of course this meant i was no longer the lone Canuck in the crowd! :-) I had a great time doing the goat sounds too, Bah bah... Thanks should go to Susan who did a great job at the buffet. Although i was more pre-occupied with beer [especially after the band arrived] it must be noted she spent most of her night taking care of the food for everyone, which was something. I don't remember [at this moment] what we did after the ride back to the hotel, but i recall Phil getting a good laugh when i suggested we party in Bateman's room cause we had sheep! :-) The big show was Heep's electric set Saturday and it was something i've waited for for 9 years to finally see them again. I thought they were great, although there weren't really any surprises in the set, it was great to see and hear them, and songs like Logical Progression, Only The Young... were outstanding. Of course there was a few glitches, but I think the band and especially Bernie dealt very well and professionally with them. After twisting his ankle on a cord not taped down Bernie had a to sit for a bit, but he kept his cool and still sounded great. Very profressional i thought, he could've been a wousse and cried and finished the show early, but ... He then apparently hit his ankle again when he began walking 5-6 songs later. I was wondering what the hell was going on, but i found out many didn't even realize it, so... Afterwards it was great to see everyone in the bar, and talk to Mick and Trev [Bernie understandably stayed upstairs]. Mick is the kindest guy in his profession that one could imagine. Me and Ron found ourselves standing by Mac as he carried on conversation with some girl for 3 hours. Later i found out it was one of the singers from Karnataka . Needless to say, as predicted Mac sat through their whole set the next day and continued his 'section 8' soon after. :-)) Last up was Heep, and well it was a perfect show IMO! they sounded great and it was neat to hear That's The Way in the set, and the ending with the band and the Heepsters up there was an event of a lifetime. I can not get up in front of people and speak well, let alone sing [!!], but with enough alcohol and hidiing behind Ron and others it was a blast. Bob you've got a great knack for the public stuff, no fear at all, that was cool. And being able to be on stage with Heep, 5 feet from Trevor, standing behind Bernie and then getting to shake hands or a hug from the guys after was something i could've never imagined in a million years! The night ended in the bar [again], and it was amazing to see so many great Heep fans and the whole band + others down there having a blast. anyway, gotta roll, More later....!!! Kevin Julie

Part 1

First thrills of the weekend for me started at Heathrow check in. I was
standing in the queue (the line,Yankees) for check in and could see some
vaguely recognised faces, but just couldn't place them. Long haired muso
types.

There was a pile of musical equipment stacked nearby, so I thought it
may be theirs. Then the penny dropped that the musos were Asia and they were
on the same flight as me. When I got by the equipment I saw that it had
Karnataka labels on, so I was hoping they were around as well. Got through
check in and was walking into a queue for hand baggage check when I was
halted by a shout of "Hey Pete!" from the other queue and there were the
Karnataka gang waving to me.

When I spoke to them and we were walking to the departure lounge they said they had seen Heep as well. Down to the departure gate and there standing in line are Phil, Lee and Trevor. I get a greeting and am having a quick chat with them before I lose my place in the queue when I suddenly get a hug from behind and a "hey Pete mate" in my ear and tis none other than the Box man himself! As I walked down to the back of the queue, then Bernie who was further back sees me and gives me a hug as well.

Wow, what a start. I didn't expect to see them on the flight, I assumed
they'd be in first class or something, but no, they were sat about 10 rows
behind me and a further ten or so rows back were Karnataka. The flight was
pretty full, so I couldn't just sit and chat to them, and you have to
respect their privacy as well. I did have chance for an interesting small
chat with Phil though during a break to stretch my legs. As well as writing
for the new album, he stayed on in Italy after the band's recent gigs there
to go to Rome and do some research for a novel he is writing. He hopes to
make it a 3 book series. To cut a long story short (sic!) it's based on the
question of why there are no Etruscans (who ruled Rome for a few hundred
years) buried in Rome or maybe there IS one who holds the key to a long lost
secret.

On arriving at Newark, I rushed through baggage reclaim as I only had hand
baggage and I thought I'd let Bob Winward who was meeting me know that Heep
were on the same flight, so he could wait and say hi. Well I get out and
there's Bob W with a big grin and waiting with Dave Owen and he asks me if I
know Heep are on the same flight as me :-) As we're standing round with Dave
O collecting the musos together, Bob asks me if I know which one is Chris
Slade and that's when I clicked who the bald headed guy I'd seen was.

I pointed him out and Bob introduces himself, much to Chris's surprise that
people remembered him from Heep. As Lee comes through, Bob greets him and
Lee asks him if he has got Lee's fishing rod. Yes, of course says Bob. Then
as Lee moves on, he asks me if I know what Lee is talking about. Bob didn't
have a clue what Lee was talking about and had just said yes thinking that
Lee was just suffering jet lag and he'd go along with him :-) I explained
that Lee had probably got him confused with Dale who had been left with
Lee's fishing rod from the previous summer.

On the way to Bob's place,I gave Bob his introduction to Karnataka and
Nightwish before he forced me to stop and have a pint in his local. Then it
was on to Bob's house where he forced me to partake of more beer while we
ate chatted and listened to some more music, before collapsing around 12:30
after nearly 24 hours without sleep. Bob then woke me around 5 so we could
go and get Dale and Helen from Philadelphia airport. We stopped at a diner
on the way back for breakfast, I don't think I will ever get used to what
you Americans throw down your throats for breakfast! We stayed at Bob's for
a short time whilst Dale and Helen caught up on some sleep and Bob did some
work and I listened to his neighbours having a row before heading off for
the hotel and the proper beginning to Heepvention. Wow, talk about unhelpful
hotel staff, nothing was too little trouble for them! One manageress type
person even shooed us away from reception for being too noisy. Heck what did
she expect when I bump into Mac, Ron and Ed for the first time in ages.

I stayed in reception for a while waiting for my roommate John White to
check in and then met Big Dog and his wife Kim again and Charlie Gibb came
along as well and showed us some of his fantastic collection of old Heep
pictures. So onto the venue for Heepvention and to help layout chairs and
tables and hide Heep's beer from the masses (knowledge that would come in
useful later when we had run out of Guinness behind the bar!) I love being
at Heepvention early and meeting people as they start to arrive and you find
out the face that goes with the name and the personality that goes with the
mailer. Amongst the first to arrive were the generous Dave Bateman (thanks
for the Guinness mate) and some small skinny dude who talked a bit funny and
who's face was vaguely familiar but I couldn't quite place it until I'd
turned away and then it hit me that it was the old Goatboy himself Kevin
Julie.

I dunno why but I'd always imagined him about 6ft tall and now here
he was even smaller than me :-) So many moments as people arrive, Alan
Edlund and his pile of goodies, the look on some faces when this car arrives
and I just wander over, put my head in the open window and give Gail Fedysky
a big kiss and hug. Then as I'm taking a break from the painfully loud noise
in the venue, Dave Sherrod strolling down with the lovely Jean Ann to be
recognised and accosted by some strange talking English person. Think that
was the start of his smile that didn't seem to go away all weekend.
Technical problems meant the start of the jam session was delayed. No not
the sound equipment ones, the one where we couldn't quite figure out how to
get Bob to stop talking and get off stage :-))

I've been to a couple of Heepvention jams before and I have to say well done
to all the musicians. It was definitely the best sounding one yet.
Particular congratulations go to those who were on stage after Heep had
arrived. That can't have been easy, but I can definitely confirm that from
watching Mick and Bernie standing there watching intently during Magicians
Birthday their faces gave away how impressed they were. I don't know what
they came expecting but they certainly went away with a better
understanding. Congratulations to everyone who worked so hard on organising
and running the HV day.

A few memories I'll take away are, the drive down to the HV location through
some seedy locations and wondering what sort of dangerous place the jam
was gonna be in. Ed the firehouse barman who liked to crack some awful
jokes. Drinking bottled Guinness with a gas widget in. Dancing to "Time of
Revelation" with Susan Winward and no Mike I wasn't ratted drunk! Being
gobsmacked when I was called out to collect a door prize of a framed advert
from 1974's Rolling Stone for Wonderworld. I think it was Alan Edlund who
donated it, so thank you very much whoever it was, even Mick was impressed
when he saw it at the airport on the way home.

That was it. Time to (watch the) tidy up and then head back to the hotel,
grab my stuff from Bob's room and finally get to bed about 2:15 for some
sleep at last, despite John's snoring efforts :-)

Pete

Yes there's more but not much! OK I may be making that part up. Right, so I'd got to bed about 2:15 on Sat morning. I awaken on Saturday morning about 9:45 after what seemed like a very short sleep to be greeted by the cheery John White informing me that I could sleep all day if I wanted but I'd be missing out. He was not to be subdued though, so that was it. Out of bed and down for breakfast. Some of the guys from Heep showed up, but it didn't seem like much of a big deal now. Anyway after breakfast me and Kev Julie decided to go walk some off and scout out the local area. That didn't take long, boy can Kev shift those little legs of his when he walks :-) I remember investigating this curious structure with Kev and being harangued by some security guard to get off the fountain which is what this thing with steps but no water apparently was! Next thing I'm bumping into a couple of Karnataka fans I know from the UK who'd made the trip over to see their two gigs over the weekend. Wow what a surprise that was. The Patriot's theatre is a strange layout. The main entrance where tickets were checked was at the front, but there was another entrance at the back of the building where you could go up to backstage or down to the merchandising area. If you went up there was a corridor that went to the front of the theatre with entrances to the theatre along it, so you could have got into a lot of the gigs without paying as there was not ticket checking other than at the front door. A lot of time was spent sitting out in the sunshine by the back door just idly chatting with anyone who came along, musicians included. It was a very relaxed atmosphere. So on to the bands. One thing that will be true for all the shows, was that whoever was doing the lighting should be shot. Bernie at one point even had to walk over to Trevor to get the light to follow him during one of Trevor's solos. I missed the start of Mostly Autumn as I was helping Helen sort out her tickets with Chris from Classic Rock. I thought they were a lot better than I've seen them before. That may be because I didn't hear any of their jiggy songs like Shindig which I hate. Also the bass guitarist wasn't running around so much and annoying me. vocalist Heather Findlay was already on stage when I arrived which always helps. Beats me why when you have a good and sexy singer like her that you would start with an instrumental as they sometimes have. There was initially maybe a crowd of 100 in there but that swelled to about 200 by the end. The set was the standard best of Mostly Autumn, but they have honed their act pretty well now and it was well received. I don't really know how to describe their music. Maybe commercial folk rock meets Pink Floyd. Afterwards when they were meeting fans I managed to get a hug from Heather and could almost believe she knew who the hell I was :-) Angela Goldthorne did see me in the hotel later and start chatting to me though. Next up was Asia. I hadn't listened to Asia in a long time, but thought the first album was OK, though I wasn't a big fan. Bob had played me their latest CD Aura and you could tell it was Asia. Prize for the biggest stage set of the weekend definitely goes to Asia. They had these steps that went up either side of the band with a platform joining them behind the band. There's no doubt that the musicians are very talented guys and John Payne is a fine singer but it sounded very sterile and without any heart or soul or passion to me. I don't like Geoff Downes' keyboard sounds, very cheesy 80's style synths and having his back to the crowd a lot while he plays is offputting. I'd guess the crowd size was around 4 or 500. If you like Asia then I'm sure you'd have had a great time. I'm glad I saw them, but I don't think I'll bother again in November. Bob, the guitarist was Guthrie Goven. He is apparently a big friend of Ken's guitarist Dave Kilminster and they seem to have this mutual hero thing going. Then the Heep electric set. Things were running around 30 minutes late or a bit more and people could just wander in for the sound check until they finally shut the side doors and put ushers across the front ones. A good performance from Heep but because of the problems they had then it wasn't their best I've seen. A shame really that Bernie twisted his ankle so early on which incapacitated him for a while as up until then there was an energy and buzz coming from the stage that promised a magical night. That seemed to go once Bernie had to sit down on the drum riser for a few songs. Credit to Charlie for her work on Bernies sound, it can't have been easy to mix him with these cymbals crashing over his head. It was weird how despite Bernie telling everyone to stay standing, at times throughout the show there seemed to be some mystical signal for everyone to sit down again. Most strange to suddenly see everyone around you fold back into their seats almost simultaneously. No major surprises in the set list which was a bit disappointing. Nice to see Thijs van Leer join them for Tales again though. I'd say the crowd size was around 5 to 600. We hung around the front of the stage for a while but nothing seemed to be happening so it became time to adjourn back to the crowded hotel bar. I don't know why people looked at me strangely just because I had a beaker of Guinness in each hand :-) Those plastic glasses were far too small for Guinness though! This was the night that Anne-marie of Karnataka was on her knees at my feet talking to me and Mac. Poor girl still had to go and finish sewing her costume for the next day's show. Mick was in fine bon-homie and said he'd seen me singing along rather gustily. Boringly the bar shut at about 2am. Sunday dawned another bright fine sunny day and my turn to awaken Mr White early. I think I was just excited and a bit nervous about the day for Karnataka. I was excited that they were going to get a decent chance in the US but nervous that anything would go wrong for them or that as they were on first and unknown that nobody would turn up. I had rather been building them up as well, so if nobody had liked them then it was egg on the face time for me! Not that it would have stopped me ranting on about them. Anyway it seemed like problems had indeed arisen. Rumours were that the drummer's kit had been packed off with Mostly Autumn's and he was having to use Lee's and not allowed to change any settings. There were about 100 or so people in for Karnataka's set which started 15 mins late because it was all the back line stuff that had gone back and Dave O had had to frantically recall it apparently. Thanks Dave B for the spare ticket nearer the front. Then when Bob C came on and suggested we may like to move forward, I think I was on the front row before he'd finished speaking! There's no point me saying more about their set list other than it was a mix from the two released albums and some new stuff from the yet to be released album. The band were up for this gig and there was so much energy on stage. Both the girls were bouncing around and "interacting" like crazy. Ok I'm biased, (some may even have noticed me standing to applaud each song) but the guy sat next to me was so impressed that he stayed behind to compliment the band afterwards. before he went off to buy their stuff. Helen, I hope you enjoy the CD and DVD you got. If you've seen the DVD but not the band live yet, get the DVD of them from this festival and you won't believe how much they've changed. I hope I needn't add to catch them supporting John Lawton at this year's MBP festivities. The only bad thing was that Bob C came out and stopped any encore for them, because there was only an hour to set up for Focus. They were not happy bunnies nor were the Nektar fans when he did the same to them. Thank you on their behalf to all who turned up. They really did appreciate the welcome they got. Focus I've already written about. Nektar were something else. The singers/guitarists looked like they should have been doing 60's pop song covers in a Vegas cabaret. The drummer had this rack of 3 gongs behind him, but in the hour I suffered, I never saw him use them. The rhythm section sounded like they were playing something different to everyone else. The liquid light show appeared to be nothing more than a backdrop film in black and white including shots of 1950's liners and planes. What was that all about? I tried my best for an hour but could take no more than that. I dunno what I'm gonna do at MBP if they are support to Heep, but it doesn't look like I'll be getting in early to get a front row place. Next up was the highlight of the festival (apart from Karnataka's set) Heep acoustic. All the gremlins from the first night appeared to have gone and the choice of songs for the set was great. The two Goalby era songs were a great choice and with Bernie sitting upfront on the stage again, the mood was right. The sound seemed a lot fuller as well. I particularly enjoyed Rainbow Demon. My only gripe was that the set was just too short. It only seemed to be about an hour. What a treat though, to get up on stage with Heep and "sing" along to LIB with them. A moment not to be forgotten. After the show it was back to the hotel for some post gig chilling. What a night. Everyone just so relaxed and friendly and mingling. I remember Lee asking me how the show was and then telling everyone that I was Heep's biggest critic and if it was OK for me then that was good enough for him! Hotel bar ran out of Guinness though :-(( Then they go and shut the bar at 1AM! Carruthers to the rescue. He provides some cases of bottles and so we can party on. Heck we even lot Bob C play Scotland the Brave on his bagpipes. Phil sat at the piano and we sang a few songs around that, well as well as we could when you can't remember any words! So it went on until I'd decided around 4 am that maybe I'd better get some sleep. Monday, what a bummer of a day. Time to say goodbye. The part of Heepvention that I hate most. Apologies to those that I didn't see, but after John got me up to pay the bill and have breakfast, I just had to go back to bed for a few hours before scrounging a lift to the airport on the coach with Karnataka, Lee and the Classic Rock team. Phil, Bernie and Trevor had gone off to ground zero and made their own way to the airport. I've rambled on I know, but I had such a great weekend. Heepvention was fantastic and the gigs were just icing on the cake. Here's to the next Heepvention wherever it may be. Pete

To All The Heepsters:

thanks for a great two days (Friday and Saturday!) Unfortunately, I had to go to Chicago for my job and missed all of the Sunday activities :((((, including the Heepjam at the end of the acoustic set. I just got back and here goes with my take on it...

Friday nite...The top 10 highlights...

10) Actually getting all the gear we needed together for the jam band and even with technical difficulties and having to get a new mixer/amp we made it all work! Thanks Ed!

9)Meeting old friends again for the first time in nearly a year and making new ones...

8)Good food, good beverages and good company...

7) The donations of food, money and personal items for TASK from the "BIG HEARTED" Heepsters...

6)Playing with the fine musicians in the Heepsters jamband and managing to pull it all off with NO! rehearsal and without ever playing/singing together...(even though I will 'umbly admit to a few "clams")...I think 2003, wherever it is going to be, will be KILLER...P.S. I can't wait to hear the tapes...

5) Singing "Weep In Silence"...

4) Having the help of so many wonderful people to help organize the event...

3) Sitting at the console and watching "TMBP"...

2) Heep showing up...

1) Getting to play Lady In Black on guitar with Mick and Heep...(I guess that makes for for missing Sunday nite).

Saturday day and nite...top 10 highlights

10) Mostly Autumn...first time seeing/hearing them...excellent

9)Giving away tickets to people who were so appreciative!

8) "Snore" for his assistance in taking back the second amp/mixer...thanks my friend!

7) Asia...their guitar player Guthrie was WOW!, and always a pleasure to watch Chris Slade...

6) The War Memorial...always a fantastic venue...

5)THE GREMLINS (because Heep manged to pull off a great set inspite of all the technical problems...the gremlins must have been the ones at the firehouse on Friday nite..they followed us!)

4) Thijs Van Leer...and meeting him for the first time...

3) The excitement of Heep taking the stage...

2) Hearing alot of material from SOL and SO...as well as the old...such as Keep On Tryin'

1) Heep virtually in my backyard!

Okay, so when's the next Heepvention...?

Have a phenomenal day!

Keith Shaw

Okay, I've finally gotten a few minutes to sit down and put in my 2 cents about HV02. What a weekend! Even getting pulled over by an over-zealous cop, being lost for more than a half hour in the wilds (and I MEAN wilds - Edgar Winter would've been a perfect artist for this festival because the neighbors only come out at night) of Trenton, never once finding my way correctly from the theater to route 1 without getting lost, driving up and down route 1 trying to figure out how to get to the other side, and just Trenton in general couldn't dampen my memories of the whole weekend. Friday - Great to meet all the old familiar faces, and a bunch of new ones. Got to spend a lot more time talking to Jean Ann and Dave S. this year than I did during Heep's San Diego & Vegas stops last year. These are 2 truly very amusing and interesting folks to hang out with. It's amazing to meet Heepsters like Dave Batemen for the first time and feel like you've known them for years. I also got to meet Rob D. who turned out to be a great guitarist as well as a nice guy with an amazing knowledge of music (poor guy also had to put up with my snoring). Much thanks to Bob & Susan, Dale & Helen, and everyone else that pitched in to make this fly. I thought the Heepster Jam band put on their finest performance of the 4 HV's I've been to, and they didn't even get a chance to practice this time. It was funny listening to Rob and Andre (the keyboard player) talk afterward though. They thought some parts went horrendously. I don't think we in the audience noticed. Saturday - We stayed up talking music to well past 4 in the morning (and only then because the power went out) so we slept in. We took Bob's advice and made the trek to Vintage Vinyl. This place is overwhelming. I could literally spend the whole day there looking around. The only really strange thing is their classification system. Heep and Ken Hensley are under heavy metal yet Zeppelin, Sabbath, Purple, and Rainbow are all under classic rock. I kept running back and forth between sections as I thought of artist to look for. I ended up with 2 recently released Montrose re-issues and a used Head East collection. I made it to the theater in time to catch most of Asia. Well, I have to admit that I actually slept through the middle of the set (good music to sleep to!). The only other time that ever happened was during a Deftones set at Ozzfest, and that was after seeing a bunch of other bands in a lot of heat and beer. Heep made the day well worth it though with a great set despite Mick's sound problems and Bernie's ankle. What more needs to be said about Heep? Those guys delivered every dollar's worth. Sunday - the day again started late. I decided to watch my hometown Steelers since they were on local TV. Too bad they didn't have as good a weekend as Heep. I headed out to theater and this time got lost getting there. By the time I finally made it, Nektar were down to their last few songs. They sure don't play the kind of music I usually listen to, but they were obviously talented. I was thinking it would have been just about perfect if they had played Asia's set instead of Asia. Heeps acoustic set blew me away. I had remarked to Rob the night before that I thought that maybe they should have played the acoustic set on Saturday because it might be a bit anticlimactic on Sunday. How wrong I was! The set was a bit short, but was just Heep at it's purest with Bernie sounding about as perfect as a vocalist can. Getting to hear the 2 Goalby era songs was a real treat since that is one of my favorite Heep era's. Getting to go up on stage with Heep really just topped everything off perfectly. Some notes: Classic Rock really needed to announce these shows sooner. I talked to quite a few people who had only heard about them in the week or so before the shows. Even the big acts and festivals out there usually sell tickets 4 months or more in advance. Quite a few of these people also would have gone to HV Friday night if they had known about it. Too bad more people don't check out the web. I still don't get why they had such huge gaps between shows, especially on Saturday. Asia was done at 7, yet Heep didn't go on till 9:30. I think that's a big reason that fans came to watch one artist and then bailed. I'm still waiting to meet a Heepster I don't like. I'm sure I'll think of more later ... Dave Crookham

Friday: Uriah Heep made a personal appearance, hung out and drank some beer. They performed an impromptu "Lady in Black" - amazing! Honorable mention must go to Louis Rentrop's powerful rendition of "Why Did You Go"! I know someone captured that on film!!!!

Saturday: Despite twisting an ankle during the second song, Bernie proved that he was born on the stage. He still performed at 100% and maintained his humor despite the pain. The band was great apart from a few technical problems. The finest version of "July Morning" I have ever heard from this lineup. And, "Sunrise" just blew me away (and with my tone-deaf voice I sang along with every word - much to my wife's dismay!) And they even played "Logical Progression", my favorite tune from "Sea of Light".

Sunday: Nektar really rocked the house but, due to time constraints, were not permitted an encore. I had never heard them before and I thought they were brilliant. The time factor also affected Heep's acoustic set as well and they played an amazing, if somewhat abbreviated, set. Quite a few songs they haven't done in a while and certainly never in an live acoustic setting: "The Other Side of Midnight" and "That's the Way That It Is". They really worked acoustically. In fact, I liked both versions better than the originals!

Overall: I met so many wonderful people and I just can't thank them enough. Mac Steagall is one of the nicest guys you could ever meet and I am lucky to have met him. Pete Wharton had me in stitches the entire weekend with that wry British sense of humor (or is that "humour"). Heep should put Pete on their next album cover if they decide not to go with another Roger Dean work. And, of course, the band were phenomenal.

My wife Victoria and I send our best regards...

Sincerely,
Brian J. Worth
(proudwords@netzero.com)

Unlike most of my companions in crime, I caught up on my sleep before writing about last weekend in Trenton. I had already booked my trip to London for the Magician's Birthday Party 2002 when the Trenton show was announced. My thinking was why would anyone want to see a concert in Trenton??? But every time I've attended a Heep event, something special seemed to occur. Last weekend was no exception. The Heep jamsters on Friday were awesome. Friendships were rekindled from London 2001 in a celebration of all things Heep. Then the band arrived. They stayed almost 2 hours & really seemed to enjoy themselves. Some of the fans hadn't seen Heep in 15-20 years. We were all stunned when the boys walked to the stage & started playing "Lady in Black". Never before, maybe never again at a Heepvention. We all thought we had experienced the best night of the weekend. &nbs! p;! Wrong again...

The next two days were filled with great music, as the other reviewers have mentioned. The surprise hit of the weekend for me was Karnataka, a melodic, spiritual rock band from Wales. If you're going to be in London in November, they're opening for the Lawton Dunning Project at the Mean Fiddler. Don't miss it!

Then came Sunday night. Since the band had been invited to "our" party on Friday, they wanted to reciprocate by inviting a small number of choristers to join them on the closing number, "Lady in Black". I was fortunate to be one of those chosen few. On stage with Uriah Heep. A lifetime experience for all of us. Special thanks to Dave White--I owe you at least another brew.

For those of you hesitating about London in November--GO! Every Heep event is special and personal.
Steve Henderson

Yet another Heepvention has come and gone but the memories will last a
lifetime.

        Gail and I arrived Friday, Oct. 6, at the Marriot Hotel around
3:30 P.M. and who did we see as we parked, but Mick, Lee, Trevor, and
Bernie returning from a shopping venture. We talked for a few brief
minutes and I had just asked if they were considering coming up to the
jam. With a definite yes from them, the weekend that I would never stop
talking about had begun.

        The jam was to begin around 7 P.M. and after putting our things
away in the hotel room, Gail and I ventured on up to see if we could find
Slack Ave, where the jam would take place. Except for a wrong turn, we
found it alright and some of our Heep family was already there. It was so
great to see everyone again like Dale & Helen Fredericks, Mac, Ron Mann,
Lannis & Bobbie, Dave & Carol White, and so many more. Lots of hugs
later, we were jamming !

        The music was great and it's always such a wonderful time for me.
To have the opportunity to meet some new musicians and play along with
the guys from all past Heepventions is extremely special. Especially when
Uriah Heep decided to show up about 10:15 P.M. Alright, being a bassist,
I thought to myself, Trevor's going to hear me play his part for a
change. How cool is that? LOL. There were a number of Heep fans with this
as their first time to meet the guys so they were getting autographs and
pictures while we played "Gypsy," "Magician's Birthday," etc. Lannis
presented Uriah Heep members with their own personalized license plates (
2 still active in South Carolina) so they all lined up for pictures as
if they were having their mug-shots taken. There were raffles and tickets
drawn for Heep prizes and a door prize won by Mac. CDs were also given
away along with many more prizes.

        Around 11:30 P.M., Mick and Lee came up to take over the
instruments with the rest of the band close behind. I set Trevor up with
my '68 Fender Telecaster and he made it sing as they played "Lady In
Black." Cameras, along with us fans, were going crazy. After an awesome
personal concert from the band, the Heepsters Jam Band continued with a
few more tunes before ending the event.

        Saturday's concerts began with Mostly Autumn, followed by Asia
and then Heep. I enjoyed the freshest of Mostly Autumn's music so much, I
purchased their DVD/CD set. Even though I had heard them in London with
Hensley/Wetton, I think they outdid themselves this night, so good that
they received standing ovations after each song.

        Asia followed rocking the house with a slightly newer lineup. I
was happily surprised to see the drummer was none other then Heep's ex
drummer, Chris Slade, and a guitarist with fingers that were faster than
any eye could follow. His name was Guthrie Govan. Geoff Downes did an
awesome keyboard solo as he was surrounded by about two or three stacks
of keyboards. John Payne on vocals and bass had so much power in his
voice. He was the "icing on the cake." He was running around the rest
of the band whenever he had a chance to step away from the microphone. I
was never a big Asia fan but I was blown away by the end of their set.

        Uriah Heep was the final band of the night. Bernie was so
powerful hitting all those high notes. I was totally in awe when they
played songs from the Goalby era. Aside from a few things like Bernie
nearly breaking his ankle and Trevor having a hard time tuning his bass,
they were incredible. Each time you see Uriah Heep, they pull something
different out of their 30+ years of recording and performing. They had
the house on its feet throughout the entire set. I heard people say this
was their first time hearing the band in 20 years. Yes, they are still
out there! We need to find them all and turn them back on to the Heep
experience one again. :-)

        After the show, it was party time at the Marriott Hotel bar. All
the members of all the bands were there. I stayed until about 1:30 A.M.
only to find out that at 4 A.M., Phil Lazon and Heather ( from Mostly
Autumn ) sang at the piano in the lobby for a few more hours.

        Sunday's musical groups consisted of Karnataka ( which I found
out was named after a state in India ), Focus, Nektar, and then an
acoustic Heep set.

        Karnataka was an interesting group from Wales with two female
vocalists, keyboards, drums, bass and guitar. They said how much they
loved America and what a warm welcome they have had. This was their first
trip to America and they said they'd love to stay. Their music, I
thought, was soft rock with a Jetho Tull twist.

        I listened in on about four Focus tunes, then returned to the
hotel for dinner so I can't add much about their performance or Nektar.
Both groups had many long songs with lots of instrumental parts.

        As the day progressed, I find out that Bernie had lost his voice
and was on a trip to the hospital for some medication. Bernie returned to
the hotel to rest his voice before the show and his ankle, which was
wrapped as a result of yesterday's tripping over the wires. Needless to
say, we wondered if the show would go alright. During all of this, Dave
White called me over to tell me that Mick wanted some of us Heepsters to
join the band on stage for "Lady In Black." Like I was I gonna say no!?
lol Mick said they joined us Friday night so it's only fair we should
join them tonight. We were told when we heard "Dream On" to proceed to
the stage door and wait for Mick to announce us. I stood behind Mick,
strumming Dave White's guitar. An incredible feeling ran over me
thinking, "Here I am on stage with my favorite band." Mick looked back
at us from time to time and as I looked to my right, there was a camera
shooting it all. For a moment I had forgotten that this show was being
taped. I later told Bob Carruthers, I think he will DEFINITELY sell about
30 DVD's if he uses the footage of "Lady in Black." LOL Heep again
amazed me with their different line up of songs. Bernie later told me
"Rain" was just put together that afternoon. They wanted to create a
different atmosphere. Well, they did! All I can say is Uriah Heep is the
greatest LIVE band ever! They blow you away each and every time.

         Again, after the show, we went back to the hotel bar for drinks
and talked with all the members of all the bands.

        Bob Carruthers took out the bagpipes and played as he walked
through the bar. Later at about 1 A.M. they closed the bar moving us into
the lounge. Bob decided to buy about five cases of beer from the bar and
passed them around. I retired about 2:30 A.M. only to find out the next
morning that Phil Lazon took to the piano keys again around 5 or 6 A.M.

        Monday morning Gail and I had breakfast and said our good byes to
Mick, Trevor, Bernie and the Heepsters who were still there like Pete
Wharton and the "magical fountain" !! LOL We thanked them for everything
and a weekend we'd never forget. It was so hard to say goodbye to
everyone, but now with the weekend a memory, we will remember what's
behind us and long for the next Heepvention ahead. To everyone Gail and I
met and saw once again, thank you so much for a wonderful time. Take care
and may God find us all together again very soon.
".....it's time for you to realize, there's gonna be no compromise, it's
gotta be Heep or nothin at all"
Muzzy

Beachwood, NJ

Absolutely unreal! I kept shaking my head in awe as the finest band ever put together on the planet did their thing with us, and for us! Mick and the boys have never sounded better. It's been 30 years since I saw Heep outside of Manheim Germany while I was a youthful 18 years young! And by all accounts this was the best lineup I would think, even outdueling the lIve 73 gig.

Friday night was Heepster night and I think we were the second to arrive at the Fire house! Getting together with friends I haven't seen since Myrtle Beach 99 was fantastic and you could feel the electricity in the air once the equipment was unloaded and being set up. I think everyone was on cloud nine..Setting up the sound board with "Time to Live" which in my opinion was flawless...Then HEEP arrived and the place was in a frenzy!...They all hung arond for about 2 hours and we got to play for them instead of the other way around and I think that the intimidation factor had set in...LOL....no matter, Heep actually listen to us do their songs and I know they enjoyed that! They are a super class act signing everything we put in front of them...I know they had been waiting for this monent in the states as well, being at our function, for them. Then leading us in Lady in Black as we backed them up...Oh Lee was using my mic as well on drums...These guys are really enjoying themselves now and that is really where it's at...You just don't see any pressure on them as they might have had in the past.

Then Saturday rolled around...We check out "Mostly Autumn" and they were really good..First time we had heard of them...Amber and I talked with the band later on outside the hall and they were really great to talk with. Very Smart as they know what they are doing and how to get there...They will go along way...

Then Asia at 5pm....Amber fell in love with the new bass player and lead singer John Payne! Got to talk with with new Lead guitarist for about an hour in the bar later on and Amber told him that John looked like Travis Tritt...LOL...I think it was the hair style..no matter they sound great...but couldnt wait for the main event...Heep at 9pm

We hung around the bar, as we knew that anybody who was somebody would eventually go there and they did...we talked with them all I think...And Chris Slade...What can you say about him...such a nice guy and really enjoying himself..chatting about his life with AC/DC and with Heep! Fond memories!

9pm rolled around and we could hear Heep warming up and then they opened the doors..They told us to sit towards the front and we did and then Uriah Heep was announced! The crowd went crazy and Return to Fantasy started...You hear all the live Heep acts on CD but nothing takes the place of seeing Bernie and Mick perfrom Live...The band never looked and sounded better.If there were problems on stage you would have never know it...Bernie twisted his ankle that night as he was in front of the stage and landed on his back side...You will probably never see Bernie sitting on ice and getting attended to behind the stage while heep was playing the instrumental parts to songs and then come back out like nothing was wrong..We knew he was hurting but he "Carried On"...MIck had thrown his pick at Amber and she dropped it in front of her..some guy went over her back knocked her aside and took it...She was thrilled with that..more on that in a minute!

After the concert Amber let it be known she had some first aid stuff in the car being an RN, if Bernie need an ace wrap she had one...Sunday Morning Bernie requested the ace!

Sunday arrived and and we hung out at the Bar....We were so in awe of Heep's performance and eager for the Accoustic set that getting into the other bands that day was tough..The music was great but not what we were here to see...so we hung out at the bar and had a few drinks and chatted most of the day! Also bought more stuff downstairs..We bought 3 original Roger Dean Asia Print's numbered and signed and a huge discount and they are gorgeous! All of the Asia band members signed them in the bar. See the bar is a great hangout! Mick showed up and Amber told him what had happeded when he threw his pick towards her..He said, Quoting " It may be getting to dangerous to do that"...

9pm Sunday night the finally show began in the spirit that separates Heep from other bands. Bernies ankle was fine and again it seemed that we were a family. But the most exciting thing to our surpise was getting up on stage with them doing "Lady in Black" to the crouds....I was right next to Mick and he gave me a big hug at the end of the number and guess what he remembered? The pick from the night before incident...He slipped me a pick in my left hand and said." here give this to your wife"...I did in the bar afterward and she almost cried" She stood around and waited to thank him and tell him how much class he and the others have and she told me he was teary eyed with happiness and the emotion showed.

A weekend to remember...for a lifetime...Dave and Carol,Mac, Ron,Dale, Helen, Rod and to all the Heepsters From Friday to Sunday, thank you for your friendship and all the opportunities to share in the Greatest Band Ever...Uriah Heep!

Brad and Amber Todd

Who would have Thought

As the memories of the Classic Rock Fest / HV2000 weekend begin to come back in a different light now, it's time to maybe say a
few words.

DAMN THAT WAS FUN !!!! :-)

The last 3 days rocketed by ...there was so much to do and see, and there was so much going on, and it seemed like it all went by
in a flash.

Hi-lights? Hmm...me thinks everything was a hi-light in one way or another.

It will be said in numerous e-mails that will fly around the net in the next few days that the band was in great form...and this is true !

As you may have read, Bernie twisted his ankle during the 2nd song I believe, and was physically in great pain as he hobbled back
to the stage to continue on.

I think it was Trevor who said something about it to him, and Bernie ... in true Bernie style replied in to the mic..

" "Sympathy" ...no, I don't need sympathy, "I'll just Keep on Tryin" "

Classic....

It really was a fantastic time for every one...

On Friday the band came to the Heepvention festivities and mingled with the people there for about 90 minutes...and then Mick walked
up to me and said "Mate..can I use your guitar?" I was going to say "If you let me use yours :-)", but I thought twice about that *lol*.
He asked me to get the distortion out, and to crank up the volume, and then they proceed to launch into Lady In Black...playing our instruments, at our party...

Who would have thunk...(Hi Mac :-))

The crowd went nuts...

The Heepvention collected a GREAT deal of canned foods and different things for the T.A.S.K. (Trenton Area Soup Kitchen) program in
Trenton. They even managed to MAKE SOME MONEY at the event, and all proceeds were donated as well to T.A.S.K.

Thanks to everyone involved...

Saturday was the next day, and we are were totally primed for the day's shows.

Mostly Autumn led off at 2, followed by Asia at 5 and Heep was on at 9....fantastic stuff....
WHAT A LINE UP !!

Mostly sounded the best I have ever heard them, Asia put on a marvelous show, and Heep....well, you can guess... It was really
fantastic.

So many friends from all over the world attended, and of course, that's about the best part ..we experienced 3 days of music, friendship
and partying and just had one HELL of a time...

A little birdie had told me that the band was planning on attending, but I was nonetheless as surprised as the rest of the crowd when
they walked through that door.

On Sunday morning, Mick caught me after a small meeting and said...

"I have an idea...we came and played at your party...we would like you do come and play at ours...how would you like to get 12-15
people and come up on stage with us and join in on "Lady In Black? "

I thought this was too much...but I jumped at the offer, and thanks to Dale Fredericks who I asked to get the word out...IT HAPPENED !!

The entire weekend was like that...we saw the band everywhere: in stores, signing autograph after autograph, posing for pictures with
fans , having a "few" with the fans in the bar, and so on...they were just regular guys...until they hit the stage of course...

Sunday's shows included Karnataka, Focus. Nektar and then Heep's acoustic set.

Pete Wharton the international ambassador for Karnataka came out of the show which I had to miss due to a conflict in meetings, and I
asked him how it went...he just looked at me kind of dazed and said something like ... "DO you EVEN have to ask ?? " I had heard
from others that it was one of the best gigs they aver had ... cool !

Focus put on a grand exhibition of some of the finest prog rock I have ever heard live...they really are something...you have GOT to hear
them. The B3 from Thijs was great ...the whold band was very tight...

Nektar was awesome as well...a great light show (as promised), and the music was out of this world...time got the better of them, and
their set needed to be cut a bit short in order to allow Heep time to set up...but we'll see them again....

We will be posting the letters from the fans, and many pictures during the next few days and probably weeks...so please stay tuned
into the site.

Also, due to a computer crash, the data we had for the 1,000,000 website hit contest has been lost ...but we will just have to have
another so stay tuned for that as well !!

The webmasters , the bands, and Classic Rock Productions would like to thank all involved who worked so hard to make the entire
weekend so amazing...this of course includes the Heepvention committee, the Classic Rock Productions staffers, the staff at the
Trenton War Memorial and last but certainly not least the staff at the Marriott hotel who were very patient with us as we kept them up
all night 3 nights in a row both in the bar, and in the lobby and reception area...I think at times they had fun too.

The bartenders did their best to keep up with a packed house most of the time, but our hats off to them...they never skipped a beat...

Sadly, not everyone who could have attended was able to, but we hope that through the website, we'll be able to bring you a pretty
good idea of what it was all like..

So ...that's it !

We had a ball...hope you did as well, and now it's...OFF TO LONDON in November for the next party.

Cheers !

Dave and Louis

PS...We did get to use Mick's guitar :-)))))

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