Day 0
Before the Game Begins:
10 bands were invited to our Prog Rock Survival Competition, however only 5 voluntarily took up the offer.
These bands accepted due to their own personal motivations, and today are expected to be transported to the playing area, known as The Arena.
Death Count: 0
Race to the tarmac!
Five bands have received a mysterious invite to meet on the tarmac of an unspecified airport, where they will be taken to The Arena, the playing field of our game. The plane they will be taking is designed by the Mysterious Sponsor of this event in order to encourage conversation and familiarity by having all the seats face each other. It is around 2 in the afternoon in autumn at the time of departure. Rush are the first to arrive, with these punctual Canadians living up to their name! They have come completely and totally prepared, bringing camping gear, along with an acoustic guitar and their undying loyalty to each other. If this is any sign of what they will be like in The Arena, they will make a formidable force to be reckoned with! A few moments later… Next arriving to the tarmac, in two separate vehicles, is a band needing no introduction: King Crimson. Their arrival will surely cause some tension with Yes, who were also invited but haven’t shown up yet, due to their drummer originally having been in Yes. More importantly, it appears that their other percussionist is bringing out pieces of sheet metal out of their vehicle, and is attempting to bring them on the plane. The two arriving later, John and David, have brought full suitcases, and seem to have been misled by their “leader” (we have been instructed to call him “The Crimson King”, but we will not be doing that). Somehow, they gather themselves, and make it onto the plane, without anyone leaving. Our prediction: they fall apart within a week. About half an hour later… Wandering in sometime later is Genesis, bringing… absolutely nothing. We stand corrected: Tony has brought an Etch-a-Sketch, and Peter has apparently brought several… costumes. So, instead of bringing nothing, they brought nothing that will help them, which is even worse. They board the plane without much commotion. Godspeed, Genesis, you’ll need it! Finally, our last arrivals (for now)… Arriving last, at approximately the same time, are prog giants ELP and Yes. The former are already bickering amongst themselves; apparently it wasn’t a unanimous vote to accept the invite, odd for such a small group! Meanwhile, it appears that only 4 members of Yes have arrived; apparently Chris is running late… again. ELP has brought a pair of drumsticks (Carl’s), several knives in increasingly hard-to-find places (we’ll spare you the details of that one…), and a suitcase of “posh clothes”. Not quite the preparedness of Rush, but they’ll probably do better than Genesis. Yes, so far, have brought a wicker basket, a classical (not acoustic) guitar, and right now, their keyboardist, Rick, is attempting to smuggle in leftover curry. We’ll see how well they all fare… About 45 minutes after the rest of Yes… Finally arriving is Chris, Yes’ perpetually late bassist. He attempts to bring on several suitcases, which has been shot down by our Mysterious Sponsor, leading to a small argument. After another 15 minutes (we are now a full hour and a half late for departure), he concedes to bringing only what he has on him: half a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. After this is sorted out, we prepare for departure into The Arena.
On the plane!
The bands are seated along the sides of the plane, facing each other with a narrow passageway in the middle. Along one side is ELP, Genesis, and half of King Crimson. Along the other are Yes, Rush, and the other half of King Crimson. When on the plane, it seems our sponsor’s plan has worked, and they have begun to talk amongst each other. The British bands, already being rather familiar with each other, take great interest in Rush, being the only Canadians on board. They express that half the reason why they accepted the invitation to the camping trip is because they heard that the other bands would be there. The others are puzzled at their “camping trip” remark, until it is revealed that their drummer, Neil, still has the invitation, which is then passed around the cabin. This leads the others to remark, in surprise, what they were led to believe: Yes were told it was a “nature retreat”, King Crimson and ELP were both told it was some sort of competition, and Genesis just saw it was in the countryside, and signed up. This discrepancy greatly unsettles the bands, and makes the rest of the transport to The Arena quite awkward… After the rest of their silent journey, each band is escorted to their own car, which then drops them off in The Arena.
That’s all for today, so we’ll see you tomorrow for... The Prog Rock Survival Competition!
