Cheers:
*Glenn, of course, for many reasons which have all been mentioned in this thread at some point, but mainly for pulling me up to the front at the end of Jon Oliva's set so that I could give him the portrait of Criss Oliva that I drew for him. Several touching moments followed after the show and it will be one of my most cherished memories.
*Karaoke. Dude, that was the best karaoke session ever.
*Jon O for having such kind words for me after I sang...of all the people I wanted that reaction from, to get it from my hero made the week right there.
*Cellador as a whole for kicking ass and taking names, and Bill and Chris in particular for being very cool and (dare I say it) humble.
*Nick and Bobbie for their hospitality in the infamous 234. You both are just fantastic and I can't wait to do it again next year.
*Zak Stevens for being such a suprisingly devoted new friend...you, my fellow Piscean, are an absolute peach, and it'll be great to see you again.
*The huge mob of metalheads surging through the halls of the Grenada when the cops were called. That was a beautiful sight to behold. I was going the other way...but it was amazing nonetheless.
*Seeing so many friends from Perpetual Motion and MySpace.
*Meeting so many new people who are from this forum and subsequently finally signing on here...
*Norman and Christina! YAY!
*Primal Fear, Communic, and Firewind: The three I came to see, and you all kicked my ass!
*The awesome brunette bartender at the big bar upstairs who advised me when she was running low on Stella. Bartenders who remember your drinks are A+++. LOVE THAT!
*The security guys who put up with all of us longhaired white devils and managed to have fun at it. They were all very sweet, very friendly, and downright chatty at times. That can really make or break a show right there, and they were awesome, especially the twins.
*The CD vendors for offering our Mindcage CD. Yay!
*Last but not least, D-man, for going this year even though times are rough, even though finances are short...thank you so much for making it happen, and making it very special.
JEERS:
*ME, because I'm a dirty, filthy, foul, disgusting and inconsiderate smoker.:Smokedev:
In all seriousness, I had no idea it was allegedly a nonsmoking event. It never occured to me to go outside to smoke because of that, and the abundance of ashtrays led me to believe I could smoke to my heart's content. Since I live in CA, I take any opportunity I can get to smoke indoors...although as a smoker, even I have to admit it got incredibly thick in there, and I apologize to those who had to suffer through it...you are a bunch of troopers though!
*However, on the subject of smoking, the bullshit about where you could and couldn't buy cigarettes and at what price and what kind, only to find that everyone was blowing smoke up everyone else's asses...
*The Madison. Good grief, what shitty food. I couldn't believe it. You'd think that they could at least manage to not fuck up something as simple as shrimp and grits, or fried chicken...never ever again will I eat there.
*Not neccessarily PPUSA-related, but US AIRWAYS. Do. Not. Ever. Fly. Them. Two days including an 8 hour layover just to get from Atlanta to Oakland??? You gotta be kidding me.
*Virgin Steele...but I think they've suffered enough wrath.
*That Asian-ish bartender with the little boobs in the uber-bra. She was just rude. Someone else put it point-blank and I couldn't agree more; if I wasn't so tired I would hunt it down and quote you.
*$8.00 per shot of vodka?!?!?! Good lord!
*Missing the corset photo by ten minutes...I had to eat so I took the damn thing off and then I hear behind me "Corset picture!"
*The stripper lady. That was dumb and lacking in class. Just because it's a metal show doesn't mean that we can't uphold some level of dignity. Hot chicks and metal will always go together, but it's better done by way of hot METALHEAD chicks who will kick ass with you in the front row and discuss over a drink afterwards, than by some vapid wobbling fool who was found at another event during a moment of drunken inspiration. Damien, you were just having fun and that's cool...but come on. You can do better than that.
*That little freakin' tiny-ass step at the bottom of the stairs outside at the venue. I must have tripped over that at least ten times. Dammit.
*And of course, it all ended way too soon.
Jeers aside, this was an awesome experience and next year is going to be just as great. Now all I have to do is figure out who is who on here, because I know I met a bunch of you...
ME= DIY Blind Guardian corset shirt, vertically-challenged redhead, sang "My Immortal" and "The Trooper" at karaoke.