Cheers 'n Jeers '12

[Rezz]

Cheers:

- to the best overall line-up in festival history. Even the 2 bands I assumed I would skip (Primordial and Mayan) were enjoyable. It's amazing how much money I DIDN'T spend in the vendor room because I was stuck in the venue for every damned band!

- to the fact that I can stand at or near the rail without getting crushed.

- to the guy sitting behind me who picked up my cell phone after I dropped it on my way out to grab some dinner and held onto it until I returned. I still owe you a beer or three!

Jeers:

- The only one worth mentioning is the lack of Pretty Maids merch.

 

[SkiBumMSP]

Well, thus closes another edition of ProgPower USA!

Wow! Where to begin....

Start by repeating a few Cheers from last year!

To Glenn and Jen! You guys are truly the heart and soul of this. I as said to you in person, I cannot begin to imagine the amount of hard work you put in to put this together. I am truly honor and blessed to be a part of this.

To the awesome crew, of many of whom I am very good friends with! You guys are the brains and the muscle behind this. When shit happens (and it does!) you guys are there to stay on top of it. The show sounded AWESOME this year.

To all of my fellow sponsors! You guys are indeed the backbone of this thing. It was awesome to get to see many of the same faces again here! And Yes, Nathan (SwordLord), now that I have your damn number, I'll be sure to look you up the next time I am in Minneapolis!

To ALL of the bands, and I do mean ALL! I was not disappointed with one set! Everybody has put some awesome performances this year (including Kingcrow!) To put this perspective, I saw Daughtry earlier this summer at a concert venue that is right here in my neighborhood. What I saw the past three days completely BLEW AWAY what I saw at that Daughtry performance. Compared to what I saw at ProgPower, friggan Daughtry looked like a bunch of high school amateurs! Not only that, but damn, was it a lot of fun to hang out with these guy! I spent quite a bit of time hanging out with Kingcrow, Lanfear, Pretty Maids, some of the Mayan guys, some of the Serenity guys. Lanfear was truly awesome and I am so glad that I got to sponsor them.

To all of the great friends and fans that I got to see and meet. Many familiar faces such as Lars, 'Nailz', 'The Longshot', Allen, AMBR, and many others that I wish I could remember!

The vendor's area again! I often feel like a kid in a candy store when it come to that. As usual, I went home with quite a haul of CDs and a couple of T-shirts. Of course, it was awesome to hang out with Lance and the rest of the gang there at the Nigtmare Records table. A mini-Jeer for missing Lance when I was in Minneapolis earlier this summer.

Both to Vespucci's and Sousolito's for being open and available as well as serving up some really good food for quite reasonable prices and always with a smile. Especially to Vespucci's for still being open after the Nightwish set on Thursday evening. I was ravenous for something to eat! I love these small family run outfits. Somehow it seems appropriate in an interesting way. This music we like is typically very small and "family run", but blows away the big-named "commercial" versions, both in price, quality and service. Price meaning that the albums and shows typically are cheaper than the big-named concerts, quality in that the music is often much better and more interesting to listen to, with a lot to offer, and service in that the vast majority of these bands are just really cool to get to see and are in it more than just trying to make money. The same thing with the restaurants like Vespucci's and Sousolito. Notice that the Subway there does not stay open whereas the two 'family' run, small shops do!

Jeers

The damn airport for taking away the food court in the baggage claims area.

I agree with the other comments with regards to the seats. I am still recovering from knee surgery due to an injury I suffered earlier this winter while skiing, so I found myself sitting down more often than not during this year's fest. It is a royal pain that I cannot find a decent seat because many people are putting towels and what not across multiple seats and then never shows up the entire set. There was a couple times I just decided to sit down and told whoever was 'watching' the seats that I'll move if the person comes back (who usually never does).

It sucks that the cops came and shut down the party at the Artmore courtyard, but 'ThXinc' does make a valid point. I hope in the end, that does not mean the end of the courtyard parties, or at least they don't come in and start being 'beer nazis' in that, yeah, we can go down there, but we cannot have any beer or anything down there. Will be interesting to see how this plays out for next year.

Disappointed in hearing about some of the sexist comments directed towards our sisters in metal here, although to be honest, I am not surprised. I've ran across most of the female artists backstage and they all were very beautiful and very classy ladies that were a real joy to get to spent a little time to chat with. I even managed to get a picture with a couple of them. After hearing about the sexist and rude comments and such, no wonder these ladies don't often like to come out for meet-n-greets.

Unfortunately, all good things do need to come to an end and it was tought to say goodbye to many of you. After saying goodbye to the Lanfear guys, I was doing everything in my power to hold back the tears. The last guy I got to say 'goodbye' to was Lars at the exit of the MARTA station in the airport. I am going to miss you guys and already looking forward to next year. I hope to at least see some of you guys again at the local shows in the D.C/Richmond, VA area.

Overall, I thought this was an awesome ProgPower that actually went off quite well, despite a few technical glitches that resulted in some delays. All the bands kicked-ass and the crowd, overall, was really awesome.

 

[GtrRob]

I was wanting to see Vangough play Saturday night, but received a post that there was a mess up.

They are going to record that nights set live, and send it to me for free. On the post it tells you to send them your address, and they will send you a copy of that nights set.

That is bad ass, that is how you say sorry.

Thanks Vangough.

 

[RiffDaemon]

Cheers:

- Reading that Pretty Maids brought it.


Jeers:

- Not being able to go to either night. My printed tickets are still staring at me, taunting me.

 

[jem777az]

Cheers

--Glenn, Jen, and the PP crew who always go above and beyond to make this event special
--The green PP shirts!
--My girlfriend Michelle for accompanying me for the first time this year and for always being awesome! Love you!
--My buddy Scott for being such a cool dude and watching my stuff if I have to split.
--My new Canadian friends Donn and Sterling! You guys rock! See you next year.
--Seeing my fellow AZ mate Jimmy.
--Seeing my former AZ mate Pat (you didn't tell anyone you moved! Fucker!
--Zane for his always awesome sale on Saturday. And Zane for always hooking me up with some insane deals. The 3 disc Blind Guardian new album which was priced for $34 he gave me for $8!!! Are you kidding! You rock!
--The Serenity guys for being such personable and genuinely nice dudes. And for ripping my head off with the best performance of the weekend, holy shit that was awesome!
--The Solution .45 guys for also be such cool dudes and for a mindblowing first show. Are you serious??
--Vespucci's and DaVinci's for some great eats.
--The fairly cool and comfortable weather.
--All the other bands for giving great performances. Even though a few I didn't care for musically I still respect what they are doing.

Jeers

--Me catching a nasty ass cold on Saturday. The PP plague still exists!
--The crazy ass Atlanta drivers. You guys are insane!
--The really crappy lack of lighting during a few bands sets. Made it hard to take good pics.
--The crew for closing the curtain on a few bands before they could bow to the audience. I don't know all the details so I'm not pointing fingers, but another 60 seconds to allow a band who has travelled a long way to take a bow isn't going to make or break the schedule. Just my opinion.
--All the technical issues which were out of most everyone's control. The crew and bands did a fantastic job considering the circumstances.
--The Melia for NOT having an in room refridgerator.

 

[freakchylde]

--The Melia for NOT having an in room refridgerator.

If you stay there next year, ask. I always call the Courtyard the day before, so my fridge will be ready when I get there. The Melia might have the same policy vs. just having one in the room.

 

[jem777az]

If you stay there next year, ask. I always call the Courtyard the day before, so my fridge will be ready when I get there. The Melia might have the same policy vs. just having one in the room.

Thanks for the tip! I didn't even think about that!

 

[Bryan316]

I can't believe there wasn't a SINGLE bitchy diva musician the whole weekend! I know technical problems arise, I know people get drunk and ornery, I know to expect it. NO ONE was in a sour mood the whole weekend! Every band member looked like they had their shit together, and very few onstage snafu's occured. I saw they all had smiles (except Primordial, they cannot smile!) and were hanging with friends, no diva bullshit anywhere! Even in the court yard parties, they just hung out and enjoyed themselves. That is hella cool. If anyone was a diva back stage, I'm glad I couldn't tell!


My only jeer is SLEEPING THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT'S PARTYING! My god I was such a wussy....

 

[BABS]

Cheers:

Seeing my metal friends and having all the annoyance of my hotel situation melt away in minutes. I love everyone at this festival and am blessed to have the close circle of friends that I do here. Meeting new people is always welcome and I met a new friend on the plane (just like how I did last year with someone new) and now our little Western NY group of concert goers is growing!

The bands were awesome this year, and especially enjoyed Beyond the Bridge and Solution.45 as the newer bands. We all know that Redemption has always been a fav of mine, and what a treat to see Symphony X this year - they did not tour anywhere close to me this year, so this was awesome for me.

Heather Simkins for making me feel so girlie and beautiful. I really hesitated on a corset this year and when I thought this might be the last festival, I was like "F-it, I'm gonna do this". As mentioned earlier, I told Alicia "I have never felt so put together in my life, I want to be buried in this thing."

Jeers:

The person who was face-planted in their own vomit. First thing I thought when I heard was "Oh shit, now you've done it for us all" I'm sure whoever this was didn't plan for it to happen, but it was the beginning of few downward spirals of the weekend.

The person who we encountered outside of Centre Stage that had been ejected from the premises due to her "peeing the floor" (her words, not mine). Again, really? Not only did you continue to rant and hold us up to where we were going, but for us to return and to find you still arguing with people out front of the venue is really sad.

I have to admit in all of my Progpowers (and I have attended every one since the beginning) never, ever thought there would be a visit from a real police officer. That being said, I think Glenn has prolly had his bullsh@t meter go off the charts this year, it was probably that proverbial "CHERRY ON TOP" to a taxing year.

 

[dcowboys311]

Cheers:
-Primordial, Mystic Prophecy, Lanfear, and Symphony X. I didn't get to watch every band this weekend, and there were a few I didn't like, and some good not great, but these were the true standouts for me.
-Exceptionally generous Artmore partiers. The cupcakes, pizza, and liquor were much appreciated.
-DaVinci's pizza -- didn't even know about this place and it rules. Went Friday and Saturday. It's likely to turn into my new lunch spot since it's close to my office.
-Exploding Ned's $2 bin. Found some gems.
-People. There's some of you I see once a week and some I see once a year, but it's always a pleasure no matter what. Also met some people who I've spoken to on occasion for years and years but never actually met up with in person.

Jeers:
-People. Like most of you, I've been at this fest for a while now and have made some really good friends over the years. It seems like less and less are able to make the trek with each passing year. Growing up sucks.
-Party poopers. NWA said it best...
That's really it. Had zero trouble with traffic, other attendees, etc. Even managed to snag some really cheap parking for the whole weekend.

 

[LunaTEKKE]

Jeers: The Atlanta airport for not having a good fast food place before security. They used to have a Wendy's, a Chinese restaurant and Domino's there. All gone now. Hope they bring in something good by next year.

LOL, I was sitting in the waiting area before security with friends, and one gentleman went out in search of food. He took forever, and when he came back, I made a sarcastic comment to the effect of “What, you didn’t like the choices, so you were waiting for them to build a new restaurant?” His response was, “YES…that’s *exactly* it!” I ended up having good luck, though, grabbing a sandwich to go at Atlanta Bread Company.

We too were missing the Do Not Disturbed sign and it took several attempts to finally get one.

Agree that the Residence is going downhill. I was another one who was missing a “do not disturb” sign. Asked for one 3 different times and still didn’t get one. (I finally made a makeshift one out of a piece of paper and some tape!) Don’t know what happened to the magnets they used to use. And I strongly suspect that the floor of my tub/shower had caved in on the last resident and been hastily patched up. Yikes! I tried to get a later checkout on Sunday (which they have accommodated in past years), but they said they were completely booked that night. That’s pretty crappy if they are at capacity all the time and are still skimping on maintenance.

Jeers:Inconsistent security policy on outside food

The food policy was inconsistent on Friday as well; I got stopped outside the venue carrying a cup with yogurt & granola in it. The security guys were nice enough…said it’s because they were serving food in the venue. But when I got to my seat, I discovered that the guys to the right of me had brought in a giant pizza box! And the couple sitting on my left said that they had brought in Subway sandwiches and drinks with no issues. The thing I like about grabbing dinner from my hotel room is that in the past, I could do this in between sets without missing one minute of music. I’ve never ordered from the Vinyl, but I would assume that you would at least need to miss a good chunk of one band while waiting for the order to come up. (??)

 

[freakchylde]

Cheers:
The bands were awesome this year, and especially enjoyed Beyond the Bridge and Solution.45 as the newer bands. We all know that Redemption has always been a fav of mine, and what a treat to see Symphony X this year - they did not tour anywhere close to me this year, so this was awesome for me.

What?!?!?! No mention for me?!?!?!?! *giggles* Glad you had an awesome time.

 

[BABS]

Cheers:

1. Bright white lights aimed directly at the audience are annoying...lots of people sitting near me were covering their eyes

Yeah, along with the flickering ones. My daughter attended the fest and she had a severe head injury when she was 14 years old. As a result, she was starting to feel the effects and had to get out of there when those are going on.

 

[BABS]

What?!?!?! No mention for me?!?!?!?! *giggles* Glad you had an awesome time.

And kudos to the Lara "Make a Wish" foundation - check your inbox on fb!!!!

 

[Bear]

Cheers -

Glenn & Jen & the crew as always, do the best job ever and words cannot describe my appreciation.

All my friends from PPUSA 1 until now, to many to list but always great to see you and hang out and thank you to those that mentioned me missing the last two years, it was hard to miss but I am back to stay!

Amaranthe!!! I was expecting a great show but that was incredible! My favorite band from the weekend

Solution 45. Awesome awesome set!

Kamelot night 2, that was a great show and Elisa from The Antagonist really took it to another level!, great all around show!

Mystic Prophecy brought it so hard I was having a Brainstorm deja vu a little

Pretty Maids, talk about polished professionals, great great set!

Symphony X as always, still one of my favorite bands

All the bands that I saw were great and I thoroughly enjoyed the fest as a whole as always!

Shout out to the great food & drink that Atlanta has to offer that I actually got out to really enjoy this time around. Taco Mac, the 5 Seasons, The Atlanta BBQ Festival, The Vortex, J.R. Cricketts, Zocalos and more!

Jeers:

My freaking cameras both my phone and hand held were junk, time for a major league upgrade!

Walking...I walked so much this prog power my dogs are still killing me!! I think next year I am going back to a close hotel or possible roomies at a condo...

As much as I hate to say it I have never had so many people begging for change or money this year as compared to all the years at PPUSA combined, its like the saw us coming from 2000 miles away or something

Other than that it was awesome and I cannot wait for next year, it will be EPIC!

Bear

 

[nailz]

The douche who stole my reusable magnet on Wednesday.

Did it happen to be signed by Redemption/Kingcrow/Lanfear?

 

[Exploding Ned]

Yaaay: As always, the great PP crowd. Very knowledgeable, friendly, easy to serve. You guyz rule.

Great food served by Vinyl, and across the street at the Mexican joint.

Boo: Someone else mentioned it, the entire rows of empty seats vehemently held by one person. Really? Geez, if I weren't a vendor at PP, for fear of offending someone, I would probably be a bit more aggressive about it. Or just plop down to rest my carcass.

The fried foods n' nuclear waste air quality in the vendor's room. No worries though, I just stepped outside to get a few lungs full of fresh (?) air now and then.

Overall, life is grand. Looking forward to seeing all of you wonderful folks again next year. And if you've missed the show lately, make a more concerted effort to attend. We miss seeing your smiling mug.

 

[TwizstedJesus]

Cheers,
To the sweet blonde bartender with the killer ink. You were friendly and always had a minute to chat, and pulling that last Yuengling off of the rack and chilling it was awesome! The beer didn't even need that cup of ice, so we just let it met and had some cold water later!
The bands...Awesome from the start to finish! Some of the bands weren't my cup of tea, but I never left the room while you played.
Simone Simons...you looked stunning without makeup in the signing line. Mark, you're a cool dude. The other Epica guys...well, you're in Epica, aren't you?
The vendors 1. for having everything on my list. If Lance didn't have it, Zane did. Killer! 2. Exploding Neds for the shirts...every damn year!

Jeers
My hotel, for being a fuck up and having me move three times because your rooms are falling apart. At least we got comped the King suite for 4 days.
My stupidity...Lost a bag of tshirts which cost me in the vicinity of $100. I'm hoping somebody found it and will return it to me.
The parking garage, for ticketing me a $65? ticket for underpaying by $2 on an error...fuck you. I misread the sign and paid night parking

Thats all. This weekend was the best out of 8 I've gone to, but there is alot of stress built into this vacation due to time constraints and such. I wouldn't change it for the world!

 

[DADRocks]

Cheers:
The festival in general. This includes Glenn, Jen, Crew, Center Stage bartenders and security, and the bands. Also the Residence Inn Staff.

The bands that went the extra mile showing up for their signing sessions on time. And when Sym X couldn't make it on time, the crew kept all of us in line updated on their status. Sym X could of understandably cancelled, but they didn't, they showed up and were awesome.

The fans. The responses to the bands performances were pretty good. And when Serenity deserved a standing ovation, they got one.

Jeers:
None really on the fest. Maybe for how late the headliners went on and finished, but that is expected and not a big deal.

Residence Inn's water issue in our room. Some of the time we only had really hot water, we couldn't shower Sunday am. But as cool as the people are over there, we'll be back. Hopefully they fix the problem.

 

[LunaTEKKE]

CHEERS:

Glenn and Jen for all your hard work, not just this weekend, but throughout the entire year! Didn’t see you out and about as much as in prior years…hope you got to spend at least *some* time enjoying the fruits of all your labor!

The PPUSA crew for busting your asses all weekend while the rest of us were enjoying the festivities!

All the bands for sharing their time and talent. Special kudos to those who came in from overseas. The one time I visited Europe, I was useless for 3 days after flying home and trying to adjust to the time difference. Don’t know how these guys (and gals) fly in and immediately start kicking ass!

METAL CUPCAKES!!!

This one will sound odd. Before the fest, I was disappointed when I saw the post that Kamelot was only getting a 45-minute set and that Nightwish would be off by 11:15. But as it turned out, I kind of liked having the earlier nights on Wednesday & Thursday. This was the first time in 7 years of attending where I haven’t had that moment at some point on Saturday where you can literally *feel* the fatigue as it settles into every single cell in your body. (Of course, being jacked up about seeing Symphony X probably helped as well…)

All of my metal brothers and sisters who I love catching up with each year…and who I *never* would have crossed paths with had it not been for this festival. Kind of mind-boggling to think of all the friendships (and in a few cases, marriages!) that have happened because of PPUSA.

Speaking of marriages, the proposal during the Beyond the Bridge set. We haven’t had an onstage marriage proposal since what…PPVII? Long overdue!

And finally, an EPIC cheer for the fact that there *will* be a PPUSA XIV!!!

Jeers:

Agree with the other comments about security’s inconsistency on outside food, the super bright lights (I have eye issues and they were especially troublesome for me), and the Residence Inn’s downward spiral.

A huge JEER to U.S. Airways for their new policy of wanting to charge me $150 *each way* to use my Dividend Miles to upgrade to first class. Especially since upgrades were available to the public for $200 each way. Really? Exchange my miles for a $50 discount on an upgrade? Pass. And another JEER for the 2+ hour delay on Sunday. Although at least when we finally touched down in Phoenix at 9:00 p.m., I was *home*. By that late at night, most of the folks that had connecting flights to other destinations were screwed.