metalprof
Ken Luther
I got all excited when I saw 'mathematical exercise', but then I saw it involved actual numbers, which I don't like to deal with. I don't even like to balance my checkbook. Give me a triple integral in spherical coordinates any day.
Anyway, I'd suggest a slight modification to this ranking in order to account for "uniqueness". After all, what makes a line-up for this festival strong may not rest alone on how many 5's you have. I propose you multiply a band's base score by either:
1 - you have had or will have had ample opportunity to see this band otherwise
2 - as far as you know, this may be your only chance to see them
For example, in the original scheme, I'd put Primal Fear at a solid 4 but, say, Symphony X (if they were in the line-up this year) as a 5. But at least up to 2006, this may be the one and only chance we in the US get to see Primal Fear, so I multiply by 2 and their total score is 8. Symphony X may be a bigger "headliner" but we've seen them before and can probably see them again, so I'll keep them a 5.
So if you have, say, three super duper headliners (5's) that have toured recently (so total weighted score 15), you may still end up with not as attractive a draw as having two 4's that are making a more unique appearance in the States (and thus a total score 8*2 = 16).
That's why PP III was SUCH a massive show, especially for me personally. The timing was right when I saw that line up that I ended up making the committment to go. And it was the combination of not only having Angra, BG, Threshold, and Gamma Ray (my favorites going in) at once, but the fact that up to then, my chance of seeing any of them individually was about 0.
If Angra and Blind Guardian ended up together on the bill for PP9, it wouldn't be as "strong" as it was in PPIII, even though they're both headliners (5's), in the sense that their presence would no longer be so absolutely unique.
What that means is that the long-term success of the festival in rejuvenating the U.S. market for this kind of music - so that bands like Angra, Blind Guardian, Edguy, Nightwish, etc have now done real tours of the US where they might not have before - may make future line ups not seem as "strong" even though the line ups may have just as many or more headliner or direct-support caliber bands. That's not news to anyone, though.
For the record, I have more "hell yeah!" bands on this bill for me personally than since PP V.
And in the time it took me to write this, I'm sure about 20 more replies have been added to the original post, making my suggestion about weighting for uniqueness quite useless
Ken
Anyway, I'd suggest a slight modification to this ranking in order to account for "uniqueness". After all, what makes a line-up for this festival strong may not rest alone on how many 5's you have. I propose you multiply a band's base score by either:
1 - you have had or will have had ample opportunity to see this band otherwise
2 - as far as you know, this may be your only chance to see them
For example, in the original scheme, I'd put Primal Fear at a solid 4 but, say, Symphony X (if they were in the line-up this year) as a 5. But at least up to 2006, this may be the one and only chance we in the US get to see Primal Fear, so I multiply by 2 and their total score is 8. Symphony X may be a bigger "headliner" but we've seen them before and can probably see them again, so I'll keep them a 5.
So if you have, say, three super duper headliners (5's) that have toured recently (so total weighted score 15), you may still end up with not as attractive a draw as having two 4's that are making a more unique appearance in the States (and thus a total score 8*2 = 16).
That's why PP III was SUCH a massive show, especially for me personally. The timing was right when I saw that line up that I ended up making the committment to go. And it was the combination of not only having Angra, BG, Threshold, and Gamma Ray (my favorites going in) at once, but the fact that up to then, my chance of seeing any of them individually was about 0.
If Angra and Blind Guardian ended up together on the bill for PP9, it wouldn't be as "strong" as it was in PPIII, even though they're both headliners (5's), in the sense that their presence would no longer be so absolutely unique.
What that means is that the long-term success of the festival in rejuvenating the U.S. market for this kind of music - so that bands like Angra, Blind Guardian, Edguy, Nightwish, etc have now done real tours of the US where they might not have before - may make future line ups not seem as "strong" even though the line ups may have just as many or more headliner or direct-support caliber bands. That's not news to anyone, though.
For the record, I have more "hell yeah!" bands on this bill for me personally than since PP V.
And in the time it took me to write this, I'm sure about 20 more replies have been added to the original post, making my suggestion about weighting for uniqueness quite useless
Ken
