Current & Future U.S. Metal Festivals/Music Support in the U.S.

Um, it's not that people are against making tweaks to the fest format, but think about it.... We've had shit for years for fests... _ALL_ of them sucked. Now we have one that absolutely rules, and you come in and suggest all kinds of changes.

And I'm sorry to say this, because I know you have good intentions, but it's obvious to me that you haven't thought about some your suggestions for very long before offering them... bands starting at noon?? More lesser-known bands?? These are not suggestions I'd recommend at all, and they would clearly hurt PP.

Want to improve things? Work on things that weren't good at this show... run a coat check service, or work on some late-night food alternatives. No, not glamorous stuff, but real practical.

If someone wants to start another fest and focus things differently, that's fine. But I see no reason to totally change major parts of a fest that right now, frankly, is the _only_ one that's successful...
 
and I should add that Glenn is DEFINITELY not against going further by adding certain things to the fest, take this year for instance, with the addition of the compilation CD and the event program, as well as color event shirts. It's killer as is, but will get even better as time goes on.
 
Quick question..why does everyone keep asking for a coat check? There WAS a coat check..it was on the left just past the guy at the door as you went into the venue. It cost $2 if I recall correctly..
 
Lady of the Oracle:

LOL! Well, I was way too busy to notice that, and since other people asked about that, I just assumed (and you know what can happen then)...

OK, next year, if there is a coat check, an improvement would be to put a big neon sign.... :^)
 
I'm with Deron on just about everything he said. It has NOTHING to do with "being satisfied" with what we are handed. Have you been to all 3 Prog Power fests so far? EACH festival improved from year to year. While the first one was in a dingy bar in Lansing, it ruled! I also agree with what others have said about turning this fest into Oz Fest or Milwaukee Metal Fest, no fucking way..... don't do it. One stage is plenty, Glenn improves these fests from year to year and is, IMO, doing a great job. I will agree about the band "signings", they were chaos, and if I see one more person with the every cd a band member has appeared on, and expecting said band member to sign ALL of them, I'm going to light you on fire, I promise you that!

J-Dubya
 
Originally posted by MTMMAG Chuck
However, from what I’ve heard (and this is second hand- so Glenn don’t get upset), the ProgPower festival will not even consider such stellar bands like Pretty Maids, Running Wild or Rage because they’re isn’t fan interest.

Not sure about the maids or rage (though i've never seen Glen comment on either), but the thing *I* saw about Running Wild (again not from Glen), is that *they* refuse to play festivals where they can't bring their whole stage show, which, if true, would preclude their appearance at ProgPower. this is no fault of Glen's. if he, in addition to this point, doesn't think they have enough fans to invite them, then that's news to me.

Ryan
 
Originally posted by MTMMAG Chuck
However, from what I’ve heard (and this is second hand- so Glenn don’t get upset), the ProgPower festival will not even consider such stellar bands like Pretty Maids, Running Wild or Rage because they’re isn’t fan interest.

THANK GOD! I am so happy to read this! This has made my day. I am extremely happy to read that ProgPower won't degenerate into this type of line-up.
 
Originally posted by markgugs
Excellent post Charles, but I can say with almost 100% certainty that Iced Earth IS indeed headlining PP IV - this is straight from the horse's mouths...


NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!
 
Not to just ad a "me, too" to some of this, but I do want to chime in with my opinion.

As far as fundamentally changing ProgPower, i.e., having multiple stages, etc.--in my opinion, most of that would only detract. I don't want to go fight a huge crowd and have to decide between watching two bands I like because they're both on at the same time. And it _would_ happen knowing my luck! lol Anyway, all personal preference aside, ProgPower, if I understand correctly, has its OWN identity, and keeping it relatively intimate and on one stage are key factors there.

As far as extending the time further--ain't gonna work. Many people were dead on their feet by the end of the night this year, and we won't even really get into the poor crew. I was involved only in a very marginal way, and let me tell you, having to get up Friday morning to get things done *hurt*!

As far as having a vote on bands, I think Glenn has his ear out for what his audience wants, but this is his baby as I understand it, and I think he's doing a phenomenal job of picking a variety of quality bands. I don't really see any way to incorporate any kind of voting structure into it, even if I thought it was a good idea, and I don't.

Chuck, in your opinion it may be a matter of "settling" because you have different tastes as to concerts, but for many of us (at least for me), it's more a matter of not fixing something that isn't broken. The current format is, in my opinion, very nearly perfect, and I can think of very, very few things to improve, and I'm sure Glenn is on top of those. :)

Shaye
 
Lady_Space, I couldn't agree more!

My 2 cents..

More than one stage - NO WAY!! I like that we are all seeing the same band at the same time! If someone doesn't like Progressive or Power they can take a break, hang out at the bar, shop, and whatnot for about an hour and then come back. I think there is no need to have a constant stream of both genres playing. Besides, I read a lot of power metal fans who were impressed with Threshold and Pain of Salvation, whereas normally I bet they wouldn't have even gone to see these bands play..

Let's not fix what isn't broke - instead of turning PP into a typical music festival, we should concentrate on what needs to improve. In my opinion, there is hardly a thing I would want to see improved upon! And if something DOES get changed for the better, it will happen in time as the festival matures. I'm amazed that this was only the 3rd PP since it was so nearly perfect! I'm not "settling" and I believe that Glenn IS striving for betterment - he already has the best dang festival in the States! \m/ :)

Food - The best suggestion I have seen out of ALL the reviews and such that I've read on this board, is the suggestion for an on-site Hot Dog Stand! :lol: The idea is simple, it's genius, and THAT (in my opinion) are the kind of "ADDITIONS" I'd like to see at PP. Nothing needs to CHANGE, but improvements seem to be what PP is striving for in order to bring us the best!

Lesser Known Bands - NO!! While I enjoyed hearing some of the bands I didn't know this year (the Zero bands), I was THRILLED to DEATH to see the LEGENDS of the genres!! :eek: I spend an absurd amount of money on my PPIII trip between transportation, food, merch, etc.. but I certainly don't want to do that for a bunch of bands that mean nothing to me, regardless of whether or not I "might" like them after seeing them. If I want to hear new bands in the genre, I'll search for them on the net or Kazaa or whatnot, but when I go to a festival of the caliber that PP is, I want to see the bands that get me excited and are well-known! Yes, if PP is really "all that" then I would be going regardless, right? No. I plan on going to PP again without even caring what the final line-up will be, but that's only because I know that Glen is going to bring us only the best for music! If he he had unexciting line-ups, I wouldn't go without knowing the bands, no matter how great the rest of the event is. No matter how perfect PP is, it will always come down to the bands that are playing. The fact that I know I will going next year without first knowing the band list, is because I know that Glen is already going to chose some spectacular bands that I'll surely want to see :) Make sense? Glen has a great reputation with me so I trust that he will do just the same next year. No matter how many weenie stands and free CDs he hands out to us, if he had never earned that reputation all these things other than the music would mean nothing..

Longer Event - No Way!! I was DEAD after the first day and I had no idea how I was going to make it through Day Two! :lol: I definately wouldn't want it to be more than two days. Also note that not everyone can take off from work just to travel. As for starting earlier in the day.. No go on that either - the schedule works perfectly so that those who are bound by work can still enjoy the entire event (minus time for travel for those of us further away) Starting after business hours on Friday and leaving Sunday for travel and recouperating is genius planning, in my opinion. Plus, like Wandrail said, I already didn't have enough time to hang out afterwards yet get adequate sleep for the next day, eat, explore the town, party all night in Jon Schaeffer's hotel room, etc.. If I hadn't gotten into town a full day before the festival, I never would have had enough time to get settled in my hotel, find my way around town from Earthlink & back, and then do a little sight-seeing and neccessity-shopping :-\

Things I LOVED - First off, nearly everything! Secondly, I thought it was very classy and awesome that the festival organized a Sampler CD and an AWESOME program FOR EVERYONE! I think that was incredibly cool and definately a display of a top-notch production. They impressed me immediately through the doors!

I don't see why PP has to become some Monster Generic Music Fest with multiple stages, a throng of people, no-name bands, and too damn long! I think it's perfectly fine and any additions Glenn & Co make will only serve to make PP that much more incredible of a Fest! :]

Oh.. and there WAS a coat-check! Glad I knew about it too! LOL!

Sorry for the long post, but I've had nearly a month to think about all this stuff and revel in teh fact that PP was one of the best experiences of my life! To change anything would detract from that, but to make additions and improvements would only make it EVEN BETTER! :)

~Sh0k~
 
the multiple stage idea isnt good for progpower. that only works with ltos of bands.
PP works becasue it is different than the opther festivals that in general just arent good. i would hate to see PP turn into 100 band festival with eahc band playing 20 minutes.

when glenn gets to the size of wacken then we can talk multiple stages. and it would make sense. but for now the only improvements will be made when he get sa bigger venue which is needed.

i do agree with coordinating signings better.
 
yes - Glenn
no - longer anything
maybe - other metal fests
don't think so - a slayer type band and a zero hour type band on the same bill (love both bands, sometimes things should not mix, although the Tipton's other band Death Machine would go well with Slayer)
KISS - Keep It Simple Stupid
 
--Chuck, Please don't think for 1 second that from moment one of PPUSA III we didn't learn 1000 things we could have done differently or better. Realize that each time we've done the even it has gotten 10x better in someway. Some things are completely out of the control of the promotor. Is Disney World really all we imagined it to be once we get there? Expectations and Improvements are 2 totally different things. I want to comment on some specifics that Deron did touch upon, but I want to further expand on.



"At the very least maybe on Saturdays only start at noon, bring some smaller yet decent bands from the states in. Two days worth with ten bands per day is not too much to ask for the amount of money the tickets cost. There are plenty of quality bands on the scene domestically that could be added for a decent price. "

--I understand the want for more bands, but with running the crew I can tell you, this is not going to happen without hurting the quality of the event. I don't want to get too negative, but it is difficult to get suggestions sometimes, when some have no idea what went into just making this event happen the last 3 times. I need to ask if you understand, how much it costs to fly a band in from Europe? How about with their crew in some cases? How much do you have to pay them to go through the trouble? How about if they are a headliner and this is a one-off show? Did you know that Ticketmaster does not pay a promoter until the show is over, in case of cancellations or riots(*see G-N-R in the news). Before speaking of how much you pay for a ticket and what that should afford, realize what you are getting. He pays the crew, hotels, travel expenses, the venue and the bands... including their food and drinks. Glenn lost thousands of dollars and probably some of his sanity for the first 2 festivals to maintain the quality acts that were there, as well as dished out thousands in advance of this show to make it happen. If you even began to delve into the costs involved with getting just the gear and the venue you would soon realize this is not a money making venture in the least. Cheap local bands making name for themselves starts at places like Powermad. I only know this from experience. Once they have built a steady following and somehow work into similar circles, then they might be ready for ProgPower. If someone wants to see bands from noon until 4, then they should rent a venue in Atlanta that weekend and do this event. I think they would find few would show up, because after a pre-party and a night of metal, they need a little rest. The reason things seem to run so smoothly and there is very little down time is because we do something almost no other festival attempts to do.... Line/Sound-checks during the day. We do this not only for the bands, but so that the crew can try to run into any big hurdles before the bands come out. This still is never going to be 100% and some bands put roadblocks in front of themselves, which only hurts the festival in hindsight. I would love to watch bands from 8am to 2am, but it just is not going to happen if you want a quality show that runs on time, appeases all the bands, appeases the fans and sounds good all at the same time. It's hard enough to get the headliner to show up at 11am to soundcheck and leave their egos at the door, now imagine telling them you want them in at 5am after flying for 19 hours straight from their country, because local or stateside bands play at noon. Let me state for the record that even though you might arrive at 3pm, the crew has already worked a full day and it has only begun. In 2.5 days we work somewhere near 40 hours and Glenn is there the whole time. I appreciate people taking the time to give their input, but


"I would never ask for a snafu like the Milwaukee Metalfest or any of his shows...I would not condone something like a curtain between bands, this would only be a doable option if the stages were separated enough for little to no sound bleed. The point I was making about Ozzfest was peoples endurance not the musical type or comparing it in any other way. "

--Which is really never possible unless you ran 2 venues next to each other. This is why it sounds good in one venue. There is way too much work that happens before a band hits the stage where the room needs to be heard.



"Other domestic metal festivals are struggling to be in Glenn's league I will agree. However from what I've seen metalheads are often long on heart, wear their metalhearts on the sleeves of their denim jackets (even if hanging in the closet or don't fit any longer) and short on cash. Maybe Glenn was luckier than others, maybe he tried harder, or it was a combination of both. Would you say Keith Menser didn't care enough or try hard enough with Powermad. I feel that his heart was in it, but not enough people came through attendance wise to take it to the next level. It was interesting no one commented (yet) on the idea for a fan poll or some sort of voting system for the bands picked. "
--First let me say that without Powermad there probably would not have been a ProgPower. It prompted the response of doing a show like this for this audience. ProgPower was a success, because we all attended Powermad and were able to learn from what we saw. We all gave Keith some suggestions and offered to help with our own time, but were never taken up on the offer. When Glenn decided to do this, those same people were the first in line to help him do it. About voting bands in, even if 25 bands were voted in, only 5 of those would be able to pull off the visas and travel plans that need to happen to not end up with a "no show". At the end of the day, this is Glenn's show, but he does work hard to please everyone and give some lesser known bands who have worked hard (**ahem**) a chance to play in front of an appreciative crowd. If you knew what a nightmare that side of things were, you would understand the only reason some of the bands were here was because Glenn liked them enough to jump through hoops of fire to get them or someone else helped him do the same. As a matter of fact, Dan Swano and Devin T were both at PPUSA, because of some very dedicated fans who put their money where their mouths were.


"Point is this. I would just like to see at least one other decent metal festival in the stages with excellent bands. "

--Cool, when do you start setting it up? These are very similar to the words that Glenn as a fan stated at Powermad over dinner wtih a bunch of us. He then made it happen. These events don't just fall together, it takes someone who is willing to put alot of thought into it (much like yourself) on how things could be better for fans like themselves.


"While I do love Power Metal (and what a wide open term that is), I am not a progressive music fan. I don't think less of anyone who is nor hopefully will I be bagged on for this comment, just my personal tastes. I would like to see another two to three day festival in the states that would book bands like Armored Saint, Udo, Rage, Running Wild, Grave Digger, and other true metal mixed with some melodic power bands that would not interfere and instead complement what ProgPower is all about."

--Get on it... Grave Digger's manager is also BG's manager, so good luck with that. As long as you are so sure about it, then you simply have to put money where your mouth is. Be ready to lose money on the first 2 festivals to build the reputation that Glenn has or you could end up with a big name festival that bands don't care to play. Glenn is so likeable that many of this friends offered their services to help make these shows happen. That is an important element to promoting that few understand. It is not about logic every time. It's easy to point out what we would like to see, but to make it happen is a whole new can of worms. I would absolutely love to see someone else do this and I'm sure Glenn would feel the same way. We would both love to go to a show of this caliber and actually be able to enjoy it, rather than run around the entire time putting out fires. It's kind of sad that this is his baby, but he cannot enjoy it like he would like to. I beg that you do a festival so that we both can go and get really drunk and stand around and talk with old friends without any stress, which neither of us have done at any of the PPUSA shows. :)



"I do think a lot of metal heads listen to a wide range of music. I could listen to Slayer and then Angra no problem, and a festival that celebrates our differences (if fans are openminded enough) would be a stick in the face to popular music. "
--Again... I can't wait. Let me know how this goes and where to be, I would pay $100+ for tickets for 2 days of 5 bands each with 80% of them being signed and at least 75% of those being from overseas that I would otherwise never see!! Cool! Just like you like Slayer (as do I) some will not, just like Progressive is not your thing. Remember, you cannot please everyone, so don't bother beating yourself up about it.


"I do think that yes it is cool to bring bands that don't tour the states as often, but look at the Euro fests. A lot of the bands that play also play on regular tours. For those of you who live in say a Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, whatever, you are lucky enough to see Iced Earth, or other bands who do small two week tours. Not here in the Midwest and I can't justify ten little $200 trips and days off to go see each individual tour. "
--Me neither, so let me know when and where to be and I promise to be there!! I will do my best to drag Glenn along as well!


Cheers,
Chris Roy:Smokedev:
Stage Manager Of ProgPower USA
& Singer of Reading Zero
 
Originally posted by Chris-RZ
As a matter of fact, Dan Swano and Devin T were both at PPUSA, because of some very dedicated fans who put their money where their mouths were.

Yay me. :)

The only complaint I've really had with ProgPower is with some of the band selections, and I realize I never CAN be totally happy with that because if I was, it would be me and 10 other people there, 5 of them getting comped. heh

Other than that, fantastic!
 
yah, there was a coat check, I saw it too.

My opinons on things talked about here...

- more bands = bigger place that = please have food, etc.. adding more bands and a longer day (while more expensive to run) will starve people at Earlthink Live

- I like it pretty much just the way it is.

- the only thing that i thought needed help was the ability / efficiency of getting autographs. If at earthlink live next year.. have an autograph table by the OUT DOOR. rope off one side (mostly only one side was used that I saw. People who get their stuff signed are then ushered outside who can then go put their goods in a hotel or re-enter for more music goodness. Keep the signings away fromt he vendors, it was horrible. That whole upper area could be used to filter a line from that downstairs area (where the table could be) up the stairs and towards the back.