in the absence of HC, is anyone going to Chicago Powerfest?

[JayKeeley]

MAY 1st, 2nd, 3rd 2008

Thursday night includes "Kick off" with the PaganFest stop: Ensiferum, Turisas, Eluevetie, and TYR.

PowerFest so far has lined up Darkane and Suidakra. More to follow...

Obviously, the PaganFest pre-party night is making it a little enticing because you can make a whole weekend out of it. Here's the catch: tickets for PaganFest go on sale this Saturday so decisions need to be made.

Depending on who else is up for it, I'd consider going. Could be a laugh and it's only Chicago, not Europe.

 

[Will Bozarth]

I went this year. Had an AMAZING time. I already have my hotel and flights booked for next year.

 

[War Ensemble]

I'm planning to go. As of now, this is the closest the Paganfest is getting to me. Chicago is not that bad of a drive or a quick/cheap flight. I reserved my hotel room already.

They are going to have a three day pass for the festival. They haven't announced any information about ticket sales for that yet. They did state that you do need to wait and not buy an individual ticket to the Paganfest stop. There is more info in the Chicago Power Fest forum.

 

[Dark One]

I'd certainly consider it if an RC contingent were going and I had the income to make it happen. I'd like to see some more heavy hitting band confirmations first though.

Oh, and

 

[General Zod]

After last year's debacle, I can't say I have much faith that Powerfest will offer a quality line-up. I'm taking a wait and see approach.

Zod

 

[Dark One]

Sounds like "wait and see" is the best philosophy as the formula is quite simple, quality bands = larger contingent = making the trip.

It's lineup driven at this point and while the promoters set the precedent for a lackluster lineup last year, I think there's at least an outside chance they learn from their mistakes.

 

[JayKeeley]

I reserved my hotel room already.

Which hotel?

They did state that you do need to wait and not buy an individual ticket to the Paganfest stop. There is more info in the Chicago Power Fest forum.

That seems confusing. Wouldn't it make more sense to buy a PaganFest ticket and then a 2 day pass? What if PaganFest sells out before the 3 day pass becomes available?

 

[Dark One]

Which hotel?

Probably the Mokena Super 8 (as far as I know that's been the "official" hotel in recent years).

That seems confusing. Wouldn't it make more sense to buy a PaganFest ticket and then a 2 day pass? What if PaganFest sells out before the 3 day pass becomes available?

Yeah, the confusion probably stems from the fact that the ticket structure was made up before the Paganfest preparty option was even realized, hence the clusterbomb of confusion surrounding its inclusion in the ticket packages.

 

[JayKeeley]

Probably the Mokena Super 8 (as far as I know that's been the "official" hotel in recent years).

Super 8? LOL. Fuck that.

 

[Dark One]

Yeah - lousy chain to say the least, but apparently it's the closest to the venue or something. I'd do it in a festival setting only if there was a large contingent, but in no other circumstance.

 

[skyrefuge]

I'm going, of course. I'd also been thinking of suggesting it as an RC destination too, since it already has 5 Heathen Crusade-worthy bands there.

PaganFest is not going to sell out, so waiting a bit to buy a ticket shouldn't be too much of a concern. The Pearl Room is a pretty big place that doesn't draw a ton of people (it's way out in the suburbs); I'd be surprised if they've ever had a sold-out event. Less than half of the main floor in front of the stage was filled for the recent Enslaved and Therion shows there. PaganFest might do better than that (I heard the Finntroll show was pretty well-attended), but still not much to worry about.

Zod: what do you mean by "the debacle"? The lineup, or the turnout? I don't know where Darkane and Suidakra fit on next year's bill, but I'd rank them higher than most the bands at last year's fest, so it seems they're off to a good start.

Neil

 

[Dark One]

Zod: what do you mean by "the debacle"? The lineup, or the turnout? I don't know where Darkane and Suidakra fit on the bill, but I'd rank them higher than at least half the bands at last year's fest.

He's referring to last year's lineup, both in terms of quality and the chaos surrounding the announcement of the bands. The poor turnout was a reflection of both of those things.

In terms of Darkane and Suidakra, they're just as unimpressive to him as any of the bands last year. I'm in agreement with you though Neil, while those two bands don't really excite me, they are an improvement over almost anything on last year's bill and also represent a change in direction that appeals to me. The Paganfest is just a coincidental bonus (but a fairly nice one at that).

A few more band announcements will obviously solidify where they're going, so "wait and see" is the order of the day. If I were living in the immediate area though, obviously the decision to attend would be much easier.

Jason

 

[War Ensemble]

Which hotel?

Probably the Mokena Super 8 (as far as I know that's been the "official" hotel in recent years).

Yes, the Mokena Super 8. It is right across the street from the venue. Easy stumbling room to/from the show. It was recommended by a friend mainly due to location. If the rest of the lineup stinks, I'll just cancel the reservation.

If there were a decent size RC contingent going and staying at another nearby hotel, I would definitely look into switching locations.

 

[War Ensemble]

Oh, and

Welcome back Dark One

 

[Det Som Engang Var]

I'll be there. I hope they announce some better bands though because right now Pagan Fest is shitting all over it.

 

[Sanctums]

Suidakra is damn tempting...But I'm not sure how much cash I'll have after Ragnarok.

 

[Will Bozarth]

*Drinks a coffee-beer and listens as Rob Lowe and Warrell Dane have a fucking conversation over the intarwebs*

You're welcome

Last year's lineup was FANTASTIC, btw. I had an amazing time. Even though the hotel is a Super 8, the entire floor turned into a party with alot of band folk and fest-goers.

The transportation to mokena sucks, though. If you fly out of there, make sure you get a flight in the afternoon. Morning flights will NOT work unless you rent a car. There are no cabs in Mokena. seriously. I called all around. missed my flight from Ohare and spent 26 hours there.

 

[Dark One]

Welcome back Dark One

I lost a major battle - but that doesn't mean the war is over.

 

[JayKeeley]

Suidakra is damn tempting...But I'm not sure how much cash I'll have after Ragnarok.

I just remembered that Suidakra turned into a shitty bog standard DM band, is that correct? I have stuff like Lays from Afar and Emprise to Avalon, but their most recent stuff isn't "folk/heathen" at all is it?

 

[General Zod]

He's referring to last year's lineup, both in terms of quality and the chaos surrounding the announcement of the bands. The poor turnout was a reflection of both of those things.

Yep. According to Rob, who was the voice of the promoters on the forum, half a dozen headliners fell through. They delayed the announcement of the final headliners a thousand times. They also lead everyone to believe that the final announcement would be worth waiting for, only to announce Lethal and Atheist.

Suffice it to say, if you followed that forum in the months leading up to the final announcement, the series of events could only be described as a clusterfuck.

I wish the promoters luck and hope things go smoothly for them. But after buying plane tickets after the initial announcement of Novembers Doom, only to watch the line-up go to shit from there (and subsequently eating the cost of the plane tickets), I can't help but be skeptical.

Zod