Most memorable sets at ProgPowerUSA...

[TwizstedJesus]

How many bands that you have seen at ProgPower were your most memorable;meaning; which band left a lasting impression on you?

1. Nightwish- They were Glenns baby before they were huge, and the show was just mind bending! The Marc thing on stage was awesome too!

2. Pagans Mind- I remember thinking...Their 1st disc sucks donkey! They came out and totally smoked the Earthlink audience! The re-recorded version of the 1st disc wasn't too bad, their 2nd disc was amazing! Great memories

3.Leaves Eyes- Much heavier than I anticipated. I still can't get into the discs as much as I would like, but the show they put on was top notch!

4.Secret Sphere- Their singer = Priceless! The set wasn't bad, but the singers grasp on all things America was lacking!

5. DeLain, Seventh Wonder, Epica, WOMD Primal Fear & Fates were all very memorable in their own right, but the above mentioned bands just surprised me and left many great new memories

 

[DADRocks]

1. Pink Cream 69 - Never thought I'd be able to see them. Loved the show and meeting them.
2. Freak Kitchen (twice) - Another band I didn't think I'd see. Very shocked when they were announced. Great set, great guys as well.
3. Raintime - killer show.
4. Delain - wow, especially getting to see Marco guest during their set.
5. Kamelot - was blown away getting to see Michael from Circus Maximus sing with them.
6. Vanden Plas - Acoustic & plugged in in one weekend. Never forget those show.
7. Oceans of Sadness & Amorphis - Heavy killer sets. Awesome!

 

[Comic Book Dude]

-Weapons Of Mass Destruction....this set was sooooo much fun; much more fun than I ever thought it would be. I had seen Savatage back on the Gutter Ballet and Streets tours, and thought that they would never touch that brilliance with this performance at PP. Boy, was I wrong.....truly amazing.
-Brainstorm at PP V....they tore the roof off of the place.
-Vanden Plas at PP IV....their live sound and performance was so much more vibrant and alive than their studio work, it really blew me away. Stunning stuff!
-Freak Kitchen...always memorable, no matter what!
-Firewind at PP VIII.....hearing Henning Basse sing with Firewind was awesome.

 

[soldiers.of.filth]

i know its lame as ive only been to one PP, but Ihsahn's set was the greatest show I have ever seen.

 

[dcowboys311]

Therion's the clear answer to this for me. Didn't know them going into their set at PP6. Knew them but wasn't a fan of their last 1.5 decades of music going into their PP12 set. Both rank in my top 5 shows of all time.

 

[mattbrood]

1. Voyager
2. Seventh Wonder
3. Delain

 

[Diamond45]

For me...

Therion (PP XII 2011)
Vanden Plas acoustic set (PP XII 2011 GB/Sponsor special show)
Sabaton (PP IX 2009)
Freak Kitchen (PP VII 2006, also PP VIII showcase 2007)
Pagan's Mind (PP VIII 2007)

 

[Sumeet]

I can't even imagine where to begin answering this... I wasn't at ProgPower USA I in Chicago (and I know multiple people who still wax poetic about Pain Of Salvation's set there... you know who you are! ), but I think I can say I'm one of relatively few people who saw every set by every band, every year from ProgPower II through ProgPower XII. Some were bands of which I was a longtime fan, others were bands I wasn't too familiar with but who came out of nowhere and kicked ass. The history of awesomeness is damn near overwhelming... Angel Dust's massive live evergy... Devin Townsend being Devin Townsend and people getting offended... Threshold blowing away a lot of power metal fans who had never heard them... Blind Guardian, Gamma Ray, and Angra all playing their first US shows the same year... Edguy bringing an unexpected shot of humor to the stage... a bunch of people leaving before Rage delivered one of the best performances I've ever seen anywhere... Brainstorm, generally regarded as a good second-tier power metal band, coming out of nowhere to establish themselves as one of the best live bands on the planet... the quasi-Savatage Weapons Of Mass Destruction show, the likes of which you'd only see at ProgPower... Stratovarius finally getting their shit together (briefly) to play a US show... Orphaned Land and Therion delighting their hardcore fans, and converting a lot of people who never previously heard them... Freak Kitchen blowing away just about everyone... Evergrey bringing in a live string quartet... THE ALL STAR JAM... Iced Earth and Amorphis delivering perhaps the strongest 1-2 punch of headliners in the festival's history... Sabaton blowing away even the most hardened prog snobs... Fates Warning... Oceans Of Sadness coming out of nowhere with insane energy... Tarot ripping the place up... Voyager, While Heaven Wept, Red Circuit, Eldritch, Labyrinth, Mob Rules proving to be one of the strongest groups of mid-lineup bands ever; I was so worn out I almost didn't have energy left for the headliners... *almost*, I say, because it's not like I was going to miss Sanctuary or Therion! And so many more I could mention. It's safe to say a large portion of my best music-related memories took place that one small room in midtown Atlanta...

 

[Anomander Rake]

With the exception of Edguy these were band's I wasn't terribly familiar with and really made and impression.

Edguy
Rob Rock
Riverside
Silent Force

 

[sccaldwell]

My top 10:

1. Pain of Salvation (at ProgPower I). Wow. You either were there or you won't understand.

2. Seventh Wonder, both electric and acoustic (ProgPower XI). As I told the band Saturday night, "You guys absolutely put on the 2nd best show of the festival." <strange looks followed> I add, "Oh, you put on the best show, too...I thought that was a foregone conclusion." <band laughs> Said in jest, but I meant it...they blew every other band off the stage, IMHO, and I'm still not sure if their Friday night main stage set or Saturday morning Gold Badge show was the best of the festival....

3. Conception (ProgPower VI). Seven years after they disband, Glenn pulls off a miracle. Khan's voice was a little off that night (he'd been sick, IIRC), but the show was still amazing and one I thought I'd never see. Tore Ostby still ranks as one of my top 10 guitarists....maybe top 5.

4. Vision Divine (ProgPower VII). I'm not a huge fan of the band, but Michele Luppi's (vocal) performance completely blew me away. One of the best live vocal performances I've ever seen, and I've seen quite a few.

5. Enchant (ProgPower X). One of my absolute favorite bands, *finally* at PPUSA...killer set list, impeccable performances by all members.

6. Haken (ProgPower XII). One of the more emotionally mesmerizing sets I've seen. Something about their music just draws the listener in more than most bands manage...similar to Yes, in my experience.

7. Midnight at 6AM (ProgPower V). Crimson Glory's vocalist doing an impromptu set with an acoustic guitar by the old Fairfield hotel's pool in the early hours of Sunday morning after the festival's end.

8. Evergrey (ProgPower VII). Although I like them, they're not one of my *favorite* bands...however, the set was awesome, and any show that includes not one, but TWO marriage proposals *has* to make any "memorable sets" list.

9. Mindcrime (ProgPower X, I think?). I had seen Queensryche just a couple of months earlier, and they weren't half as good as Mindcrime. I think if Geoff Tate had been in attendance at this set, he would have disbanded Queensryche immediately and signed over rights to the name to this amazing tribute band, to salvage what's left of Queensryche's legacy.

10. Vanden Plas (ProgPower XII). They actually made it!!! (Oh yeah, and it was a near-perfect set).

Honorable mentions:

1) Kamelot at ProgPower XI with Mike Eriksen on vocals. Much as I loved Khan's voice, Mike did such a great job that I really didn't miss Khan that night (plus it was just kinda cool to see Mike performing with them).

2) Freak Kitchen (ProgPower VII). A ridiculously FUN set, and Eklundh is a *monster* of a guitarist.

Craig

 

[TribunalRecords]

Nightingale, Ark, Edguy, Spiral Architect, Blind Guardian and Angra.

Missed Conception, Tad Morose and PC 69 due apartment burning down a month before PP. Biggest bummer for me still.

 

[hoodaman]

2 sets stand out in my mind as being some of the most mesmerizing shows I've ever seen at progpower. As in like stone cold mouth gaping open "I'm not getting in line for autographs right now if you paid me" mesmerized. Those are Leprous at the XI showcase and Haken at XII.

 

[zinescene]

Two that stand out the most for me at the first Therion show and Freak Kitchen's showcase headliner slot on Thursday. Both rank right up with with all time favorite sets period, let alone favorite ProgPower Sets.

 

[dtmetalfan69]

Edguy at PPIII- the first time I saw them and my first prog power.
Pain of Salvation- Their set totally blew my mind and I am happy I got to see them the few times they were in the US.
Fates Warning- Never did I think I would see this band perform before my eyes. Ray Alder did not overexert himself on the lyrics or the high notes and did a fantastic job.
Conception- Now don't get me wrong, I love Roy Kahn, but when I saw him perform with Kamelot he did not impress me that much. However, he totally made up with that when playing with Conception. Made me respect him as a singer even more.
Redemption- Because of this festival, I have now found the band that I think I can listen to for the rest of my life. They are by far my favorite band and I can never stop listening to them.
Sanctuary- The first time I was introduced to this band was in a dive bar called Exit in the city of Chicago and the guy playing it could not convince me that it was Warrel singing. When they were announced I went insane!!!!

I could go on and on, but these bands stick out just off the top of my head.

 

[ZaneF2010]

Edguy - PPIII Still the best set ever. Period.

 

[grogg]

All Star Jam
Fates Warning
Sabaton

 

[Creeps]

WOMD - growing up in Florida, oddly enough, my first time seeing Savatage.

Kamelot - their set when Midnight came out, again, never got to see Crimson Glory w/ Midnight on vocals in Florida. I got to see their first show with wade Black though \m/

Therion - something I never thought I would see... ever.

Brainstorm, Tad Morose, Silent Force, Mercenary - all crushed

Seeing Gamma Ray and Kai on stage, some history there.

Blind Guardian - nuff said

Nightwish - don't have to say anything that everyone doesn't already know

Epica - blew me away.. only band to get me to get my tired all day drinking metal ass out of a seat and onto the floor and as close as possible.

Edguy @ PPIII, and when they headlined and Tobias forgot some words

 

[General Zod]

It never ceases to amaze me, that even in our tiny little corner of the world, people have such wildly different opinions.

Angel Dust
Zero Hour
Tad Morose
Brainstorm
Circus Maximus
Pagan's Mind

 

[eaeolian]

The now-legendary PoS PPI set still tops the list. Turned me from a casual fan to a major one, at least until they went off the rails after "Be".

Angel Dust at II. Killer set - the energy was unbelievable. Best performance of an awesome weekend.

Threshold at III. Still not more than a casual fan of the recordings, but MAN did they deliver live.

Freak Kitchen at VII. Not just the playing, but the full performance, complete with all the bizarre humor.

Orphaned Land at 10 - I missed the prior performance, but this one blew me away.

Zero Hour at I - I really thought Erik was just going to lose it and attack the crowd. He totally sold the "angry guy on the edge" posture, and the performance was outstanding.

WoMD at V - I didn't know what to expect. What I got was completely awesome.

And, finally:

Blind Guardian at III - memorable for how ridiculously BORING they were. One of the worst performances ever at PPUSA, and I was horribly disappointed, being a big fan of the band.

 

[SavaVIDude]

1. WOMD - duh!!!
2. Edguy (the second time)
3. Evergrey (the double wedding proposal/string quartet night)
4. Therion - bizarre!!
5. Manticora - almost dropped Lars when he stage-dove!!
6. Tad Morose - holy shit!!
7. Celeron - how heavy were they?
8. Firewind -amazing!!
9. Nocturnal Rites - been a long time fan - they did not disappoint!!
10. Helloween/Gamma Ray - see #9.
11. Angra
12. Freak Kitchen - both times
12. Glenn stage diving and doing that stooopid-shit dance beforehand!!

So many great memories.

Chris