Pagan's Mind/Stratovarius Chicago 9/25 Friday - Anyone going?

[Jasonic]

Diabolik and BalanceofPower both summed up the event nicely.

All bands played very well, but were plagued by the atmosphere.
I mean, its hard to get into a band when all you can see is the top of the drummer's head!! (Scepter and Sacred Dawn).

I had to miss Strato when they toured in 2005, so I was pretty excited to see them.
Great setlist, and performance. Once again though, there is something distracting in seeing a legendary band play the corner of a bar with nothing behind them but a crooked PABST BLUE RIBBON neon sign............. They couldn't even put up their back drop.

For me, the best part of the evening was meeting and hanging out with SO many people from the forums.
I got to see many friends who I only see a couple times a year (Norm (Normando), Eric (es156, or something like that), Britt (Invisible Guest), Pat (Mr Kaschie), AirGuitarLoonhouse, etc, etc.) It was great to see most of the Chi-town regulars, like Amber (Metal Spice), Rachel (ShadowLioness), Bob (Diabolik), Vito (BalanceofPower), Jose (Saladbar), etc, etc.... Finally, it was great to finally meet some locals as well as out of towners, such as J-Dubya, TexasBeth, Joan (OrbWeaver), and KingsGene.

This show provided a ton of quality conversations, which really added to the night. I know my review seems more like name dropping than a concert review, but as you Prog Power regulars always tell me, it's all about the people! Last night was a prime example.

BEST AIR KEYBOARD AWARD goes to..............KingsGene!!! Well done!

 

[OrbWeaver]

You know what made my night last night? I GOT TO TOUCH TIMO KOTIPELTO.

He and Nils both gave me hugs! I GOT HUGS FROM NILS AND TIMO!!! OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG. I was in uber-fangirl mode. It was somewhat embarrassing. And Nils gives long hugs. Hee! I liked it.

 

[Saladbar]

It was a good time indeed. It's pretty lame these 2 Scandinavian bands came to the 3rd largest city in the U.S (or close to it) to play in the corner of a sports bar. Every person that I knew and ran into used the same word to describe it, the word was "sad". I couldn't believe the small stage and that the whole lighting system used consisted of exactly 4 par cans pointing towards the wall behind the band. Also for those of us in the audience that were right up front, the PA speakers were behind us pointing away. So basically I heard the show from their amps and Nils' voice from his monitors. LAME. Even the local bands have played at bigger and better venues than that.

After all that it was a great time. I'm glad I saw so many Chicago folk come out for this one and some people like Britt and co who came from farther away, I haven't seen you guys in a while. Next time we need to chat more. Also it was good to meet TexasBeth even if we only spoke for 5 minutes.

I was there for Pagan's Mind and they were fantastic, those who are fans said the same thing. I just wish their first Chicago visit would of been at a better venue. Oh well.

 

[shreddy]

I think this was an experiment for the venue they're trying to get a more bands in there but it seems like they're going to have to try harder. They fired their old sound man and hired someone out to do the the sound but the issue is that he's only going to bring enough gear for the room. If this place is that big they need to build a proper stage and get serious sound in the room.

Sounds like this would have been a great show for Reggies, nice stage good sized room not huge but still a great room and their sound isnt all that bad either plus there is a balcony.

 

[Diabolik]

I think this was an experiment for the venue they're trying to get a more bands in there but it seems like they're going to have to try harder. They fired their old sound man and hired someone out to do the the sound but the issue is that he's only going to bring enough gear for the room. If this place is that big they need to build a proper stage and get serious sound in the room.

Sounds like this would have been a great show for Reggies, nice stage good sized room not huge but still a great room and their sound isnt all that bad either plus there is a balcony.

this show would have been amazing at Reggies....minus the guitar solo's.

 

[Jasonic]

The Pyramid Club is HUGE.
If they wanted to get serious about doing shows there, they can easily do it with some reconfiguration.
Maybe move some of the pool tables up front, and have the show in the huge room in back.

That place will be destroyed after VADER.

 

[Jasonic]

You know what made my night last night? I GOT TO TOUCH TIMO KOTIPELTO.

He and Nils both gave me hugs! I GOT HUGS FROM NILS AND TIMO!!! OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG. I was in uber-fangirl mode. It was somewhat embarrassing. And Nils gives long hugs. Hee! I liked it.

Timo I can understand, as he is a cute little f*ck.....

Nils on the other hand???????????
Looks like the satanic love child of Eric Adams and Ronnie James Dio....

 

[J-Dubya 777]

Nils on the other hand???????????
Looks like the satanic love child of Eric Adams and Ronnie James Dio....

...but still a great guy on/off stage. PM are good people!

 

[Jasonic]

...but still a great guy on/off stage. PM are good people!

I am sure he is...
Just saying that I wouldn't have guessed that the ladies would find him attractive.

 

[Saladbar]

Sounds like this would have been a great show for Reggies.

This show would of been amaizing at Reggies. They need to have more metal shows there.

Speaking of Reggies, check this out:
http://www.jbtvonline.com/interviews/recent/Reggies-Rock-Club

Sounds like they have their stuff together.

 

[AMBR]

I posted this on the PM forum but wanted to ask anyone on this thread if they know why Pagan's Mind is not finishing the tour with Strato? I was looking forward to seeing them again in San Francisco after their great performance at ProgPower and then found out that they aren't coming.

Yea, the guy handling the western part of the tour is an idiot (I won't mention his name, but not for HIS sake). He didn't want them on that part of the tour for reasons no one fully understands. Saving money? Promoting local bands? Who knows.

 

[KingsGene]

Glad I got to go to this show, but I made the final decision to do it around 7 pm, so I just barely made it in time to see PM and Strato. Again, another time change that plagues the area's national shows...this time moving everything up a half hour to 6:30pm start. My friend and I were counting on PM starting around 8:30, but I got there right about 8:10 or 8:15 just as PM's intro music started....my bud was still 20 mins away and only really wanted to see PM so he blew it off. Sucks for him, but it was basically the same set as the PPUSA show so he didn't miss much. Sorry I missed Sacred Dawn, as I like them a lot, but talking with Lothar later he said it wasn't one of their more memorable performances as they had numerous tech difficulties.

Good times seeing a bunch of folk I recognized from PPUSA, and hanging with Diabolik, Jasonic, BalanceOfPower and Invisible Guest. Can't say much more than what was already said about the venue and bands....you guys pretty much nailed it. Except for again the Strato set list which was pretty much all my favorite stuff from them.

 

[OrbWeaver]

Reggie's would have been amazing for this show. A shame it wasn't there. Even in the smaller venue area of Reggies, the stage is fairly nice (certainly bigger than the one at Pyramid Club) and the sound is still good. I saw Tempest in the bar area of Reggies and the show was absolutely outstanding, even in such a fairly small area. Good lighting, good stage, and good sound.

It's also nice that there's a record store upstairs. It makes killing time before a show that much easier.

@Jason - part of it is because Nils is just so damned nice. Nice guys have their own hottie factor. At least for me, they do. And I'm also a sucker for a great singer. And sometimes I'm just attracted to men that have more unconventional looks. I think Christer from Freak Kitchen is pretty dang hot, too. So while I definitely appreciate the conventional hotties like Timo Kotipelto, I also appreciate the unconventional hotties.

I guess I should just say that I like and appreciate most men from an aesthetic standpoint.

 

[AMBR]

@Jason - part of it is because Nils is just so damned nice. Nice guys have their own hottie factor. At least for me, they do. And I'm also a sucker for a great singer. And sometimes I'm just attracted to men that have more unconventional looks. I think Christer from Freak Kitchen is pretty dang hot, too. So while I definitely appreciate the conventional hotties like Timo Kotipelto, I also appreciate the unconventional hotties.

I guess I should just say that I like and appreciate most men from an aesthetic standpoint.

QFT. Niceness wins out all the time over stuck-up, uber physicial sexiness. Who likes a super hotty whose a prick? (Someones gonna have fun with that statement). BTW, Koti is super nice as well. His patience with fans, especially ga-ga chicks is comendable.

Wow, I hope both bands weren't too put out by the venue. I bet you fans made up for it.

Looking forward to seeing at least Strato again in Seattle. Still haven't heard of anyone else whose going. No PP peeps in Seattle?

 

[es156]

This was a good show despite the circumstances. It definitely felt like I was back in college catching some local bands at a bar. It was cool to finally see Pagan's Mind even though the set was short. And the guys were very gracious after the show meeting the fans and not complaining about the venue. It was cool to see some of the local folks as well (Jason, Bob, Norm, etc.) Jose, I missed you for the second straight show! What the heck? Ha ha.

It was also nice to meet TexasBeth. Good luck with the cruise! It sounds like a blast.

This show would of been amaizing at Reggies. They need to have more metal shows there.

Speaking of Reggies, check this out:
http://www.jbtvonline.com/interviews/recent/Reggies-Rock-Club

Sounds like they have their stuff together.

Ah, cool. I didn't realize that Reggie's had only been around for 2 years. I guess that explains why I haven't heard much about it.

 

[es156]

I don't think there's a person here who wouldn't want to hug a satanic Eric James Dio.

 

[TexasBeth]

I had a blast meeting everyone again....it always seems that there is never enough time to talk to everyone.....

I ran into Joan (Orbweaver),J-Dubya777 and Al (Met-Al) first. It was nice to finally meet J-Dubya. Amber (Metal-Spice)...who I never really ge to talk to much at shows. I think we have talked more on this forum and in person. Hanging out with Brit (Invisable Guest) and Pat is always a good time. Those 2 can turn a dull show into a great time. Jose ( Saladbar), Scott(Kingsgene), and Vito (BalanceofPower) are always fun to talk to, it was great seeing them. it is funny...tonight I met all these forum people....it is always odd when people greet you and give you thier screen name first. I had a blast talking to Texasbeth about the Metal Cruise she is running. I hope it turns out great. She is a great sales person...trying to get 2 of the most stubborn people to go (Jasonic and I). I cant beleive she has 4 kids...I thought she was in her early 30's late 20's. There were others who also showed up and I got to meet real quick. Maybe I need to go to ProgPower one day.

I am curious to hear how they handle the Vader show that is coming there soon. They are going to trash that place. The turnout was lots better than I thought it was going to be with the short notice on the venue change. I think maybe like 200? I am bad at guessing this type of stuff.

ul t

It was wonderful to meet you two- you were a highlight of the night. I really
enjoyed chatting with yall about the cruise, but also about music in general. At least you get what I (and so many other promoters) are trying to do with live music in this genre.: )

FYI- I am 39 sliding in 40. Thank you.
To everyone else I met over the weekend... THANK YOU for your hospitality. warmth and interest. It was an unforgettable weekend!! (Nathan and Tammy that esp goes to you both)

Hope to see all of yall sooner rather than later. : )

 

[Diamond45]

FYI- I am 39 sliding in 40. Thank you.

Welcome to the club. I just crossed that threshold. :zombie:

 

[J-Dubya 777]

Welcome to the club. I just crossed that threshold. :zombie:

Pffffffffffttttttttttttttt! Youngsters! :Smokedev:

 

[OrbWeaver]

QFT. Niceness wins out all the time over stuck-up, uber physicial sexiness. Who likes a super hotty whose a prick? (Someones gonna have fun with that statement). BTW, Koti is super nice as well. His patience with fans, especially ga-ga chicks is comendable.

Wow, I hope both bands weren't too put out by the venue. I bet you fans made up for it.

Looking forward to seeing at least Strato again in Seattle. Still haven't heard of anyone else whose going. No PP peeps in Seattle?

Kotipelto has a seemingly endless wellspring of patience. I was a bit on the "OMG!!!" side of things when I met him. I got a photo with him and I'm bright red in it. XD He also signed a guitar hero guitar for a little kid that was at the show, which was very sweet.

The bands weren't too pleased with the venue, but they made the best of it. Boy, did they ever make the best of it! Aside from ProgPower, it was one of the best shows I've been to this year, despite the small venue.