Hey all,
Well as most know this year was my FIRST PP experience.
The timing for PP is always EXTREMELY bad for me.
My wedding anniversary is Sept 2 and one of my daughter's birthday is Sept 13. (YES!!! Mother Truckin' Sept 13, the evening of the STREETS performance next year
)
Luckily this years fell in between these personal events.
I had already planned a trip to visit a good buddy who lives in Nashville for Maiden on Thursday the 5th. About a month after that was planned is when I realized, "Holy shit!!!! That weekend is PP"
Luckily my buddy agreed to go with me. Given that he was going as a favor for me, and that Wolf and Saint were the main appeal, we picked going only on Saturday. I would have loved to go Friday too, but the main purpose of my trip was to visit my friend and I was happy he was willing to go for one day so I wasn't going to push it.
Ok - Before I go into details, I just want to start with this. PP is indeed an amazing experience and I can see why there are so many die hards who go each year regardless of the lineup.
I will break up this review by topic:
THE VENUE
The Center Stage simply rules. It is EXTREMELY easy to get to and is right off the I-24 East. Coming from the West, you don't have to get into the downtown gridlock. Parking at the venue itself is easy and VERY cheap. Only $10!!! I was expecting honestly to pay $30 if not more.
The layout is perfect. I think the bar / vendor area is what is known as Vinyl, right? I never was able to figure that out. Ha!!! It was very comfortable going anywhere throughout the venue, be it the vendor area, lobby, bathroom, bar, and inside the Center Stage itself.
The Center Stage? Amazing!!! I love the way the venue curves out at the ends. For many bands I actually sat at the end of a row only a couple rows up. Had a great view for everything. The sound was really good too. Only surprise, and it isn't really a complaint, is the floor area was smaller than expected. Considering how great the view is from the seats, I never even went to the floor. It enabled me to "take it all in" so to speak.......
THE ATMOSPHERE
This might seem like an odd sub topic, but I think its important to note. Right when I walked in I felt like a VIP. I know that sounds cheesy but I mean it. The folks at the door were extremely cool throughout the day and night. Right when you walked in they made sure you picked up the goodie bag (which contained a VERY slick program, CD sampler, etc). They also made sure you had your stamp for ins and outs, etc. Right after I walked up the stairs, Jen and others greeted folks and thanked folks for coming which was really cool.
Here's another what I will call "odd" observation which folks may take one way or see it another way. This is in no ways a normal "metal" crowd. Everyone is VERY VERY chill and there because they want to be at PP. I really didn't notice anyone there who were there because its a metal show and they want to get all "metal slutted up" and rage, or get drunk, and what not. As I said, the majority probably love this atmosphere. At the same time, I have heard from others that this is a turn off if its not what you are used to.
VENDOR ROOM
As said before, it was very comfortable throughout the vendor room. Things got VERY tight once CD INZANE put up the $5 CD signs, as expected. Though I wasn't financially prepared to spend a ton by any means, I always love browsing, so this enabled something to do during downtime. All the vendors were very cool and enabled the striking up of good conversation. Only comment I will make is based on other folks previous accounts, I had expected the room to be a lot bigger with more vendors. Maybe there have been more in the past?
THE PEOPLE
As previously mentioned before in the atmosphere section, everyone was very chill which was nice. It really enhanced the experience of taking it all in. Everyone is truly in good spirits. There weren't any grumpy people who looked like they wanted to be anywhere else, or sat with a pissed off look until one specific band came on,etc, that you see at so many shows.
Personal note - It was great to finally meet SO many people I had known for years on here for the first time, like Matt Tribunal, Brian (dcowboys), and many others I am forgetting. Was good to also see many who I have only met maybe once or twice like Justin Gaines, William (PalabraDeDios), Craig (compurocker), etc, etc, etc. I really wish I was there longer as there are MANY others I would have liked to meet, and I heard of a few who were actually LOOKING for me (I am looking at you Milton!!!!) but the timing simply never worked. That was a major bummer! Saw a lot of people from a distance who I recognized from the forum, but was never close enough to speak to.
Glen - I saw you a few times but you looked busy, as expected, so I didn't want to bother you. Would have loved to meet you in person, even if you just said, "Holy crap Jasonic!!! I am happy to say f*ck you to your face" Hahahahaha......
And finally...............
THE BANDS
As people have told me in the past, even if you aren't into a band, everyone brings their "A" game to PP and give a performance to be enjoyed.
I chose to skip Divinity Compromised since I wanted to use that time to maximize my time in the vendor room. I will also say my band has two upcoming shows with them this month already so I will get to see them anyhow! Cool that a Chicago band played and hope they did well.
Heavens Cry - Sorry, I tried, but could only last three songs. They sounded fine but had trouble trying to connect with what they were doing.
Wolf - Probably the main band I wanted to see. They played REALLY well and went over perfect. Only gripe was that they didn't play a LOT of material I had expected would be played live, esp as a festival, but so be it. What they did play they played REALLY well. I was a bit surprised when they said they were going to do a sing-a-long from The Black Flame and it was THE BITE (hardly a sing-a-long) instead of AT THE GRAVEYARD (Which is possibly my all time fav WOLF tune). Ha!! Final comment on them is I was not at all aware that they ditched the hesher look. They are completely slick now with leather pants and Workstar (or whatever that clothing company is called) button down shirts. Last I was aware of their look they still all had pimples and denim jackets. Ha! They were a band I never thought I would get to see.
Circus Maximus - Wow, what a performance!! I am not much of a prog metal guy at all, but these guys were great. I will be honest. Not sure I will run out and buy their CDs, but totally appreciate what they do. They had good catchy choruses that I find missing from a lot of prog metal. The crowd loved them, as I had expected. I can see why they are a PP favorite! Great job.
Armored Saint - Easily the most professional set of the day. They blew everyone away and by the end of their set had the floor banging their heads like crazy. Easily my favorite performance of the day. I thought the setlist was perfect as they played my fav tunes of theirs. Really, not much more can be said. I have never seen them before and I am very glad I did. Will definitely make an effort to again should they ever tour.
Sabaton - We had to head back to Nashville so only stayed for the first three songs. I guess they were what I had expected. It was truly a "performance" which live isn't usually what I like, depending on the band. I had trouble connecting with all the piped in stuff and the matching outfits (which I know is their thing). Also, for some reason, I found the sound for Sabaton to actually be the worst out of all the bands. I could not make out anything lyrically. That being said, they are good performers, and the crowd seemed to know every word. I had heard some material of theirs when they first came out and always thought they were a good band. I was just getting out of power metal stuff by the time they broke through so to speak, so I am not really familiar with most of their stuff. They seemed like they were having a blast and I can see why they too are a PP favorite. Just not my thing. Sorry. I heard they took requests which was cool.
FINAL THOUGHTS
PP was a great experience and I would certainly recommend it to anyone on the fence. As I said, unfortunately, I don't know if next year will work out for me, based on timing, which is a bummer since the lineup has a lot which interests me. I completely understand after seeing it first hand why the fest has so many loyal followers as it had a total "community" feeling to it. It is not your average metal show!
I really hope the fest continues so I can attend again if possible.
Sorry for the VERY long post, but I have REALLY been taking in the experience, since its something I have been following since the beginning, but never attended.
Well as most know this year was my FIRST PP experience.
The timing for PP is always EXTREMELY bad for me.
My wedding anniversary is Sept 2 and one of my daughter's birthday is Sept 13. (YES!!! Mother Truckin' Sept 13, the evening of the STREETS performance next year
)Luckily this years fell in between these personal events.
I had already planned a trip to visit a good buddy who lives in Nashville for Maiden on Thursday the 5th. About a month after that was planned is when I realized, "Holy shit!!!! That weekend is PP"
Luckily my buddy agreed to go with me. Given that he was going as a favor for me, and that Wolf and Saint were the main appeal, we picked going only on Saturday. I would have loved to go Friday too, but the main purpose of my trip was to visit my friend and I was happy he was willing to go for one day so I wasn't going to push it.
Ok - Before I go into details, I just want to start with this. PP is indeed an amazing experience and I can see why there are so many die hards who go each year regardless of the lineup.
I will break up this review by topic:
THE VENUE
The Center Stage simply rules. It is EXTREMELY easy to get to and is right off the I-24 East. Coming from the West, you don't have to get into the downtown gridlock. Parking at the venue itself is easy and VERY cheap. Only $10!!! I was expecting honestly to pay $30 if not more.
The layout is perfect. I think the bar / vendor area is what is known as Vinyl, right? I never was able to figure that out. Ha!!! It was very comfortable going anywhere throughout the venue, be it the vendor area, lobby, bathroom, bar, and inside the Center Stage itself.
The Center Stage? Amazing!!! I love the way the venue curves out at the ends. For many bands I actually sat at the end of a row only a couple rows up. Had a great view for everything. The sound was really good too. Only surprise, and it isn't really a complaint, is the floor area was smaller than expected. Considering how great the view is from the seats, I never even went to the floor. It enabled me to "take it all in" so to speak.......
THE ATMOSPHERE
This might seem like an odd sub topic, but I think its important to note. Right when I walked in I felt like a VIP. I know that sounds cheesy but I mean it. The folks at the door were extremely cool throughout the day and night. Right when you walked in they made sure you picked up the goodie bag (which contained a VERY slick program, CD sampler, etc). They also made sure you had your stamp for ins and outs, etc. Right after I walked up the stairs, Jen and others greeted folks and thanked folks for coming which was really cool.
Here's another what I will call "odd" observation which folks may take one way or see it another way. This is in no ways a normal "metal" crowd. Everyone is VERY VERY chill and there because they want to be at PP. I really didn't notice anyone there who were there because its a metal show and they want to get all "metal slutted up" and rage, or get drunk, and what not. As I said, the majority probably love this atmosphere. At the same time, I have heard from others that this is a turn off if its not what you are used to.
VENDOR ROOM
As said before, it was very comfortable throughout the vendor room. Things got VERY tight once CD INZANE put up the $5 CD signs, as expected. Though I wasn't financially prepared to spend a ton by any means, I always love browsing, so this enabled something to do during downtime. All the vendors were very cool and enabled the striking up of good conversation. Only comment I will make is based on other folks previous accounts, I had expected the room to be a lot bigger with more vendors. Maybe there have been more in the past?
THE PEOPLE
As previously mentioned before in the atmosphere section, everyone was very chill which was nice. It really enhanced the experience of taking it all in. Everyone is truly in good spirits. There weren't any grumpy people who looked like they wanted to be anywhere else, or sat with a pissed off look until one specific band came on,etc, that you see at so many shows.
Personal note - It was great to finally meet SO many people I had known for years on here for the first time, like Matt Tribunal, Brian (dcowboys), and many others I am forgetting. Was good to also see many who I have only met maybe once or twice like Justin Gaines, William (PalabraDeDios), Craig (compurocker), etc, etc, etc. I really wish I was there longer as there are MANY others I would have liked to meet, and I heard of a few who were actually LOOKING for me (I am looking at you Milton!!!!) but the timing simply never worked. That was a major bummer! Saw a lot of people from a distance who I recognized from the forum, but was never close enough to speak to.
Glen - I saw you a few times but you looked busy, as expected, so I didn't want to bother you. Would have loved to meet you in person, even if you just said, "Holy crap Jasonic!!! I am happy to say f*ck you to your face" Hahahahaha......
And finally...............
THE BANDS
As people have told me in the past, even if you aren't into a band, everyone brings their "A" game to PP and give a performance to be enjoyed.
I chose to skip Divinity Compromised since I wanted to use that time to maximize my time in the vendor room. I will also say my band has two upcoming shows with them this month already so I will get to see them anyhow! Cool that a Chicago band played and hope they did well.
Heavens Cry - Sorry, I tried, but could only last three songs. They sounded fine but had trouble trying to connect with what they were doing.
Wolf - Probably the main band I wanted to see. They played REALLY well and went over perfect. Only gripe was that they didn't play a LOT of material I had expected would be played live, esp as a festival, but so be it. What they did play they played REALLY well. I was a bit surprised when they said they were going to do a sing-a-long from The Black Flame and it was THE BITE (hardly a sing-a-long) instead of AT THE GRAVEYARD (Which is possibly my all time fav WOLF tune). Ha!! Final comment on them is I was not at all aware that they ditched the hesher look. They are completely slick now with leather pants and Workstar (or whatever that clothing company is called) button down shirts. Last I was aware of their look they still all had pimples and denim jackets. Ha! They were a band I never thought I would get to see.
Circus Maximus - Wow, what a performance!! I am not much of a prog metal guy at all, but these guys were great. I will be honest. Not sure I will run out and buy their CDs, but totally appreciate what they do. They had good catchy choruses that I find missing from a lot of prog metal. The crowd loved them, as I had expected. I can see why they are a PP favorite! Great job.
Armored Saint - Easily the most professional set of the day. They blew everyone away and by the end of their set had the floor banging their heads like crazy. Easily my favorite performance of the day. I thought the setlist was perfect as they played my fav tunes of theirs. Really, not much more can be said. I have never seen them before and I am very glad I did. Will definitely make an effort to again should they ever tour.
Sabaton - We had to head back to Nashville so only stayed for the first three songs. I guess they were what I had expected. It was truly a "performance" which live isn't usually what I like, depending on the band. I had trouble connecting with all the piped in stuff and the matching outfits (which I know is their thing). Also, for some reason, I found the sound for Sabaton to actually be the worst out of all the bands. I could not make out anything lyrically. That being said, they are good performers, and the crowd seemed to know every word. I had heard some material of theirs when they first came out and always thought they were a good band. I was just getting out of power metal stuff by the time they broke through so to speak, so I am not really familiar with most of their stuff. They seemed like they were having a blast and I can see why they too are a PP favorite. Just not my thing. Sorry. I heard they took requests which was cool.
FINAL THOUGHTS
PP was a great experience and I would certainly recommend it to anyone on the fence. As I said, unfortunately, I don't know if next year will work out for me, based on timing, which is a bummer since the lineup has a lot which interests me. I completely understand after seeing it first hand why the fest has so many loyal followers as it had a total "community" feeling to it. It is not your average metal show!
I really hope the fest continues so I can attend again if possible.
Sorry for the VERY long post, but I have REALLY been taking in the experience, since its something I have been following since the beginning, but never attended.
