I had decided to leave around 12 midnight so I could arrive in the Chicago area around late morning/early afternoon.... As usual, I was driving out (Since I was bringing beer) so I had everything packed and ready to go by 10:30 PM. Went and filled up on gas and made other last minute preps.... The trip officially started at 11:45 PM.
The first half of the trip (literally) was spent driving from one end of Pennsylvania to the other.... As I'm about to leave PA and enter Ohio I get slammed with a friggin $17.50 toll charge!!!! WTF!?!?!? After the momentary shock of being financially violated by some Ass-Chimp in a booth, I decided to try and at least get some value of it so I asked said individual how far it was till I reached I-80.... Apparently, command of the English language is not required to be a toll collector, only the ability to vocalize numbers since Ass-Chimp muttered something unintelligible....
So anyway.... While the PA toll road runs through mountainous areas and has some curves which tends to make the drive more interesting, Ohio does not.... It's strait.... It's flat.... Thats it.... The highlight of the drive through Ohio was me switching lanes to avoid some fresh road kill.... Ohio slams me with a $9.00 toll as I'm about to enter Indiana but at least the toll chick was kinda hot....
So I hit Indiana and the first thing I notice is there are friggin animal radar things all over the place.... Not only that but there is no sign whatsoever telling me what the speed limit is.... I briefly contemplated the idea of gunning it to 100mph until I either saw a sign with a speed limit posted or I got chased down by a cop but quickly decided against that course of action.... Somewhere between 15 & 20 miles later, I finally saw a speed limit sign....
I swear Indiana & Ohio must be interchangeable since you really cant tell one from the other except for the visitor centers.... Flat.... Strait.... Boring.... As with Ohio, the highlight of the drive through Indiana was the occasional road kill. I get hit with a $4.00 toll as I'm about to leave Indiana which is pocket change compared to the other 2 states....
So Im finally in Illinois and everything is going good until.... Traffic jam!!!! Not only is there the traffic jam from hell but every friggin tractor trailer on the whole damn planet has decided to use this road today so I cant see shit.... 30 to 45 minutes later it clears up enough for me to see what the problem was.... One of the billions of tractor trailers on the road overturned in the opposite direction.... *Grumble* Damn rubber-neckers....
Anyway.... Visibility still blows due to the trucks and traffic starts to get clusterfucked again due to road construction.... I'm almost at the last exit when the construction nightmare turns really ugly.... Not only is the exit I'm supposed to take NOT there but there are only 2 ways to go (only 2 that I saw due the fucking trucks!!!!).... One way says it will take me to Wisconsin/Iowa and the other is a semi-continuation of the road I was on.... Logic would dictate that I continue on the road I was on.... Or so one would think.... After driving far past where I should have been I decided to call the hotel and find out where the hell I was....
So I get a hold of the black chick at the hotel desk (Whose name I forget but she was really cool not to mention helpful!!!!) and tell her where I was and she says Im in a bad section of downtown Chicago!!!! <BMGC> At this point I hope ILDOT or whatever the fuck they are called gets brutally sodomized by an 800 pound gorilla named Bobo.... Twice!!!! PENNDOT can get the Bobo treatment as well.... </BMGC>
So anyway.... Hotel desk chick is cool enough to talk me through getting to the hotel and I finally arrive there around 11:30 CST on Thursday.... I checked in and dragged my stuff up to my room.... Setup the laptop, then got one of the luggage carts to wheel the beer in.... I was expecting a full size fridge but at least most of the beer fit in it.... I decided it would be a good idea to get some sleep since I had been up since 5am Wednesday morning.
I tried to crash for an hour but by then I was too wired so I said fuck it and went downstairs for directions and such.... Met some friends down in the lobby and eventually went out with Angela, Amy, Bear, and ChrisF5 to hunt down some booze and grab some eats. We all hit some little Mexican place that have pretty good food and killed a couple pitchers of margaritas while there....
Afterwards we all hung out and drank till it was time to hit the preparty.... We ended up going through 6 bottles of Chimay before leaving for the pre party . Ralf was cool enough to drive us over and the night was spent drinking and chatting with people.... Got to hang out and chat with the dudes from Eldritch and I gotta say they were really cool.... Not sure what time I actually left but I caught a cab ride with Matt & Nancy.... I went and crashed after returning to the hotel since I needed to be up early to go pick up a friend at the airport....
FRIDAY:
I wake up around 9:00 AM, get my morning caffeine and head down to the check in desk for directions to the airport.... Cool hotel chick is there and her friend gives me directions to the airport.... I left kinda early just in case I ended up getting lost or some road disappeared thanks to the ever popular rat bastards of ILDOT.... Made it to the airport with no problems at all and even got there 30 minutes early .
Midway airport definitely needs some concession stands in the baggage area . There was only 1 small place and they wanted $1.65 for a miniscule bag of pretzels. I coined a new term after that . Airport Robbery. The flight was 10 minutes late which was no big deal then I finally met up with Christina and we loaded her bag in the car and headed to the hotel. On the way back we stopped at what looked like a good Mexican restaurant but it ended up being more of a fast food place . The food was good though .
After arriving back at the hotel, I hung around and chatted with Sarah & Jeremy and met Rob from Twelfth Gate . Also managed to score a copy of the new TG CD . Later we all headed to Leonas for lunch and struggled through figuring out the rather interesting menu . The group wisely decided against letting John Frank say a blessing for the food since invocations to Satan probably would have gotten us kicked out!!!! LOL
After lunch Kyle drove Christina and I to the venue and I think we got there just as the first band started . Took awhile for the merchandise table to be operational but luckily Rob (From TG) was able to get them to sell me 2 shirts before they officially opened the section . Withering Soul was not my kinda thing so I spent that time waiting for the merch area to officially open, mingling, and sampling the establishments liquid refreshments .
Next up was Gracepoint which was one of the bands I really wanted to see and I must say they did not disappoint . I went up front for their set but due to acoustics and/or mixing, I could not hear the guitar so I moved to the back of the venue where the guitar was more audible . Im really stoked to hear a new Gracepoint album at this point!!!! \m/
Next was an old favorite of mine: Agent Steel . They played a killer set with a good mix of old and new . Bruce Hall (Vocals) was right on the money with the old tunes . It took many years but I was happy as hell to finally see one of the old school bands I missed back in the 80s . They more than made up for it by kicking ass and taking names!!!! \m/ \m/
Biomechanical was up next and I was interested to see if they would click with me in a live setting . I was finally able to pick up their first CD (Eight Moons) from the merch area once it was setup . Biomechanical put on an excellent, energetic set and I was really impressed by how they came across live .
Eldritch headlined the night and was another of the bands I really wanted to see . Their set was very professional and covered a good amount of the last 2 albums and some of the older stuff as well . In my opinion they really kicked ass and Im glad that they finally got a gig over here in the states and I got the chance to see it . The World Apart absolutely slayed live!!!! \m/ \m/
After the show we all eventually went back to the hotel where a lot of us congregated in room 322 for the After the show party . Much booze was had and we pretty much took over a good part of the entire floor!!!! I finally left around 5:00 AM and crashed .
SATURDAY:
I achieved coherency around 10:30 AM and quickly purchased my ProgPower Pre-Party tickets then decided to find breakfast . I hit the diner across from the gyro place and had sausage gravy & biscuits and potato pancakes . The gravy and biscuits was good (Not as good as Coldie & Scotts however) but the potato pancakes sucked .
Upon returning to the hotel, Kyle found me and said a group was going to make a pilgrimage to Impulse records . After determining that Sarah, Jeremy, Kyle, Chris, and I did not all fit into Sarah & Jeremys car comfortably, we decided to take 2 cars . An hour or so and many tolls later we finally found Impulse and the metal head feeding frenzy was engaged . That place has an awesome selection (Needs more thrash though) and I was hard pressed to restrain myself .
After Impulse we all went to some place and had lunch then headed back to the hotel . I met up with Christina and Ken Luther a bit later and we went over to the diner and had dinner . Afterwards I drove Christina to the venue and I commenced with my ritual of drinking and mingling .
Mirror Black took the stage first and put on a good set of power metal . I had not heard any of their material before but was definitely impressed . As with the previous night, the back of the venue was the best place for me to get good sound .
Twelfth Gate was next and put on a great heavy set . The new vocals will take some getting used to for me . Towards the end of the set, a bunch of us went over to the burger king and had a quick muchie session .
Ion Vein took the stage and I have to say they did kick some ass . The set was a lot heavier this time than the previous times I had seen them live . Looks like Im going to have to snag the new Ion Vein CD when its released!!!!
Nocturnal Rites was up next and to be honest, I wasnt really looking forward to seeing them . I had one of their older CDs some years back and wasnt really impressed but I have to admit they put on a good show . Very heavy and energetic . Most likely the best sound of the night as well .
Morgana Lefay rounded out the festival and they started off with technical difficulties . Apparently they were having a problem with one of the guitars. I couldnt tell since I couldnt hear the guitar unless I stood at the back of the venue . Morgana played Court of the Crimson King which was the highlight of the set for me but it was a good show none the less .
After the show a lot of people migrated to room 322 again and we were having a good time until the hotel hall Nazi showed up and told us we couldnt hang out in the hallway and party . Hall Nazi showed up again later after some of us tried to get some air in the hallway and said we all needed to be in the room or he would call the cops . <BMGC> I bet if we were a bunch of homeboys hanging out in the hallway the racist hall Nazi wouldnt have said shit . Bobo that motherfucker as well!!!!</BMGC> Shortly after that I decided to crash since I had a long drive ahead of me .
SUNDAY:
I woke up around 9:45, got all my stuff packed and loaded in my car then proceeded to check out . After that I hung out for a bit shooting the breeze with friends and band members then went and filled the gas tank and took off . Nothing eventful happened other than Ohio nailing me for another $3.00 five minutes after the wonderful $9.00 toll . Rat Bastards .
GREETINGS & HAILS:
*All the people I already know: Was great seeing everybody again!!!! I cant wait for ProgPower!!!!
*And the new people I met: Bruce Hall, Sam (Gracepoint), Amy, Annie, Tess, Angela (Houston), Rob (Twelfth Gate) Matt (Biomechanical), The entire Eldritch crew, John Frank, Ken Luther, Bryant, Hot bartender chick with tattoo, Cindy, Sarah and tons more .
Thanks to Chris & Rob for putting this festival together . The lineup was killer!!!! \m/ \m/
The first half of the trip (literally) was spent driving from one end of Pennsylvania to the other.... As I'm about to leave PA and enter Ohio I get slammed with a friggin $17.50 toll charge!!!! WTF!?!?!? After the momentary shock of being financially violated by some Ass-Chimp in a booth, I decided to try and at least get some value of it so I asked said individual how far it was till I reached I-80.... Apparently, command of the English language is not required to be a toll collector, only the ability to vocalize numbers since Ass-Chimp muttered something unintelligible....
So anyway.... While the PA toll road runs through mountainous areas and has some curves which tends to make the drive more interesting, Ohio does not.... It's strait.... It's flat.... Thats it.... The highlight of the drive through Ohio was me switching lanes to avoid some fresh road kill.... Ohio slams me with a $9.00 toll as I'm about to enter Indiana but at least the toll chick was kinda hot....
So I hit Indiana and the first thing I notice is there are friggin animal radar things all over the place.... Not only that but there is no sign whatsoever telling me what the speed limit is.... I briefly contemplated the idea of gunning it to 100mph until I either saw a sign with a speed limit posted or I got chased down by a cop but quickly decided against that course of action.... Somewhere between 15 & 20 miles later, I finally saw a speed limit sign....
I swear Indiana & Ohio must be interchangeable since you really cant tell one from the other except for the visitor centers.... Flat.... Strait.... Boring.... As with Ohio, the highlight of the drive through Indiana was the occasional road kill. I get hit with a $4.00 toll as I'm about to leave Indiana which is pocket change compared to the other 2 states....
So Im finally in Illinois and everything is going good until.... Traffic jam!!!! Not only is there the traffic jam from hell but every friggin tractor trailer on the whole damn planet has decided to use this road today so I cant see shit.... 30 to 45 minutes later it clears up enough for me to see what the problem was.... One of the billions of tractor trailers on the road overturned in the opposite direction.... *Grumble* Damn rubber-neckers....
Anyway.... Visibility still blows due to the trucks and traffic starts to get clusterfucked again due to road construction.... I'm almost at the last exit when the construction nightmare turns really ugly.... Not only is the exit I'm supposed to take NOT there but there are only 2 ways to go (only 2 that I saw due the fucking trucks!!!!).... One way says it will take me to Wisconsin/Iowa and the other is a semi-continuation of the road I was on.... Logic would dictate that I continue on the road I was on.... Or so one would think.... After driving far past where I should have been I decided to call the hotel and find out where the hell I was....
So I get a hold of the black chick at the hotel desk (Whose name I forget but she was really cool not to mention helpful!!!!) and tell her where I was and she says Im in a bad section of downtown Chicago!!!! <BMGC> At this point I hope ILDOT or whatever the fuck they are called gets brutally sodomized by an 800 pound gorilla named Bobo.... Twice!!!! PENNDOT can get the Bobo treatment as well.... </BMGC>
So anyway.... Hotel desk chick is cool enough to talk me through getting to the hotel and I finally arrive there around 11:30 CST on Thursday.... I checked in and dragged my stuff up to my room.... Setup the laptop, then got one of the luggage carts to wheel the beer in.... I was expecting a full size fridge but at least most of the beer fit in it.... I decided it would be a good idea to get some sleep since I had been up since 5am Wednesday morning.
I tried to crash for an hour but by then I was too wired so I said fuck it and went downstairs for directions and such.... Met some friends down in the lobby and eventually went out with Angela, Amy, Bear, and ChrisF5 to hunt down some booze and grab some eats. We all hit some little Mexican place that have pretty good food and killed a couple pitchers of margaritas while there....
Afterwards we all hung out and drank till it was time to hit the preparty.... We ended up going through 6 bottles of Chimay before leaving for the pre party . Ralf was cool enough to drive us over and the night was spent drinking and chatting with people.... Got to hang out and chat with the dudes from Eldritch and I gotta say they were really cool.... Not sure what time I actually left but I caught a cab ride with Matt & Nancy.... I went and crashed after returning to the hotel since I needed to be up early to go pick up a friend at the airport....
FRIDAY:
I wake up around 9:00 AM, get my morning caffeine and head down to the check in desk for directions to the airport.... Cool hotel chick is there and her friend gives me directions to the airport.... I left kinda early just in case I ended up getting lost or some road disappeared thanks to the ever popular rat bastards of ILDOT.... Made it to the airport with no problems at all and even got there 30 minutes early .
Midway airport definitely needs some concession stands in the baggage area . There was only 1 small place and they wanted $1.65 for a miniscule bag of pretzels. I coined a new term after that . Airport Robbery. The flight was 10 minutes late which was no big deal then I finally met up with Christina and we loaded her bag in the car and headed to the hotel. On the way back we stopped at what looked like a good Mexican restaurant but it ended up being more of a fast food place . The food was good though .
After arriving back at the hotel, I hung around and chatted with Sarah & Jeremy and met Rob from Twelfth Gate . Also managed to score a copy of the new TG CD . Later we all headed to Leonas for lunch and struggled through figuring out the rather interesting menu . The group wisely decided against letting John Frank say a blessing for the food since invocations to Satan probably would have gotten us kicked out!!!! LOL
After lunch Kyle drove Christina and I to the venue and I think we got there just as the first band started . Took awhile for the merchandise table to be operational but luckily Rob (From TG) was able to get them to sell me 2 shirts before they officially opened the section . Withering Soul was not my kinda thing so I spent that time waiting for the merch area to officially open, mingling, and sampling the establishments liquid refreshments .
Next up was Gracepoint which was one of the bands I really wanted to see and I must say they did not disappoint . I went up front for their set but due to acoustics and/or mixing, I could not hear the guitar so I moved to the back of the venue where the guitar was more audible . Im really stoked to hear a new Gracepoint album at this point!!!! \m/
Next was an old favorite of mine: Agent Steel . They played a killer set with a good mix of old and new . Bruce Hall (Vocals) was right on the money with the old tunes . It took many years but I was happy as hell to finally see one of the old school bands I missed back in the 80s . They more than made up for it by kicking ass and taking names!!!! \m/ \m/
Biomechanical was up next and I was interested to see if they would click with me in a live setting . I was finally able to pick up their first CD (Eight Moons) from the merch area once it was setup . Biomechanical put on an excellent, energetic set and I was really impressed by how they came across live .
Eldritch headlined the night and was another of the bands I really wanted to see . Their set was very professional and covered a good amount of the last 2 albums and some of the older stuff as well . In my opinion they really kicked ass and Im glad that they finally got a gig over here in the states and I got the chance to see it . The World Apart absolutely slayed live!!!! \m/ \m/
After the show we all eventually went back to the hotel where a lot of us congregated in room 322 for the After the show party . Much booze was had and we pretty much took over a good part of the entire floor!!!! I finally left around 5:00 AM and crashed .
SATURDAY:
I achieved coherency around 10:30 AM and quickly purchased my ProgPower Pre-Party tickets then decided to find breakfast . I hit the diner across from the gyro place and had sausage gravy & biscuits and potato pancakes . The gravy and biscuits was good (Not as good as Coldie & Scotts however) but the potato pancakes sucked .
Upon returning to the hotel, Kyle found me and said a group was going to make a pilgrimage to Impulse records . After determining that Sarah, Jeremy, Kyle, Chris, and I did not all fit into Sarah & Jeremys car comfortably, we decided to take 2 cars . An hour or so and many tolls later we finally found Impulse and the metal head feeding frenzy was engaged . That place has an awesome selection (Needs more thrash though) and I was hard pressed to restrain myself .
After Impulse we all went to some place and had lunch then headed back to the hotel . I met up with Christina and Ken Luther a bit later and we went over to the diner and had dinner . Afterwards I drove Christina to the venue and I commenced with my ritual of drinking and mingling .
Mirror Black took the stage first and put on a good set of power metal . I had not heard any of their material before but was definitely impressed . As with the previous night, the back of the venue was the best place for me to get good sound .
Twelfth Gate was next and put on a great heavy set . The new vocals will take some getting used to for me . Towards the end of the set, a bunch of us went over to the burger king and had a quick muchie session .
Ion Vein took the stage and I have to say they did kick some ass . The set was a lot heavier this time than the previous times I had seen them live . Looks like Im going to have to snag the new Ion Vein CD when its released!!!!
Nocturnal Rites was up next and to be honest, I wasnt really looking forward to seeing them . I had one of their older CDs some years back and wasnt really impressed but I have to admit they put on a good show . Very heavy and energetic . Most likely the best sound of the night as well .
Morgana Lefay rounded out the festival and they started off with technical difficulties . Apparently they were having a problem with one of the guitars. I couldnt tell since I couldnt hear the guitar unless I stood at the back of the venue . Morgana played Court of the Crimson King which was the highlight of the set for me but it was a good show none the less .
After the show a lot of people migrated to room 322 again and we were having a good time until the hotel hall Nazi showed up and told us we couldnt hang out in the hallway and party . Hall Nazi showed up again later after some of us tried to get some air in the hallway and said we all needed to be in the room or he would call the cops . <BMGC> I bet if we were a bunch of homeboys hanging out in the hallway the racist hall Nazi wouldnt have said shit . Bobo that motherfucker as well!!!!</BMGC> Shortly after that I decided to crash since I had a long drive ahead of me .
SUNDAY:
I woke up around 9:45, got all my stuff packed and loaded in my car then proceeded to check out . After that I hung out for a bit shooting the breeze with friends and band members then went and filled the gas tank and took off . Nothing eventful happened other than Ohio nailing me for another $3.00 five minutes after the wonderful $9.00 toll . Rat Bastards .
GREETINGS & HAILS:
*All the people I already know: Was great seeing everybody again!!!! I cant wait for ProgPower!!!!
*And the new people I met: Bruce Hall, Sam (Gracepoint), Amy, Annie, Tess, Angela (Houston), Rob (Twelfth Gate) Matt (Biomechanical), The entire Eldritch crew, John Frank, Ken Luther, Bryant, Hot bartender chick with tattoo, Cindy, Sarah and tons more .
Thanks to Chris & Rob for putting this festival together . The lineup was killer!!!! \m/ \m/
