Powerfest reviews?

[General Zod]

I totally agree. I thought for sure it would have drawn better since it had more widely known headliners.

I'll be curious to read what Chris & Rob have to say about the weekend; BLS, the crowd size and the future of the festival. I have to imagine that these bands weren't cheap.

Zod

 

[axehomeyg]

That whole BLS/CoP thing was bogus. Also, thrown in for good measure was a general asshole attitude from their managers/band. The rest of the bands (and us) were in one of those 'whatever, lets just play' moods during the whole thing so it really didn't matter much anyway. I think Rob & Chris are badasses for dealing with that Diva-shit in a calm collected way and doing the best they could. Judging by the turnout, the big headliners didn't really payoff monetarily. Hopefully they take that into account next year.

 

[axehomeyg]

I think my new calling in life is a professional reviewer / critic. Anyone willing to hire me?

I loved your review, dude. Except for the part where you didn't see us play!

 

[booB]

The turnout wasnt as good as last year. Not sure if it was the choice of bands or that lots of people decided not to travel in for this years show.

The latter. If people are not willing to travel for the main fest, they're certainly not going to travel for Paganfest, which they can probably see in their own town.

Hopefully next year they will move things back to more underground stuff and get the out of towners back.

We shall see. I was so disappointed in this year's lineup that I had the entire week off of work, and I chose to stay at home and do nothing, instead of going to Powerfest. Normally, Powerfest has my favorite lineup of any North American fest. This year was a hiccup... but it was a HUGE hiccup, considering I could have easily gone, and I didn't.

Yes, and no.
BLS and DD both tour a ton, and play better known places like House of Blues, etc. There still is a LARGE population of metal fans who haven't trekked out to Mokena. Also, BLS and DD draw a younger crowd, who may have been faced with the, "You are not going to Mokena, etc"

I can't speak for the locals, but as an out-of-towner, I love the Pearl Room for this fest, although it has its pros and its cons for us. Pros: easy walking distance to the Super 8; nice, well-run venue; big room; not in the middle of the hustle-and-bustle of the city; close to public transport for those who need it; close to plenty of food places. Cons: no in/out privs unless you're a sponsor; only one place to stay within walking distance (Super 8), and if that's full, you have to find lodging far away from the other out-of-towners (and the parties); it's a long way from the sightseeing area of town, for those who want to see some of Chicago while they're there; not every "seat" in the house is a good one, and it can be hard to find a good vantage point to see the show if the room is packed.

I can't see the HOB or the Metro, for example, being any better for out-of-towners. Lodging is expensive and harder to get to; parking is expensive if you have a car, and if you don't, you're stuck taking cabs; it's more expensive to eat in the city; and I highly doubt those places have in/out privs either. I'm sure these places work much better for the locals, though, and that's who this fest seems entirely marketed to these days. (CR&J know no one is going to travel to see bands that tour all the time anyway.) In fact, if they got 600 at the Pearl Room with this lineup, they probably could have sold out the Metro.

Look, we can talk about the lineup, etc, till we are blue in the face.
BLS and DD obviously were not their #1 choice in headliners for this year. They did what they felt they needed to do to keep it going.

Chris and Rob have said in the past that they've had better luck with waiting until the last minute to book headliners, because their schedules fill up way ahead of time, and they can take advantages of "holes" in the schedule. According to Harv's write-ups about how different PPUSA lineups came to be, he seems to do the exact opposite; he books his headliners waaaay ahead of time, before the schedule filling up becomes an issue. One of these approaches tends to be successful (more often than not), and one doesn't. This isn't the first year that Chris and Rob seem to have had a lot of trouble nailing down a headliner that they wanted. I'm just sayin'.

My only recommendation would be to either stay with underground acts, or just simply go all out and go after the more mainstream acts. I don't see the appeal, as those bands tour so regularly. I am not sure how well it works when you mix the two. It was certainly a unique idea to attempt.

Well, they mixed the two last year, but they went the opposite way with it. Last year, the headliners and more expensive bands were aimed more at the traditional/underground crowd, and the supporting/cheaper bands were largely aimed at the more mainstream crowd. Tons of people showed up, but they made fun of the mainstream bands. This year, the more expensive/headlining bands were the mainstream bands, and the smaller support bands were the traditional/underground bands. Apparently, the attendance wasn't nearly as high as last year, and the people who DID show up don't seem like they had an opinion about the support bands either way. Based on this data, it seems like the traditional/underground route is the way to go, as far as attendance and overall fan satisfaction are concerned. There is plenty of room for variation within those constraints; Powerfest doesn't have to be just like ProgPower to be successful.

 

[Jasonic]

Well, they mixed the two last year, but they went the opposite way with it. Last year, the headliners and more expensive bands were aimed more at the traditional/underground crowd, and the supporting/cheaper bands were largely aimed at the more mainstream crowd.

Yeah, but that's not a one for one comparison.

I mean, the more mainstream bands they got last year (I assume you mean A LIFE ONCE LOST, ARISE AND RUIN, etc) aren't even in the same ballpark as going after a BLS or DevilDriver.

As was proven by attendance, the Powerfest regulars, and underground metal fans in general, viewed the support bands last year as nothing more than weak opening bands. Having popular mainstream bands headline immediately alienates MANY regulars (yourself included).

It's hard to nit pick this year, as the more mainstream bands were booked AFTER bands like Nov Doom and Kiuas. I don't view it as it was their intention all along to book more mainstream bands. When it came down to the wire, they needed to land headliners. Everyone has speculated that Opeth and Enslaved were high on the list, as even the mailman knew they were going to be in town the same week as Powerfest.

We'll see what the future brings.
I certainly hope they continue it, and I will do my best to try to support.
Even though I wasn't too hyped about this years lineup, I still had a good time on Saturday, and discovered the young, but mighty, DIAMOND PLATE.

 

[eppst1]

Bob, I couldn't have said it better. Bravo...