Vanden Plas: I'll watch the majority of their set because I've been waiting a long time to see them. However, I'm not as excited about them as I feel I should be. I'm not as big of a VP fan as I used to be. Got
Far Off Grace and
The God Thing back in 2002, and I loved those albums and still do, but I haven't checked out anything since. I was really stoked when they were supposed to play and really bummed when they had to drop off (which has nothing to do with me "not liking them as much as I used to"), so I should be more stoked that I'm FINALLY getting to see them. I will pick up some of their more recent albums. I've been hearing a lot of great shit about the Seraphic Clockwork.
Evergrey: I love Evergrey, seen them 6 times or so, so many that I honestly lost count. I plan to watch their whole set, but if I have to leave for some reason I won't feel too bad, having already seen them a bunch. But as I said, my plans are to watch the whole thing.
Creation's End: Only heard 1 song so far. I do plan to check out the album before PP. If the album really wows me, I'll watch the whole set. If it doesn't or if I don't get to check it out before the show, I'll just watch 2 or 3 songs to see what I think and decide whether to watch more. I am a fan of Mike DiMeo's (the guy who was in Riot and on the one non-Jorn Masterplan album) vocals so I do look forward to see him live, too.
Voyager: Need to check this band out still. If I still haven't heard them by the festival, I'll watch the first few songs to see if they win me over. I've heard great things about them & I remember seeing their CDs for sale for pretty cheap ($8 or so, correct me if I'm wrong) at the "Insider Sale" but by that point I was broke and couldn't get anything.
Darkwater: Another band that I've been meaning to check out for years but have yet to do so. Will definitely check out some of their set.
Eldritch: Will watch the whole set, may even go to rail for this. Huge Eldritch fan. Been waiting a long time for this. Mega-huge thanks to Glenn for bringing them over, and thanks to Steve, Dave, and Alicia for sponsoring them!
Mob Rules: Same as Eldritch. Been waiting a long time to see them, have all the albums, big fan, yada yada yada, blah blah blah, all that shit...VERY STOKED!
Arcturus: Probably the band I'm most excited about. Never thought I'd get to see them live, and the fact that they are reuniting to play PP makes it all the better. Can't fucking wait for this!
(also can't wait to see the reactions of people who don't know anything about Arcturus
)
Sanctuary: I really like Sanctuary, but I can safely say that I'm a casual Sanctuary fan. I'll watch the set from the back & let the die-hard fans have the floor & good seats.
Haken: Hadn't heard of them until the announcement. Haven't checked them out yet, but like Voyager, Creation's End, and Darkwater, I'll catch at least some of their set to see what I think.
While Heaven Wept: Haven't heard them yet but I have every intention of checking this band out before PP. Will watch their set.
Red Circuit: Their 1st album was ok, IMO, liked their 2nd better. Will catch most of their set.
Labyrinth: Finally get to see Labyrinth! Same as Mob Rules & Eldritch & Arcturus, watch their whole set, possibly get as close to the front as possible.
Dream Evil: Same as Sanctuary. I'll watch from the side, let the die-hards have the floor. I love Dragonslayer & United, but the rest of their stuff is give-or-take with me. I'm sure their set will be really, really fucking fun, so I might wind up getting really into their live show and enjoy it more than I thought I would. They might have that effect where you wind up liking a band a lot more after seeing them live.
Therion: Very excited to see Therion again. The new album kicks ass and they always put on an amazing show.