PPUSA XVI - Cheers and Jeers

Jeers every single year...VIP grabbing the 1st row of seats every year, and then not sitting in them once...NOT ONCE!

2 seats were taken right in the front row, as they are every year. Every year they remain empty for the entire day.

Last year the people came to the seats once to eat. This year they remained empty all day, the merch bags & towels on the seat.

After I came back from the merch tables after Anathema, the stuff was gone. So from Noon until 11 PM those seats wereleft empty.

I understand that you are VIP and appreciate what you do for the fest. What you never seem to grasp is that there are people standing in the main walkway looking for seats, obstructing the view of other people while there are 2 great seats sitting there empty because you use your perks for a maybe. "Maybe I'll need to sit later, but its my perk for being VIP". You may as well say "Fuck everybody else, this is my fest"

The seat saving issue has improved to an extent, but when I'm in the front of the line, standing in the Gold Badge line from 11 AM and I find these seats filled with bags, every year, and not used, it kinda pisses me off. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one that this bothers

End Rant!
 
Jeers every single year...VIP grabbing the 1st row of seats every year, and then not sitting in them once...NOT ONCE!

Yeah - I'll agree that that's not cool. We got our preferred seats, but we made sure that someone was always sitting in them.. never walked away expecting a program bag to hold them for us.
 
Cheers:

Glenn, Jen, and the entire staff for pulling a half-dozen rabbits out of their hat, including a couple of last minute saves with Hibria and Dynazty, and for making this festival so awesome.

Su for my virgin gummi bears. That meant a lot. :)

Carl Frederick for sharing the whole experience with us in our first year as sponsors.

Milton and Nathan for being so awesome and helpful.

Ralf for getting us where we wanted to be at the right time. :)

The Artmore housekeeping staff - on one occasion, there were 3 smiling people efficiently cleaning up our room when we came in, and they were always very friendly and accommodating. They definitely earned their tip this year!

All of the awesome bands, especially JSS and Dragonland - they blew me away with their performances AND friendliness.

Divebomb Records for giving away all of our discs to the CD buying public. You're awesome, Matt.

DaVinci's for continuing to improve their in-venue offerings. It gets a little better each year.

Nailz for cleaning up the Courtyard before his flight, and everyone who attempted to keep it clean.



Jeers:

USCIS - 'nuff said.

The Courtyard issues - unless your mom came with you, clean up after yourself. It's not hard. The ground, chairs, fountains, and brick work are not trash cans.

The extremely insensitive dude with the poor choice of apparel. No further comment.
 
Cheers overwhelm the jeers once again:

Cheers

* Obligatory cheers for the promoters, crew, and staff. I mean, come on, we all know you're the best in the biz. Hands down.
* Cheers to the SINGERS this year. My friends all commented on just how good the vocalists for these bands were. Flawless performances from everyone.
* Cheers to Impulse Music. I didn't buy a lot of merch, but their booth was rich in melodic metal and even a few cool cheap t-shirts.
* Lighting crew for Anathema and Riverside - I mean, spot on and captured the mood perfectly!
* Signing sessions, for moving quickly and efficiently, and allowing me to meet Anathema and Falconer.
* All the bands that were fill-ins for the many cancellations. Y'all brought your A games. Good shit.
* Free water in the lobby! This was awesome! Made many trips for myself and friends to get cups of water to stay hydrated.
* Food choices in Center Stage - it was really nice to have a quick burger when I needed it, and then get right back down to the floor. Kudos to those guys working all day on that.
* Watching the family grow. I spoke to more than a handful of people that were at their first or second ProgPower, and are already planning next year's trip.

Jeers:

* Cancellations. Boo. No need to go into it; I know where the fault lies.
* Can we cool it with the video recording? Get a cell phone shot or three if you'd like, but there was someone straight up recording Almah's set on a selfie stick. C'mon bro!
* No mosh pit during Ashes of Ares. Barlow called for a pit, it was a heavy song, and nothing opened up. It would have been fun for a few minutes, right guys?
* Crowd surfer during Voyager. I get you're having fun, but for this crowd that's not expecting it...you could really hurt someone.
 
* Crowd surfer during Voyager. I get you're having fun, but for this crowd that's not expecting it...you could really hurt someone.

I was ok with the one. I know he kicked a few of you in the front row too, but it wasn't malicious, and I saw he was actually trying really hard to avoid it, but we were actually trying to catch him from falling over backwards onto his head when it happened. Getting him back up was a herculean effort lol. I don't think it's something in general this crowd is ever going to have to worry about happening, so if it does once or twice in a weekend, I say shrug it off to fun concert shenanigans but don't do it again.
 
CHEERS
* first "solo" year vending was a big success
* talking to so many cool people and hearing great stories about their enjoyment of our reissues
* the great ideas people gave us for the future
* HELKER, ANATHEMA and all the other bands I was able to make it inside to watch this year
* FATES WARNING 2016!!!
* the gravy at The Flying Biscuit
* Dreamland BBQ
* Nerd Alert beer

JEERS
* the biggest A**HOLE of the festival who stole my signed Anathema "Weather Systems" LP from behind the Divebomb Records table when I had closed down to go watch Soto.
* the cleaning crew for throwing away all my empty cardboard boxes, despite my still needing them the next day. Lance was apparently brave enough to go dumpster diving!!

Hope you are back in 2016, all cds I got from your table and specially Divebomb reisues are great, but also I got some used cds you were selling because you said needed to make some space, hope next year you will be cleanning again and have even more used cds at your table :D

Francisco Carrasco AKA TlalocFJCV a metal fan from Mexico City
 
Forgot a CHEER and a JEER:

JEERS to prerecorded keyboard and vocal tracks. I know this has been discussed in another thread.

CHEERS to the security guy who saw a car accident in front of the venue (fortunately didn't look like any injuries), directed the drivers where to go to get out of the flow of traffic, and went back to his post.
 
Cheers:
*What a fucking lineup! I honestly have to say that, despite the visa issues and cancellations, the replacements kicked ASS over the original bands (Armored Saint and Saxon vs DC? Pfft, no contest).

*Glenn, Jen, Nathan and Milton for holding it together despite the roughest year in recent history. My heart aches for all that you had to go through and the strain it took in all aspects. THANK YOU for pushing forward and giving the finger to adversity!

*My Faerie Progmother, Kelly Elder, for making another year of PPUSA a truly spectacular reality for me. Bippity Boppity Boo, I LOVE YOU!

*My lunch benefactors this year! Ermahgerd THERNK YER!

*My first year as a sponsor! What an awesome opportunity and incredible experience, which leads me to...

*HELKER. I cannot stress enough how honored I was (and still am) to have helped sponsor these mighty metal warriors!!! Heavy Metal Hagrid set the bar this year in terms of vocalists. I have yet to meet more humble, gracious guests of this festival. Their inclusion of a Spanish version of one of their songs was incredible. Such passion! I hope to sponsor them again, hopefully as an evening band!

*Anathema!!! The acoustic show was even more incredible. ALL THE FEELS. Vincent gave a small group of us an amazing speech backstage about music and why he does what he does. Priceless moment.

*The folks who have helped me so far with the Cards Against Humanity ProgPower expansion deck! Suggestion thread to follow.

*The happy staff of the Artmore. They are such sweethearts!

*Food other than pizza at the venue! Ermahgerd brartwerst.

*Ralf, the new VIP manager! The guy was an absolute prince.

*Visa Guy - WE LOVE YOU.

JEERS:
*The hecklers. Dunno how you wound up here, but that kind of shit is unacceptable. And the guy who picked a fight with Vincent in the Courtyard? FUCK YOU, BRAH. I hope you never have the misfortune of meeting me. :devil:
Side note: Ever since the Courtyard facebook page went live, there have been incidents every year involving some form of assault or seriously inappropriate behavior. I think it would be wise to take that page down and replace it with a closed group similar to the PPUSA Unofficial page.

*USCIS and their visa fuckery. Something's gotta give and soon, or else we'll be forced to smuggle bands through Mexico.

*Messy Courtyard. People, this place has hosted our loud-ass parties every year, and every year we ask that you pick up after yourselves, and every year there's cigarette butts, empty bottles, trash, etc in the morning. I understand that people get blackout drunk and stumble off to bed and forget to pick up their mess, but if you're coherent enough to see garbage laying around, help out and pitch it in the bin where it belongs.

*Stinky people. YO. TAKE A BATH. TAKE A SHOWER. PUT ON CLEAN CLOTHES. USE SOME GODDAMNED DEODORANT. BRUSH YOUR FUCKIN' TEETH.

*Drama in the Unofficial facebook group. Staaaaahp!

*Not so much a jeer, but a PSA - acoustic sets = turn off your ringer and your flash.

All in all, another great year with my tribe. I phuggin' love you people. See ya next year!
 
Most of my Cheers and Jeers have already been covered, so I will only add these:

CHEERS:

* Glenn, Jen, Nathan, Milton and the entire crew. I think the festival ran smoother on "game day" than the previous couple years, which really says something.

* Lines for signing sessions went faster.

* More food options in the venue.

* Faster getting in and out of the venue than last year.

* The festival was extremely professional with all the cancellation issues. As frustrating as it was for us fans, it must have been 100x that for Glenn, Jen, Nathan, Milton and Marc. Great job pushing through what you could and dealing with what you couldn't in such a professional manner with replacements, etc.

JEERS:

* I was beyond excited all year long to see Dynazty, and then whatever last minute bullshit from the USCIS or whatever other government agency caused them to not be able to play just ripped my heart out. I know this was not the festival's fault and the festival did everything they could possibly do to avoid the cancellation, but this really hit me hard.

* Lack of shirt sizes for the special festival shirts from some of the bands. This seems to happen every year. They post a picture of an awesome exclusive shirt that makes me excited and then they are sold out of any size that could remotely have a chance to fit me 10 minutes after the doors open. Seriously, I'd prefer they not even advertise these shirts because all it's going to do is cause frustration when they sell them out before the first band takes the stage.

* Not getting the lineup for Wednesday and Thursday. It was like waking up Christmas morning with a note from Santa Claus saying "you'll love your Christmas present, but you're not getting it today, and I'm not sure when you'll have it."
 
Cheers:
*What a fucking lineup! I honestly have to say that, despite the visa issues and cancellations, the replacements kicked ASS over the original bands (Armored Saint and Saxon vs DC? Pfft, no contest).

*Glenn, Jen, Nathan and Milton for holding it together despite the roughest year in recent history. My heart aches for all that you had to go through and the strain it took in all aspects. THANK YOU for pushing forward and giving the finger to adversity!

*My Faerie Progmother, Kelly Elder, for making another year of PPUSA a truly spectacular reality for me. Bippity Boppity Boo, I LOVE YOU!

*My lunch benefactors this year! Ermahgerd THERNK YER!

*My first year as a sponsor! What an awesome opportunity and incredible experience, which leads me to...

*HELKER. I cannot stress enough how honored I was (and still am) to have helped sponsor these mighty metal warriors!!! Heavy Metal Hagrid set the bar this year in terms of vocalists. I have yet to meet more humble, gracious guests of this festival. Their inclusion of a Spanish version of one of their songs was incredible. Such passion! I hope to sponsor them again, hopefully as an evening band!

*Anathema!!! The acoustic show was even more incredible. ALL THE FEELS. Vincent gave a small group of us an amazing speech backstage about music and why he does what he does. Priceless moment.

*The folks who have helped me so far with the Cards Against Humanity ProgPower expansion deck! Suggestion thread to follow.

*The happy staff of the Artmore. They are such sweethearts!

*Food other than pizza at the venue! Ermahgerd brartwerst.

*Ralf, the new VIP manager! The guy was an absolute prince.

*Visa Guy - WE LOVE YOU.

JEERS:
*The hecklers. Dunno how you wound up here, but that kind of shit is unacceptable. And the guy who picked a fight with Vincent in the Courtyard? FUCK YOU, BRAH. I hope you never have the misfortune of meeting me. :devil:
Side note: Ever since the Courtyard facebook page went live, there have been incidents every year involving some form of assault or seriously inappropriate behavior. I think it would be wise to take that page down and replace it with a closed group similar to the PPUSA Unofficial page.

*USCIS and their visa fuckery. Something's gotta give and soon, or else we'll be forced to smuggle bands through Mexico.

*Messy Courtyard. People, this place has hosted our loud-ass parties every year, and every year we ask that you pick up after yourselves, and every year there's cigarette butts, empty bottles, trash, etc in the morning. I understand that people get blackout drunk and stumble off to bed and forget to pick up their mess, but if you're coherent enough to see garbage laying around, help out and pitch it in the bin where it belongs.

*Stinky people. YO. TAKE A BATH. TAKE A SHOWER. PUT ON CLEAN CLOTHES. USE SOME GODDAMNED DEODORANT. BRUSH YOUR FUCKIN' TEETH.

*Drama in the Unofficial facebook group. Staaaaahp!

*Not so much a jeer, but a PSA - acoustic sets = turn off your ringer and your flash.

All in all, another great year with my tribe. I phuggin' love you people. See ya next year!

If I turned off my flash, I would not see anything in the pictures on that dark stage :)
 
Cheers

*To my first ever ProgPower!! I’ve been dreaming of attending for a long time now and to finally do it was a dream come true.

*To everyone who puts this great festival together. Oh and to seeing Glenn rocking out during Angra's set at the front.

*Seeing Danny from Voyager rocking out in the floor to Royal Hunt’s set was awesome.

*Being next to Fabio when he went to the floor to sing was also pretty amazing.

*Voyager’s set. – The mashup was so good. The band just looked so happy and energetic.

*Unleash the Archer’s set. – I really, really, really like their new album and the songs were spot on live.

*Royal Hunt – Paradox in its entirety. Insanely good.

*Angra – Holy Land in its entirety. Wow.

*To Matthew of Divebomb for recommending “Mental Reservation”. I haven’t stopped playing it since I got home.

*Tap – The burger is delicious! Plus, amazing beer.

*Flying Biscuit – that gravy!

*Twin Smokers BBQ – amazing pulled pork.

*Whale Sharks at the Georgia Aquarium – that was impressive

*Checking out the CNN Center – I work in TV and seeing this was really cool.

Jeers

*Not many at all the only one being that my hotel never let me know that my cupcakes were delivered until I asked them about it the day I checked out. I should have asked earlier but the hotel should have left a message.

*Oh and this is only because this was my first trip to Georgia but no booze until 12:30pm on Sunday’s is kind of weird and crazy IMO.

I might not have met many of you this year but seeing that I absolutely want to go back next year I hope to do that.
 
Cheers:
- Glenn, Jen, Nathan, and Milton. Everyone else has already said why. Kudos for keeping on in the face of untold fuckery.
- Food options at the venue. It wasn't the tastiest food in existence, but if you needed something quick and filling, it was there and it was edible without being gross. Very useful if you have a medication that you MUST take with food!
- The Roomies of Awesome, Su, Jaime, Matt and Christina! Thanks for letting me join in this year! I hope I wasn't too obnoxious! I hope I get to do it again next year! Also, yay for Matt getting up to reserve the room! :)
- Falconer. Not only was the set complete perfection, but I cannot say enough good things about the band as human beings. Kind, thoughtful, funny, generous, humble...there aren't enough positive adjectives to sum up how I feel about these musicians as men. They are SUCH good guys. I was honored to see them perform and honored to be one of their sponsors.
- Helker. Surprise band of the weekend for me! And also super-sweet guys!
- Heather and Justin for making me the most WICKED AWESOME CORSET EVER. The guys in Falconer loved it, too!

Jeers:
- The USCIS. Fuck you.
- The humidity Wednesday and Thursday. I'm a weenie if it is hot and humid. I like it sub-arctic. Atlanta is such a groovy city, but UGH, The South. Hawwwwttt. *whine whine whine*
 
Seriously, then get up if someone comes back, it's a pretty easy system to work around.

How about don't save the fucking seats in the first place? If I sit in a seat that's got a merch bag and towel on it, I will not get up and move because there was a bag on it to hold your place.

If you're douchebagginess leads you to put a bag on a seat and hope to hold it, my douchebagginess is going to lead me to scrap with you when you return and expect me to move.
 
If you're douchebagginess leads you to put a bag on a seat and hope to hold it, my douchebagginess is going to lead me to scrap with you when you return and expect me to move.

I think the level of douchebagginess depends on whether the person left the seats unoccupied for a long period of time - or whether they just stepped out briefly to get a drink or buy a t-shirt before the next set started.
 
I agree that saving seats for an extended period of time (an entire set, for example) is bad for everybody, but saving them for a short period I think is acceptable.

I was with a group of people who saved seats when some of us would leave for a while. At all times someone was there.

During one of the sets, a person came up and sat down in one of the seats I was saving. I told him that he could stay there as long as he knew that they were coming back. He graciously moved when they did return.
 
I pretty much agree with all the cheers, so I won't repeat them other than this one:

Awaken The Fucking Guardian? Are you kidding me? Holy crap. Thank you so much Glenn for allowing us to go back in time 30 years and see something most of us missed. You have brought hundreds of bucket list bands for us to see but this and Shadow Gallery are at the very top of my list. If people want to go next year, I highly suggest they be on line the second tickets go on sale.

Jeers:

I usually don't like do these, but this one had to be said. Right before the video for next year, Marc the visa guy was making a moving speech asking for our support for http://metalheadsforlife.org/, a charity that supports children with cancer, which his own daughter had. He works all year to get the visas for the bands and just wanted to ask for our help in supporting children with cancer. There was a group on the floor that was ignoring what he was saying and loudly chanting something I couldn't understand. This is so far beyond rude and disrespectful that I couldn't believe it. Then they continued these loud chants during the whole video announcement for next year and were so loud I couldn't even hear the videos of the bands playing next year.