Well, back in Florida and back at work tired as heck but coffee will help get me through the day. And it suuure was worth it.
What a weekend. First, Ill start with the forumers and the fellow ENCHANT fans. Ive meet some cool people the past two times I went to Progpower in Atlanta but the Enchant fans this past weekend blow all that away. Everyone I met was SO incredibly cool I had such a good time interacting with everyone On Friday night at the Alehouse and then Saturday night at the show:
DiscoDave (you stole Mares burger you know it. . well, at least we got some sun during our four mile walk to nowhere on Saturday afternoon that and making the guard nervous as we loitered around out front of the PIXAR gate .)
Kristen-Viadragon (thanks for the ride to the show! Youre not still nervous are you? Calmed down yet? Wish we could have hung out a bit on Sunday!)
Mare-Mgirishfan (I always tried to preserve that space in front of the stage for you, so hopefully you got some good shots! at least when that one girls head wasnt bobbing into your way! When do we get to see some of those pics? Your shots on the DVD show T-shirt are great!)
Eric-Chynablue (thanks for the ride and all the great conversation, bro glad me and Kev were able to get you that room Friday night. And I got a few spins in of your CD on the plane ride back sweet!! I wanna hear more, man! The second song is my fav so far think you should try and get the third one on the ProgPower sampler for this year great keyboard solo!)
My man Ashley Ajstiles - and his wife straight from Lousiana (really enjoyed hanging/talking with you guys except when someone <Jeanne perhaps??..> kept yelling at me to do my Jersey accent, and to Do it! Do it!!)
Squonk2 and his lovely wife (Really glad to meet you two - enjoyed our Enchant discovery and Neil Peart conversation, as well as talking about real stuff like jobs employment <for my true feelings on that subject though, reference Blink of an Eye and a little song called MONDAY >)
JJmannford (didnt get to talk with you as much as I thought but it was damn good to finally meet you and hell man youre immortalized on the DVD now, when Ted walked in through the crowd to the stage and was singing right next to you hows it feel to be famous??)
Not sure if I forgot anyone but there were plenty of people I talked to only for maybe two minutes at the show but who were still just incredibly cool. (there was a guy in the audience standing just next to me dont know his name and we just kinda shared the amazing-awe-inspiring moments during Pure when Ted just NAILED those two incredible high notes it was so cool) Enchant folks are a topnotch, rare bunch, and Im proud to be one of them.
Now, as for the show itself .
Id always thought since back on the late nineties after being a fan for a few years that seeing ENCHANT live was just going to be one of those dreams Id always be carrying around so I still cant believe I was actually there and saw what I saw Saturday night. One of the best, most enjoyable shows I have ever seen or been to, ever hands down. When Bill started the intro to Mae Dae . I was just amazed that I was actually standing there, three feet from the stage, watching you guys perform live. The range and choice of songs was incredible when you guys went into the beginning of Broken Wave, I almost fell over. One of my favorites.
All the songs were so kick-ass but for me from memory, personal ones are - Sinking Sand, Monday, The Thirst, Paint The Picture, My Enemy, Progtology, Seeds of Hate .. amazing amazing, amazing .. the acoustic set was beautiful. And then to close with Oasis which was a performance that blew EVERYONE away, not just me. At Deaths Door and What To Say . really resonated with me on a personal level emotional stirring magical all I can say
And I think magical (hmmm with a name like Enchant, what would you expect? ) pretty much summed up the show and the weekend as well.
I could probably write more but my lunch break is almost over and work, as always, calls. (Blame it all on a Monday, I guess ) For now, just let me wrap up by saying, to the band:
Doug really enjoyed talking with you. Such a pleasure to finally get to meet you after enjoying your playing and your lyrics for so many years. Thanks for taking a pic with me. Seeing you onstage was something your energy up there is incredible and as certain points, I was amazed your fingers werent smoking while you blazed away on your axe!
Bill great to meet you and speak with you as well. Oh and your playing? Damn I was extremely glad to be situated right in front of you in the audience and have a great view while you did your thing. Youre amazing, man, and so glad you are an important part of this special band.
Sean damn dude, I guess you CAN be a totally KICK-ASS drummer and be one of the nicest people Ive ever met, both at the same time! You rock, bro Maybe you and your Zero Hour buddies can hang at ProgPower later this year. If so, I got the first round of brews!
Ted I dont care what anyone (Doug?? ) said I liked your Skynyrd attack you had there! (the SRV riff was pretty cool too..) I was so impressed by how great you sounded live you left jaws DROPPED in the room, man, with that one note in Pure. I felt privileged to be able to watch you do your thing up there.
And as I said the night of the show, Seeds of Hate rocked my socks off, man! Thanks for signing CD booklets and answering questions at the Alehouse and at the show AND, most importantly, thank you for What To Say. Words can NOT express how that song hit me, standing out there on the floor. Just, thank you.Ed Bro, take it from me you tore it UP, up there on stage. You kicked all kinds of ass, just look at the reaction from the fans so far! What do I want to say otherwise? Well, how about thanks for everything. Talking and interacting with you made this whole weekend so much more than special. Things we talked about, things you said . I appreciate SO much. The whole experience of meeting the band and meeting you truly moved me. And has helped me a LOT in what has been a pretty rough time lately, as you know. Thanks cant cover it but Ill say it anyway. Thank you, man.
Meeting you all and speaking with you was just such an enriching and enjoyable experience. Thanks for signing everything I (and the other folks) threw at ya too. Being on the opposite side of the country (as well as way too far south) makes things complicated, but when you line up another gig like this, I AM THERE. Dont care what I have to do but Ill make it somehow.
Oh man, just looked at the time again way late
- I gotta get back to work
. Everyone take care!Dave
