I think that the cold weather in Atlanta was a fluke. Maybe I'm wrong, but my friends that live there said that it wasn't that bad. See, I'm just happy that it was only "cold" and not snowing! haha! I'm from CO, living in MI - Atlanta wasn't unbearably cold to me.
I really like having the fest in Atlanta! Any further away and I wouldn't have been able to make it due to being a poor college student. I can't afford to fly but I also couldn't take one more hour in the car *bangs head on desk*
There were so many things that I liked about Earthlink and Atlanta that I would want to see again if the venue moved. Things like "good" hotels that are close, easy public transportation, not a bad seat in the house, the bathrooms were decent (it took me forever to find the women's room!), plenty of places to sit (except it was misery trying to find two seats together before Angra), intimate environment & lobby rather than large impersonal arena (it helped to establish the community that we all enjoyed), a large open floor but not too big that the seats are too far away, excellent stage that wasn't too high, too low or too far away, and importantly parking was easy to find, close, and cheap. We were able to park on the first level of a garage no more than 3 blocks away for $5 on Friday and free on Saturday!! That was very important to me certainly since I didn't want to walk 12 blocks to the hotel in the cold at night by myself, etc...
Bad things... well... as much as I liked the smaller intimate setting, it was a bit too small in the lobby area. I think it would have helped to get rid of some of the extra seating in the lobby area, freeing up walking paths.
Another thing... there were two exits in the stadium area and I think three in the lobby, but if there was a fire I'm afraid we'd lose a few peers :-\
Also I really wish there was food on the premises (or a fast-service restaurant extrememly close that was overly prepaired for the influx of fans) I never left because I didn't want to be stuck somewhere else waiting for food, but I also didn't like pigging out before hand
I also think the vendors need more room to spread out their merchandise. I missed out on a few cool items because I couldn't see them while passing by. I kind of wish the CDs were in a separate section than the shirts, posters, etc.. I know that's up to the vendors and not the organizers, but it was my only major quip with the whole event. Also perhaps the bands could have their own table away from the labels and distro vendors. It was very difficult to find merch from bands that were actually playing, other than CDs and a few t-shirts of some of the bands... Just wondering, did Edguy bring ANYTHING to sell???
Things I liked that have nothing to do with the venue:
Coat Check!!!!
Ability to leave and come back with stub/stamp!!!!!!!!!!
I guess I've said my part... I had 16 hours to think about it on the way home. I think that Atlanta was very easy to get around and a great city to host the event. The Earthlink is nice but expendable if need be.
~Sh0kr0k~
