Yes, I finally come out of the dark! I wanted to have the time to do this properly and it hasn't really been until now that I've had time.
Wow!! What an absolute blast! Awesome city, awesome festival! David, your THE MAN for bringing back good music to the Bay Area! Thanks you from the bottom of my heart for including Odin's Court in the inaugural edition! It really was done very well and I'm extremely proud to be part of something that has been so well received. It made multiple dreams come true! I think the festival has incredible potential to grow and become another thriving festival in the US with international attention (which it already has). It truly is an honor and I had the time of my life! I don't think anyone that was there would dispute that.
The venue was awesome! That is some fo the best soud I've heard at shows. So many are plagued by bassy rooms that is cranked to loud and kills the clarity. This place sounded great! Definitely a place I'd like to catch shows.
With the weekend starting a little early in Vegas for the huge honor of being part of Jasun and Christina's special day! That was an amazing beginning of a long weekend! My metal brotha, Jasun and metal sista, Christina you guys are a special couple - I wish you many years of happiness! Everyone in the band is just amazing person, your family rocks, everyone did and was a great time! Thanks! It was a perfect lead into BAR Fest...
Drew - you are a driving machine! Thanks for everything you did for us. You went above and beyond the call of duty to help all the bands move around. John Hough, you really helped us a lot - your rock! Bear, it was great seeing you and hanging out some. Of course a huge thanks goes out to everyone that has helped to make this festival a success. The stage crew did an amazing job in moving things along.
I have to make another
Zero Hour mention. You guys and your wives are all amazing people! We ARE family! Thanks for all you did for us with the festival too. That Boogie really crunches and was a lot of fun to play on. Your performance was over the top. Your technical profiency is out of this world! All of you are machines that make it look so effortless. And Chris did an amazing job making the best of a difficult situaiton. I just has that same thing knock my voice out for about 3 weeks and only had it back for about 2 weeks now. Between my performance and watching you guys, I really hurt my neck Saturday night!
My dream of 9 years finally came true! I finally got to witness the unbelieveably amazing live performance of
Enchant!!!!!! Wow! That show was a blast and I was floored by their energy and technical proficiency! Ed, what amazing player you are - and you've got the personality to match your talent! Good God, what an amazing performance - skill and energy!!! Even Barb commented on how good you are! It was great to finally meet you in person! I had a great time hanging and have some pictures to post, I just have to get them all together. Your the man for working so hard to come back an support. Sean, dude you rock! You and Ed are so tight together! You also rule for making the return trip on Saturday! Ted is clearly one of the top singers out there right now and is such an amazing solid live performer! Who know that he was such a good guitiarist too?!?! Even better than I thought from the DVD. Bill and Doug, great meeting you as well. I did take down the set list and will make a seperate post with that for those interested.
Another cool bunch of guys that sounded great was
Eyefear from Australia. You guys rocked and I definitely see you guys getting bigger with the all great stuff happening to you right now. Best of luck. I guess you should be getting home soon. Good luck on your upcoming tour!
Jon Oliva's Pain -- another bunch of nice guys with JO living up to the Mountain King title. What a nice dude and funny as hell too! Another of my favorite sets from the weekend! Definitely great jamming out with Jasun, Christina, and Angela at the end of that fun-filled set. Jon is a unique person and unique performer -- I was blown away by how great of an entertainer/musician he is.
I unfortunately missed
Timeline and
Mob Rules because of the time we got settled on Friday.
I really wanted to be there too. I hope to get another chance to see them. Eric, you are a cool dude though!
Balance of Power played a great set and Corey Brown did a great job of nailing Lance's parts and then some. No small feat there. Spock's Beard sounded good but I had to go back a little earlier to get some sleep in preparation for the following night.
It was also great to see so many familiar faces and meet so many new friends! Steve, you rock dude! Coming all the way our from Virginia to come show your support for us!! Keith (Sharward) you rock and take some great pictures. I look forward to seeing the video footage of us. The pictures looked cool and the other videos I saw looked good too. Great hanging with you - hope to have a repeat performance sometime! Brett and Jax - again congratulations and it was great hanging with ya! I'm glad you enjoyed our performance. Good seeing you again Shelley. More East Coasters - Eric (Kaosoar - NY for now), great seeing you again, same with you Craig (NC). Eric (Valarien), we will be talking soon as things settle down some more. Derek (DerekB), another person it was an honor to meet considering he's on one of my favorite CDs right now! Kristen (Viadragon) nice meeting you. Angela, it was great hanging with you again! For anyone that I've forgotten or forgotten your name, sorry but it was really great hanging with everone. Like I said before, I had a REALLY good time!!!
A shoutout to Barb from Guitars Not Guns too. Great charity and she really did a nice job with all that.
I can't go without thanking all my bandmates for all the hard work and sacrafice made in order to make this all happen. You guys rock! Matt, you are one of the hardest workers I know! Thanks for all you do! I can't imagine being asociated with a better bunch of guys!
