- May 4, 2012
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This will be the first time I've attended PPUSA two years in a row--sort of. It was actually one and a half, as I caught the festival on Saturday night in 2013, but not Friday and again in 2014. I missed 2015 as I waited too long to get tickets and they sold out faster than I expected. I did not make that mistake again, as I got them right away for both sets of shows.
So we're only days away, and I'm getting excited, especially as I've finally gotten over some major health issues that required several surgeries. Now I'm close to 100% just in time, and am really looking forward to another four great evenings.
Here are the bands I"m looking forward to most:
Haken: I was very impressed by their set last time, and I'm even more impressed by Visions which I can't wait to see live.
Metal Church: I've been a big fan of them from back in the day. I saw them several times in the early 90's, and they always impressed. I also got to see them play Chicago Open Air Fest earlier this year, but due to their early set time, they only got a half hour, which was enough time to play 5 songs. Still, they sounded great then and I can't wait to see a full set by them.
Mike Portenoy's Shattered Fortress: I've a huge fan of Dream Theater, and I can't wait to see Mike & co do their interpretation of the AA Suite, of which I've only seen one song live with DT (The Root of All Evil). I'm especially looking forward to seeing This Dying Soul, which is one of my favorite DT songs.
Amaranthe: I didn't know anything about this band before seeing them on the preview video last year, and I immediately got Nexus based on whe brief clip of the title track. I was very impressed by that album, as well as Massive Addictive and Maximalism. Yes, the latter is moving towards pop, but it still has an interesting sound that should work live.
Aside from those four bands, I'm also looking forward to seeing Myrath, Pain, Dynazty and Angel Dust, as well as getting the chance to catch other bands that I don't know too much about, most notably Vanden Plas, for whom I've heard great things, but never got around to finding out more.
And as always, I'm looking forward to the camaraderie that is always at these shows. More than any festival I've been to, this feels like a community, and it's always great to be part of it.
Finally, we will now get not only one preview video for next year, but two, so there is that to look forward to--not just because of the bands that are announced but also the reaction from everyone in the room when we find out who is coming next year.
I can't wait to see everyone there in a few days.
So we're only days away, and I'm getting excited, especially as I've finally gotten over some major health issues that required several surgeries. Now I'm close to 100% just in time, and am really looking forward to another four great evenings.
Here are the bands I"m looking forward to most:
Haken: I was very impressed by their set last time, and I'm even more impressed by Visions which I can't wait to see live.
Metal Church: I've been a big fan of them from back in the day. I saw them several times in the early 90's, and they always impressed. I also got to see them play Chicago Open Air Fest earlier this year, but due to their early set time, they only got a half hour, which was enough time to play 5 songs. Still, they sounded great then and I can't wait to see a full set by them.
Mike Portenoy's Shattered Fortress: I've a huge fan of Dream Theater, and I can't wait to see Mike & co do their interpretation of the AA Suite, of which I've only seen one song live with DT (The Root of All Evil). I'm especially looking forward to seeing This Dying Soul, which is one of my favorite DT songs.
Amaranthe: I didn't know anything about this band before seeing them on the preview video last year, and I immediately got Nexus based on whe brief clip of the title track. I was very impressed by that album, as well as Massive Addictive and Maximalism. Yes, the latter is moving towards pop, but it still has an interesting sound that should work live.
Aside from those four bands, I'm also looking forward to seeing Myrath, Pain, Dynazty and Angel Dust, as well as getting the chance to catch other bands that I don't know too much about, most notably Vanden Plas, for whom I've heard great things, but never got around to finding out more.
And as always, I'm looking forward to the camaraderie that is always at these shows. More than any festival I've been to, this feels like a community, and it's always great to be part of it.
Finally, we will now get not only one preview video for next year, but two, so there is that to look forward to--not just because of the bands that are announced but also the reaction from everyone in the room when we find out who is coming next year.
I can't wait to see everyone there in a few days.
