1) CONCEPTION - this one is not even close...I never imagined I would ever see these guys, not even at ProgPower. With the highest of expectations, they still blew me away.
2) ANGEL DUST - I was already a huge fan when I saw there was going to be some festival in Atlanta with Angel Dust playing, and I remember thinking "
yeah, right...that'll happen"
They were also the coolest guys we've hung out with in all these years of the festival (though Edguy was a close second).
3) BRAINSTORM (V) - they absolutely KILLED.
4) PAGAN'S MIND (VIII) - I've loved these guys every time, but this one was the best.
5) WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION - I've been a SAVATAGE nutswinger since '85, and was fortunate enough to see them four times with Criss...give me Jon and Doc onstage together again, and I'm a happy guy.
6) ARK - I figured this would be the only time in my life I'd ever see Tore
Østby play...little did I know I would see him a couple more times four years later.
7) EVERGREY (VII) - "String quartet! String quartet!"
8) VANDEN PLAS - after being aggravated by the no-show at II, they more than made up for it when they made it over for IV...little did I know this would be the last time I would ever see them
. I think a cover band featuring Pete Way and Osama bin Laden has a better chance of making it in to this country
.
9) TAD MOROSE - I just started getting in to these guys a couple of months before they played, and I've been spinning their discs ever since. Man, I would REALLY love to have the chance to see this set again.
10a) SYMPHORCE - I enjoyed their set almost as much as Brainstorm the year before.
10b) SABATON - I really wasn't expecting much, I didn't buy in to all the hype...and then they ended up owning the entire festival. Had I not been so stubborn and familiarized myself with their material ahead of time, I'm sure they would have ranked higher on my list.