- May 4, 2012
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I've done a brief overview of each day as it came, so now let me offer up my thoughts as to who were my favorites of the weekend:
Honorable mention: Haken: They just barely missed the list, but their Wednesday night set was amazing. Once I heard they were doing Visions live, I picked up the album and really enjoyed it. The live performance was every bit as awesome.
5: Angel Dust: Technical problems kept this set from being ranked higher, but it was an amazing set that got better as the band progressed. After the band split in the early 2000's, I was disappointed that I'd never get to hear songs like Bleed, Follow Me or Cross of Hatred live, so now I can cross them off my bucket list.
4: Amaranthe: Didn't know much about them a year ago, but was impressed by the clip in last year's PPUSA preview video. I picked up Nexus, followed by Maximize and Massive Addictive and was even more impressed to the point where they became one of the bands I was most looking forward to, and they did not disappoint. They gave a very high-energy performance, and Nils did a great job with the clean vocals, perhaps better than Jake E ever did.
3: Orphaned Land: While I heard the name, I knew almost nothing about them until Wednesday's performance. They tore the place down and made me think that perhaps down the road they'll be a headliner for the festival. I picked up their latest album All is One at the Impulse merchandise table, and will be checking out the rest of their catalog at some point.
2: Metal Church: I had seen them several times back in the day, whether it was opening up for Metallica in 1992 or headlining the Thirsty Whale in Chicago in 1993 (or was it 94)? They were one of the bands I was most looking forward to, and they gave an amazing mix of classic and new Metal Church songs. I was particularly impressed by Mike Howe, who sounded as good as ever. In fact, if I closed my eyes, I could have sworn it was 1992 all over again, especially on songs such as Watch the Children Pray and Gods of Second Chance.
1: Mike Portnoy: As I commented in an earlier thread, I was a bit cautious about his set going in. Although his set was going to consist of all DT material, I wasn't sure if the band was up to it. I should never underestimate this guy again, as they delivered on every level. I won't go so far as to say they were better than DT, but they certainly matched them in terms of live performance. Plus, as an added bonus, almost all of the set consisted of songs I had never seen live before--with the exception of Root of All Evil and Home. And some of the songs seemed to take on added dimensions live--such as Finally Free, which was never one of my favorite DT songs, but almost had me in tears due to the emotional performance from the band. Finally, watching Mike was fun, because he certainly had a blast doing those songs again. Let's hope that he continues with this project--at least every now and then.
So, who would you rank as your top performances of the weekend and why?
Honorable mention: Haken: They just barely missed the list, but their Wednesday night set was amazing. Once I heard they were doing Visions live, I picked up the album and really enjoyed it. The live performance was every bit as awesome.
5: Angel Dust: Technical problems kept this set from being ranked higher, but it was an amazing set that got better as the band progressed. After the band split in the early 2000's, I was disappointed that I'd never get to hear songs like Bleed, Follow Me or Cross of Hatred live, so now I can cross them off my bucket list.
4: Amaranthe: Didn't know much about them a year ago, but was impressed by the clip in last year's PPUSA preview video. I picked up Nexus, followed by Maximize and Massive Addictive and was even more impressed to the point where they became one of the bands I was most looking forward to, and they did not disappoint. They gave a very high-energy performance, and Nils did a great job with the clean vocals, perhaps better than Jake E ever did.
3: Orphaned Land: While I heard the name, I knew almost nothing about them until Wednesday's performance. They tore the place down and made me think that perhaps down the road they'll be a headliner for the festival. I picked up their latest album All is One at the Impulse merchandise table, and will be checking out the rest of their catalog at some point.
2: Metal Church: I had seen them several times back in the day, whether it was opening up for Metallica in 1992 or headlining the Thirsty Whale in Chicago in 1993 (or was it 94)? They were one of the bands I was most looking forward to, and they gave an amazing mix of classic and new Metal Church songs. I was particularly impressed by Mike Howe, who sounded as good as ever. In fact, if I closed my eyes, I could have sworn it was 1992 all over again, especially on songs such as Watch the Children Pray and Gods of Second Chance.
1: Mike Portnoy: As I commented in an earlier thread, I was a bit cautious about his set going in. Although his set was going to consist of all DT material, I wasn't sure if the band was up to it. I should never underestimate this guy again, as they delivered on every level. I won't go so far as to say they were better than DT, but they certainly matched them in terms of live performance. Plus, as an added bonus, almost all of the set consisted of songs I had never seen live before--with the exception of Root of All Evil and Home. And some of the songs seemed to take on added dimensions live--such as Finally Free, which was never one of my favorite DT songs, but almost had me in tears due to the emotional performance from the band. Finally, watching Mike was fun, because he certainly had a blast doing those songs again. Let's hope that he continues with this project--at least every now and then.
So, who would you rank as your top performances of the weekend and why?
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