Volbeat Cancel, Promoter devastated....

Glenn, I don't know if you heard me when Volbeat came across the screen back in October, but if you did then you know how much I share your disappointment (though not your frustration, as this is your hard work down the drain). I immensely appreciate the detailed explanation.

As for a replacement, while there's no band on the planet that sounds like Volbeat if you're looking for something suitable from left field, look no further than The Lord Weird Slough Feg.

Thanks again for letting us know the full story.

--T.J.
 
DoomsdayZach said:
Slough Feg is possibly one of the best bands around today. They're amazing live as well, and put on a hell of a show.

And how come my "fuck meshuggah" post got deleted? Seriously, fuck that band. They are awful.
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I think the point of the moderation was to get us to focus on Volbeat and not on suggesting bands and arguing their merit.

That said, I really do hope that Volbeat can get a successful tour here next year. I still very badly want to see them. Hopefully ProgPower would be one of the stops on said tour.
 
...AndTimeBegan said:
If you're a band as big as Volbeat, you should be making money on tour, not having to spend it.
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To a certain degree I agree with this, but I also have to say that if you're a band as big as Volbeat, then you should be willing to put out a little bit of money if you want to break into a market where you are virtually an unknown (or were an unknown until a US promoter gave you an opportunity).

If they are as huge in Europe as most people are saying on this thread, than spending the money to come here for a festival that many would consider one of, if not, the most popular metal festival of it's kind in the US shouldn't have been a complete hardship. Perhaps they could have then joined whatever European tour they are hooked up with a day or two later. I realize that being a huge band doesn't not equate to being a rich band, I just wonder if these are options that the band's booking/management even took into consideration.
 
Sorry about this Glenn, you've had a rough year, looks like the worst from
where I'm standing. I don't know how you put up with it but thanks for
persevering!
 
When Glenn writes his epic novel on his journey as a festival promoter, I fully expect that this year's show will get at least 3 chapters. Even with the hangups, I know this is going to be one HELL of a fest.
 
Ouch, this year really has been rough, huh? But I know it'll pull through and be one of the best ProgPowers ever. My condolences, Glenn. I was really looking forward to Volbeat.
 
Truly sorry to hear about this Glenn, I can't imagine how frustrated you must be and I was certainly looking forward to a fun set from them. But you'll land on your feet, you always do; and the festival will be as successful as ever.

TheInvisibleGuest said:
I hope all is well in the Amorphis camp .. I'd be pissed if they bowed out.
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Agreed, but I'm sure everything'll be cool. They've toured over here before, have a prestigious headlining slot and have their act together. We're going to rock out mightily together on Friday night September 26th. :kickass:

General Zod said:
Let's face it, the number one driving force in the U.S. music scene is American Idol, which is nothing more than glorified karaoke. When is the last time this country embraced any band that displayed the slightest bit of originality?
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Well said.

Jason
 
...AndTimeBegan said:
Let me put things into perspective about Volbeat (if Claus already didn't haha). Last year (or maybe it was 2006) they did DIRECT SUPPORT for Metallica in Denmark (Over Mnemic, much less). They are bigger than pretty much every band that has ever played Prog Power save for Nightwish in some countries. I am actually not shocked about this at all because it is a relatively small spot for a band that big, who could be doing much bigger gigs. It sucks, and it would have been awesome for a band like Volbeat to show a little modesty but it's not the case I guess. :D
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I think you need to be careful a little when mentioning bands when they open for a bigger band in their own Country. While yes, opening for Metallica is huge, D.A.D. opened for Aerosmith in Denmark as well and I don't consider them bigger than most of the bands that play ProPowerUSA. In fact, I saw them in Copenhagen for their own show and they drew 8,000-10,000 people. That area definately supports their local talent.
 
DADRocks said:
I think you need to be careful a little when mentioning bands when they open for a bigger band in their own Country. While yes, opening for Metallica is huge, D.A.D. opened for Aerosmith in Denmark as well and I don't consider them bigger than most of the bands that play ProPowerUSA. In fact, I saw them in Copenhagen for their own show and they drew 8,000-10,000 people. That area definately supports their local talent.
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No I don't need to be "careful" because the USA is not the center of the universe. Volbeat has been highly successful in Denmark as well as Germany and some other Scandinavian countries. So what if they have no following in the US? I guarantee you that bands like Mastodon and Shadows Fall who we consider to be pretty big over here have a much smaller following in Europe (and ZERO following outside of Europe). Most of the bands that play ProgPower can't even draw 100 people on their own anywhere. Some of the bigger acts (Nightwish, Blind Guardian, Iced Earth) can draw a bit more in other countriees, but these are the exception. Not to mention that these bands are fairly old and Volbeat is only on their 2nd album. When Volbeat has 5 albums out, we'll see where they're at. With respect to my actual opinion on Volbeat, I think they're a great, fun band, but I definitely do not think they are that big a deal.
 
As almost everyone agrees that it sucks that Volbeat cancelled, it almost should be expected to a degree with the amount of bands that Glenn has playing this event. He's upped it to 12 bands in 2 days (not to mention the Showcase/Hellish Rock show and Wed night show.) I'm sure this isn't the only festival that ends of having a cancellation or two. Now that the surprise is over, I'm now looking foward to see who Glenn is going to replace them with. I was pretty down when Serenity cancelled but now that I've spun "Saint Deamon's" new cd around a few times, I'm pretty excited in seeing them. Good luck Glenn I'm looking foward in seeing what cd I may have to buy.

My vote (even though it doesn't matter): Raintime, The Poodles, Gotthard, or D.A.D.
 
BlackRoseMetalHeart said:
To a certain degree I agree with this, but I also have to say that if you're a band as big as Volbeat, then you should be willing to put out a little bit of money if you want to break into a market where you are virtually an unknown (or were an unknown until a US promoter gave you an opportunity).

If they are as huge in Europe as most people are saying on this thread, than spending the money to come here for a festival that many would consider one of, if not, the most popular metal festival of it's kind in the US shouldn't have been a complete hardship. Perhaps they could have then joined whatever European tour they are hooked up with a day or two later. I realize that being a huge band doesn't not equate to being a rich band, I just wonder if these are options that the band's booking/management even took into consideration.
Click to expand...

No offense to Glenn, you, or myself (because I love this damn festival as much as everyone else does :lol:), but ProgPower USA is not the most popular festival of it's kind (I assume you mean metal festival) in the US. The most popular prog and power metal festival? Yeah- but that's not saying too much haha. Playing this festival would not have helped Volbeat as much as a full European tour where the band would actually make money so that they could live haha.


Volbeat's situation is just interesting. They are generating massive success but their label seems to be struggling. You can bet that Volbeat will bounce to a bigger label when their contract is up.

If there's any band that absolutely needs more exposure, it's Textures dammit! Gotta agree with Zach about Slough Feg (but gotta disagree about Meshuggah!).
 
...AndTimeBegan said:
No I don't need to be "careful" because the USA is not the center of the universe. Volbeat has been highly successful in Denmark as well as Germany and some other Scandinavian countries. So what if they have no following in the US? I guarantee you that bands like Mastodon and Shadows Fall who we consider to be pretty big over here have a much smaller following in Europe (and ZERO following outside of Europe). Most of the bands that play ProgPower can't even draw 100 people on their own anywhere. Some of the bigger acts (Nightwish, Blind Guardian, Iced Earth) can draw a bit more in other countriees, but these are the exception. Not to mention that these bands are fairly old and Volbeat is only on their 2nd album. When Volbeat has 5 albums out, we'll see where they're at.
Click to expand...

I'm not saying USA is the center of the universe, I guess I'm saying that Denmark isn't the center of the Universe. I'm sure most bands aren't saying "so what about the US", they would be stupid if they did. If they happened to stumple onto a hit, their sales could shoot through the roof unlike any other country could. I'm very interested to see what happens with Volbeat after they have 5 albums out. They are a very good band, though I don't agree they are as big (yet) as you are making them out to be.
 
General Zod said:
Let's face it, the number one driving force in the U.S. music scene is American Idol, which is nothing more than glorified karaoke. When is the last time this country embraced any band that displayed the slightest bit of originality?

Zod
Click to expand...

What does American Idol have to do with anything? Take every season of AI into account and you don't need two full hands to count the number of contestants that have had any kind of significant career or impact. Besides, it's ultimately a pop music show, and shows like that have existed since TV began (and let's not forget it was originally a British show, and every single country/region of the world has its own version, most of which are wildly popular). Forget American Idol...go back to the advent of the Edison cylinder and the biggest sellers are pretty much never the most original or talented. Most of the great, unwashed masses out there don't care that much about music - they're happy listening to the local top 40 station on the way to work, and occasionally buying a Beyonce CD or downloading a Kelly Clarkson song from iTunes. It's always been that way, it will continue to be that way. Tilting at windmills like American Idol is silly.

As far as bands with originality that have enjoyed success recently: Tool, System of a Down, Mars Volta....there's plenty more. But if Serj Tankian somehow fooled his way into the top 12 of American Idol, just how much do you think the 12-year-olds and the grandmothers (and, face it, 98% of people your age) would embrace him?

It's also funny to hear people act like Volbeat is somehow ruining their already slim chances at US success...as if anybody outside of our insular and tiny community really cares about, or has heard of, ProgPower. Yes, within the prog/power metal scene, Glenn and ProgPower are monsters. But in the overall picture of the US music scene, ProgPower is a speck of dandruff. I think Claus and others covered this adequately, but I still have to point out the apparent bouts of self-importance that our little group of internet geeks seems to have at times.
 
mitchgx said:
It's also funny to hear people act like Volbeat is somehow ruining their already slim chances at US success...as if anybody outside of our insular and tiny community really cares about, or has heard of, ProgPower. Yes, within the prog/power metal scene, Glenn and ProgPower are monsters. But in the overall picture of the US music scene, ProgPower is a speck of dandruff. I think Claus and others covered this adequately, but I still have to point out the apparent bouts of self-importance that our little group of internet geeks seems to have at times.
Click to expand...

Uh, dude, I interview bands all over the world. To a band, without exception, they've heard of ProgPower USA. We're not just a tick on the hind end of a dog. PPUSA has a world-wide reputation.

Please don't post crap like this when you obviously don't know what you're talking about.
 
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