Voyager were absolutely killer in San Diego last night and got a great response from the crowd. I saw a few other people wearing PPUSA shirts and/or who I talked about PPUSA with, and I saw a couple other people singing along, so I know that at least a portion of the crowd knew them going in, but I'm pretty sure they won over a good deal of fans through their performance. I obviously would've liked to see them get a longer set, but that's also a reminder of how spoiled we are to see every band get an hour at PPUSA. I definitely hope to see them back in the US at some point - I know they took a hit having to rebook their flights, but it seems like they got a good response and hopefully it will be feasible for them to come back and continue building a fanbase here. They certainly deserve every bit of success they get, and then some.
Rhapsody of Fire were good, although I didn't stay for their whole set. Fabio has a tremendous voice, but I'm not a huge fan of the band and quite frankly, their live presence paled in comparison to Voyager. Yes, they're an accomplished band and I fully understand why dedicated fans were excited to see them, I take nothing away from RoF. Voyager are just far too much fun and far too good live, it would take someone like Sabaton to come out after them and not look less intense.
Rhapsody of Fire were good, although I didn't stay for their whole set. Fabio has a tremendous voice, but I'm not a huge fan of the band and quite frankly, their live presence paled in comparison to Voyager. Yes, they're an accomplished band and I fully understand why dedicated fans were excited to see them, I take nothing away from RoF. Voyager are just far too much fun and far too good live, it would take someone like Sabaton to come out after them and not look less intense.