Cheers and Jeers

[Bryan316]

Earplugs provided when you walked in. This is possibly the best thing I've ever seen at any show usually you have to go to the bar and buy them, many younger folk dont know this. I had my etymotics but my buds forgot their plugs and this saved them.

DING DING DING DING DING!!! A brilliant call. I always have my Etymotics on me, but knowing everyone has a pair means long lives enjoying music without growing old and DEAF.

Folks... protect your ears, and you'll never regret it.

 

[Corsair]

again, it seems the tone of my comments were misconstrued but there is no reversing it now.

That seems to happen frequently; maybe you should consider your tone before posting in the future so more threads don't devolve thusly?


however! I will 110% agree with the -Jeer- about the drunk guy. I was up in the seats and he was -still- really distracting. and I think he actually made some woman really uncomfortable by putting his hands around her waist, which was really uncalled for. It was kinda funny for the first ten minutes or so, but it just got worse as the night wore on, and by the time he got taken down a couple of pegs, I was glad to see it happen.

My mate tells me that he actually punched a guy in the back of the head a number of years ago under similar, and no less distracting circumstances.

Also, adding to the jeers towards the guy who got caught recording. I was like 6 feet away from that when it happened. What a toolbag.


Cheers for pretty much everything else. The Crew, some of the best sound I've heard yet. Voyager, Ihsahn, Therion: easily some of the best performances i've ever seen. Air hairs raised several times during each set. I was really feeling the energy something fierce.

 

[TribunalRecords]

That seems to happen frequently; maybe you should consider your tone before posting in the future so more threads don't devolve thusly?


however! I will 110% agree with the -Jeer- about the drunk guy. I was up in the seats and he was -still- really distracting. and I think he actually made some woman really uncomfortable by putting his hands around her waist, which was really uncalled for. It was kinda funny for the first ten minutes or so, but it just got worse as the night wore on, and by the time he got taken down a couple of pegs, I was glad to see it happen.

My mate tells me that he actually punched a guy in the back of the head a number of years ago under similar, and no less distracting circumstances.

Also, adding to the jeers towards the guy who got caught recording. I was like 6 feet away from that when it happened. What a toolbag.

it's not really up to me about tone, honestly. it's up to the reader. if you believe me to be HOSTILE then i will be hostile. hahaha, see what caps can do ?! but seriously, tone is out of my hands. opinionated i am and i am not apologetic for it (as like most people on this board) as i don't feel i am ever too brash about it, how people read into it, again, beyond my control as we are seeing now.

yeah, the dude the first night was being a jerk from what i could see. was nice to see security come and get him. was sad to hear he was throwing punches, but you mix a days worth of alcohol consumption and a pit and that is what happens. plus, looked like he was a taunting drunk too which is even worse.

the drunk guy during Forbidden was simply a threat to others safety and his own for that matter. someone constantly falling like that with no real control over his body leads to heads getting cracked on the floor or something bad like that.

sorry back to topic

CHEERS (since everyone is stuck on my jeer)
- Ihsahn being such a nice guy and shaking everyone's hand in his greeting line and genuinely being shocked so many people wanted to meet him. Hard to imagine him as king Emperor anymore after that. hahaha.
- all the guest members of bands signing all their original bands liners and not giving me crap for bringing old shit!
- Sanctuary covering The Scorpions and playing Termination Force
- Labyrinth allowing fans to choose their final song
- Snowy Shaw "discussing the woman" from the cover of his Notre Dame CD i brought with Thomas Vikstrom. It was a little x-rated, haha.
- Seeing Jeff and Eric from Century Media and Ken from Sensory
- That pizza joint and DREAMLAND BBQ for the great food
- The elevator
- Security being cool dudes all weekend
- Air conditioning, plus beautiful weather (we all must write the Metal Gods a thank you letter)
- Russ from Forbidden naming their set Thrash Power
- Meeting Gene Hoglan
- Seeing the guys in Canvas Solaris again, it's been awhile
- Finding Steelheart "Tangled In The Reins" used at local CD shop
- Booze
- No long lines in the bathroom this year
- Circle pits

 

[AeonicSlumber]

Just my experience alone working the stage for the Texas Madfest in 2003 says you have NO IDEA how difficult a job it is to run a festival, and you should keep your thoughts to yourself. I cannot possibly imagine how many times more difficult it must be to get the ProgPower stage working as they do. The problems delays and crazy random shit that happened in Texas were ridiculous, and that show was STILL an awesome success with bands and fans alike enjoying the shit outta that festival. Just ask Rusty Cooley about technical problems.


The clueless, inexperienced and uninformed should recognize when they should just keep their mouths shut.

Take.

The.

Hint.

I'm not going to comment anything else except to stand up against the "clueless" and "inexperienced" attacks on your end. Dude has experience working with bands that have outsold Rusty Cooley 100 x over.

 

[Fizrider]

One thing that I will note is that a lot of the fatigue issue is self-inflicted for a lot of folks. It's a personal choice to get hammered and be unable to enjoy the show all weekend.

This is the complaint I don't get. I was dead-ass wiped out when Labyrinth started, so I sat in the back. After a 6 song "rest" I made it to the floor - these guys rocked. If it hadn't been for the emergency "baby is sick" text I got from home, I would have stayed for Therion feeling fine.

Of course, I only drank water on Saturday, and only had one beer Friday. With getting Older I got Wiser.

Glenn - I LOVE the 14 band setlist. If you restricted back to 5 bands a night in the past three years, who would we have not seen? Darkwater? Haken? Leaves' Eyes? Tyr? Circus Maximus? DSO?

I grumbled (to myself) about delays in the schedule at my first PP in 2009. Then I thought about it at the shows I went to at The Local, at the Masquerade... and realized that NOBODY stays on schedule in this industry. But if The Masquerade can't do it on a 3 show night, why am I bitching about a 45 minute delay on a 7 show night? Since then, I haven't cared a bit, because the delays give more time to hang out on the sidewalk with Chity; to discuss intercontinental travel with Simone Dow; to talk about the Ligurian beaches with Rudj and Terence... and those are the moments that make this festival so special.

 

[Bamafan]

Cheers:
- Glenn and Jen for making such an amazing festival possible. I am developing a tradition of building my calendar around this weekend.
- Everyone in Haken for being warm, good people yet able to leave us all open mouthed in amazement at their virtuosity. A special tip of the hat to Diego for taking the weight of the band's reputation on his shoulders then doing his band mates proud. God Bless America indeed!
- Voyager for a) putting on such a killer set and b) being the sort of people I'd want to share dinner with. Wait, I did share dinner with them! In that case, cheers for putting up with my company.
- They guys of Darkwater for all around graciousness and musical wondefulness. Hopefully you can play a longer set next time!
- The crew. Since I am a technical and musical doofus, I assumed that the wizards of Hogwarts magically kept things running smoothly. Apparently, I was mistaken. Since I didn't notice problems, I'm assuming the crew has some wizardry of their own. Thanks guys!
- The bartenders who popped open a diet red bull for me every time I was within their zip code. Getting old sucks. Special thanks to Whitney. You get the professional discount!
- Mark, Louis, Justin, Milton, Matt, Bill and Jason for making me feel like part of the community after I slipped in under the radar last year. Cheers!
- Whoever recommended both Myrath and Anubis Gate to me!

Jeers- hell, I feel so rejuvenated and happy today, no jeers from me. The weekend couldn't have been more fun even if there had been soap and paper towels in the men's room.

 

[DuchessOfDork]

From all the complaints I'm hearing from people about the lack of paper towels and soap, I'm thinking that next year, Prog Power could make a killing on $.99 Prog Power labeled sanitary gel dispensers.

 

[nailz]

Cheers:

Glenn - You and I definitely have our riffs on the forum. Sometimes, I'm an ass, sometimes, I'm misunderstood. However, whenever it's September, you are the most amazing host. Working with Claus this past year has really given me a large amount of understanding and exponential respect for doing what you do every year. I can't even imagine. I love you for doing this every year.

Jenn: You are an absolute sweetheart and I love you to death. Great seeing you and thanks for being a pillar of strength to that crazy guy you're married to.

The Su, Metalrose, Milton, Manda, Kris, Ian, Miguel, Patrick, Jon, Rudy, Guierremo (sp), Eric, Greg, and anyone else I hung out with for extended periods of time. I really felt like this was the first year I could kind of be myself comfortably in no small part to all of you. I hate making a big deal about my sexuality, but it was always kind of in the back of my mind every year. Metal as fuck.

The lighting and sound guys: Wow. You guys were INCREDIBLE. The lighting was a bit dark for some bands but overall, it was fantastic and should make for some incredible shots. I brought my ear plugs but for almost every band, I didn't need them, my ears were never ringing at the end of the night. Whatever you did, do it again. Every time.

The PP crew: Wow, you guys. Especailly and specifically during sets with problems. Like angry hornets fixing problems, right on top of everything.

Ishan: Class act man, all the way.

Twitter: I finally understand what a great tool it is for a festival like this. Coordination was easy, feedback was immediate, everything owned.

Therion: Best set I have ever seen at progpower. Period. I think it was part concert part musical production, and I think that kind of stuff really just ... works. Just a fantastic set.

Voyager: I do not like to give cheers to bands, but these two deserve it more than perhaps any other band. What Voyager did was something special. They just love music and they just want everyone else to love music too. Come back soon. They are the second band I will sponsor whenever and where ever Glenn decides to bring them back.

Alright one more: Power Glove. These guys are not getting the love I thought they would. Their set was glorious, they were having so much fun, how can you NOT enjoy them? Fantastic.

Jeers:

Suckfest 8: Giving away our rooms. Never again.

Progpower Crud: Seems to have got us all early. I was lucky enough to avoid it.

Setting a Curfew on Thursday really let me hang loose til 5:30am on Friday. Waking up early to go to the Artmore for a room on Saturday was pretty rough, but having their system go down as I was next in line? WTF. I understand technical problems but maybe if you're going to sell out a hotel a year in advance, you should make sure your shit works.

Not having my camera was awesome and everything, but DAMN I missed it.

Miss ya'll!

 

[Formerly known as Chris F5]

Cheers...
The food options around the venue
Discovering possibly one of the best sushi places in the country with Nick Van Dyk,Matt Crooks,Lotesto and woman..
Varasanos is almost as good as sex
Killer sets by Sanctuary,Evergrey,Forbidden,and Red Circut.
Lightng that was good enough to take some great images..
And not really related to the actual festival but for Ambery and Dalis comming down from
Chatanooga to shoot with me on and off through the weekend....

Jeers
normally I don't complain about things here...most of the issues were minor conviences
and mentioned....
however..
Im over the Super 8
I'm all for trying to keep a budget...and I am a Wyndham trip rewards member(which Super 8 is part of)....and believe it or not most Super 8s are really great bang for the buck...
But this hotel has dropped in overall quality to the point Id rather spend the extra $$ and
stay somewhere that is better than a hoet that might have lower overall quality than a Motel 6(I refues to violate my body with ever sleeping in that place or other welfare quality hotels)
Front desk not helpful....room sucked...

 

[booB]

it's not really up to me about tone, honestly. it's up to the reader. if you believe me to be HOSTILE then i will be hostile. hahaha, see what caps can do ?! but seriously, tone is out of my hands. opinionated i am and i am not apologetic for it (as like most people on this board) as i don't feel i am ever too brash about it, how people read into it, again, beyond my control as we are seeing now.

Complete BS. There is such a thing as TACT, and that's entirely up to the speaker. I get that you like to sound "edgy" with your comments, but posting things that you know can be construed as insulting or condescending -- about a fest that provides your own work with plenty of exposure, no less -- is not the way to make friends in an industry or a community. You did NOT just voice your opinion; you talked down to the very experienced stage crew (it is ProgPower USA TWELVE, after all) as if they were part of a high school drama club.

If you really, seriously, are oblivious to how shitty your comments sounded, then you should take everyone's advice here and learn how to talk to people properly. Get some manners.

yeah, the dude the first night was being a jerk from what i could see. was nice to see security come and get him. was sad to hear he was throwing punches, but you mix a days worth of alcohol consumption and a pit and that is what happens. plus, looked like he was a taunting drunk too which is even worse.

You were sticking your fist out at the moshers coming in your direction. I know, because I was right behind you. That's the same thing as throwing punches, and you were as much of a douchebag and a danger to others as that guy was, if not more so.

 

[Diamond45]

The lighting and sound guys: Wow. You guys were INCREDIBLE. The lighting was a bit dark for some bands but overall, it was fantastic and should make for some incredible shots. I brought my ear plugs but for almost every band, I didn't need them, my ears were never ringing at the end of the night. Whatever you did, do it again. Every time.

Agreed. Great lighting and sound this year.

Therion: Best set I have ever seen at progpower. Period. I think it was part concert part musical production, and I think that kind of stuff really just ... works. Just a fantastic set.

+1 You said it better than I could. My jaw is still on the floor at Center Stage that set was so damn good!

 

[nailz]

I was a few rows above the dude with the cell phone when Glenn busted him. I agreed.. WTF dude??

I was happy to know he beat it the fuck out of there. What an ass. I just kind of wish we would've dealt with it instead of interrupting the big guy, but I can't say it wasn't entertaining to watch the dude be completely oblivious when Glenn was like "HEY, THIS GUY?" right next to him. There was some guy recording Red Circuit on the floor right in front of me as well. I simply tapped that guy on the shoulder and warned him he'd get thrown out for that shit. He stopped immediately and actually seemed like he didn't know.

There were fucking signs everywhere dude. What the fuck, bootleggers.

 

[nailz]

Free water at Center Stage. You have no idea the difference this makes when you’re feeling under the weather.

A MILLION, BILLION TIMES THIS. Oh my god thank you so fucking much for the free, easy access water, that I saw being refilled as soon as it was empty by the amazing Center Stage Bartenders/Staff. <3 That.

 

[Rick Pierpont]

Thank you, Glenn! That was perfect!

You may have "experience" on a small scale, but I would bet every single dollar I have made over the last 10 years that you could never, ever come close to pulling off what we do. I have no problem with grounded critiques as we always strive to improve. However, the tone of your post is condescending and that is laughable. You have posted five times today in various thread and every single one had a negative remark.

Let me break it down for you....

There is one stage. We are running a full blown dvd recording in HD with a 42 track pro-audio system in the back. Do you think we just hit the red record button in the studio and all is well? Do you think a band like Forbidden just plugs in and plays without caring about the patches? That mixing a band like Therion is the same as any 3-riff death metal band in a bar? No problem for you right?

Furthermore, we have requests for up to 10 in-ear monitors to be mixed within 30 mins. No problem for you though right? You have done it with your digital boards right? I'm sure bands requesting 30+ input lines is no big deal for you as well.

No problem for you having to deal with band that bring their own engineers and reset the board, etc for every band right?

I assume troubleshooting on the spot isn't a big deal for you as well right? You can handle replacing tubes, fixing defective equipment brought by the bands, while continuing to work patch issues at the same time. Five keyboards set up in 15 mins? Hell, you are on it!

Large bands are used to having hours to soundcheck or their own stage to work on while bands are playing on another at other festivals. They cannot do that here. That makes for some very demanding and intense moments on stage before the curtain. No problem for you though right? Just plug and play..no worries.

We ran 45 minutes behind this year at the most thanks to my amazing crew that works their ass off. I'm guessing your crew would have been 20 minutes ahead because Therion's technical requirements are elementary for your experience.

Furthemore....

Hell, the signing sessions are something that every festival pulls off here in the States right?. I mean you can travel anywhere in the States and have mega lines for sessions right? Everyone can do this right? I'm sure you have had fests where bands are signing stuff for 1 hr 20 minutes and taking up your crew resources. No worries for you though.

My priority is the stage while trying to offer the most I can as well. I'm sure you have been able to offer the same type of "experience" though.

You said your piece. I said mine. I will delete any responses you make to this or anything else for that matter. Do not waste your time as I have just done.

 

[Formerly known as Chris F5]

From all the complaints I'm hearing from people about the lack of paper towels and soap, I'm thinking that next year, Prog Power could make a killing on $.99 Prog Power labeled sanitary gel dispensers.

You get a major jeer for not comming this year..
We need to have more of a Model Mayhem presence at PP
Next year

 

[DuchessOfDork]

You get a major jeer for not comming this year..
We need to have more of a Model Mayhem presence at PP
Next year

D'awwwww I'll be there next year, I promise! I'm already buttering up my husband. XD

 

[nailz]

Agreed. Great lighting and sound this year...... +1 You said it better than I could. My jaw is still on the floor at Center Stage that set was so damn good!

I was in the seats most of the time this year, which was kind of a cool new perspective, and I think it helped me appreciate the theatrics of the bands who were playing that I wasn't familiar with rather than being on the floor with tired feet and wondering why I was bothering. The perspective shift really was great for overall enjoyment, and while I tweeted a LOT from my seat, I feel like I didn't miss anything.

Also, It gave me a chance to watch Allen in the pit, and how he moved and shot. It was kind of like watching a hockey game for the plays. Very, very cool. I did end up uploading a ton of silly pictures to FB/Twitter that were meant to be lousy or stupid, and I know Allen got it, but I hope anyone else who saw them got a chuckle out of it rather than thinking I was trying to be a douche canoe.

 

[AngraRULES]

D'awwwww I'll be there next year, I promise! I'm already buttering up my husband. XD

9 1/2 weeks was just okay, Nina.

 

[dionysus11]

Bootleggers. You're cool, and you can get away with filming a quick clip of the bands at ProgPower. Fuck you.

+100

 

[DuchessOfDork]

9 1/2 weeks was just okay, Nina.

>_> Wat??