Wanted to post a recap of the first night of Barfest... it was a very very good show from all the bands. It was fun being kinda behind the scenes and helping out.... getting to meet the bands and watch the whole soundcheck process. I'll be honest, I was worried about the turnout for this after Angra pulled out, but was pleasantly surprised at the crowd. Met a lot of people that came from out of town to see the show. Kudos to them for supporting the first venture of this festival. 
The Venue, while it had nowhere near the comforts of Earthlink was adequate for the show... lack of seating though kinda hurt... so did the 21+ only. My guess was there was around 200-250 people there, place supposedly holds 500 and I think that would be PACKED with 500. Stage is about 4' off the ground and *just* big enough for the bands. Some of the bands looked quite cramped on stage because of some of the Spocks's beard gear was up there all night, but especially looking cramped was Spock's with the massive amount of gear they had. Venue has very high ceilings so it didn't feel like a small and dingy club, sound was excellent all night.
Timeline lead off the show at around 6, local prog rock/metal band with "eboles" from the forum on vocals. They played a very good set, though the crowd at this point was very small.
Mob Rules came on next and played for about 45 mins. or so. The crowd picked up by the time they went on, and in my opinion they were outstanding. Sounded AWESOME, and had the energy and crowd 'enjoyment' of Brainstorm at PPV. Glenn, if you've ever considered them for PP, but wasn't sure of how they'd go over, or what they are like on stage... trust me, you wouldn't be disappointed. I talked to a lot of people that didn't really know the band, but was immensely impressed with them live. Great set, and really really cool guys.
Balance of Power played next and did quite a range of stuff. The keyboardist told me they were playing 2 songs from each album except the first. I don't remember the set exactly but they played Shelter Me, Daybreaker, 10 More Tales, Heathen Machine, Chemical Imbalance, Blind Man, a new song called "Pariah" which was awesome. No "Prisoner Of Pride", they did play a couple more but I don't remember which ones they were. Corey Brown did a great job for them, and I was very impressed with him vocally, onstage, and in person. Great guy, and truly appreciative of the work the crew did, and the fans.
Enchant played next and was crazy tight. This is one helluva talented band. I love watching their bassist play... madman. I'm unfortunately not familiar with them at all, but I will be listening to them more after seeing them twice in 2 months. Very impressive.
Spock's Beard was last and while technically great, musically their songs bored me stiff. The crowd thinned out quite a bit for them also. Select audience I guess. I stayed for maybe half the set then left. DC Cooper was going to get up on stage with them to sing a song, but I think he said it was going to be like their last song and I don't know what he was singing with them either... I just couldn't hold out that long. It was a long day.
Tonight is Odin's Court, Eyefear, ZH, Crimson Glory, and Jon Oliva's Pain. Should be an awesome night.
The Venue, while it had nowhere near the comforts of Earthlink was adequate for the show... lack of seating though kinda hurt... so did the 21+ only. My guess was there was around 200-250 people there, place supposedly holds 500 and I think that would be PACKED with 500. Stage is about 4' off the ground and *just* big enough for the bands. Some of the bands looked quite cramped on stage because of some of the Spocks's beard gear was up there all night, but especially looking cramped was Spock's with the massive amount of gear they had. Venue has very high ceilings so it didn't feel like a small and dingy club, sound was excellent all night.
Timeline lead off the show at around 6, local prog rock/metal band with "eboles" from the forum on vocals. They played a very good set, though the crowd at this point was very small.
Mob Rules came on next and played for about 45 mins. or so. The crowd picked up by the time they went on, and in my opinion they were outstanding. Sounded AWESOME, and had the energy and crowd 'enjoyment' of Brainstorm at PPV. Glenn, if you've ever considered them for PP, but wasn't sure of how they'd go over, or what they are like on stage... trust me, you wouldn't be disappointed. I talked to a lot of people that didn't really know the band, but was immensely impressed with them live. Great set, and really really cool guys.
Balance of Power played next and did quite a range of stuff. The keyboardist told me they were playing 2 songs from each album except the first. I don't remember the set exactly but they played Shelter Me, Daybreaker, 10 More Tales, Heathen Machine, Chemical Imbalance, Blind Man, a new song called "Pariah" which was awesome. No "Prisoner Of Pride"
, they did play a couple more but I don't remember which ones they were. Corey Brown did a great job for them, and I was very impressed with him vocally, onstage, and in person. Great guy, and truly appreciative of the work the crew did, and the fans.Enchant played next and was crazy tight. This is one helluva talented band. I love watching their bassist play... madman. I'm unfortunately not familiar with them at all, but I will be listening to them more after seeing them twice in 2 months. Very impressive.
Spock's Beard was last and while technically great, musically their songs bored me stiff. The crowd thinned out quite a bit for them also. Select audience I guess. I stayed for maybe half the set then left. DC Cooper was going to get up on stage with them to sing a song, but I think he said it was going to be like their last song and I don't know what he was singing with them either... I just couldn't hold out that long. It was a long day.
Tonight is Odin's Court, Eyefear, ZH, Crimson Glory, and Jon Oliva's Pain. Should be an awesome night.
