Cheers and Jeers

[Diabolik]

9 1/2 weeks was just okay, Nina.

wrong movie....it is Last Tango in Paris you are thinking about.

 

[Rick Pierpont]

For the record Steve, Christian's accident had nothing to do with anything in our control. He made a mistake, fell and bumped his head. It happens and unfortunately happened this year. With that said, being one of the first people to check him out after that happened, I have to give MAJOR KUDOS to Therion for their amazing professionalism and the fact that the show went on! Christian arrived back from the hospital frighteningly close to their show time.

Any idea if there is a possibility of a be a High Def DVD/Blu-Ray becoming available of this? I hear that blu-ray licensing is ridiculously expensive, though, but damn, that would be sweet to get this in full high-def!



I was talking to the keyboard tech and he was saying that this fest was probably the most keyboards that he has ever had to setup. Now that I think of it, there were a lot of keyboards present at this ProgPower!



You are indeed correct and I agree with you. Those signing sessions are really cool. Yeah, it sucked on my part to miss part of Mob Rules since I wanted to go through the Voyager and Eldritch signing sessions, but still! Just the fact that I got to see Voyager perform was awesome enough, but then getting to hang out with them was just puts it over the top. No friggan wonder I am so stoked at being a sponsor for this thing!

All I can say is keep up the good work. I've had my critiques in the past, but I try come up with constructive criticism instead of just bitching for bitching's sake. However, this year, I honestly cannot think of anything as, delays or not, this one pretty much went off flawlessly. I guess the only thing is that in light of what happened with Christian Vidal, we may need to put greater emphasis on safety.

 

[ApolloFC]

* To the fans..rather participants...who continually think that by putting your swag bag in one chair somehow 'reserves' the 2 or 6 seats around it in a general admission venue.

I only did that to save my seat as I was actually using it 98% of the time I was there if not standing in front of it during a performance. But yeah there were guys near me who had like a "group bag" that they used to reserve the seats and of course this one couple who put the bags on the seats just to leave em there.. they were hardly in their seats.

 

[AngraRULES]

wrong movie....it is Last Tango in Paris you are thinking about.

Ah, there we go. Same difference!

 

[ApolloFC]

I had my etymotics but my buds forgot their plugs and this saved them.

I finally figured out on Saturday what was pissing me off about the mix. It was the damn ear plugs! I'm pretty sure I have the same kind as you do. They were draining out so much of the guitars that all I heard was bass or if the bass player was plucking the strings hard or w/e and felt the bass in my seat which drove me nuts. Without the ear plugs the mix sounded relatively fine (labyrinths was questionable to me at the time for example) but I didn't want to listen to show w/o them in order to protect them.

 

[GoldiROCKS]

Cheers:

~ My ProgPower cherry was popped! I loved EVERY second of it.
~ Kelly, it's MUCKING FONDAY!!!!
~ Amazing music, wonderful new friends! Thank you for making me feel like family!!
~ Too much alcohol and too little sleep!
~ Renaming The Artmore Hotel to The Burntmore Hotel. Thank you for my eggs, baby!

JEERS:

~ 10am (errr 7am my time) hour long obnoxious sound check outside our window. Vortex to the rescue!
~ Forbidden's set being distracted (23 times?)...oh wait...is that a Jeer? Funny stuff! Put him back atop a pencil!! Forbidden tore it up!!!
~ 360-ish days 'til we can do it again!!!

 

[TribunalRecords]

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.

That is simple pit etiquette where i come from. I am protecting myself instead of doing what so many others were doing like shoving someone from behind (real classy) or kicking them (even more classy). i put my fist/forearm out letting them know i am there - never once throwing it at anyone - which throwing a punch is nowhere near the same as running into an extended arm in a pit - you are reaching on that one.

and if you were behind me you will also note when the circle pit was going i was helping shift people around the circle and not simply shoving them as other people were because i understand not everyone knows how a circle pit works in 2011 and most think it to be all about moshing and running into each other, which it isn't. but for the record i was down there to have fun and sing along which i did.

i put a fist out also so i don't get my fingers smashed or jammed up.

So calling me a douche is your business, but i was in the pit to have fun and it was had.

 

[shreddy]

I finally figured out on Saturday what was pissing me off about the mix. It was the damn ear plugs! I'm pretty sure I have the same kind as you do. They were draining out so much of the guitars that all I heard was bass or if the bass player was plucking the strings hard or w/e and felt the bass in my seat which drove me nuts. Without the ear plugs the mix sounded relatively fine (labyrinths was questionable to me at the time for example) but I didn't want to listen to show w/o them in order to protect them.

Thats common with the foam plugs, the etymotics are a big step up from foam pluygs. They cut the DB but not highs everything sounds the same as not wearing them. They're a must have for concert goers and musicians really important for musicians, you can hear everyone else in the band with these.

http://www.etymotic.com/hp/er20.html

You can get them from most music stores or through Amazon. Buy 2 sets, I keep one in my keyboard case and one on my keychain.

 

[nailz]

Actually, those are what I was using, and noticed the same issue. I also found I didn't need them.

 

[ApolloFC]

http://www.etymotic.com/hp/er20.html

Yeah thats what I have, the darker blue ones I suppose.

 

[kellsco]

I too was using etymotic plugs and found that the bass seemed really loud. I took them out after a while for a few bands just to hear the mix better.

 

[AngraRULES]

Here's one more person left disappointed by the brand new earplugs (same as above).

 

[Reverend Su]

my cheers are to my family - Glenn, Jen, Dawn, The Crew (Shane, Wayne, Keith, TOMMY!!! and the rest of the gang), Monkey, Nailz, Metal, Tracie, Allen (photog), HANSEL?! and all the rest of you awesome people...
i hate that, for the most part, i only see you fine folks once a year...but i do so love the time we have together!

a cheer to the bands - except for one dickhead who got handsy with women who told him to take a leap, all the band members were amazing class acts

PowerGlove - LOVE LOVE LOVE these guys. they clearly enjoy themselves on stage and are some of the nicest dudes to chat with...thanks to Nick for letting me wear his "spikes" and super yeay to B for being a great twitter friend and giving GREAT hugs (especially shirtlessly...yum!)

Forbidden, Therion, Sanctuary, Evergrey, Labyrinth, Voyager...and all the other bands: seriously wow

jeers? to people who will complain about anything and everything. bah - suck it up, weenies. do you complain like this in your real lives as well? just get over it, ok? FFS, no one gives a rats ass.

 

[jem777az]

Cheers:

-Glenn, Jen and the rest of the ProgPower crew. You guys are the best!
-All the people I met, talked to, hung out with whatever: Scott, Pat, Milton, Miguel, Dave, et al....
-My friend Scott for holding down the fort for me while I went back to the hotel, grabbed some food, etc. Thanks bro!
-The incredibly beautiful girl (who shall remain nameless) who I kept running into wherever I went.
-Finding the Rising Roll, a kickass gourmet sandwich shop a stone's throw from the Artmore (thanks Scott)
-CD Inzane for always having the best selection. For the great customer service, and the kickass $8 sale!!
-The awesome weather!!! It was nice to see temperatures less than 100 for the first time since June! (I'm not kidding either)
-Ihsahn, Therion, Voyager, & Labyrinth for giving the four best performances ever in the 5 years I have been attending.


Jeers:

-To the 4-5 people who made me and Scott get up every five fucking minutes on Thursday so you could casually come and go to and from your seats whenver you wanted a big Fuck You! Either come and watch the bands and stay or don't bother coming at all.
-My limited merchandise budget.
-The price at the Artmore going up another $20 bucks next year.
-The person who kept shitting your pants during the Vanden Plas acoustic set.

 

[LunaTEKKE]

The mosh pit and some of the extreme participants. I was not on the floor so I was not directly impacted but I have been and it can detract from those who are there to see the band and not spend their time trying to keep from getting hit.

I haven’t set foot in a mosh pit since the early 1990s when I was living in Nashville. I don’t know if it’s a regional thing, or if the “art of the mosh” has evolved, but there was less full-on body slamming and more pushing and shoving than what I have experienced in the past. I can see how that would create less wear and tear on the moshers themselves…but it seems more dangerous for those who *aren’t* participating. Having a 200-pound projectile missile shoved into the crowd creates a domino effect that can catch unsuspecting bystanders off guard – even if they aren’t right on the edge of the pit.

Oh, and I forgot one JEER - triple-digit temps in Phoenix this week, after a weekend of glorious Atlanta weather.

 

[SkiBumMSP]

For the record Steve, Christian's accident had nothing to do with anything in our control. He made a mistake, fell and bumped his head. It happens and unfortunately happened this year. With that said, being one of the first people to check him out after that happened, I have to give MAJOR KUDOS to Therion for their amazing professionalism and the fact that the show went on! Christian arrived back from the hospital frighteningly close to their show time.

Obviously, not having been back there myself and seeing what actually happened, I cannot comment on what actually could have been done to prevent it (if anything could have been done). I guess, after having been on the ski patrol for the past 10 years, and seeing first hand the type of injuries as a result of blows to the head, I just get concerned about the safety of everyone at the fest. Much like on the ski slope, where I just want everybody to have a fun time, but still try to keep safe while having fun.

My comment is more a general, "hey, while we are having fun and everything, lets try to keep some general safety in mind so we don't have any more unfortunate accidents like that" type of thing. Maybe a simple safety briefing to the bands like "hey, don't be trying to jump up on the stage like that. Look what happened with Christian from Therion at PP XII in 2011! Would you rather be here enjoying the festival before your set, or spending all your time at the hospital getting the back of your head stitched up?".

But yes, despite what happened, Therion still managed to put on one incredible set to close the festival out with! Huge kudos for that!

BTW, a major Cheer to you and your fellow crew members for pulling this whole thing off! I thought it was incredible and glad to include you guys as my friends. Apologies to J-Dubya for getting in the way while I was chatting with the WHW guys in their dressing room.

 

[indytims]

....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 guys did all the above - and so much more - and the best compliment I can come up with is: you did it all and made it look *easy*.

It was my first ProgPower, and definitely will not be my last. I was INCREDIBLY impressed with everything, the professionalism, the venue... just everything.

A BIG hats off to every single person who made this possible, from the organizers, sponsors, all the crew, security, etc.

I'll just toss out my noobie cheers and jeers for fun:

Cheers-

Every band I was able to see. They all "brought it", and while that might sound like 'common sense', some bands don't 'bring it' every night.

Lori Lewis of Therion for being so incredibly hot.

"Forbidden", for turning me on to their music. I'd heard them before and didn't really dig them much. Hearing them live? Different story. Same goes for "Labyrinth". I will be checking both out anew now.

Female fans - was it just me, or were there many, many pretty ladies present? Including the gorgeous blond standing next to me a couple rows form the stage during Therion.

The aforementioned crew, sponsors, security, etc. Without the support, nothing of this magnitude would be possible.


-JEERS

My single biggest complaint - the lack of merch. I don't know who is responsible, or what sort of limitations there are, etc. But I had brought enough money to buy a dozen shirts and other gear - and walked away with none. Sorry if this complaint sounds weak, but it's the only real "jeer" I could come up with.

 

[miel]

Jeers:

- Bruises that I have no recollection of!
- Marriott Courtyard's new security gate
- Esa, Terminator, John Cheek and General Zod's absences
- Local hospital's ER wait time for Christian of Therion (I believe he waited 6- 8 hours before seeing a physician.. plain embarassing!)
- Incessantly LOUD talking throughout Evergrey's acoustic set Wednesday night made it difficult for me to properly listen and give them my full attention.
- Attendees video recording.. interrupting our performance enjoyment and causing G. to get up (the very few times he's actually able to sit for a bit).. not to mention the fact that he had major surgery this past July and definitely needed his precious minutes of chair-time.


Cheers:


- Our well-oiled machine (aka The ProgPower USA Crew)
- Tom Englund for being a good sport with our flannel shirt prank Thursday night and also Glenn's "Tom Was My Bitch" shirt Wednesday night
- Heather Simkins for surprising me with my beautiful corset.
- Nikki, Chad, and Jamie at Center Stage. Also, Lindsey the new, talented Lighting Tech.
- The unseasonably cool weather for HOTlanta.
- Allen Ross Thomas for being such a rockstar and capturing memories ALL four days.
- Corset photo going well and being much less stressful in comparison to last year's fiasco.
- The venue temperature.
- Flats (shoes)
- Twitter. Within minutes, I was able to locate the owner of a lost gold badge.
- Christian Vidal for being such a soldier.
- Voyager for exchanging cultural colloquialisms backstage.
- Food served in Vinyl. They went above and beyond, IMO. Did I mention they do NOT serve food? They made special concessions just for PPUSA.
- My Mom and Dad being metalheads with me at the sound board Saturday night.
- Spare cell phone batteries
- Throat spray (chloraseptic), coffee, wax earplugs (for sleeping), sleeping mask
- Hardly anyone blocked the stairs in the theater this year!
- Nanners - The Banana Bandit
- Debbie's homemade jambalaya delivery
- Therion. They inspired me to go down front (in the pit) for the first time ever.
- Tracie's watermelon jello shots and twisted ring cookies (sorry, I can't remember the name of them!)
- Our delicious catering backstage - compliments of caterer, Johanne Greene
- Beautiful Artmore courtyard - a comfortable, safe party atmosphere
- Ripper's horn
- Mike Clark for doing a pharmacy run to pick up Christian Vidal's pain meds after his fall.
- Power naps
- G. and I both taking the Monday following PP off work.
- The newly coined phrase, "Jen's Bitches" - trademark coming soon!
- Our lobby manager, Keith's professional signage

EDIT: I can't believe I forgot the following cheers:
- Evergrey for reminding G. and I Thurs. night why we do this crazy thing called PP.
- G. for immediately snapping into Trauma Nurse mode to care for Christian. I didn't think it was possible to have even more admiration.
- Tommy. He's the glue that keeps it all together. Not to mention, my hook-up.

~Jen

 

[OrbWeaver]

More cheers:
- Meeting Bamafan and Milton. It's always a pleasure to meet more forum members! Though I think Milton was just being polite.
- Snowy Shaw recognizing my Lizzy Borden shirt and chatting with me (briefly) about him!
- Singer of Voyager being SUPER NICE.

 

[booB]

Jeers:

- Bruises that I have no recollection of!

Cheers:

- Therion. They inspired me to go down front (in the pit) for the first time ever.

I think I just figured something out for you...