Cheers and Jeers

[mattbrood]

Jeers: Mostly what others have already stated:

The sidewalk construction

important people that were missing this year (General Zod, Lindsey Dunahee especially for me)

9am Soundcheck for the Barbeque luncheon (sorry, but waaaaay to early to be crankin a Marshall stack especially after 3 hours of sleep! )

The dude with the red shirt that was completely wasted and falling down in the Forbidden pit.

Not getting to meet Snowy Shaw..oh well



Cheers:

Of course Glenn and Jen and all of the PPUSA Crew for everything they do to run the fest as smoothly as possible

Getting to meet Warrel Dane and all of Sanctuary and also their killer set!

Getting to hang out with the Voyager guys and gal, as well as Daniel's girlfriend Halinka. Our trip to the Vortex was amazing and besides Sanctuary and Voyager's set, the highlight of my weekend! Also getting thanked on their cd which I hadn't discovered until I was on the plane going home.

The Artmore After parties

The Su's hugs, kisses and corset outfit (Meowrrrrrrr! )

Getting to have a nice one on one conversation with the lovely Mrs. Harveston

Having Glenn take my picture with Ihsahn backstage even though he was obviously busy. Glad to return the favor!

Being able to hang out with all of the band members and my great friends and meet a ton of new friends.

Traci's treats (cookies..get your mind out of the gutter! )

Pizza delivery at 4am by Good Fellas Pizza

Nanners - The Banana Bandit for making my Sunday morning full of awesomeness

Whitney D. in the VIP lounge for my "special" Jager shot and also for showing me her amazing Dumbledore and Super Mario tattoos! A geek after my own heart!

I'm sure there are things I'm forgetting, so I may add to this list later on!

 

[nailz]

-The awesome weather!!! It was nice to see temperatures less than 100 for the first time since June! (I'm not kidding either)

No fucking kidding. You should've seen me shivering half the time walking back to the Shitty 8. Hahaha.

 

[Mardoch]

Cheers:
Valentine1 for making the best radar detector money can buy. 530 miles in 6.5 hours on the return trip, including a stop.
5 Hour Energy. A great substitute for sleep and/or food in a time of much metal.
Lance King, for being an all around cool guy and for taking my ribbing in stride. Thanks for all the discs and the cool shirt. (Sorry man, I like you in most cases, just not in Pyramaze. And I'm definitely buying your solo disc.)
Ihsahn. He seems to generally be an awesome human, on top of everything else. Definitely one of the best PP sets I've seen. The "HOLY SHIT" chant was cool as hell. (Stuff it Milton >.<)
Haken. I wasn't sure how their stuff would translate into a live show. The answer is obviously "fucking brilliantly," beautiful show, great folks.
Chitty, for not seeming to mind that every time I saw him I was a bit starstruck. Love the voice, brilliant show.
All the other bands I watched. No standalone show can even come close to any single band's set at PP. Something about this fest just brings out the best in bands, it seems.
Glenn and Jen. I don't think explaining is necessary. You guys are awesome. I meant what I said in the roster thread too. This really is basically a pilgrimage for me. What you do means more to us than our words can express.
The crew. You guys are super-human. No multi-band show is ever nearly as quick and quality as this one, and none of the others I've been to have been more than 3-4 bands.
The Super 8. Because apparently I'm the only person who has consistently good stays there.

Jeers:
People that get way too drunk. This is pretty much every concert, but it bothers me more here because of the effort involved in making it every year.
No J-Man at Lance's side this year. I cherish your recommendations Metal Yoda. Maybe next year?
Walking. I'm too fat for that shit. But too cheap to stay closer.
Time zones. I'm an idiot and forgot to account for the change from Central to Eastern in my travel plans. Thus I hit Atlanta rush hour traffic and had no respite before the kick-off. Atlanta rush hour isn't actually as bad as Baton Rouge rush hour though, so I'm not too upset about that.
Long time to go before XIII.


I love this fest so freaking much. I hope that my family size going from 2 to 3 won't stop me from attending. If I have to I'll do that trip on my Dorsoduro, which is so not made for touring.

 

[Corsair]

@Trib - Then why not just own the slur? I mean that's pretty much what a prick is, and if the shoe fits, wear it. I admit I can be a real dickass sometimes.

I've noticed a couple of complaints about the road construction in Atlanta.

You're right on the money. I think through my entire life having been lived near the city, I can't think of any time there wasn't major roadwork being done at some point.


Might be because half the state is marshland or crappy eroded soil from when there was massive cotton farming going on that obliterated the topsoil and native plantlife, so the roads are shifting with the soil, or it might be because the local government is made up of assbags.

 

[Bamafan]

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.

It was great meeting you and Met-al as well! It is fun to put faces with BB names, isn't it?

 

[J-Dubya 777]

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.

Thanks man!

Pfffft! Don't worry about it! I knew who you were, and was just in a hurry. That little storage area is in a bad spot with a full dressing room. No harm, no foul, my friend!

As for Christian, with all the stuff going on, we can't police everyone. Even as a lean mean 18 year old, I don't think I'd try what he tried to do. Hell, I nearly face planted hauling ass up the stairs and missed the last step. Nobody to blame but me. Just happy nobody saw it, Dillon/Dylan didn't even hear it.

Christian is a fucking trooper! , and I agree with Jen, 8 hours for a few staples in the noggin? That IS an embarassment for our hospitals here. I was quite happy to see him onstage just before showtime....:Spin:

 

[Justin G]

I'm not going to do a full list because I'm sure I'll forget a bunch of stuff. I'll just say that in my ten years of attending, this year's fest may be my favorite one yet (after PPUSA III, hallowed be it's name). The bands were amazing, there were great deals in the vendors' room, I got to meet some of my favorite bands (and Jeff Wagner, who literally wrote the book on progressive metal) and for the first time I made a real effort to get to know the people there. It was beyond cool to talk to so many people, but it was especially good to meet Milton (AngraRULES) and Keehn (bamafan) in person.

And Matt (Tribunal) is one of my best friends, so my conscience won't let me read the mayhem here without speaking up for him. He's been an attendee of damn near every PPUSA since 2001, and really loves this music and this event. He's also a super-nice guy, as anyone who actually talked to him in person - even those who he's argued with here - can attest. His criticism obviously came across as unusually harsh, but from speaking to him I know his intent was for it to be constructive. I get that it didn't seem that way, and things kind of went downhill from there. I'm not going to comment further on the subject, but I had to at least offer another perspective.

 

[kingdomgone86]

Cheers

-$8 Cds
-Rob Tyrant's voice
-Evergrey listening to my setlist recommendation!(I'm pretty sure I was the only one to request that, maybe I'm wrong though.)
-2 dollar parking
-All the free stuff
-Vespucci's Baked Ziti
-Awesome weather
-Therion
-A lot more stuff

Jeers

-Vanden Plas merch guy for packing up their merch during their set.
-2012 Lineup (not a fan...sorry)
-The Trading Post not being open on Saturday
-Mob Rules pretending their first two albums didn't exist
-That fucking idiot guy in the AC/DC shirt who was extremely annoying

 

[LunaTEKKE]

Cheers:

-The awesome weather!!! It was nice to see temperatures less than 100 for the first time since June! (I'm not kidding either)

Ugh, I thought that the heat was *finally* breaking as I left Phoenix. Found I was mistaken when the pilot on my return flight announced it was 95 degrees – at 7:00 p.m..

I didn’t see you this year! Odd how some people end up in your same ProgPower gravitational force field and you run into them several times each day…while others you don’t see at all.

 

[Akumu]

Jeers

-Vanden Plas merch guy for packing up their merch during their set.

Waaaait, that's what happened?! I got there after their set to grab a shirt and they only had one hoodie left on the table, so I bought it.

 

[Diab0lique]

Cheers
To my first post on this (or really for that matter) forum!
This is the 3rd year in a row for me (and my husband) and it was the first time we really got to know a lot of people and mingle with the bands. What a freaking blast!!!
I agree about the Vinyl food as well, yum!
No creepy bathroom attendants!
The weather!!!!
Cheers to Glen and Jen who work so hard to give us one amazing weekend a year. (And for the free t-shirt and lanyard I won!) I don't know how you guys do it but I hope you never stop!

Jeers
Speechless!

 

[JenniferLynn]

Originally Posted by kingdomgone86
Jeers

-Vanden Plas merch guy for packing up their merch during their set.

Waaaait, that's what happened?! I got there after their set to grab a shirt and they only had one hoodie left on the table, so I bought it.

My understanding was that they sold out of merch...

 

[kingdomgone86]

Well maybe that was just a misunderstanding...my buddy bought a Vanden Plas shirt 5 minutes before I did and I went to go get a shirt, and there was nothing set up.

 

[Metalmilitia2000]

And Matt (Tribunal) is one of my best friends, so my conscience won't let me read the mayhem here without speaking up for him. He's been an attendee of damn near every PPUSA since 2001, and really loves this music and this event. He's also a super-nice guy, as anyone who actually talked to him in person - even those who he's argued with here - can attest. His criticism obviously came across as unusually harsh, but from speaking to him I know his intent was for it to be constructive. I get that it didn't seem that way, and things kind of went downhill from there. I'm not going to comment further on the subject, but I had to at least offer another perspective.

I completely agree here, aside from him being that good of a friend, as I haven't known him but for about a year and a half. He and I had a huge feud on thus board before ppusa last year and at the fest, we shook hands and it was gone. People misconstrue what goes down in text all of the time because you can't use any kind of inflection in text. Sure, some of what he said was rash, but he wouldn't have said it if he wasn't a fan of this festival and wanted to see it continue to do well. He may be in a shitty band (hahaha, had to man), but he knows his stuff to the point that I would probably bet on him to win a metal trivia contest of PP attendees, over myself included. He fucking bleeds old school and no one can deny that. Matt is an incredibly nice guy and I hate seeing him thrown under the bus here. My opinion here isn't gonna make me any friends, and for those of you who know me, know I don't really care. I'm not here to kiss ass, moderate, or belittle anyone or their opinions. I'm simply here to share my own. If that isn't welcome, then unfortunately, that's not my problem. I have been coming to progpower for many years, and I respect the hell out of Glenn and his hard work (as well as that of the crew and the institution as a whole), but this is bullshit.

Brent

 

[eaeolian]

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

Heh. PPUSA n00bs that I already know two years in a row? Excellent.

 

[Mooseknuckle]

I don't usually post in these, and I don't want to repeat what everyone else has siad, but I did have a couple of things

Cheers:
-Glenn, Jen and the whole crew for the best festival anywhere on the planet
-The entire PPUSA family - you all continue to blow my mind year after year. This bunch of poeple are the friendliest, most accepting, fun group of folks ever.
-All the bands for not only blowing us away with their music, but for being so cool to talk to
-The sound dude was on his game this year. It may not have been perfect, but I can honestly say that this is the first year that I could not complain about any aspect of the sound.
-All the musicians/label owners/sound folks, etc that took time out to give advice and just be cool to my kids. My teenager is seriously pursuing music as a lifestyle and he got into some great discussions with many of you about how to go about it.
-Moshing at PPUSA!
-The water coolers and the free earplugs were an extra special treat, although my 11 year old said the coolers gave him less of an opportunity to talk to "the hot bartender girl"
-This list could go on forever

Jeers:
-It was FREEZING inside the venue for most of the weekend. At times it really detracted from the enjoyment of the fest.
-That drunk dude that was going out of his way to be annoying during the Sanctuary set. It went beyond moshing, he was just being confrontational with everyone...

I really cant think of any other negatives worth mentioning. The good always outweighs the bad, and I wouldn't ever want to bitch just for bitchings sake. Can't wait til next year!

 

[TheLongshot]

Cheers:

Meeting more board members (TribunalRecords, Orbweaver, Met-Al, Midihell)
Seeing Su's legs getting signed by Eldritch
Glenn and Jen bringing back Therion
Hotel Midtown for being a cheap place to stay
Jen for finding my gold badge

Jeers:

The chick in the front row at the Vanden Plas acoustic show who kept raising her arm for no reason at all, making it tough for me to get photos.
Cold venue at times.
Not seeing much worth buying in CDinzane's 2nd day clearance.
Being too broke to buy everything I wanted.

 

[Diab0lique]

I forgot a huge cheer for metal karaoke night!! There were some talented peeps there! I thoroughly enjoyed hoodaman's amazing voice and the dude who sang Cemetery Gates! The chick who did Crazy Train (AALLL ABOOAARD!!) and her talented dancers! LOL And I was pleasantly surprised with the positive comments after singing some Seventh Wonder!

Karaoke can be cheesy but I thought this dj was great and I hope it's part of ProgPower in the future!

 

[Rick Pierpont]

Along with that, it seems like there was a higher ratio of bands with 6+ members this year as well - more lines to check, more monitor mixes to dial in, more little shit to crop up. And is it just me, or were there more left handed drummers than usual? I know every drummer is going to want their own reconfigurations to the kit, but having to fully reverse the setup back and forth, re-mic the drums after they've been moved...

I'm sure that for every detail I noticed, there are a dozen that completely escape me, but the finished product that we got each time the curtain opened was a real testament to the crew and the bands.

You are very observant and yes, I don't ever recall having that many left-handed drummers or larger bands! And yes, the effects of those observations is also true. Thanks for understanding!

 

[kingdomgone86]

I forgot a huge cheer for metal karaoke night!! There were some talented peeps there! I thoroughly enjoyed hoodaman's amazing voice and the dude who sang Cemetery Gates! The chick who did Crazy Train (AALLL ABOOAARD!!) and her talented dancers! LOL And I was pleasantly surprised with the positive comments after singing some Seventh Wonder!

Karaoke can be cheesy but I thought this dj was great and I hope it's part of ProgPower in the future!

My friend James did Cemetery Gates. He was so drunk that on the way back to the car, he faceplanted on the concrete. LOL.