Cheers! Jeers!

[nailz]

Your own damn fault, Pat. You plan on coming next year?

Haha, yes. I don't know (m)any of the bands, at all so there's no big draw for me, sadly. I know of Therion and Dream Theater but am not familiar with hardly anything by either band. Every single other band announced I have never heard of.

Barring a lack of interest from any band announced (unlikely) I'll be making the trip. I'll be checking out bands today.

 

[freakchylde]

The Su - for being the Su.
Lara - for a fun night before things really kicked off. Didn't get to see her much once things got rolling, I know you were busy.

I thank the Su for the intro!!! I'm sorry I didn't yell hi more when I was running by. But totally awesome to meet you too. Thanks for the pre-fest Martini (was the only time I got to drink).

 

[pollution]

Cheers:

-Mike and Kamelot, for the very special show I will never forget

-the crew at Vortex for great food, grabbing Tini's lost camera and keeping it at the bar until she picked it up (funny detail: the bartender had taken couple of photos of his pierced nipples before returning the camera, no wonder he was laughing at Tini when she got it back)

-Leprous for my favorite show of the festival and the Leprous guys for hanging out, now get your asses over to Finland to play here too!

-Seventh Wonder for two amazing shows, can't wait to see you guys in November again! Great idea about having the flagshirt available too, real nice memory to come home with. Plus it was a funny coincidence to bump into Anders&Tommy on Sunday at the airport with me wearing that shirt

-Everyone I talked to being superfriendly as always, was really fantastic to hang out with everyone again. Finally got to meet some people I have chatted over the years too but never met in person before! Also thanks to everyone being SO nice to Tini who was at her first PP (but not last for sure!).

-Everyone trying out Salmiakkikoskenkorva (=making funny faces) at the Artmore courtyard (sorry Drew for having that with me! )

-Justin & John H. for car rides whenever needed (grocery store trips etc)

-Special cheers to Mr. Cashman for hooking us up with the two VIP badges, much appreciated, thanks again!


Jeers:
-not getting enough sleep and therefore feeling too damn tired all festival, thankfully the beer helped quite a bit. At least after getting home on Monday evening got something like 16-17 hours of sleep then.

-the temperature and stickyness both outside and inside the venue on Saturday

 

[Curufin]

-Everyone trying out Salmiakkikoskenkorva (=making funny faces) at the Artmore courtyard (sorry Drew for having that with me! )

It's OK, you know my weakness for salmiakki kossu

 

[Andy Laudano]

WOW. So much to cover that I know I'll miss some stuff.

CHEERS

Glenn, Jen, Shane, Nathan, the crew, the bands and everyone responsible for putting this amazing 4 days of music together.

All the friends old and new that I see/meet every year (you know who you are!)

John for letting me tag along with him and his crew (his wife Terry who it was a pleasure to meet, Lance and Sherry) to the Varsity and the venue.

Nathan for not only bringing in Ross the Boss, but bringing me backstage to meet him, take photos and get my stuff signed. Also to Ross for just being so cool and down to Earth.

Going out to eat with Nathan, Brent and others after the show.

HammerFall and Marco for being so accessible over the weekend. Pontus for actually remembering me from Dallas.

Jon & Danae Drenning for being so nice when we met and then making it a point to say hi every time we passed. At one point Jon even pulled me over in the hall and asked if we'd taken a photo together yet.

Accept for being 1,000,000 times better than I could have imagined and nice guys too. Seeing all the rock stars in attendance give them their due (Oscar from HammerFall, Jon & Danae were right up front headbanging. I've been coming since PPIV and this was the most fun I ever saw fellow photographer Mark Gromen have at PP. Wolf Hoffman rules! They really showed everyone how its done and made a fan out of me.

Finally seeing Nocturnal Rites!!!!!! Wish they could've played longer but was so glad to hear "Not the Only." Johnny even came over and shook my hand during "The Iron Force."

Michael & Kamelot doing an amazing job. Charlette singing "The Haunting." Elize's costume changes and great vocals. "Nights of Arabia!" All the guests were great. Once in a lifetime set.

John for the much needed coffee before the Seventh Wonder gold badge show.

As great as they were the day before, Seventh Wonder's gold badge show was even better!! They were also very nice about signing stuff and posing for photos afterwords.

Jeff & Taylor for bringing me lunch from the Varsity

Delain - OMG they were unbelievable! And Marco's guest appearance really put it over the top. I still can't get their songs out of my head (and that's a good thing). One of my favorite PP performances ever.

HammerFall for totally kicking my ass! After 4 full days of metal with very little sleep and the early gold badge show, I was out of gas after Tarot but damn! HammerFall's energy was infectious and by the time they were done, I was all hyped again! That's the way to close a fest!

Megan for talking me into going to the Artmore afterparty instead of getting much needed food & sleep. Best decision I made. To quote Bon Jovi "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead."

A HUGE SPECIAL THANK YOU to Bobbie, who also has her birthday on 9/11 for inviting me over for cake and sharing in her birthday cellibration. PP really is a family get together.

Thanks to Mark, Pontus, Megan, Rick and everyone else who bought/shared alcohol with me for my Birthday.

JEERS

Most has been covered already, smoke machine, lighting, delays, everything going by so quickly, etc. but here's a couple more.

Missing the last few Nocturnal Rites songs after the "encore" debacle. (I know that was mentioned already as well but they were the band I wanted to see the most.)

Tarot not doing any of my early favorites like "Love's Not Made For My Kind," "Rose On the Grave," "Do You Wanna Live Forever" or "Live Hard Die Hard." They still kicked ass though.

At the signing sessions this year instead of sharpies they had these colored metallic paint pens that under the right conditions could look awesome. Unfortunately for many people I talked to, unlike sharpies these pens smeared easy as they were passed down the line and some flaked away or came out so light that other bandmembers accidentially signed over others. I know this will probably sound nitpicky to many on here that dont collect autographs but for those of us that do it's heartbreaking to get an autograph from a band that you may never see again and later find out the pen smeared beyond recognition. Please go back to black, blue & silver sharpies next year.

The damn hurricane that brought all the rain to Dallas that made a 45 minute ride to the airport nearly 2 hours, soaked me from my car to the shuttle, delayed my flight and gave me a rough start to my PP weekend.

Being back in the real world. I miss you all so much!!!

 

[The Invisible Guest]

Jeers:
The 6'4" asshole who pushed me aside to stand directly in front of me. Phuque Yu!

Haha .. I think that fella tried the same thing with me .. only difference is that I tapped him on the shoulder, and said .. are you going to keep moving or are you just going to stop right in front of me. To his credit the guys says .. I'll keep moving. I said ... cool, thanks !!



Britt

 

[Rick Pierpont]

Cheers:

- Glenn, Jen, and the rest of the crew for being such awesome people to work with.
- the bands for being great to work with
- the sound engineers - these guys endure a lot of stress too and they do a damn good job
- Seeing so many long time friends and meeting new ones
- so much great music!
- oh yeah... Palabra de Dios -- dude, you absolutely rock! I see you up front for just about EVERY band (if not all) and you are singing along and having the time of your life! You get what this festival is about and seem to enjoy all bands equally. Yes, there are others that are up there often, but no one as much as you and into it all.

Jeers:
- Yes, that damn fog machine. People, I'm stage right guitar tech and I sit RIGHT OVER that thing the entire weekend. It was quite unbearable and I could feel my throat being affect Friday night and after the show my voice was just about gone and I could actually feel it in my chest too. My voice is still shaky but improving. And it's not like I was singing at the top of my lungs either... Thank God I don't have a show this week! Hopefully I'll be back in full form by next week when I do have one.
- Atlanta for being 730 miles away.

 

[mattbrood]

So as a (former) ProgPower Virgin, here are my Cheers and a few Jeers

Cheers
First and foremost a HUGE shout out to my friends Alicia (Dragongrrl) and Kim Kearns for showing me around, introducing me to..EVERYONE..and for taking me to The Vortex and Golden Buddha for lunch on Friday and Saturday..you two girls rule and I'm glad we met on the (formerly known as) Triton Power Cruise! Hail!!

Glenn and Jen for putting on an amazing festival..I am hooked for life!

To all the amazing new friends that I met, most of which are on my Facebook friend list now..if you're not on there yet, send me a friend request! You guys are awesome and I can't wait to see you next year!

Kamelot: for going on with the show despite the loss of Khan

Michael Erikson for doing such a kick ass job in stepping in at the last minute!

Seventh Wonder for totally kicking my ass and being the biggest surprise of the festival for me. As I told the drummer Johnny, "You have a fan for life!"

The staff at The Artmore for being friendly and professional

Shaye for the nickname "Matt from the Cruise"

The Su for the other nickname "Matt the ProgPower Virgin"!

Ty from Artizan for being a great guy (Thanks for the tshirt my friend, I'll wear it proudly!)

Charlotte from Delain for being EXTREMELY nice when I met you! You were amazing!

My new friend Pineapple Jack Coconut Rum..how I love you mixed with Sprite!!

The convenience store across from The Artmore for selling Blue Moon!

The Vortex Hell Burger!

Delta Airlines for getting me an earlier flight home and avoiding 7 hours in the Atlanta airport


Jeers

Delta Airlines for charging me $50 to switch my return flight, and $25 each way for my suitcase..

The convenience store across from The Artmore for NOT having my Rockstar Low Carb Energy drink! I'm not drinking something called "Crunk"!!

Though it was totally out of the bands control, no Nocturnal Rites merch! I was hoping for at least a tshirt!

And last but not least..the biggest Jeer goes to the fact that we have to wait 365 days till next years ProgPower!!

 

[hoodaman]

Cheers:

--everyone that attends this fest for being so approachable. This was my 5th ProgPower. I dunno why it took me so long to figure this one out. You guys rule.

--J-Man for getting it dead on with my "blind buys" at the Nightmare table.

--The insider sale on Saturday. Glenn and Jen, you think of everything!

--being able to take pictures.

--the Artmore for being so close to the venue.

--the video announcement. Excellent pacing, excellent content. I look forward to that every year.

Jeers:

--me having a shitty point and shoot camera

--paying for breakfast at the Artmore. Really? Only did that Thursday. Not again.

--gremlins in the sound booth.

--heavy metal hangover

--scarcity of Sanctuary's music.

 

[Prog_Please]

cheers: Kamelot was awesome!
jeers: extra long time between sets / not following the schedule.

 

[Yippee38]

I have to say....

Cheers:

To the Artmore for charging $7 for breakfast. In the past, we always felt compelled to get up at 9:30 (after going to bed at 5 or 6) for the free breakfast. This year, we slept in and ate at the Silver Skillet. Got more sleep and a GOOD breakfast.

 

[mattbrood]

I have to say....

Cheers:

To the Artmore for charging $7 for breakfast. In the past, we always felt compelled to get up at 9:30 (after going to bed at 5 or 6) for the free breakfast. This year, we slept in and ate at the Silver Skillet. Got more sleep and a GOOD breakfast.

I went to the Silver Skillet too..much better breakfast and not that much more expensive and delicious!

 

[lady_space]

My biggest cheer is probably to that guy right there ^^^, Mike who spearheaded the effort to bring me to ProgPower this year. The people who helped get me there and who bought me drinks, did me favors, etc., are so many, I'll probably leave some out (and it's starting to get late... still haven't caught up on my sleep), but Mike & Shannon, Pam & Sean, Jaime Kimpton, Christina Ricciardi, Bill Kaiser, Alicia Smith (Britt loves my toes! ), Mike Kiselyk, John Willcoxon, Chris Cooney, Paul Cashman, Steve from Philly, Jim Pridgin, Britt, Pat & Brian, Bryant & Harumi, Kim & Linda (who contribute to my delinquency all the time), Greg & Paula, and Keith Lawley. I know there are many others, and I hope you all know how really wowed I am by your kindness and generosity. The most awesome people ever are those who come to ProgPower (and a couple others ).

Cheers as always to Glenn, Jen, and all the crew who put in so much hard work so we can all have fun.
Cheers to all the bands--even the ones I don't dig make some of my friends happy, and they're all almost always cool guys
Cheers to Kamelot for "the show must go on," and having my only complaint wind up being that it seemed a short set. I didn't expect Mike to do anything less than an adequate job, but I was even impressed. Kudos!
Cheers to Accept for putting on a great show and looking like they were having a blast (although maybe not quite as much as Bryant...) while doing it
Cheers to my not showing up on any jeers list yet despite being pretty toasted most of the time (or maybe that should be a cheers to all those too nice to jeer me )
Cheers to AMBR for yet another awesome forum poster
Glenn for being uber-friendly this year... hmm, I think maybe this might have something to do with Jen... y'all make a GREAT couple!
Lots of other cheers to lots of other things, too many to list.

Jeers: people heckling the bands. Really? Sheesh.
Whoever (or the whoevers) kept dropping a bomb near me. Dude, I took *my* pills! Someone was using me as camoflauge! lol
That's about it. Not many complaints, and even fewer worth even mentioning.


Oh, and did someone say Sanctu-fucking-ary are playing next year? I must've missed that.

 

[OrbWeaver]

Cheers:
- Glenn for being almost as efficient as a machine for keeping the fest going as smoothly as it does. Seriously, VIP access really opens your eyes to all the minute details he has to deal with!
- Jen for her fantastic memory and friendly approach to everything.
- HammerFall for being accessible and putting up with me turning into a gibbering fangirl upon meeting Oscar and Frederick. No band should have to put up with two solid minutes of "OHMYGODOHMYGOD!" I think I had turned into the Double Rainbow guy for awhile there...
- Tyr for their patience with myself and their other sponsors. We all wanted photos, and they posed with each of us.
- Michael Erikson for learning all that material in a very short amount of time.
- Corset Night photos!
- New friends: Mattbrood, Jamiek, Gorillaboy, hoodaman
- More restaurants within walking distance that actually stayed open! YAY!
- $10 all you can eat Sushi at Shout. Amazing.

Jeers:
- my corset rubbed my hips raw.
- The heat in the venue on Saturday. What happened?
- Domino's Pizza - 10 minutes, my ass!
- The pushy hobos in Midtown Atlanta.
- Getting caught out in the brief thunderstorm on Saturday.
- I have terrible timing. Every time I went into the VIP areas, no one was around, and nothing was happening. All the cool stuff happened when I wasn't there. I hope my timing is better, next year if I'm a VIP!

 

[Bamafan]

Cheers: too many to mention


Jeers: to me for not finding the fellow Bama fans to watch us roll over Penn State!

 

[mandaX]

Jeers:
Housekeeping at the Artmore. The sign on the door says "Privacy Please". It does not say "Call me at 9 in the morning to make sure service to the room is not wanted". No we are NOT going to come outside to sign your fucking clipboard. That's why the fucking privacy sign is on the door! Fucking douche canoes.
The heat inside the venue. I don't ever remember it being that bad.

^This


Cheers:

-Great to see old friends again after not being able to come last year, this was a nice, much needed reunion for my sanity.

-Fucking made some awesome new friends as well.

-Glenn and Jen and their entire crew for putting on the only music festival worth the 15 hour drive to

Jeers:

-Salmiakkikoskenkorva
-To my personal evacuation caused by Salmiakkikoskenkorva
-Salmiakkikoskenkorva causing Drew to miss his flight.
-The Artmore housekeeping waking us up 2 days in a row either by doorbell or phone call.. LEAVE ME ALONE DAMMIT! IF I WANT CLEAN TOWELS I WILL TAKE THEM FROM THE UNLOCKED LINEN CLOSET!

 

[KristoferX]

LEAVE ME ALONE DAMMIT! IF I WANT CLEAN TOWELS I WILL TAKE THEM FROM THE UNLOCKED LINEN CLOSET!

Ha, I wonder how many people realized this was an option.

 

[pollution]

Jeers:

-Salmiakkikoskenkorva
-To my personal evacuation caused by Salmiakkikoskenkorva
-Salmiakkikoskenkorva causing Drew to miss his flight.

Oops.. but hey, at least I told you beforehands it was banned here for a few years for being too yummy and hence making all the kids drink it too much! With your firsthand experience at least now you can believe this was true heh.

 

[KristoferX]

Oops.. but hey, at least I told you beforehands it was banned here for a few years for being too yummy and hence making all the kids drink it too much! With your firsthand experience at least now you can believe this was true heh.

So you're bringing more next year then, right? :Spin:

 

[mandaX]

Oops.. but hey, at least I told you beforehands it was banned here for a few years for being too yummy and hence making all the kids drink it too much! With your firsthand experience at least now you can believe this was true heh.

But see, I come from the school of thought, if someone hands you a drink from a foreign country you must drink it! To not take it would be rude, so I was just following protocol, you Mr. Finn, took advantage of me with your German Conspirator to which I curse you and your demon water till the end of time!

But I love you anyway. <3