Cheers:
1 - MaYaN!! The reason I came this year, I was not disappointed. I couldn't even headbang half the time because I was just so blown away.
2 - Epica: Every time I see them is amazing, and this set was no different. Definitely wearing my PPUSAXIII shirt when I see them in D.C. next month!
3 - Primordial: Yes, I understand why you guys were on the bill!
4 - Redemption made a new fan out of me.
5 - Pretty Maids pulling off a 1-5-6-4 chord progression AND a Smoke on the Water cover... AT PROGPOWER. Mad props to you.
6 - Symphony X: I was a little surprised, as I was expecting them to pull some ancient song or never-play-live tune out of their asses, but it seemed like a regular set to them. But a regular set by Symphony X is always killer, so no complaints!
6 - Emppu Vuorinen, Mark Jansen and Michael Romeo for the guitar picks!
7 - Glenn and his crew for making it all happen
8 - Courtyard by Marriott for being a fine place to stay
9 - Chik Fil A for being cheap, edible, easy-to-order food within walking distance of the venue
JEERS:
1 - Security was inconsistent and a bit short with us, but I think they loosened up once they realized we're a pretty well-behaved crowd in general
2 - My back for deciding to hurt all weekend, requiring a constant/mild dose of painkillers to keep me going. Also my arm for still being sore from a flu shot.
3 - Flipping-off-SymX-guy, but he's making his amends, which deserves props.
4 - My bank account for not having enough money in it to buy things at the CD tables.
5 - Seven Kingdoms for not only bringing physical form to memes, but using them as a marketing ploy. Come on guys, you're better than that.
6 - This woman. No, your friend cannot hear thousands of watts of amps and PA system being picked up on a cell phone. Now put the damn phone away and shut the hell up as, unlike your friend, some of us paid $50 to see Nightwish for the first time ever:
Cheers
Lastly, a jeer to the entitled photographer that managed to annoy in the double digits of people (including multiple security guards). Between the phone calls, talking so loudly that people could not hear bands and grabbing a security guards ass, your behavior was annoying. Like I said, every security guard was rolling their eyes or complaining about your behavior. Also many fans up front had become aware by the behavior too. “oh yea, that person that was talking so loud I could hear them over the band”
