How I rank the crowd response at the end of the set

[SharkBlack]

I thought the Amorphis crowd response was embarrassing. This was a headliner who obviously played their asses off and their hearts out. What gives, ProgPower? I thought their set was the best I've ever seen at PPUSA, and I've been attending since VII.

I couldn't tell either from up front, everyone was going nuts on the floor. AMORPHIS SLAYED!

i didn't bother to see amorphis. Personally I dont dig Tomi vocals, I'm a big amorphis fan with Pasi on vocals I could not handle the songs too much difference.

wow.. probably my favorite vocal performance of the fest...

I'm not surprised at the lack of a favorable response to Amorphis. I've noticed that a lot of PP attendees have no taste.

Too true....

 

[sh0kr0k]

I'm not surprised at the lack of a favorable response to Amorphis. I've noticed that a lot of PP attendees have no taste.

Nicely put. Amorphis turned in one of the best performances of the festival, but I think this crowd is still a little distracted by a band that brings a different element to the stage. Or maybe it was a hard transition from Riverside to a band that most don't consider a part of the prog or power genres, for whatever reasons.

I was very happy with the response to Rob Rock! I've been a fan of that guy for manyyears so I knew I'd be there - but had no idea the place would be full and rockin'! I'm happy for him, and for Saint Deamon, since so many people here ripped them both to shreds when they were announced as replacements.

 

[halcyonwayband@aol.com]

Rob Rock had a standing ovation too, his set absolutely slayed. People were freaking at the end! I think that's as much of a reason as any that Mustasche had a smaller crowd. They tore it up too, incidentally....

 

[Troy the nomad]

Agreed. They were flawless all 4 times I saw them. And also I had never seen the ProgPower crowd give a standing ovation after a set other than Riverside. I may be wrong, but I've been coming to the fest since PP3 and Riverside seems to be the first to get that.

There were a bunch of Standing O's at PPI

 

[mtndewqueen88]

I was oblivious to that ... I was on the rail front and center. Everyone around me seemed to be going wild. I'd look up into the stands on occasion and it looked like the house was pretty full. Perhaps a lot of them were there just for the announcements after? People had to be wearing down as well .. with 6 bands these nights run a little too long .. it's very tiring. I had no energy left for Iced Earth on Saturday night, so I sat in the seats and watched. It was the first and only time I took a seat in the stands the entire festival.

Britt

Haha don't worry, I was right up there too. I had a blast jumping up and down and headbanging. AMAZING show. It was just comments like "do you want an encore or not?" that cued me in on the lack of response from the rest of the crowd.

 

[Kimavir]

Hey dude,

Sorry I didn't get a chance to chat with you. I did see you around and saw you in the pit a few times too. Hope you had a good time.

Yeah, I was sorry we didn't have a chance to chat. It's all good though... every ProgPower is different. I'll make sure we kick it some next year. I've been attending since I was 15, and I haven't had a bad time yet. We have as many years to rock out together as Glenn continues to give us.

Nicely put. Amorphis turned in one of the best performances of the festival, but I think this crowd is still a little distracted by a band that brings a different element to the stage. Or maybe it was a hard transition from Riverside to a band that most don't consider a part of the prog or power genres, for whatever reasons.

I don't want to generalize and offend anyone, but I think hating the "different element" is trend with PP attendees. The hardcore power metal fans get up set the moment a song turns dark/angry or a vocalist growls. The hardcore prog fans start yawning as soon as band decides to throw out a groovy, just for fun riff. I just love that I meet people every year that enjoy the unusual, ground-breaking bands as much as the genre-kings.

AMAZING show. It was just comments like "do you want an encore or not?" that cued me in on the lack of response from the rest of the crowd.

Just incase anyone with ties to Amorphis reads this (because that comment killed a little bit of my soul)... I think the reason the smaller portion of the crowd that loved their set didn't yell loud enough to compensate was just because it was so late. I mean, I'm going to be honest; I'm a stupid Amorphis fan. I hit the rail as soon as the doors opened and didn't leave, because (unlike you and Britt) I'm tall and unattractive, lol. I think I could have yelled loud enough for 15 attendees if it hadn't been almost 2am after 5 other bands played. If we hadn't all been so tired... I can tell those of us that enjoyed their show would have covered for everyone else.

By the way... anyone interested in catching the Dallas show of the Amorphis tour? I want to go, but I definitely need someone else to go with...

 

[Magius]

1. JOP
2. Riverside (first standing ovation of the fest)
3. Mustasch
4. Elvenking
5. Saint Deamon
6. Iron Savior
7. Spheric Universe Experience
8. Pathosray
9. Andromeda (which surprises me as I thought they'd go over really well)
10. Amorphis

That's a pretty fair assessment. However, a couple of things could be noted:
-Firewind got almost a full house standing ovation last year.

-Riverside's audience was made up of the faithful, as they did have the smallest floor crowd of the fest. Two people could walk side by side around the perimeter between the first row seats / mixing board and the crowd. All the other bands had people backed up past the sides of the mixing booth to, or almost to, the stairs.
Not to downplay their achievement, as getting a standing ovation from any size crowd is impressive, but it isn't really surprising considering the audience. Clearly they must have delivered a great set for those who watched them.

-On the flip side, Iron Savior had a packed floor, but they had the most empty seats of the fest hands down.

-Amorphis' reaction isn't surprising either. Considering how many anti-growl attendees there are. Combine that with a lot of tired people, and one can see why their reaction was a little flat. Personally I thought they were "awesome," which isn't a word I use frequently.

-Rob Rock would probably fall between Iron Savior and Saint Deamon on your list.

-Iced Earth got loud and enthusiastic but short crowd reactions throughout the set. Unfortunately the end was so... anticlimactic. Ah well. I would add that both Glenn and the band did their jobs. Glenn put asses in seats, and Iced Earth kept them there.

-Mustasch's crowd started out really small, but swelled all the way back to the mixing booth. They also had the first pogo stick section of the night, although JOP's was bigger. It's a wonder Glenn didn't crack his chin on the stage he was bouncing so high.
They also had a lot people on the floor and in the seats clapping along with their songs without prompting from the stage. A lot of fun that band.

 

[Cheiron]

Yah that was fun watching the crowd get bigger and bigger for Mustasch, as well as more and more into it. I'm curious if they had their own lighting guys, or if the PP lighting guys had seen the band's videos and just new that they like to play with the few white lights beaming out from behind.

 

[guardian26]

I felt like the crowd was really dying out the later the night got. 6 bands, starting at 4pm makes for a long day. It's too bad because the headliners who rock out deserve a better reaction.

 

[LunaTEKKE]

I felt like the crowd was really dying out the later the night got. 6 bands, starting at 4pm makes for a long day. It's too bad because the headliners who rock out deserve a better reaction.

I love the extended format with more bands. However, the headliners should be aware that if they drag out the changeover for too long by insisting on their own sound, lights, stage setup, etc., that a lot of folks will start to fade after a looooong day of rocking out.

Saturday night, I was totally amped after the JOP set, but as time dragged on before Iced Earth went on, the more tired I got. Some of us aren't exactly spring chickens anymore.

 

[Yippee38]

Riverside's audience was made up of the faithful, as they did have the smallest floor crowd of the fest.

I have to disagree with you on this one. I was standing toward the back of the floor for both Riverside and Amorphis. Though the floor was not full for this set, there were more people than there were for Amorphis. There were several other bands that packed the floor more though. The definitely did not have the smallest floor crowd though. Amorphis did. I think, as other have mentioned, that this was as much due to the exhaustion as it was due to people not liking the style of music.

 

[Magius]

I have to disagree with you on this one. I was standing toward the back of the floor for both Riverside and Amorphis. Though the floor was not full for this set, there were more people than there were for Amorphis. There were several other bands that packed the floor more though. The definitely did not have the smallest floor crowd though. Amorphis did. I think, as other have mentioned, that this was as much due to the exhaustion as it was due to people not liking the style of music.

Could be. Amorphis' crowd was pretty light also. While they filled the floor, there was definately a lot of elbow room out there.