Most memorable sets at ProgPowerUSA...

[booB]

If I try to list all the bands I've enjoyed at ProgPower over twelve festivals plus showcases, I'll be sitting here forever. This is a list of bands I didn't expect to enjoy, or didn't know what to expect from them, but they blew me away in legendary fashion.

Onward and Pain of Salvation at I

Kamelot at II

Edguy and Devin Townsend at III

Thunderstone and Freak Kitchen at VII

Primal Fear at VIII

Diablo Swing Orchestra at X, and Future's End at the Showcase

Delain at XI

Voyager at XII

 

[Fizrider]

I've enjoyed too many sets to pick those out.

But most memorable? Ihsahn. Hands down. No contest. I don't even like his music, but I sort of stood there in the back with my arms slack at my sides, and I think I may have drooled. I was mesmerized. I suspect I saw the Buddha out of the corner of my eye, but when I turned at the end of the set, he was gone. I have tried to figure out what it was that took me away, and I can't quite find it. I'm not sure I ever will.

 

[Harvester]

I: Pain of Salvation- It was like having a band in your living room playing their set as if their life depended on it. I was exhausted after 2 hrs. It became even more legendary as only about 150 people saw it till the end. I had been such a huge fanboy of SX for so long that I was just overjoyed they where there. I watched that set while standing in chairs with Ray Alder & Nick Van Dyk.

II: Angel Dust/Kamelot- AD had the first truly powerful set at the festival. Headbangin’ bliss. Kamelot was just slick as hell that night.

III: Edguy- Tobias Lee Roth & Company had fun and kicked our ass at the same time. The “Fuck, Fuck” sing-a-long was priceless.

IV: Nightwish- This was the first truly epic set that for the festival. PPUSA had arrived.

V: Weapons of Mass Destruction/ Brainstorm: Paul can have the name. We got the heart of Savatage that night. As for Brainstorm, they pounded Atlanta much like Angel Dust did.

VI: Conception- Call it nostalgia if you will. “Flow” is one of my all time favorite albums and I felt as if I the impossible had been pulled off.

VII: Evergrey/Freak Kitchen- As good as they were in the past; they took it to another level that night (choir, string quartet, 2 marriage proposals, and I got to sing “The Masterplan” with them.” The sheer guitar virtuosity on display combined with the stand-up comedy made FK a set I will never forget.

VIII: All-Star Jam- The most fun set ever.

IX: Mustasch- “I’M IN AMERICA” The sheer enthusiasm on display was contagious. This was the first time the floor truly bounced during a song (“Double Nature” FTW!).

X: Sabaton, Diablo Swing Orchestra, Pagan’s Mind: Sabaton had the same vibe as Mustasch, yet they made it more epic. I was simply not prepared for the sheer strangeness & on stage brilliance of DSO. Pagan’s Mind became a headliner that night.

XI: Seventh Wonder/Oceans of Sadness: When a prog band can make my wife a fan, you know they were at the top of their game. OoS reminded us just how intense a band could be.

XII: Ihsahn/Voyager/Therion: Ihsahn started and then ended an hour later. I lost track of all time and space in between. Voyager brought the fun back and ended up with the longest signing session in festival history as a result. As for Therion, it was like I was on Broadway and I doubt that type of atmosphere will ever be repeated at Center Stage.

 

[zedowns]

I hate posts like these so much because everyone always has to mention that PoS at PP1 set.

As for my most memorable sets, Riverside at IX is my all time favorite live performance. Evergrey and Vision Divine at VII, Pagan's Mind and Circus Maximus at X, Seventh Wonder at XI, and Ihsahn, Voyager and Haken at XII are also up there.

 

[LunaTEKKE]

Will probably think of another one as soon as I hit “Submit Reply”, but the ones that come to mind are Fates Warning, Circus Maximus, Jon Oliva’s Pain, After Forever, Mindcrime Tribute, Vision Divine, and the Vanden Plas acoustic set.

 

[freakchylde]

Mine are a bit broken up, and not just because the bands are awesome...

Nightwish, they got me to ProgPower.

Freak Kitchen, because they were super fun - and who else would use a vibrator to play his guitar?

DSO, kazoos. Nuf said.

Threshold, if you were there, you'd know why I loved this set. If not, don't worry about it.

Amorphis, nothing says awesome like almost being hit by someone's dreads while they're head banging.

Rage .

Those are the ones that stand out for me. Every set I do get to see, I love - except for those I purposely walk out on.