I had the pleasure to attend the N.M.F last Friday night and had a blast! Unfortunately, I showed up a bit late and missed Shades of Twilight, but I was there at the front of the stage to head-bang to Sacred Dawn and Order of Nine (both bands were fantastic!). I relaxed a little when Disasterpeace took the stage (they sounded really good, though), but was back at full speed when Cage hit the stage. I haven't seen a band attack a stage like that since I saw Brainstorm perform at ProgPower USA a few years ago. If you haven't seen Cage live, do yourself a favor and check them out. Simply outstanding!
I was thrilled to see that Nightmare had a merch booth and took full advantage. I ended up buying 10 cds, two of which were recommended by Lance himself ( Myrath and Souljourners, both excellent!). While at the booth, I was able to get cd booklets signed by Lance (thanks for signing my Balance of Power cds!), along with members of Sacred Dawn, Order of Nine and Cage. Everyone was incredibly cool, and it was great that they all took the time to chat a little and be friendly with those in attendance.
Unfortunately, I couldn't attend Saturday, but after seeing Lance perform with Pyramaze and Crucible at ProgPower, I'm sure that Avian was great. I'll keep my fingers crossed that there will be a Nightmare Fest, part 2. Sure, Bourbon Street wasn't sold out, but we were enthusiastic! Hopefully it was enough to warrant another show next year!
Thanks again to Lance for a great festival!!!
paul p!