Cheers and Jeers 2014

[mandaX]

Cheers:

1) Getting to see the friends I generally only get to see once a year. You all are what make ProgPower worth coming to year after year more than even the music itself. Special thanks to the gang this year: My Partner in Crime KristoferX, Pat, Greg, Brian, Meg, Tim and Cassie specifically.
2) Glenn and Jen for doing all this for us, and being you, and letting me entertain you when I could.
3) Crying during Believe. Fuck that was amazing.
4) The Liquid Aristocratic Experience. I wanted to make something funny, different, as tongue in cheek as you could possibly get, and I can't wait to do it bigger, better, faster, sillier, drunker next year
5) Rick rolling the streets and walkways of Atlanta. (My friends are the best kind of assholes you could find, really)
6) The Vortex for being the Vortex. The giant wooden cock was a nice addition, oh and the Vortex letting us Royal/RickRoll them to death
7) The biggest cheer of all is that this was not the last PPUSA.

Jeers:

1) If you have a towel on your seat, I don't care if you're the fucking pope, you should know better if you're a "personal friend" of Glenn's and he'd kick your ass for doing it too.
2) Technical difficulties and miscommunications.


Not really a Jeer, but I laughed my ass off being asked to close our bedroom door at 2pm on Wednesday (NEW RECORD)... OBVIOUSLY SOMEONE DOESN'T LIKE DAMN YANKEES!

 

[CrimsonEmotions]

I've had my complaints about the show, so I'll go ahead and add my final thoughts to this thread before moving on to a positive discussion:

If the worst things you can say about a 2 day festival that stretched on to 11-12 hours per day amounted to one (arguable) prima donna out of 12 bands, overly expensive food and security being assholes for part of one day, that is still a remarkable festival. Hell, aren't those items pretty much par for the course at just about every other music festival

Considering all of the things that could have gone wrong this year--and all the things that did go wrong but didn't interfere with the festival (the visa problems for Divided Multitude, and Oliva's broken ribs), I'd say that Glenn, his staff, the bands and the crew did one HELL of a job as they do every year.

 

[modernwizardry]

I had no problem smuggling in snacks like larabars (fruit/nut bars - a wonderful product), granola bars, nuts, etc in my backpack or cargo shorts.

 

[Andir]

1: Ditto most of the Cheers above especially Glenn, Jen, and the continuation of ProgPower.
2: Orden Ogan - what a great show and what a great bunch of guys. Had lunch and dinner with them and hung out at the Artmore. Made sponsoring them even more amazing.
3: JOP - Blulou and Bamafan are still taking turns kicking my A## for considering passing on JOP (not my normal cup of tea). What an amazing ending to the festival.
4: FAMILY - this is an amazing group of people - not only where they there to help a fellow family member - IN MASS (the Friday 'incident'), but they also made my wife (her first time) feel so welcome ON DAY ONE and throughout the festival that she is seriously considering joining me again next year (she originally only wanted to come one time).

I am going to pass on JEERS as any and all have been covered. I will end with a heart felt - can't wait to see you all again next year!

 

[LunaTEKKE]

but they also made my wife (her first time) feel so welcome ON DAY ONE and throughout the festival that she is seriously considering joining me again next year (she originally only wanted to come one time).

Awesome! I didn't see y'all late on Saturday, so wondered if she was hanging in there. Hope you got a pic with her t-shirt twin...that was hilarious!

 

[Yonfon]

Cheers:
*My absolute favorite moment was OrbWeaver's reaction when "Falconer" was announced. I have never witnessed such joy.
*Jen and Glenn. OF COURSE!!!
*Jen's reaction when she spotted me on Friday in Abbath make up.
*A certain Honey badger for some memorable, laughable moments at the courtyard.
*LEPROUS.
*Sexy Vangough shirt for only $10 dollars.
*funny moment when some guy told us he wants to write a blog on how my friends and I rate a band's sex appeal.
*The merch. Really loved what Merchbooth did with some of the stuff. The blue "Welcome to Mercy Falls shirt" is a beauty. Hoping they do merch for more bands next year!
*the 4th slot on both nights next year being 2 of my all time favorite bands. <3
*Next Year's ATLANTis theme. All the Greens, Purple and Aqua
*Final Cheer: Milton. My VIP experience on Wednesday was amazing and I got to see PoS perform songs I never thought I'd see. I guess not all Brazilians are bad.


Jeers:
*Food poisoning. Did not sleep a second Thursday night.
* People with out deodorant
*People complaining about other peoples Jeers.
* Group behind me in the pit, during PoS, having a full conversation during the set.
*Seventh wonder fans who wanted to get every single thing they owned signed by the band. Follow the rules! :Smug:
*Walking out the venue into the wall of smoke. 2nd hand smoke kills :zombie:
*Final Jeer: Not breaking into a certain Brazilians room this year and jumping into his bed.

 

[Andir]

Awesome! I didn't see y'all late on Saturday, so wondered if she was hanging in there. Hope you got a pic with her t-shirt twin...that was hilarious!

Yes to the twin picture and as to Saturday night - I went to bed BEFORE her:zombie: and that was at 5 AM..

 

[OrbWeaver]

Cheers:
*My absolute favorite moment was OrbWeaver's reaction when "Falconer" was announced. I have never witnessed such joy.

I ALMOST PASSED OUT. Milton would have had to catch me. He probably would have just let me fall.


Cheers:
- FALCONERFALCONERFALCONERFALCONERFALCONERFALCONER AND DRAGONLAND!!!
- as always, I have way too much fun at ProgPower. I'm very glad this isn't the last.
- JOP. He always puts on a good show, but I think this is the most fun I've had watching one of his sets. I laughed so much, and felt other feels. ALL OF THE FEELS.
- Wednesday night. That was so much fun!
- Theocracy! I have never seen them perform so well! It was fantastic!
- Forum members' lunch at Front Page News. I didn't recognize hardly anyone there, and we got there late, but it was still a really good time. Hope to do it again next year!
- The new LED lights were pretty, but...

Jeers:
- Whose bright idea was it to consistently blind the audience with those lights??? Ugh.

 

[mattbrood]

*Final Jeer: Not breaking into a certain Brazilians room this year and jumping into his bed.

not helping your cause

 

[Yonfon]

not helping your cause

Sindre of DM would not let it go!

 

[PromisedLand]

Jeers to Nailz cause I didn't get to meet him.

 

[Osiris' Eyes]

CHEERS

*ProgPower USA for existing. I have attended all but 2 since 2002 (admittedly went to BWBK in Cleveland in 2003 & 2004) and it is always a highlight of each and every year.
*The chance to hangout with forum member Raising Iron and his lovely wife and road trip it with my bro from Chicago
*Atlanta! A great place to visit with special shout outs to The Porter Beer Bar (the most impressive craft beer bar I have ever experienced which says a lot if you are familiar with the Chicago scene), the W Midtown, The Vortex, The OK Cafe (killer breakfast every year!), The Center Stage (great acoustics and for adding SweetWater 420), and the wonderful southern hospitality!
*Glenn & Jen - Thank You for all you do!
*All the bands but in particular Orden Ogan, Leprous, Overkill (WOW!), Stratovarius, Voodoo Circle, Masterplan, and JOP&#8230;just absolutely stellar
*In all the years I have attended I have to say Friday was the absolute finest in audio quality (outside of the aforementioned SW set).
*The announcement of next years roster&#8230;I mean, WOW! It might be the first time ever I have at least one release from every band and consider myself of fan of each. Anubis Gate, Falconer, Anathema, Hibria, Voyager, Angra&#8230;
*Swordlord for delivering us Dragonland!
*The dude we have affectionately labeled Skeletor for the countless hours of entertainment

JEERS
*POS
*Humidity (there is a reason I live up north)
*People bitching about people bitching in a Cheers and Jeers thread&#8230;I mean, really? Get over yourself, please!

Can't wait for next year!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[nailz]

Oh. One more cheer:

On Friday night, Saturday morning around 4am, when the Artmore staff came out to clean up, by himself, and I called "OK WE'RE ON TRASH DUTY!" EVERYONE immediately stopped and cleaned the ENTIRE courtyard. It was amazing.

 

[Force10]

My first PP since IX. It was fun to be back.

Cheers - the sound/mix was generally great all weekend, IMO.

Jeers - To everyone around me during "Of Rage and War" that didn't sing along to the chorus - I mean, how can you not want to scream at the top of your lungs "YOU SON OF A BITCH!" when Jon Oliva points the mic at you?

 

[Akumu]

CHEERS:
- WEDNESDAY NIGHT!!!!! MILTON MILTON MILTON
- The Seventh Wonder Rail Clan. The guy next to me came from ITALY. Some great community and dedication there.
- Need! They didn't do much for me on disc, but man, they were INCREDIBLE live. What a fantastic opener on a fantastic day!
- LEPROUS LEPROUS LEPROUS LEPROUS LEPROUS LEPROUS
- Overkill for kicking our asses and being hilarious
- Seventh Wonder. Great performances, total pros, and the NICEST guys.
- Michael Eriksen. In general, Michael Eriksen.
- Everyone I shared a drink with, talked to, hugged - you're all great and it's a shame I have to wait another year to see you all again. <3
- Everyone who left great feedback on the punschrullar/dammsugare/weird green things!
- Sean C. Tibbetts for being HILARIOUS.
- I brought a ton of n00bs this year, and the ProgPower community immediately embraced them. This was my brother's first year, and he LOVED Overkill and JOP, and we had a whole bunch of New England residents come down for their first year. They all had a GREAT time, and they will be back next year!!!
- labarum and the Swag Pay-It-Forward we spontaneously formulated up front.
- THE BEER MECCA THAT IS HOP CITY ATLANTA.
- Ragnar during the Remedy Lane set. Holy SHIT those PIPES
- As always, H-Man the Epic Veal.
- GLENN AND JEN for hosting another great year!!

JEERS:
- Security on Friday for not letting my friend bring in his granola bars or banana. COME ONNNN
- The guy who was a total dick to my friend over a Pagan's Mind drumstick they CLEARLY caught at the same time. :/
- The vampire. He was being a total CREEP even before that and I'm so so so glad he got arrested, holy crap.

 

[Mardoch]

Cheers:*Jen's reaction when she spotted me on Friday in Abbath make up.

That was you? Man that was brilliant! I saw some of the poses you did in pics and man, dead freakin ringer. I laughed my ass off.

 

[RuleroftheMind]

Cheers:
-FINALLY getting to attend the festival has gotta be #1. Still on the young side - found out about the fest when I was only 14. Couldn't go in High School, couldn't afford to go in college, only just turned 24. All the stars aligned and I finally made good one what many had probably assumed were empty promises to finally attend this event, and oh my god it was worth it.
-Glenn. Seriously, immense respect. After watching from the sidelines for so long, it was like seeing a legend at work or something. Couldn't be happier with so many aspects of the festival, and I know you and Jen bust your asses so everything goes as great as possible. I've been to several other events that were still even substantially smaller in scale and none of them held a candle to this one. My hat's off to both of you and I can't apologize enough for any critical word I ever may have uttered. Consider my tables totally turned.
-Seventh fucking Wonder. The Mercy Falls set on Friday justified the entire trip in about 80 minutes. I heard that there were technical difficulties and whatnot, but from my vantage point, things were great. The outfits matched with the drum heads and the backdrops made for a stellar visual presentation as well, and the band just crushed. Stefan did one of the best jobs I've ever seen a replacement drummer do, period. You can tell he absolutely busted his ass to learn every little nuance of the band's material, and it paid off. I've never sang so much, or so emphatically, and I admit, I even shed a couple of tears near the end. The acoustic set the next morning was amazing as well, especially the acoustic medley at the end of things. The amount of talent displayed by everyone in that band is just in stratosphere and I can't say enough positive things. Great guys as well.
-Getting hooked up with a gold badge at the last minute. Had a friend with an extra one and swapped it to me for my normal tickets, so I ended up getting to attend the Evergrey listening party, the Seventh Wonder set, and get great seats for Saturday from getting in a bit early.
-Free water! The coolers at the bars with the plastic cups made my life so much easier. Was great not having to wait in line to get water at a bar or pay for bottled water all the time.
-DGM. Simone is one of the best new guitarists in this style of music, bar non, and Marco is one of the best singers. Great guitar/keyboard interplay, excellent rhythm section, and most importantly, incredible songs. So stoked to hear "Heartache".
-Masterplan. Worth the 9 or 10 year wait for sure. Had my doubts about Rick Altzi but he and the rest of the band delivered big time. Setlist was killer and the energy was great. Was very psyched to be right down front on the rail for their set.
-Pain of Salvation. Wasn't really even a fan in the past but checked out Remedy Lane in advance and liked it enough to sit for their set. I'm a huge sucker for multi-part vocal harmonies and co-lead vocal stuff, so between that and the overall just flawless musicianship and passionate performance, I was sold. The extended guitar solos in "Dryad of the Woods" was one of the absolute best things of the whole weekend.
-Withem. I like the record a lot, but they were so much better live. Incredibly powerful vocals.
-Overkill. I knew I was a fan and I was rooting for them, but holy shit did they deliver. Great sound, great setlist ("End of the Line" - holy shit), and just energy out the ass. I also loved Blitz's sense of humor about everything.
-The crowd. Overall, this was so refreshing for me. As someone who complains constantly about people being douchebags at concerts, this was an excellent change of pace. Nice to see so many obviously passionate fans so enthralled with the performances, and so few people on their phones texting, Facebooking, or trying to take shitty poor quality video instead of watching the show. Met SO many great people.
-Many of the band members for being so friendly and so cool. Michael Eriksen from CM wanted a photo with my sister and I because of how much he admired our cover of "From Childhood's Hour" on YouTube. Shot the shit with many great guys I truly respect and admire and am now happy to call friends.


Jeers:
-Fortunately not much rain despite the forecast, but it was just so hot and humid. Was my first time ever in Atlanta and that mile walk up to/from my hotel definitely took its toll. Was very, very physically exhausted.
-Got bitched at by one guy for blocking his line of sight during some songs in Jon's set, despite that both guys to his sides were standing through the set as well and we weren't block anyone else. I flew 800 miles to be there, you can move to another seat if you're really THAT bothered by me being so into the show.
-Both my Orden Ogan and Festival t-shirt are much too small for me, which is upsetting. Both shirts made by the same manufacturer, so it must be a sizing thing, but oh well. Not sure I really wanted to wear the fest shirt much anyway since it's a bit of a souvenir, and fortunately all my other shirts fit fine.
-The girl who woke up the singer of Withem moments before he was about to get nanner-ized by Matt.

 

[Akumu]

Oh man, and one last cheer, and this is a huge one:

The guy in the Derdian shirt in line Thursday who gave my friends a spare ticket, thus enabling me to go to the show: You are a total total lifesaver. Please, please, if you're on here, message me so I can find you and buy you a crapload of drinks or something next year. That was an overwhelming act of kindness - thank you SO SO SO MUCH. <3

 

[Yonfon]

That was you? Man that was brilliant! I saw some of the poses you did in pics and man, dead freakin ringer. I laughed my ass off.

Milton and I wanted to make sure Glenn & everyone would get their dose of Daily Abbath during the fest.

 

[nailz]

The vampire. He was being a total CREEP even before that and I'm so so so glad he got arrested, holy crap.

If you notice that again, and this goes for anyone - if anyone sees someone who clearly needs to leave and doesn't want to deal with it, come get either hotel security, me, or one of the official PP Crew guys (of which I am not, to be very, very clear). We can round a bunch of people up who can take care of the situation quickly. I think it took us about 45 seconds to get him away from everyone in a non-threatening manner and escort him out safely.