Progpower review
Sep. 20th, 2004 08:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dslartooSo I was at ProgPower USA over the weekend. I'm going to take a cue from ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
errindel and just write up brief opinions of each of the bands, since I spent most of my time this year watching the music instead of being sociable (as usual).
I will also add that it was great to see all my prog-head friends (including the aforementionederrindel, his wife sarbah77, packgrog, and marared, plus many more that I don't know if they have Livejournals or not: Renee, Tommy, Irene and Pat, Dave, Kevin M. the MusicSnob, Kez, Jax, Christina, Teri, Coldfire, Alicia, Paul, my friend Matt (the genius behind Theocracy) and his fiancee Sue, Harmon and his wife whose name I can never remember, and lots more I probably forgot).
And now: the band reviews.
Day One: Spent mostly on the front rail. Sound mix was pretty bad for that reason, unfortunately.
Into Eternity: This band just wasn't my cup of tea. Too much cookie-monster stuff, guttural growling and shrieking. They were undeniably having a good time onstage, though, and gave it their all. Not bad, just not overwhelming.
Dreamscape: I agree witherrindel's assessment of them as "Dream Theater lite". Complex music with plenty of melody and good song structures, but something about them just failed to really grab me. Good music, just nothing that really differentiated them from a horde of other prog-metal clones -- which is sad, because they're definitely good musicians. Maybe they just need to find their voice.
Tad Morose: Friends keep bugging me to listen to this band and I could see why. They were very high-energy, very heavy stuff. Excellent singer. I would have liked to see some keyboards in the mix, but that's just me and my personal preferences. I was very impressed with their stuff and may have to grab up an album or two.
Kamelot: WORSHIP THE MIGHTY KHAN! :) Okay, okay. Sadly, I was a little disappointed by their set. From my place on the front rail I got a terrible sound mix. Youngblood's guitar drowned out practically everything else; I just couldn't hear Khan properly and Gunter Werno's great keys were almost lost in the mix too. Khan's such a hypnotic and charismatic frontman that they still pulled off a great set despite that, though (although I hear from others who were farther back and could hear properly that he seemed "off"). One other cool thing about their set was that Ben Jackson and Midnight from Crimson Glory came on to do one song with them. Midnight can't hit the glass-shattering high notes anymore, but he's still got power and range and sounded pretty good.
Savasomething (aka Weapons of Mass Destruction, aka Jon Oliva's Pain, aka Savatage without Zak but with Dr. Killdrums): Pretty damn cool despite the fact that I prefer the latter-day Savatage stuff to the early stuff. Also I had moved to the seats because of the bad mix during the Kamelot set and because I didn't feel like battling the people at front anymore. The "Jon Oliva's Pain" stuff was okay but not fantastic (sounded much better on the PA while waiting to get in the next morning), but the 'tage set was just excellent. Jon sounds a hell of a lot better than he did the last time I saw him (although he still LOOKS pretty bad). The guy just loves being in the spotlight and he showed it, putting on a great show. And Doc Wacholz behind the kit was really something to see. I don't know where he's been since he left 'tage but he was active as hell and just generally pounding the crap out of the drums, obviously enjoying himself as well.
Day Two: Found great seats behind the soundboard and watched from there this day. Much better sound.
Adagio: Pretty impressive, especially considering that it was their new vocalist's second live show with the band. Definitely much more my kind of music than yesterday's openers Into Eternity. A good start to the day.
Wuthering Heights: I couldn't make up my mind about this group. Any time you hear bagpipes starting things off, you know it's not going to be "typical" prog -- but unfortunately the set was mostly made up of just that, instead of the interesting Highland-influenced prog stuff like the very interesting "Into the Woods", which was kick-ASS. The drummer also had a problem with overplaying, dropping in lots of extraneous beats and fills where they weren't needed, and the whole band seemed a little too impressed with themselves and their abilities, frequently throwing in time and rhythm shifts that just didn't fit the structures of the song. I have no problem with complexity, but it really ought to fit the music instead of just mixing it up to be "cool" (see: Spiral Architect).
Brainstorm: HOLY FUCK this band kicked ASS. I would call them the surprise of the year. I didn't know a thing about them beforehand and was utterly and completely blown away. Heavy, heavy, heavy music, with the whole band playing extremely tight. The singer Andy B. Franck has an absolutely astounding voice, powerful and expressive as hell, and he was also one of the most impressive frontmen I've ever seen. The PP USA audience is usually pretty torpid, but he was able to get everyone on their feat and screaming. He also looked utterly shocked by the response the band was getting, but was very very cool and obviously grateful for the noise and response level. If their studio albums are even a fraction as high-energy and intense as their live performance was, I need to pick up some of their stuff NOW. Just blew me away.
Pain of Salvation: PoS's music is a lot less accessible than most, so it was only the die-hards like me who really got into this set. Other bands may have been more active or more explosive, but there is just no one on earth who can match Daniel Gildenlow for pure, raw, emotional intensity. He is the heart and soul of the band -- singer, frontman, main composer, main lyricist, guitarist -- and he and the rest of the band are all about the music. Just like at PP III, they impressed the hell out of me with their cohesiveness, their musical interplay, and generally their sheer "wow" factor. A fantastic set from a fantastic band (and they played my favorite PoS tune of all, "Spirit of the Land". w00t!)
Edguy: After the sheer explosiveness of Brainstorm and the emotional intensity of Pain of Salvation, Tobi and the rest of the band had to deal with a drained and tired crowd. They did their level best to get everyone back "up", but I fear it was an uphill battle. (An email my friend Matt forwarded me from Tobi afterwards confirmed it: Tobi thought they didn't do a very good job of getting the crowd into it, so he was kind of disappointed with the set). I don't care what Tobi thinks, though -- they did a great job, another high-energy set full of the driving, hammering melodic power metal they do so well. They were also the band that seemed to be having the most pure fun onstage, particularly Tobi, who is basically a Superball packed into human form. The guy is just never still. Amazing energy. Another cool touch was that Rob Rock came out to do the next-to-last song with 'em, and then Timo Kotipelto guested on vocals for the final track. I'd always thought Timo's voice was mostly studio trickery, but he sounded pretty damned good live; I had to revise my opinion.
I also picked up several new CDs on Friday and Saturday. Hadn't intended to buy ANYthing, but these were impossible to resist: new releases from several of my favorite bands.
Threshold -- Subsurface
Therion -- Lemuria / Sirius B (double concept album)
Ayreon -- The Human Equation, which I'd been meaning to get for months.
Pain of Salvation -- Be, a full month before "official" release
OSI -- Office of Strategic Influence, which I'd been meaning to get for more than a year
Blind Guardian -- Imaginations Through the Looking Glass, the new double DVD
Threshold -- Critical Energy, the new DVD which includes three songs from last year's Progpower! woot.
Thus ended another year at Progpower, well worth the money and time I laid out for it. My one regret is that I never spent enough time with the friends I see so rarely -- Jaime in particular and several others as well. I need to socialize more at this thing. Maybe next year.
-- END OF LINE --
Currently playing: Pain of Salvation -- Be. This is yet another astounding concept release from one of the more cerebral bands out there.
errindel and just write up brief opinions of each of the bands, since I spent most of my time this year watching the music instead of being sociable (as usual). I will also add that it was great to see all my prog-head friends (including the aforementioned
errindel, his wife sarbah77, packgrog, and marared, plus many more that I don't know if they have Livejournals or not: Renee, Tommy, Irene and Pat, Dave, Kevin M. the MusicSnob, Kez, Jax, Christina, Teri, Coldfire, Alicia, Paul, my friend Matt (the genius behind Theocracy) and his fiancee Sue, Harmon and his wife whose name I can never remember, and lots more I probably forgot). And now: the band reviews.
Day One: Spent mostly on the front rail. Sound mix was pretty bad for that reason, unfortunately.
Into Eternity: This band just wasn't my cup of tea. Too much cookie-monster stuff, guttural growling and shrieking. They were undeniably having a good time onstage, though, and gave it their all. Not bad, just not overwhelming.
Dreamscape: I agree with
errindel's assessment of them as "Dream Theater lite". Complex music with plenty of melody and good song structures, but something about them just failed to really grab me. Good music, just nothing that really differentiated them from a horde of other prog-metal clones -- which is sad, because they're definitely good musicians. Maybe they just need to find their voice. Tad Morose: Friends keep bugging me to listen to this band and I could see why. They were very high-energy, very heavy stuff. Excellent singer. I would have liked to see some keyboards in the mix, but that's just me and my personal preferences. I was very impressed with their stuff and may have to grab up an album or two.
Kamelot: WORSHIP THE MIGHTY KHAN! :) Okay, okay. Sadly, I was a little disappointed by their set. From my place on the front rail I got a terrible sound mix. Youngblood's guitar drowned out practically everything else; I just couldn't hear Khan properly and Gunter Werno's great keys were almost lost in the mix too. Khan's such a hypnotic and charismatic frontman that they still pulled off a great set despite that, though (although I hear from others who were farther back and could hear properly that he seemed "off"). One other cool thing about their set was that Ben Jackson and Midnight from Crimson Glory came on to do one song with them. Midnight can't hit the glass-shattering high notes anymore, but he's still got power and range and sounded pretty good.
Savasomething (aka Weapons of Mass Destruction, aka Jon Oliva's Pain, aka Savatage without Zak but with Dr. Killdrums): Pretty damn cool despite the fact that I prefer the latter-day Savatage stuff to the early stuff. Also I had moved to the seats because of the bad mix during the Kamelot set and because I didn't feel like battling the people at front anymore. The "Jon Oliva's Pain" stuff was okay but not fantastic (sounded much better on the PA while waiting to get in the next morning), but the 'tage set was just excellent. Jon sounds a hell of a lot better than he did the last time I saw him (although he still LOOKS pretty bad). The guy just loves being in the spotlight and he showed it, putting on a great show. And Doc Wacholz behind the kit was really something to see. I don't know where he's been since he left 'tage but he was active as hell and just generally pounding the crap out of the drums, obviously enjoying himself as well.
Day Two: Found great seats behind the soundboard and watched from there this day. Much better sound.
Adagio: Pretty impressive, especially considering that it was their new vocalist's second live show with the band. Definitely much more my kind of music than yesterday's openers Into Eternity. A good start to the day.
Wuthering Heights: I couldn't make up my mind about this group. Any time you hear bagpipes starting things off, you know it's not going to be "typical" prog -- but unfortunately the set was mostly made up of just that, instead of the interesting Highland-influenced prog stuff like the very interesting "Into the Woods", which was kick-ASS. The drummer also had a problem with overplaying, dropping in lots of extraneous beats and fills where they weren't needed, and the whole band seemed a little too impressed with themselves and their abilities, frequently throwing in time and rhythm shifts that just didn't fit the structures of the song. I have no problem with complexity, but it really ought to fit the music instead of just mixing it up to be "cool" (see: Spiral Architect).
Brainstorm: HOLY FUCK this band kicked ASS. I would call them the surprise of the year. I didn't know a thing about them beforehand and was utterly and completely blown away. Heavy, heavy, heavy music, with the whole band playing extremely tight. The singer Andy B. Franck has an absolutely astounding voice, powerful and expressive as hell, and he was also one of the most impressive frontmen I've ever seen. The PP USA audience is usually pretty torpid, but he was able to get everyone on their feat and screaming. He also looked utterly shocked by the response the band was getting, but was very very cool and obviously grateful for the noise and response level. If their studio albums are even a fraction as high-energy and intense as their live performance was, I need to pick up some of their stuff NOW. Just blew me away.
Pain of Salvation: PoS's music is a lot less accessible than most, so it was only the die-hards like me who really got into this set. Other bands may have been more active or more explosive, but there is just no one on earth who can match Daniel Gildenlow for pure, raw, emotional intensity. He is the heart and soul of the band -- singer, frontman, main composer, main lyricist, guitarist -- and he and the rest of the band are all about the music. Just like at PP III, they impressed the hell out of me with their cohesiveness, their musical interplay, and generally their sheer "wow" factor. A fantastic set from a fantastic band (and they played my favorite PoS tune of all, "Spirit of the Land". w00t!)
Edguy: After the sheer explosiveness of Brainstorm and the emotional intensity of Pain of Salvation, Tobi and the rest of the band had to deal with a drained and tired crowd. They did their level best to get everyone back "up", but I fear it was an uphill battle. (An email my friend Matt forwarded me from Tobi afterwards confirmed it: Tobi thought they didn't do a very good job of getting the crowd into it, so he was kind of disappointed with the set). I don't care what Tobi thinks, though -- they did a great job, another high-energy set full of the driving, hammering melodic power metal they do so well. They were also the band that seemed to be having the most pure fun onstage, particularly Tobi, who is basically a Superball packed into human form. The guy is just never still. Amazing energy. Another cool touch was that Rob Rock came out to do the next-to-last song with 'em, and then Timo Kotipelto guested on vocals for the final track. I'd always thought Timo's voice was mostly studio trickery, but he sounded pretty damned good live; I had to revise my opinion.
I also picked up several new CDs on Friday and Saturday. Hadn't intended to buy ANYthing, but these were impossible to resist: new releases from several of my favorite bands.
Threshold -- Subsurface
Therion -- Lemuria / Sirius B (double concept album)
Ayreon -- The Human Equation, which I'd been meaning to get for months.
Pain of Salvation -- Be, a full month before "official" release
OSI -- Office of Strategic Influence, which I'd been meaning to get for more than a year
Blind Guardian -- Imaginations Through the Looking Glass, the new double DVD
Threshold -- Critical Energy, the new DVD which includes three songs from last year's Progpower! woot.
Thus ended another year at Progpower, well worth the money and time I laid out for it. My one regret is that I never spent enough time with the friends I see so rarely -- Jaime in particular and several others as well. I need to socialize more at this thing. Maybe next year.
-- END OF LINE --
Currently playing: Pain of Salvation -- Be. This is yet another astounding concept release from one of the more cerebral bands out there.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2004-09-20 05:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-09-20 10:48 pm (UTC)Pain of Salvation is a fantastic band. Check out http://www.painofsalvation.com/ for more info or ask me if you have questions about them. They now have five concept albums and a sixth acoustic album released, all of them excellent.
cheers,
Phil
no subject
Date: 2004-09-20 05:57 pm (UTC)But i was in a mood to do so, for once. Took me three years to work up to it. Invited? never happens. Next year, park at Fairfield, have a change of clothes (IF you drink), and wander back with the crowds. Parties appear, and no one is concerned with who wanders in and out of them.
no subject
Date: 2004-09-20 10:49 pm (UTC)As for inviting myself places....well, that's something I may have to work on. We'll see. :)
cheers,
Phil
no subject
Date: 2004-09-20 06:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-09-20 10:50 pm (UTC)cheers,
Phil
no subject
Date: 2004-09-21 11:51 am (UTC)I'll get it in October with the official release, and when I have money to spare...