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WOW...where do I begin? Let me say that I had my Gold Badge ticket for this show since March, 2002. That's how much I anticipated this festival. This is the best concert I've ever been to, hands down. Promoter Glenn Harveston worked tirelessly to make this show happen and bring Metal back to America. He deserves so much credit. I've finally gotten some thoughts together on the show and I'll try to remember what I can. In case you didn't know, here was the lineup for the show:
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Nov. 15
- Zero Hour
- Silent Force
- Edguy
- Blind Guardian
- Pain of Salvation
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- Nov. 16
- Reading Zero
- Threshold
- Devin Townsend
- Gamma Ray
- Angra
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- What a lineup! Several of these bands have never even played in the U.S. before. First, Zero Hour took the stage and while they were pretty good players, it was all prog-metal. Next up, DC Cooper and Silent Force took the stage with pure over the top energy! These guys kicked ass from beginning to end. The show had officially started at that point. I got to meet DC Cooper, and I must say he is a nice guy and a hell of a singer! They did several songs from both Silent Force albums and some older DC Cooper tunes. They closed the set with a blistering performance of Judas Priest's "You've Got Another Thing Coming." Great job by these guys who seemed to throw the gauntlet down and say "TOP THAT!"
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- And, my friends, that's exactly what Edguy did. They stole the show. That's right, five little German guys got up there in front of everybody and blew us away! No question about it. You could tell they were shocked by the overwhelming response the crowd gave them, often chanting "Edguy! Edguy!" This band just kicks ass, they're one of my favorites. They did a great set which included songs from Vain Glory Opera, Theater of Salvation and Mandrake. They truly won the crowd over when they did the song "Avantasia" from the album of the same name. Wow...totally inspiring. (They also had the coolest backdrop, by the way.) Tobias was so impressed that he promised that Edguy would return to America on their next tour. I hope so. The Edguy setlist included: Fallen Angels / Tears of A Mandrake / Painting On The Wall / Save Us Now / Babylon / Land of the Miracle / The Headless Game / Vain Glory Opera / Avantasia / Out of Control
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- Next up, Blind Guardian, the headliners of the festival. They requested the 4th slot so they could leave for a Canadian tour afterward. A truly gifted band that I really love. They were simply awesome, performing some of their best songs, from every album. They even did "Valhalla" from Follow The Blind. They wisely did several songs from their best album, Imaginations From The Other Side. Not quite the energy of Edguy, but a solid show nonetheless. I'll admit that I left right after Blind Guardian finished, so I never caught Pain of Salvation. The Blind Guardian setlist included: Valhalla / Traveler In Time / Welcome To Dying / Lord of the Rings / Bard's Song / Imaginations from the Other Side / The Script for My Requiem / Mordred's Song / Bright Eyes / Nightfall / Mirror Mirror / Time Stands Still (at the Iron Hill) / Precious Jerusalem / The Soulforged (and probably some more I forgot)
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- The second night proved to be a surprise for me. I was eagerly awaiting Gamma Ray's performance. I caught Devin Townsend's set, not my cup of tea, but it was very energetic. Gamma Ray finally came on stage to "Land of the Free" I think. GR is one of the first and best Power Metal bands of all time. The legendary Kai Hansen led the crowd through classic after classic. Dan Zimmerman even did a drum solo, which was awesome, but an odd waste of time. (They were the only band to do a solo.) By far the highlight was the encore...they did the Helloween classics "Ride The Sky" and "I Want Out!" Unbelievable! The audience loved it, and we all sang along. What a great set, that was cut short on the encore.
- Gamma Ray setlist included: Land of the Free / Heading For Tomorrow / Dream Healer / Rebellion In Dreamland / Beyond The Black Hole / Somewhere Out In Space / Valley Of The Kings / Gardens Of The Sinner / Heavy Metal Universe / The Heart Of The Unicorn / Fire Below / New World Order / Ride The Sky / I Want Out
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- The biggest surprise of the entire festival was the last band, Angra from Brazil, who played in the second headlining spot. I have all of the Angra albums, which I enjoy. But these albums do not do justice to what this band can do live....wow-- these guys mopped the floor with every band that came before them!! I'm talking about kicking ass from the first song to the last song. No dicking around, no bullshit audience sing-alongs, no solos, just straight up rocking the house. Easily the best lead guitarist (Kiko Loureiro), singer (new guy Eduardo Falashi) and drummer (Aquiles Priester) of the entire festival! These guys play like nobody else. Priester plays like he has 4 arms and 4 legs. Eduardo is simply a gifted vocalist. What a performance. I can't tell you every song they did, but it included: Angels Cry / Carry On / Nothing To Say / Petrified Eyes / Fireworks / Nova Era / Heroes of Sand / Rebirth, plus many more. They finished by doing an encore, the last song was Iron Maiden's "Number of the Beast!" Really well done set by Angra. They are a very talented band. I met them also and they were very cool. I hope to see them again one day.
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- Other thoughts on PROG-POWER:
- What I liked most about the festival was that it was all for the fans. There was a meet and greet Thursday night before the show for Gold badge members and we got to meet and get autographs/photos with DC Cooper, Blind Guardian, Angra, Gamma Ray and Edguy. That was a treat and made it well worth the money spent to be there. They also did autograph sessions between sets at the show. They had vendors set up in the lobby of the venue who sold lots of cool merchandise. I picked up a couple of CDs I was looking for. Also, being able to take photos during the show was very cool. Everyone had a camera and took advantage of this privilege. I got some great shots that you can view HERE. My only question is how will Glenn top this lineup next year? I have some bands in mind, but I don't think he can top it. I hope so. We'll see next year!
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