I just attended ProgNation 2009 in Miami Beach on friday. The experience was quite good. This time no curtain felt down so we enjoyed the whole concert!

 

Scale The Summit didn't impress me more than i expected it. They play good instrumental metal, should be very good on album. Live, they lack stage presence though it's clear they'll be there soon. The main guitar player is very skilled as is the bassist. The songs sounded ok though it should be easier to appreciatte the band even more with repeated listens.

 

I only watched three Bigelf songs as we had to go meet Dream Theater again (my girlfriend and two friends who came from Ecuador wanted to do it, so I had to meet the band again... with a serious blow to my economy). They played "Elvis of Rock'n Roll" and "blackball" from Cheat The Gallows and another song I didn't recognize. they're the opposite of Scale the Summit: they play simple retro-hard-rock-metal but their stage presence is amazing. The sound was ok. I had a chance to meet Damon Fox:

 

 

After this we got to watch Zappa plays Zappa. I'm no expert on his father's music, but man did this band rock! They're all masters in their instruments and the music blew me away, so much that I have since bought a couple FZ albums. They played for about an hour, including recognizable songs like "Montana". This band had it all: presence, sound, skills, and the music to back it up. DZ is a great director, since that's really what he does in this band besides playing guitar. Live, he turns into an orchestra director. I can't name names for the songs they played except Montana, but believe me, this is a band worth seeing.

 

 

Finally the main band. After half an hour or more of nothingness DT came to the stage. They looked in good shape (I won't include details of my meeting them here, I will post my pic in my sig when i receive it). The stage was simple, with silver linings falling from the top.  

 

 

 

Their performance lasted for about 80 minutes, as long as a very-long cd really, which kind of disappointed me since it felt way too short. They played only 7 songs!! But the song choice was great:

 

They opened with "A Nightmare to remember", in full. Excellent playing, all the way down to the weak growling by Portnoy. The sound was not that great, but being on first row doesn't help I think.

 

They immediately followed with "A Rite of passage" which draw a huge reaction from the full theater. the chorus was chanted by everybody. The guitar sounded too loud on this song, barely leaving room for anything else. Only the bass drums were able to compete in loudness, and every time they were hit it was like a blow to my chest. The solo section was great.

 

The next choice was unexpected. After an excellent slow solo by Petrucci, a solo full of FEELING for those who call the guy "cold", "Hollow Years" from FII started. The song, never a favorite of mine, sounded actually very good live. Labrie was on a great night, with his melodic voice shining when the guitar allowed him to (I insist: it was way too loud, especially on distortion.)

 

Now it was time for Rudess to do a solo with the help of an IPhone (?!) with a very cool video on the screen. "Erotomania" from AWAKE started, to my utter delight. The song was played exactly like on record except for the middle part where they introduced an instrumental section for Petrucci to shine. Portnoy, curiously, was not the star of this show, though as always he was goofing around from the back of his gigantic NeilPeart-sized set.

 

What followed was pure heaven: they didn't stop and they continued all the way to "Voices", full! Amazing, every detail, every solo, every fabulous riff. Magnificent. I couldn't ask for much more. yet they gave it to me at the end.

 

The obligatory duet between Petrucci and Rudess was missing. But we got another mammoth-sized song they played: "the Count of Tuscany", FULL!  Terrific performance, even the weak instrumental part was easy to digest. Down to the very note, the song was played exactly like on record. The apotheosic end was the end of the concert. It felt way too short. I couldn't, though, have asked for a better encore.  

 

 

The superb sound of a synth reminded me of one of the greatest songs in DT's catalogue: "Metropolis pt 1". The band carried on with the song and I was expecting a medley any time soon (they were doing that in Europe). But when the first vocal part ended and the band continues with the instrumental section, I almost cry. My throat suffered badly on this track. Halfway during the magnificent section, we got the obligatory duet between Petrucci and Rudess pictured above. It blew everybody away. The song resumed and the concert ended with complete and total ovation from the fans.

 

 

We left the theater, all of us, complete happy but not 100% satisfied as the concert felt way too short at only 7 songs. Of course, these 7 songs lasted more than an hour 20 minutes, but I would've loved more. They ignored the Rudess-era DT except, obviously, BCSL, and they played a couple of masterpieces of their most golden years.  I suggest going to a DT concert before judgning this band. Live they're even better. And now I know (what I always did )I don't give a damn what people say about these five fantastic musicians. They're ther best at what they do. PERIOD.

 

(I hope you're not talking about the guy in the hat... )

 

I really suggest you try a DT concert once. For some it could be a better experience than on album. Many bands are. (I, for example, didn't love the Bigelf album but live they have so much energy).

1. A Nightmare To Remember

2. A Rite of Passage

3. Hollow Years

4. The Dance of Eternity

5. One Last Time

6. Solitary Shell

7. The Count of Tuscany

Encore:

8. Metropolis Pt. 1: The Miracle and the Sleeper

 

Was very happy with the set list and the performance this year..

 

Here's the Zappa Plays Zappa setlist:

 

1. Black Napkins

2. Magic Fingers

3. Carolina Hard Core Ecstasy

4. Peaches En Regalia

5. Montana

6. Village of the Sun

7. Echidna's Arf (Of You)

8. Don't You Ever Wash That Thing?

9. Cosmik Debris

10. More Troubles Every Day

11. Don't Eat That Yellow Sno

12. Inca Roads

 

Was an incredible set and a great show..

 

Actually, Planowner is in charge of assigning your metal-girl after you pass the 666 tests of a Pure metallic soul...

Dude...seriously...no more DT pics and more pictures of the lovely creature you call your girlfriend. (No...not the guy in the hat ).

 

Would like to see an hour set from them, maybe we can get them to Nearfest soon..

 

Scale The Summit was not bad.  Good instrumental metal.  But as mentioned above, not much stage presence.

 

Big Elf, was okay.  They sounded sort of like a modern Deep Purple.  The singer made some comments like he was embarassed to be associated with prog. 

 

Zappa Plays Zappa was amazing.  They sure don't shy away from the hard stuff.  they started with "Purple Lagoon", then "Zombie Woof", then "Village Of The Sun/Echidna's Arf (Of You)/Don't You ever Wash That Thing". Jaw droppingly executed.  Dweezil did some fine soloing.  He even directed the band in the manner of his dad.  Other songs included "Inca Roads", "My Guitar Wants To Kill Your Mama", and "Bamboozled By Love".  All so well done, it actually brought a tear to my eyes.  I only wish they would loosen up some more and add "eyebrows" to the songs like Frank's band used to.

 

I only stayed for an hour and a quarter of of Dream Theater.  After about that long, at that volume, the songs all start to sound the same.  The set was just the same as posted above.  We left during "One Last Time". 

I also get creeped out by the chanting from the audience.  

 

I disagree. My setlist last year was:

 

In the Presence of Enemies, Pt. 1

Beyond This Life

Blind Faith

Erotomania

Voices

Forsaken

The Ministry of the Lost Souls

 

(the order might be a little jumbled in the middle)

 

Encore Medley: Metropolis, Learning to Live, A Change of Seasons, pt. 7

 

We both got the Erotomania/Voices bit I see, but I would actually take the Systematic Chaos numbers over the Black Clouds ones any day. And Beyond This Life and Blind Faith are great numbers as well.

 

In fact, seeing this setlist pretty much solidifies my decision not to attend this year.

 

Would be great if the band decided to do a tour alone again; those shows will always be the best. But maybe they're getting too old for that, and it's good of them to help get up-and-coming bands out there.

 

wow, I'm jealous. I got a bunch of weaker tunes like "Constant Motion" "Dark Eternal Night" "Never Enough" while you got that amazing encore and starting a show with "In The Presence of". My show started with Constant Motion if I'm not mistaken and it wasn't until "Misunderstood" when I started having a great time.

 

 

I had a very good time at Prognation. I have never been to a prog festival before and it was a cool atmosphere with a lot of people really knowing their music. Lots of diehard DT fans, including my friend who organized our group, probably went away mildly disappointed. The sound was boomy and echo-ey for all the bands except Zappa play Zappa. It completely ruined my experience of Scale the Summit. They were obviously very very good at their instruments. I went down for the meet and greet at the merchandise booth, and they were normal young guys. They were also charging $20 for their CD at a show??!!!?? WTF? If you're trying to get your name out there on the biggest venue you're going to get, you sell your CD for $10 so almost everyone in the place walks out with a copy and at least you break even. I'll probably download it after I'm done here.

 

Bigelf was exactly what I expected, maybe a little better. Their dark, massive sound wasn't harmed by the over-reverbed hall, and the frontman was awesome. Clearly the best voice of the show. He had a real Hammond, a mini-Moog, and I think a real Mellotron to his left and right and the microphone center and stood straddling the two pianos while singing his Billy Squier with 30 more IQ points and much better acid sound....Portnoy came out and played a song with them and that was fun. They are complete 70's ripoffs but they are 10000 better than Wolfmother, who made their money on the same Schtick. Alot of luck in showbiz.

 

Zappa play Zappa was the most complex show I've ever seen in my life and they sounded great. One of our party, a music fan but not really prog, kept asking why ZpZ was not the headliner. I cannot possibly think of a prog show more satisfying than their performance. Dweezil pretty much matched Pertucci's shredding but the music was so much more complex, and the solos so much tastier. You have to credit Portnoy for having the love of music to allow bands on his tour that actually have the ability to upstage him. (I can't imagine what it would be like if PoS, Beardfish, or especially Opeth and Unexpect had come first)

 

In any case, ZpZ was great. "The Black Page" was mind-boggling and there was one other piece earlier in the set just as complex which I'm guessing is "Echidna's Arf" from what I've read, though I don't have a copy of that song. They did not play Peaches en Regalia, but did play Inca Roads and a short version of "Willie the Pimp," along with standards "Apostrophe" and "Montana."

 

Dream Theater put on a very nice metal show. The new stuff, even with Portnoy's processed barks, worked pretty well live, but after ZpZ seemed like simple simple stuff. They played the three epics off the new album and we also gut lucky and got both Metropolis and Erotomania. The stage looked awesome, with Rudess's swivel keyboard and midi-triggered video of himself being quite visual entertaining.

 

The boomy sound killed all the intricacies, and frankly, compared to when I saw DT on the Awake tour years ago, there wasn't nearly as much intricacy. It was fun, but not very prog. The band actually got a little loose on the hard parts of Metropolis which is pretty unheard of.

 

So ZpZ steals the show, I have a great time despite about 16 hours of driving or more to enjoy it.

 

Cheers fellow proggers.

 

anyway, I live in Milwaukee, so of course I went.

 

way, way too much metal, especially DT

also agree ZpZ should've been the headliner of those bands, still though, I'm not the biggest Zappa guy

Scale the Sumitts drummer is very good, he'll go somewhere

Bigelf was good......but at times, not. At times though, I thought they were going to go right into 21st Centruy..man, frontman sounded just like KC, the whole band could've pulled it off, would've been great.

 

My first Prog Nation Tour, Overall, for 45 bucks for FIVE hrs of music, great.

 

 

And yes, I hope you people realize that DT is always ready to promote less-popular bands like your own ZpZ or 3 last year... Not many famous acts do that...

 

They do more for the promotion of prog(metal) that constantly whine about them...

 

I saw a few... maybe 5...

 

What i don't understand is what some people were doing there on the first place.... I mean, if they like to waste money, great for them that they love to go to concerts of bands they hate...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not really looking forward to Zappa or Bigelf but who knows, should be good in any case, although Im sure it wont top last year.

 

It's all good people.

 

Believe Isn't only TD that will enjoy. I was just like you with Zappa. but I was amazed how awesome Dewizel sounded and his band. superb sh*t! also Big Elf was excellent. Reminds me of Uriah Heep Meets Black Sabbath.

 

 

The two guitarists' musical vocabularies are a bit different (Dweezil doesn't sweep, he uses tapping differently, etc)

 

If you don't enjoy Bigelf, you don't know what rock n' roll is all about. It's nothing innovative or brilliant but it sure as hades rocks!

 

 

 

 

 

I enjoyed Big Elf in a retro 70's sort of way.

 

Zappa was totally amazing and made the gig worthwhile.

 

I was very dissapointed with DT. I like their live stuff on DVD but in the flesh it was all a bit too much. It was very intense and tiring to listen too. A wall of noise with everyone trying to play louder than everyone else. A whole lot of muscial w**k*ng going on rather than melodic solos too. After 5 songs I had had enough and left before the encore.

 

Was I worn out by the musical intensity of Zappa or was it just an off night for DT?

 

I'm not absolutely certain of the exact order, but these were the songs and I think the order was:-

 

A Nightmare To Remember

A Rite Of Passage

Rudess Keyboard Solo

Sacrificed Sons

Wither

The Dance Of Eternity

One Last Time

The Spirit Carries On

In The Name Of God

----------------------------

Count Of Tuscany

 

Fantastic gig it was too.  The sound was absolutely perfect and the band were in awesome form.  This was the third time I've seen DT this year, and it was easily the best show of the three.

 

I'd never heard a note of Opeth previously, but I was very impressed and will be investing in some of theirs soonis.  Any recommendations for a good place to start with Opeth?

A Nightmare To Remember

A Rite Of Passage
Hollow Years (original Falling Into Infinity Demos bootleg version)

Rudess Keyboard Solo

Erotomania

Voices
Solitary Shell
Take the Time

----------------------------

Count Of Tuscany