Stratovarius Community

Posted: **Sat Sep 17, 2005 11:51 am**

Strato does their show in Georgia today. If anyone goes, maybe give us a review? Hopefully TT will give us one of how they enjoyed their short jaunt into the Sunny South.

Hope they leave the Moonshine/Wildcat alone, though--that stuff is hideous!

But, we do have the best GRITS, though!

Posted: **Sat Sep 17, 2005 5:06 pm**

I've been waiting for someone to post the same thing

Posted: **Sat Sep 17, 2005 5:27 pm**

Yeah, I'm going tonight. Yesterday was alright for the first day of PP, but this is my fourth one and it's probably been my least favorite opening night.

Was Manticora, Circus Maximus, Orphaned Land, Conception, and Angra.

Conception and Angra were incredible.

Really looking forward to Stratovarius - picked up the new album at the vendors last night - and United rocks. Can't wait for that one

Posted: **Sat Sep 17, 2005 8:32 pm**

Sounds pretty good to me!

Stratovarius is the Highlight of this Festival anyway. Hope Rolling Stone does a Feature on them&this festival! :headbang:
That would be terrific!

Posted: **Sat Sep 17, 2005 8:48 pm**

dont expect a cover o main article, i think they'll make a passing reference to it...

Posted: **Sat Sep 17, 2005 9:41 pm**

Nightmare1z wrote:Yeah, I'm going tonight. Yesterday was alright for the first day of PP, but this is my fourth one and it's probably been my least favorite opening night.

Was Manticora, Circus Maximus, Orphaned Land, Conception, and Angra.

Conception and Angra were incredible.

Really looking forward to Stratovarius - picked up the new album at the vendors last night - and United rocks. Can't wait for that one

Darn it....I love Angra....I wish I could have been there....

Posted: **Sat Sep 17, 2005 9:44 pm**

Mmmm, Conception and Manticora...

Posted: **Sun Sep 18, 2005 2:13 am**

Stratovarius is the very last band performing tonight-- at 11:30pm(10:30pm where I'm at). Hope they do a great job&show all those Progs who's the Boss!

Posted: **Sun Sep 18, 2005 4:12 am**

browneyedgirl wrote:Stratovarius is the very last band performing tonight-- at 11:30pm(10:30pm where I'm at). Hope they do a great job&show all those Progs who's the Boss!

I bet they will.

They'll show how's their daddy.

Posted: **Sun Sep 18, 2005 7:02 pm**

Well, they did awesome IMO.

Their setlist was roughly the same as that in South America. Here's how I think they played it, order might be a little off - but I believe that's roughly it

Maniac Dance
Speed Of Light
The Kiss Of Judas
Legions
Twilight Symphony
Will The Sun Rise?
Bass Solo
The Land Of Ice And Snow
United
Against The Wind
Season Of Change
Father Time
ENCORE 1
Coming Home
Destiny
Hunting High And Low
ENCORE 2
Forever
Black Diamond

Was a great show, very energetic. The new bass player has an awesome stage presence, and the crowd seemed to enjoy it.

Some didn't like the fact they did so many ballads - but I think Tolkki writes some killer ballads so I'm glad to see them in the set.

They started 15 minutes late for some reason, but it was worth the wait.

Tough to follow Therion though, Therion is incredible live. Such power - even Stratovarius following was hard to keep the energy up.

Posted: **Sun Sep 18, 2005 7:09 pm**

I was reading at the official ProgPower forum that they played Before the Winter? The less ballads the better!

Posted: **Sun Sep 18, 2005 7:31 pm**

They did not play Before the Winter. I saw that too, but that is wrong

Posted: **Mon Sep 19, 2005 9:40 am**

They were ok. I really think they could have done a LOT better. Sound was way off too. They mixed old songs with new, which was quite nice. But too many ballads. And jens and tt were absolutely lousy. I was actually kind of disappointed.
Was glad to see them live i guess...

Posted: **Mon Sep 19, 2005 2:05 pm**

Sounds pretty terrific to me!

I hope they won over more fans in the Southland because most people who hear them here began to like Stratovarius music very much!
I hope TT writes about the festival in the tour diary.
I was hoping they would ventue on over to the Big Spring Jam in Huntsville, AL but that is not until this upcoming Friday. Its a shame the guys cannot play at that Festival because it is open, and over 250,000 people went to it&heard the various bands last year!

Posted: **Mon Sep 19, 2005 5:21 pm**

I was there right up front. Right under Kotipelto's feet

I thought their set was actually a very good combo of new and old. I really liked the new stuff. TT looked bored to me and actually I found him to be quite annoying. Not that I am surprised. The new bass player was outstanding and Kotieplto sang really well. He actually looked liked he was into it. It was hard for them to follow Therion. Therion was definitely the surprise hit of progPower. I am going to see Strat again on Wednesday in NY and I would predict that they will be more comfortable there.

One very annoying thing was the fact that they cancelled their signing appearance. They were the only band to do this.

Posted: **Mon Sep 19, 2005 6:43 pm**

there show was amazing 'hunting hi and lo' and black diamond' were incredible with everybody singing along at the top of their voices. I had a great spot, front row just underneath TT and I got to shake hands with both TT and TK plus I got a piece of a drumstick from Jorg.

Also Angra was amazing. I hadn't heard much of their stuff before but i'm a big fan now.

Posted: **Mon Sep 19, 2005 8:20 pm**

frohicke63 wrote:I was there right up front. Right under Kotipelto's feet
I thought their set was actually a very good combo of new and old. I really liked the new stuff. TT looked bored to me and actually I found him to be quite annoying. Not that I am surprised. The new bass player was outstanding and Kotieplto sang really well. He actually looked liked he was into it. It was hard for them to follow Therion. Therion was definitely the surprise hit of progPower. I am going to see Strat again on Wednesday in NY and I would predict that they will be more comfortable there.

One very annoying thing was the fact that they cancelled their signing appearance. They were the only band to do this.

Yeah--some people were bitching about that in the Guestbook(about no signing session)and I was going to notate that I heard they put on a good show&I wished them luck with the NA Tour. Well, the notation did not print out---I think they are not letting anyone write in the Guestbook.

But, I guess that was their choice not having a signing session, but I know people probably missed not having that because they have some strong fans in USA. Hope they do not forgo that aspect of their Tour everywhere in USA because there will be some very disappointed people!

Posted: **Mon Sep 19, 2005 9:37 pm**

frohicke63 wrote:I am going to see Strat again on Wednesday in NY and I would predict that they will be more comfortable there.

I'll see you there.

Hopefully, they'll be more comfortable and give their best there.....

'Cuz I've been looking to this show for too long now....no that I'm special or anything....

Angra....I'm so jelous.....

Posted: **Mon Sep 19, 2005 11:01 pm**

frohicke63 wrote:I was there right up front. Right under Kotipelto's feet
I thought their set was actually a very good combo of new and old. I really liked the new stuff. TT looked bored to me and actually I found him to be quite annoying. Not that I am surprised. The new bass player was outstanding and Kotieplto sang really well. He actually looked liked he was into it. It was hard for them to follow Therion. Therion was definitely the surprise hit of progPower. I am going to see Strat again on Wednesday in NY and I would predict that they will be more comfortable there.

One very annoying thing was the fact that they cancelled their signing appearance. They were the only band to do this.

Who are you? We must know each other or at least saw each other because I was under his feet most of the time too as you can tell by this picture.

Fun to watch the show that close by not always great for pictures, though I must say, I liked those pants.

I didn't think Timo T. looked bored. I talked to him earlier in the day and he seemed very animated and excited about the show. Looks pretty happy here:

I do think there were some sound issues, but they weren't the only band with that problem. As Glenn, the promoter said, it is extremely difficult for set up and doing the quick changes between each band and there just isn't time to make it all perfect. They try their best, but there's always issues.

I'd say over all, I thought it was a very good show, I was very excited to see them and I enjoyed nearly every minute of the set. I loved the song selections and I especially enjoyed seeing Lauri for the first time. He's an exceptional musician IMO.

As for the signing session, the band knew nothing about it when I talked to them around noon. When I showed them they were scheduled for 5:00, they were surprised and said they had already other plans for that time.

I'll be at the New York show too and quite possibly the Philly show. Hope to see some of you there!

Posted: **Tue Sep 20, 2005 3:54 am**

AMBR@BEC wrote: As for the signing session, the band knew nothing about it when I talked to them around noon. When I showed them they were scheduled for 5:00, they were surprised and said they had already other plans for that time.

If this you said really is the truth, I´d guess there´s no need to concern anything.

Posted: **Tue Sep 20, 2005 4:55 am**

AMBR@BEC wrote: As for the signing session, the band knew nothing about it when I talked to them around noon. When I showed them they were scheduled for 5:00, they were surprised and said they had already other plans for that time.

Hey, I was right there with you when that all happened! I was about to post that the band had no clue about the signing session and it was never in their itinerary, but you beat me to it.

I saw you all night in the front front row. I was going to say hi because we've talked on here before, but that damn shyness hits everytime!

Ah well, there's always next year!

To those who say they played too many ballads, I was actually happy they did. I did so much headbanging during the fast ones that my brain needed a break every once in awhile. I can't WAIT to see them in Edmonton and Calgary in a couple weeks.

Posted: **Tue Sep 20, 2005 11:36 am**

Those pics are Terrific!

Posted: **Tue Sep 20, 2005 3:13 pm**

Awww, T0ny, too bad you didn't say "hi". I'm very friendly, but I understand the shy bit. Surely we'll meet up again. You live in Canada? I'm in NJ and as I posted above I'll be going to the Strato show in NYC tomorrow and I was invited to the Philly show too, but I don't know if I can go. Been a lot of partying and metal in the last week!

:headbang:
I agree about the ballads. I usually like the fast ones more, but I think they achieved a very good mix and I was glad not to make my headbanger, whiplash too much worse. :shud:

browneyedgirl, glad you liked those preview photos. I have tons more but need to get them all up on the website. I probably should have got out of the photo pit to get a little more distance, but I was having too much fun. So I had to get a little clever like this "under-the-leg" shot of Jens.

I did get some really good ones, but you'll have to wait to see them on the web page in a couple days and those are larger. I reduced these for the forum.
Here's just a couple more.

Posted: **Tue Sep 20, 2005 3:24 pm**

It is wonderful to see TT so happy, and I LOVE his shirt! Is it Celtic Crosses all over??!

Is THAT shirt available at StratoShop or did he have it specially designed?

And, TK had those stylish pants&velvet shirt that looks geat!
Sorry for sounding like a GQ reporter.

Just commenting on the Pics!

I'll go to that website&check the rest of the photos out soon!

Posted: **Wed Sep 21, 2005 2:34 am**

browneyedgirl wrote:It is wonderful to see TT so happy, and I LOVE his shirt! Is it Celtic Crosses all over??!
Is THAT shirt available at StratoShop or did he have it specially designed?

He used that shirt in the Monterrey Gig, looks awesome btw

Posted: **Wed Sep 21, 2005 6:18 am**

AMBR, great pics as always. Can't wait for the So. Cal. shows. I am so psyched!!!

Posted: **Thu Sep 22, 2005 8:55 am**

frohicke63 wrote: One very annoying thing was the fact that they cancelled their signing appearance. They were the only band to do this.

I got the dirt straight from the horse's mouth on this one. After the Jaxx show in Springfield, I got to speak with Timo K. at great length at the bar and I did ask him about that. It appeared to be a fuck-up on the part of the festival organizers, not the band. (EDIT: It seemed the problem occured with the band's promotion manager forgetting to tell the band) He flat out told me that nobody informed them about the signing. They only found out about it, but it was too late. Believe me, they did want to be there and do the signings, and they did feel bad about missing it. It was just purely a mis-communication - somebody dropped the ball on that one - but it was not the band that dropped it.

And yes, I was also at ProgPower USA VI. And yes indeed, Therion was just friggan awesome. I was saying that Stratovarius had a tall act to follow on that one. Still, they did an excellent job at ProgPower.

To be honost, I actually enjoyed them much more at Jaxx in Springfield, Virginia, not Illinois (have you looked at the back of that tour T-shirt? - As Timo K. so nicely put it Monday night - "That was a fuck up!")! Maybe it was due to the much more intimit setting (Jaxx is a tiny place compared to many of these venues that I was seeing the various pics I've seen on the net). I was right up against the stage, directly in front of Timo K. I could've easily reached out and touched him (although I didn't). Hell, the lead vocalist of Into Eternity, the band that was on before Stratovarius, slipped while performing and damn near fell into me! His head did bump into my arm, but the guy next to me caught him before he actually fell. He almost dropped the damn mic in the process! We both, along with some chic on the other side of me helped him regain his balance. To his credit, though, he did not miss a beat!

And to add: Timo K. also wore that same pants and shirt at the Jaxx show. Damn, I wish I'd thought of it at the time, but I should've asked him where he got that shirt while I was chatting with him in the bar.

Posted: **Thu Sep 22, 2005 10:14 pm**

SkiBumMSP wrote: And to add: Timo K. also wore that same pants and shirt at the Jaxx show. Damn, I wish I'd thought of it at the time, but I should've asked him where he got that shirt while I was chatting with him in the bar.

he does wear some pretty neat shirts! but i think some of the sponsors give them directly...

Posted: **Fri Sep 23, 2005 12:02 am**

SkiBumMSP wrote:
frohicke63 wrote: It was truly a fuck-up on the part of the festival organizers, not the band. He flat out told me that nobody informed them about the signing. They only found out about it, but it was too late. .

It is true that it is not the band's fault regarding the signing session cancellation. However, the reason the band gave you is total bullshit and they probably aren't aware of it either.

I sent the itinerary to their tour manager over six weeks in advance. I have the email confirmation where he read it and understood. However, he simply "forgot." I pointed it out to him that afternoon and got "sorry."

Blame Strat's tour tour manager, not me.

Glenn H.
www.progpowerusa.com

Posted: **Fri Sep 23, 2005 12:16 am**

PPUSA Promoter wrote: It is true that it is not the band's fault regarding the signing session cancellation. However, the reason the band gave you is total bullshit and they probably aren't aware of it either.

I sent the itinerary to their tour manager over six weeks in advance. I have the email confirmation where he read it and understood. However, he simply "forgot." I pointed it out to him that afternoon and got "sorry."

Blame Strat's tour tour manager, not me.

That's so easy to say... seems to me the lesson is "don't announce things when they have not been confirmed."

The whole progpower festival was not organized that well. There was a long delay before Stratovarius started playing. I talked to a guy from their crew later, he said something like the patching was really a mess on stage, and it looked like the local crew were running around like chickens with their heads chopped off... except for the ones who stood around paralyzed!!!

The bands were great though. I second the comments on Therion, that was really a tough act to follow! But Stratovarius were fucking great too!

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