pyramid Club

Here you can talk about Stratovarius and related bands. Language used is English.
powermetalprincess
Jr. Member
Posts:1
Joined:Wed Sep 23, 2009 6:32 am
pyramid Club

Post by powermetalprincess » Wed Sep 23, 2009 6:41 am

I called the pyramid club too the other day. I talked to a lady that was very rude. She said that four bands will be playing that night. She also said doors will open at 6.I would buy my tickets early too. Im not worried about VIP tickets.Its such a small venue that it wont be a problem in meeting the bands. WHere are all you guys coming from? IM driving down from Milwaukee WI.

Maribeth

User avatar
Rebel
Sr. Member
Posts:2142
Joined:Tue Aug 21, 2007 12:41 am

Re: pyramid Club

Post by Rebel » Wed Sep 23, 2009 8:48 am

I hear the same thing from everyone whose going to that show.
Foking Fiasco.
So glad I'm going to the Cleveland Show.

Star_Ocean
Sr. Member
Posts:304
Joined:Sat Apr 26, 2008 9:10 am

Re: pyramid Club

Post by Star_Ocean » Wed Sep 23, 2009 3:07 pm

Rebel wrote:I hear the same thing from everyone whose going to that show.
Foking Fiasco.
So glad I'm going to the Cleveland Show.
Image

Empathica1928
Sr. Member
Posts:426
Joined:Thu Aug 13, 2009 10:43 pm

Re: pyramid Club

Post by Empathica1928 » Wed Sep 23, 2009 4:41 pm

I'm coming from Rantoul, Illinois; about two and a half hours south of Chicago. I'll probably be wearing a red Sonata Arctica buff on my head with the Unia artwork, if anyone wants to say hi!

GuiHunter
Member
Posts:163
Joined:Mon Sep 28, 2009 8:34 am
Location:Belo Horizonte - Brazil

Re: pyramid Club

Post by GuiHunter » Tue Sep 29, 2009 11:10 am

Hey guys... I would like to know how much stratovarius make success in the USA? Do people known well the strato history?
Tolkki to Kotipelto:
- I talked with GOD and He said that I am the best in this band...
Kotipelto:
- I don't remember I said that...
( Fear No Beer !!! )

User avatar
browneyedgirl
Sr. Member
Posts:27239
Joined:Thu Aug 29, 2002 6:00 pm
Location:Starfall
Contact:

Re: pyramid Club

Post by browneyedgirl » Tue Sep 29, 2009 2:59 pm

Strato does not have the fanbase of Rolling Stones or Megadeth, of course, but in USA Stratovarius has quite a large number of people who like their music, buy their CDs and eagerly await their shows! So, YES, lots of people in USA enjoy Stratovarius!
Image

Ragehead91
Sr. Member
Posts:3660
Joined:Tue Oct 21, 2008 6:05 pm

Re: pyramid Club

Post by Ragehead91 » Tue Sep 29, 2009 3:41 pm

Star_Ocean wrote:
Rebel wrote:I hear the same thing from everyone whose going to that show.
Foking Fiasco.
So glad I'm going to the Cleveland Show.
Image
No! Don't tell me the Familiy guy and American Dad dudes did another knock-off!

User avatar
browneyedgirl
Sr. Member
Posts:27239
Joined:Thu Aug 29, 2002 6:00 pm
Location:Starfall
Contact:

Re: pyramid Club

Post by browneyedgirl » Tue Sep 29, 2009 8:07 pm

Rebel wrote:I hear the same thing from everyone whose going to that show.
Foking Fiasco.
So glad I'm going to the Cleveland Show.
Image
Did you see Drew Carey and his gang? :D

POLIISI
Jr. Member
Posts:8
Joined:Wed Sep 16, 2009 8:47 am

Re: pyramid Club

Post by POLIISI » Tue Sep 29, 2009 11:23 pm

GuiHunter wrote:Hey guys... I would like to know how much stratovarius make success in the USA? Do people known well the strato history?
Stratovarius is an underground level band in the US selling around one 800 copies per album according to Nielsen soundscan (Downloads included).

They are usually playing to audiences varying from 50 to 250 making them an underground act unlike for example Dragonforce and Sonata Arctica.

Ragehead91
Sr. Member
Posts:3660
Joined:Tue Oct 21, 2008 6:05 pm

Re: pyramid Club

Post by Ragehead91 » Tue Sep 29, 2009 11:35 pm

POLIISI wrote:
GuiHunter wrote:Hey guys... I would like to know how much stratovarius make success in the USA? Do people known well the strato history?
Stratovarius is an underground level band in the US selling around one 800 copies per album according to Nielsen soundscan (Downloads included).

They are usually playing to audiences varying from 50 to 250 making them an underground act unlike for example Dragonforce and Sonata Arctica.
Honstly, it should be the other way around DG and SA should be underground while Stratovarius should tour larger halls.

User avatar
AMBR@BEC
Member
Posts:183
Joined:Sat Sep 25, 2004 8:46 pm
Location:New Jersey
Contact:

Re: pyramid Club

Post by AMBR@BEC » Wed Sep 30, 2009 12:11 am

Not seeing any reviews of the show in this forum, but there are a lot here.
Seems the general consensus was that the bands played well with a lot of energy despite being tucked in the corner of a sports bar that clearly wasn't accustomed to holding such events. It appears the crowd energy and enthusiasm made up for the otherwise lack of atmosphere.

Some quotes:

"I am what you would call a casual Stratovarius fan, I only own two albums and never really went out of my way to get more. After this show though I'm ready to buy their whole catalog. They played some killer fucking songs, and they played my favorite songs that I know."

"I had to miss Strato when they toured in 2005, so I was pretty excited to see them.
Great setlist, and performance. Once again though, there is something distracting in seeing a legendary band play the corner of a bar with nothing behind them but a crooked PABST BLUE RIBBON neon sign."

"The bands weren't too pleased with the venue, but they made the best of it. Boy, did they ever make the best of it! Aside from ProgPower, it was one of the best shows I've been to this year, despite the small venue."
It seems everyone, bands and fans, made the best of it, and had a HELL of a time.

"Truly a unique experience that goes down as one of my favorite shows of all time. The fact that PM and Stato did not compromise even though they were in such a weird setting is quite a testament to them."

"You know I suppose the lot of us should be thankful the venue stepped up in the unique circumstances of the Pearl Room closing down and took the show so it wouldn't be canceled entirely."

Anyway, just thought you might like to seem some actual commentary on the show. Seems to have been quite a unique experience.
“He who despairs of the human condition is a coward, but he who has hope for it is a fool” A. Camus

Beyond Ear Candy Metal Radio
beyondearcandy.com
Photos from 2008 Winter NAMM and Blog on Ben in Iraq on MySpace myspace.com/ambr_bec

User avatar
JensJohansson
Administrator
Posts:1490
Joined:Thu Feb 28, 2002 10:45 pm
Contact:

Re: pyramid Club

Post by JensJohansson » Wed Sep 30, 2009 12:13 am

POLIISI wrote:Stratovarius is an underground level band in the US selling around one 800 copies per album according to Nielsen soundscan (Downloads included).

They are usually playing to audiences varying from 50 to 250 making them an underground act unlike for example Dragonforce and Sonata Arctica.
Things are not quite that dire ... do I detect some wishful thinking there old chap? :)

It is actually true that initial Soundscan was something like 800 if I remember. However, just recently this week we had an update from Eagle Rock (the US distributor) with a sales figure for Polaris in the 5000 range. Although it was labeled "not for royalty accounting purposes", it would probably be the first time in world history that a label exaggerates a statement of record sales by an order of magnitude... or what would you say?

Shows have been a lot of fun anyway. The Pyramid club actually ended up being a real blast. It's a sports bar and one of the venues which is picking up the "slack" after the Pearl Room went belly up. A lot of bands have been rescheduled around the Chicago area this fall because of that.

In the end the it was great! The lights were a bit spartan. I think it's one of the first times they have tried to have metal concerts there.

Regarding Stratovarius, Dragonforce and Sonata Arctica, I don't know who is the mainstream act and who is not. This music is pretty much all subculture. But for sure Dragonforce's sales are stronger than Sonatas and Sonatas are stronger than Stratovarius at the moment.

What's more important is that all three of those bands' fans are having fun, we are actually out playing instead of announcing "massive world tours" that somehow never end up happening. By accident we were in Winnipeg on our day off when the DF/SA tour was in town. It was really a blast!!

User avatar
Rebel
Sr. Member
Posts:2142
Joined:Tue Aug 21, 2007 12:41 am

Re: pyramid Club

Post by Rebel » Wed Sep 30, 2009 1:52 am

JensJohansson wrote:
POLIISI wrote:Stratovarius is an underground level band in the US selling around one 800 copies per album according to Nielsen soundscan (Downloads included).

They are usually playing to audiences varying from 50 to 250 making them an underground act unlike for example Dragonforce and Sonata Arctica.
Things are not quite that dire ... do I detect some wishful thinking there old chap? :)

It is actually true that initial Soundscan was something like 800 if I remember. However, just recently this week we had an update from Eagle Rock (the US distributor) with a sales figure for Polaris in the 5000 range. Although it was labeled "not for royalty accounting purposes", it would probably be the first time in world history that a label exaggerates a statement of record sales by an order of magnitude... or what would you say?

Shows have been a lot of fun anyway. The Pyramid club actually ended up being a real blast. It's a sports bar and one of the venues which is picking up the "slack" after the Pearl Room went belly up. A lot of bands have been rescheduled around the Chicago area this fall because of that.

In the end the it was great! The lights were a bit spartan. I think it's one of the first times they have tried to have metal concerts there.

Regarding Stratovarius, Dragonforce and Sonata Arctica, I don't know who is the mainstream act and who is not. This music is pretty much all subculture. But for sure Dragonforce's sales are stronger than Sonatas and Sonatas are stronger than Stratovarius at the moment.

What's more important is that all three of those bands' fans are having fun, we are actually out playing instead of announcing "massive world tours" that somehow never end up happening. By accident we were in Winnipeg on our day off when the DF/SA tour was in town. It was really a blast!!
Music spreads in some pretty weird ways, someone put "Speed of Light" in some AMV on youtube and a friend of mine saw it in 2003, who proceeded to get me into the band in 2006 and I've been trying to spread the word as much as I've been able to since then.

Empathica1928
Sr. Member
Posts:426
Joined:Thu Aug 13, 2009 10:43 pm

Re: pyramid Club

Post by Empathica1928 » Wed Sep 30, 2009 1:59 am

Glad to hear the Pyramid Club was fun anyway, Jens! It certainly seemed like you were having fun up there, haha.

POLIISI
Jr. Member
Posts:8
Joined:Wed Sep 16, 2009 8:47 am

Re: pyramid Club

Post by POLIISI » Wed Sep 30, 2009 2:35 am

Regarding Stratovarius, Dragonforce and Sonata Arctica, I don't know who is the mainstream act and who is not. This music is pretty much all subculture. But for sure Dragonforce's sales are stronger than Sonatas and Sonatas are stronger than Stratovarius at the moment.

Nielsen Soundscan figures nevertheless:

Dragonforce – Inhuman Rampage 214,216
Sonata Arctica -UNIA 54,816
Stratovarius -Polaris 800

Sad but true.

User avatar
browneyedgirl
Sr. Member
Posts:27239
Joined:Thu Aug 29, 2002 6:00 pm
Location:Starfall
Contact:

Re: pyramid Club

Post by browneyedgirl » Wed Sep 30, 2009 2:56 am

Only 800? ??? In USA? ???
BULLSHIT!
People in Alabama alone have bought more than that! :buh:

User avatar
NeonVomit
Sr. Member
Posts:4628
Joined:Thu Feb 20, 2003 5:36 pm
Location:London, UK

Re: pyramid Club

Post by NeonVomit » Wed Sep 30, 2009 3:03 am

Indeed, 800 seems a little... low. Our album Eternal Damnation (which is our first) sold around 500 in the USA during the first 4 months, and it's not an exaggeration to say that Stratovarius are a fair few orders of magnitude bigger than us as a band :D So I'd take that number with a rather large grain of salt. 5000 sounds far more believable.
"Beneath the freezing sky arrives Winter's Verge..."

http://www.wintersverge.com


I'm going to hell, and loving the ride!

User avatar
JensJohansson
Administrator
Posts:1490
Joined:Thu Feb 28, 2002 10:45 pm
Contact:

Re: pyramid Club

Post by JensJohansson » Wed Sep 30, 2009 3:16 am

POLIISI wrote:
Regarding Stratovarius, Dragonforce and Sonata Arctica, I don't know who is the mainstream act and who is not. This music is pretty much all subculture. But for sure Dragonforce's sales are stronger than Sonatas and Sonatas are stronger than Stratovarius at the moment.
Nielsen Soundscan figures nevertheless:

Dragonforce – Inhuman Rampage 214,216
Sonata Arctica -UNIA 54,816
Stratovarius -Polaris 800

Sad but true.
Actually, neither sad nor true.. :lol:

The figure '800' in that context sounds a bit.. round? Not 837? Or 816? Well whatever.

Anyway I saw the DF/SA show in Winnipeg. They seem pretty damn equal in audience reaction (also in merch sales I heard a rumour). Could be that SA is about to break big time in the States with this "days of grays", but who ever knows. Great gig in either case..

Soundscan (or sales in themselves) can never measure the energy at a gig, the reaction of an audience, etc. I suspect most real musicians don't care if they have an audience of 80 or an audience of 80000.

Anyway since you're already on soundscan obsessively looking stuff up, maybe you can also look up the sales for "SAANA WARRIOR OF LIGHT, RETURN TO CRYSTAL ISLAND"? There were supposedly something like 70,000 downloads the first day or whatever it was, much of that was to benefit the Saana Foudation of course, but surely a record of that major significance... something that massively popular, must also have at least some soundscan activity?

And while you're checking soundscan figures, what about the two RR releases.. how did they fare? :)

What is sad? What is truth? Entirely subjective matters both.

User avatar
JensJohansson
Administrator
Posts:1490
Joined:Thu Feb 28, 2002 10:45 pm
Contact:

Re: pyramid Club

Post by JensJohansson » Wed Sep 30, 2009 4:15 am

AMBR@BEC wrote:Not seeing any reviews of the show in this forum, but there are a lot here.
Seems the general consensus was that the bands played well with a lot of energy despite being tucked in the corner of a sports bar that clearly wasn't accustomed to holding such events. It appears the crowd energy and enthusiasm made up for the otherwise lack of atmosphere.

Some quotes:

"I am what you would call a casual Stratovarius fan, I only own two albums and never really went out of my way to get more. After this show though I'm ready to buy their whole catalog. They played some killer fucking songs, and they played my favorite songs that I know."

"I had to miss Strato when they toured in 2005, so I was pretty excited to see them.
Great setlist, and performance. Once again though, there is something distracting in seeing a legendary band play the corner of a bar with nothing behind them but a crooked PABST BLUE RIBBON neon sign."

"The bands weren't too pleased with the venue, but they made the best of it. Boy, did they ever make the best of it! Aside from ProgPower, it was one of the best shows I've been to this year, despite the small venue."
It seems everyone, bands and fans, made the best of it, and had a HELL of a time.

"Truly a unique experience that goes down as one of my favorite shows of all time. The fact that PM and Stato did not compromise even though they were in such a weird setting is quite a testament to them."

"You know I suppose the lot of us should be thankful the venue stepped up in the unique circumstances of the Pearl Room closing down and took the show so it wouldn't be canceled entirely."

Anyway, just thought you might like to seem some actual commentary on the show. Seems to have been quite a unique experience.
I'm very happy a lot of people felt the same way I did. It was one of those shows you didn't expect to work when you walk in to the venue, but it somehow did work anyway :)

Also the Pyramid was the last show with Pagan's Mind, who were a great support act.. nice people.

User avatar
icecab21
Sr. Member
Posts:3520
Joined:Mon May 19, 2008 8:59 pm

Re: pyramid Club

Post by icecab21 » Wed Sep 30, 2009 4:38 am

neither sad nor true.
That would make a great song title
Soundscan (or sales in themselves) can never measure the energy at a gig, the reaction of an audience, etc. I suspect most real musicians don't care if they have an audience of 80 or an audience of 80000.
Definitely.
What is sad? What is truth? Entirely subjective matters both.
I'm not sure how the truth of album sales can be subjective, it seem rather finite to be. There can be false claims, but the truth is out there.

POLIISI
Jr. Member
Posts:8
Joined:Wed Sep 16, 2009 8:47 am

Re: pyramid Club

Post by POLIISI » Wed Sep 30, 2009 1:07 pm

The figure '800' in that context sounds a bit.. round? Not 837? Or 816? Well whatever.
This was from Blabbermouth news.
I suspect most real musicians don't care if they have an audience of 80 or an audience of 80000.
:) :) Gene Simmons said that those people who say this have never played to 80000 people.
Anyway since you're already on soundscan obsessively looking stuff up, maybe you can also look up the sales for "SAANA WARRIOR OF LIGHT, RETURN TO CRYSTAL ISLAND"? There were supposedly something like 70,000 downloads the first day or whatever it was, much of that was to benefit the Saana Foudation of course, but surely a record of that major significance... something that massively popular, must also have at least some soundscan activity?
I don't think that record has Soundscan figures because it seems to be available only as an import in the US.
And while you're checking soundscan figures, what about the two RR releases.. how did they fare? :)
According to the Soundscan they are not in their database at all.
What is sad? What is truth? Entirely subjective matters both.
Sad is that more records are not being sold and truth in this case is not subjective but can be verified in the Nielsen database.

Somebody asked about the popularity of Stratovarius in the United States. These are the official sales figures.

User avatar
AMBR@BEC
Member
Posts:183
Joined:Sat Sep 25, 2004 8:46 pm
Location:New Jersey
Contact:

Re: pyramid Club

Post by AMBR@BEC » Wed Sep 30, 2009 3:42 pm

JensJohansson wrote: Also the Pyramid was the last show with Pagan's Mind, who were a great support act.. nice people.
Love those guys. They put on a killer show in Atlanta and were a blast to hang out with. Very sad they won't be on the western leg of the tour. My son really wanted to see them. Oh well, hopefully they'll be back.
“He who despairs of the human condition is a coward, but he who has hope for it is a fool” A. Camus

Beyond Ear Candy Metal Radio
beyondearcandy.com
Photos from 2008 Winter NAMM and Blog on Ben in Iraq on MySpace myspace.com/ambr_bec

User avatar
Texidor
Sr. Member
Posts:307
Joined:Fri Jan 14, 2005 9:41 am
Location:New Jersey, USA

Re: pyramid Club

Post by Texidor » Thu Oct 01, 2009 3:36 am

Hey instead of spreading the word of what they have not accomplished.......lets spread the word and get them new fans....so they only sold small number in the US. If us as fans spread the music of Stratovarius maybe their sales can go up. The sad part part some people focus on this number 800 like a nail in the coffin. I was at the Baltimore show and yes the turn out was smaller but full of energy and I brought two people that did not know Stratovarius but by the end of the show they had picked up shirts and copies of Polaris........ Thats what us as true fans should do!
SHINE ON!

Ricardo1701
Jr. Member
Posts:37
Joined:Wed May 20, 2009 5:01 am
Location:Brazil

Re: pyramid Club

Post by Ricardo1701 » Thu Oct 01, 2009 3:52 am

POLIISI wrote: :) :) Gene Simmons said that those people who say this have never played to 80000 people.
Tuomas Holopainen already played for 70.000 (at Wacken Open Air), and he still says what Jens said...

TimoToikki
Member
Posts:121
Joined:Tue Sep 08, 2009 10:12 pm

Re: pyramid Club

Post by TimoToikki » Thu Oct 01, 2009 5:11 am

POLIISI wrote:
The figure '800' in that context sounds a bit.. round? Not 837? Or 816? Well whatever.
This was from Blabbermouth news.
I suspect most real musicians don't care if they have an audience of 80 or an audience of 80000.
:) :) Gene Simmons said that those people who say this have never played to 80000 people.
Anyway since you're already on soundscan obsessively looking stuff up, maybe you can also look up the sales for "SAANA WARRIOR OF LIGHT, RETURN TO CRYSTAL ISLAND"? There were supposedly something like 70,000 downloads the first day or whatever it was, much of that was to benefit the Saana Foudation of course, but surely a record of that major significance... something that massively popular, must also have at least some soundscan activity?
I don't think that record has Soundscan figures because it seems to be available only as an import in the US.
And while you're checking soundscan figures, what about the two RR releases.. how did they fare? :)
According to the Soundscan they are not in their database at all.
What is sad? What is truth? Entirely subjective matters both.
Sad is that more records are not being sold and truth in this case is not subjective but can be verified in the Nielsen database.

Somebody asked about the popularity of Stratovarius in the United States. These are the official sales figures.
Damn... :shock: I still have a LOT to learn, don't I?

User avatar
icecab21
Sr. Member
Posts:3520
Joined:Mon May 19, 2008 8:59 pm

Re: pyramid Club

Post by icecab21 » Thu Oct 01, 2009 5:30 am

The 800s was for the first week, before cds even appeared in my local stores, I live in Seattle, I imagine a big city could stock cds in a timely matter and that once cds are stalked people will buy more. Its one thing if a cd sits of the shelf for months because no one bought it and gets thrown in the discount bin, but another if the lack of sales is from lack of stock.

Antza
Jr. Member
Posts:7
Joined:Tue Nov 04, 2008 6:40 pm

Re: pyramid Club

Post by Antza » Thu Oct 01, 2009 7:46 am

POLIISI wrote:
The figure '800' in that context sounds a bit.. round? Not 837? Or 816? Well whatever.
This was from Blabbermouth news.
POLIISI wrote:
What is sad? What is truth? Entirely subjective matters both.
Sad is that more records are not being sold and truth in this case is not subjective but can be verified in the Nielsen database.

Somebody asked about the popularity of Stratovarius in the United States. These are the official sales figures.
Official sales figures in a Blabbermouth article from June.

Gossimoto
Jr. Member
Posts:30
Joined:Thu Sep 17, 2009 3:21 pm
Location:Brooklyn, NY

Re: pyramid Club

Post by Gossimoto » Thu Oct 01, 2009 4:30 pm

I would pay $40 a week to see a Stratovarius show every week if I could.

I know that there is less of a fan base in the US but thats only because people are spoon fed terrible music around here.

User avatar
Beast_Pete
Sr. Member
Posts:6489
Joined:Sun Mar 02, 2003 8:34 pm
Location:Budapest, Hungary
Contact:

Re: pyramid Club

Post by Beast_Pete » Thu Oct 01, 2009 7:55 pm

POLIISI wrote:Nielsen Soundscan figures nevertheless:

Dragonforce – Inhuman Rampage 214,216
Sonata Arctica -UNIA 54,816
Stratovarius -Polaris 800

Sad but true.
Who cares? Is Britney Spears better than any of those bands?

About your other comment: I do remember Stratovarius playing for quite a big audience in Wacken. ;)
"Mikor az utolsó véred is elfolyék,
S a tested is a porba hullék,
Akkor is van még remény,
Mert a lelked továbbra is él."

- Mark Swanson -
from the book, Nick's legend

POLIISI
Jr. Member
Posts:8
Joined:Wed Sep 16, 2009 8:47 am

Re: pyramid Club

Post by POLIISI » Thu Oct 01, 2009 8:21 pm

Beast_Pete wrote:
POLIISI wrote:Nielsen Soundscan figures nevertheless:

Dragonforce – Inhuman Rampage 214,216
Sonata Arctica -UNIA 54,816
Stratovarius -Polaris 800

Sad but true.
Who cares? Is Britney Spears better than any of those bands?

About your other comment: I do remember Stratovarius playing for quite a big audience in Wacken. ;)
I believe the issue was the popularity of Stratovarius in the United States.

Locked