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2nd that Frozen Soul recommendation. They're one of the most fun live death metal bands I've seen in a while.
Schedule isn't too bad! Going to be running around like mad the entire time, but I'll make it work. Biggest conflict for me is Primitive Man vs Ulver, but I can't not see Ulver. Once in a lifetime-ish opportunity on the west coast.
Now that I'm back home and while everything is fresh in my mind, some notes from the fest:
- I only went to Saturday & Sunday, but I managed to see 20 sets across the weekend. Top 5 for the weekend (1) Amenra, (2) Mercyful Fate, (3) Warpaint, (4) Boris, (5) William Basinski. But pretty much most of the sets I watched was overall fun. With the exception of few (i.e. Liturgy). - Sets like Liars, William Basinski, and Warpaint were not well attended, not surprisingly. I'm glad these kind of acts are booked, but overall fit is sometimes questionable. - The pool stage was much smaller compared to Mandalay. I couldn't go in to see At The Gates because of this, I think they shouldn't have been placed there. Overall, the new location is just fine, but I wish they kept it at Mandalay. Much better sound there, I think. - Regardless, I had a good time the past two days, and if the lineup is good enough, I can see myself going back next year.
Last Edit: Aug 22, 2022 21:42:22 GMT -5 by Fred - Back to Top
Now that I'm back home and while everything is fresh in my mind, some notes from the fest:
- I only went to Saturday & Sunday, but I managed to see 20 sets across the weekend. Top 5 for the weekend (1) Amenra, (2) Mercyful Fate, (3) Warpaint, (4) Boris, (5) William Basinski. But pretty much most of the sets I watched was overall fun. With the exception of few (i.e. Liturgy). - Sets like Liars, William Basinski, and Warpaint were not well attended, not surprisingly. I'm glad these kind of acts are booked, but overall fit is sometimes questionable. - The pool stage was much smaller compared to Mandalay. I couldn't go in to see At The Gates because of this, I think they shouldn't have been placed there. Overall, the new location is just fine, but I wish they kept it at Mandalay. Much better sound there, I think. - Regardless, I had a good time the past two days, and if the lineup is good enough, I can see myself going back next year.
in 2019 beach house played to damn near nobody in the mandalay bay arena but they joked about it and was actually into and said they loved so many bands on the lineup. they were touring 7 which is my favorite album from them so i was made a superfan that night. last show before covid too
glad to hear william basinski was good. i've been wanting to see him for years. i've seen videos of his shows where he'll play music from his laptop and read a book lol
Finally settling down from a fun Vegas weekend. First time goer and it's been years since I've been to a metal fest. My thoughts:
Pros:
Carpet, carpet, carpet. To have nearly every stage with carpeted floors was a dream especially with so many heavy acts. Drinks: It was really jarring to get used to being able to bring in drinks to every stage (except Swim stage). I probably saved a few hundred bucks on that. Security: I had a very lax experience with security. Barely any pat downs or even checking wristbands. Although I heard other people didn't have such great experiences. The crowd: Generally a really fun bunch. I had no issues with anyone attending. All the stages were 21 and up so that helped a bit.
Cons:
Sound: Getting good sound was all over the place and not even consistently bad at certain stages. The Black Angels sounded ROUGH and I heard lots of bands on the Event Center stage on Sunday had awful sound. Yet the headliners sounded immaculate. Programming: They really need to do a better job at this. Having more acts with earlier set times was so short sighted. Saturday alone had hip hop -> alt rock -> psych rock -> indie pop -> thrash metal. No consistent theme to keep people there (unlike Friday's all black/death metal). The Black Angels and Warpaint had 200...maaaaybe 300 tops. Really sad since they played the big main stage. Communication: What a nightmare. I would find out cancellations from fans or online groups than the official channels.
I doubt I'll go next year since they would really need to knock it out of the ball park next year and rather go to Beyond the Gates in Norway instead.
For those who went, how was Resorts World itself? Heard a lot of mixed reviews since it opened.
So, my view is skewed since this was my first time in Vegas but Resorts World felt like a mall. You have the gaming area, then these smaller bars but then it turns into a mall with clothing, candy or sex toys stores. There was a lot of construction outside so leaving the resort felt a little depressing. They have this pretty awesome food court of street foods. You can get ramen, claypot rice, chicken sandwiches or even TX BBQ. All of that was reasonably priced for Vegas. With that said, the Ayu Dayclub had a $57 'large' margarita. I figured Vegas prices would be high but oh man, that was a shocker.
Oh! The elevators at the Hilton were a nightmare. It took everyone days to figure out you had to hold the card on the reader for up to 5 seconds to get it to move. Lots of people were stuck on elevators trying to get it to work.
For those who went, how was Resorts World itself? Heard a lot of mixed reviews since it opened.
So, my view is skewed since this was my first time in Vegas but Resorts World felt like a mall. You have the gaming area, then these smaller bars but then it turns into a mall with clothing, candy or sex toys stores. There was a lot of construction outside so leaving the resort felt a little depressing. They have this pretty awesome food court of street foods. You can get ramen, claypot rice, chicken sandwiches or even TX BBQ. All of that was reasonably priced for Vegas. With that said, the Ayu Dayclub had a $57 'large' margarita. I figured Vegas prices would be high but oh man, that was a shocker.
Oh! The elevators at the Hilton were a nightmare. It took everyone days to figure out you had to hold the card on the reader for up to 5 seconds to get it to move. Lots of people were stuck on elevators trying to get it to work.
Overall I'd say Resorts World missed the high mark they were originally trying to hit with the development, but it's still pretty nice and very expansive.
Also, the key card to the elevator reader to gain access is a newer thing in some hotels/resorts. They have it at Park MGM too, and it is a ROYAL pain in the ass. I could see you needing one to access the elevator in general. But to have a card that only allows you to go to your specific floor is ridiculous. Me and a group of 10 friends each had rooms on different floors, and it was insanely difficult to get to each other unless we met at the lobby/1st floor.
Post by The Golden Eel on Feb 10, 2023 23:43:25 GMT -5
I don’t see this ever coming back
Seemed like there was a lot of drama behind the scenes, and with the move to Mandalay and then Resorts world they seemed way too focused on making this some expensive glamorous event which was totally at odds with the bands and people they pulled
Only way I see this happening again is if they move it back to somewhere smaller like the old hard rock, maybe downtown or something. But that doesn’t seem to be what the promoters are interested in
I have never heard a single positive thing said about the people who run Psycho, and while I'd like to think this is a result of their greed and ineptitude I really think the challenges of bringing over international acts finally caught up with them.
Seemed like there was a lot of drama behind the scenes, and with the move to Mandalay and then Resorts world they seemed way too focused on making this some expensive glamorous event which was totally at odds with the bands and people they pulled
Only way I see this happening again is if they move it back to somewhere smaller like the old hard rock, maybe downtown or something. But that doesn’t seem to be what the promoters are interested in
Their marketing was unfathomably tone deaf by the end. Promoting your festival as some sort of posh high roller experience to a bunch of greasy metalheads that can barely afford to stay at the hotels hosting the event was laughable at best.
