The VIP tix were actually well-worth the price I paid, however the info on Ticketmaster was sub-par and even the info from Peabodys was not sufficient to prepare me for the event. We arrived early and the 50 of us with VIP passes got to watch Mushroomhead do their sound check, which consisted of 5-7 full-length songs. All the band members were out of costume which was cool too. Then we went to the back patio where they were grilling hamburgers and hotdogs, we were eating with the band and their families. Again, had I known more I would have been prepared with stuff for the band to sign or snuck in a camera to take pictures with them. (The one kid who did just that was pulled on stage by the band to film whatever he wanted to during the sound check!)
As always most of the openers were sub-par but there were a few highlights. One amazing 3-person band was upstairs on a tiny stage but was likely the 3rd best of over a dozen performers. I sadly cannot remember their name. The second best act was Descidium. They too were on a smaller side stage. Which is disappointing because I didn't notice they were playing until their set was about done. Based on hearing 1 1/2 songs my friend and I bought their CD and are awestruck. Compare to Trivium.
As far as Mushroomhead went they did not disappoint. Everyone was there from Roxy (still hot as always), J-Mann, and wayland was there too. With three vocalists we got to hear "New Cult King" which has always been my favorite song of theirs, but I don't recall ever hearing it live before that show. As much as I enjoyed the show I really missed hearing stuff from XIII (I know Savior Sorrow obviously would have been out of place at this show).
