Overall PowerProg XII was an excellent show. However there were some down sides. Vanden Plas on the kickoff night was excellent but the last 30 minutes or so of their set was ruined for me when a florescent light that was covered by jacket was exposed. That's right. A boom-camera operator over on one side had a jacket thrown over a florescent light to keep it out of the audiences eyes and it fell off at one point and he didn't notice. Oh well. Following them, Evergrey was perfect. Sound was just right and they know how to give a show. Another downside was the sound quality on some acts: Red Circuit for example, at times I could see the fingers moving but couldn't hear what was being played, also thought they had a bit too much "everyone clap your hands now" and "sing with me" kind of stuff. Here and there is fine but on every song I start thinking I came to see you perform, so just play the songs. Voyager was fantastic. Ihsahn and Forbidden were just loud screaming garbage to me, and Sanctuary was too commercial, and not enough prog or power.
I think the highlight though for me was Haken opening on the last day. I was thoroughly and pleasantly surprised. First, they don't look like a metal band, they look more like the IT department. But that didn't matter. These guys are musical wizards. I don't even think I could call them metal, they transcend. Definitely progressive but with a definite fusion sound, and a lot of jazz type coloration. The sound was crystal clear and I could hear every nuance; and the music was intricate enough that you wanted to. I actually went to the sound booth after their set and told the sound guy 'good job'.
Therion, headliner on the last day. Wow! They gave two hours even though they were an hour behind by the time they came on and they were spectacular. Four operatic singers that sound like a choir.
Creation's End and Darkwater also delivered but I was disappointed that Darkwater was cut from 45 to 35 minutes due to technical problems delaying their set.
Also disappointed that Arcturus and Dream Evil cancelled, would have liked to have seen both; but they were replaced by the two 'loud screaming garbage' bands mentioned earlier.
All in all though worth the drive from L.A.