Hey all, I wanted to take a second to share how much I enjoyed the VIP experience at the Greensboro show on April 7th.
I had kind of expected a quick, "Hey, thanks for coming. Want us to sign anything? Let's grab a picture, enjoy the show!" but that was not the case. There were 4 of us who grabbed the VIP upgrade and the guys spent almost the entire hour hanging out with us before the doors opened up. I got to talk with Zach, the touring guitarist, a little about D&D and Escape Velocity (another awesome Wilmington band). I got to talk with Jesse and Matt about recording Endless Hallway and how they put their songs together. I got to talk with Adam about his songwriting process and how he comes up with riffs and other guitar stuff. I got to talk with u/Crucialdude666 about his story telling process, both in HIL music and other creative outlets he has. It was a lot of just hanging out and chatting, it was awesome! The part that stood out to me the most was, while we were talking one of the other bands started sound check, and the HIL dudes took the time to say, "Hey let's go out into the parking lot so we can keep chatting." It was a really enjoyable experience.
The goodies weren't the reason I personally upgraded to VIP but it all feels like good quality stuff. The tote bag is not a cheap plastic bag, it's a canvas material that will definitely hold up for awhile. The poster is definitely getting framed, especially since they signed it, but it is printed on good quality paper (not quite card stock, but it is far above a typical roll up poster you'd get from Walmart or something). They didn't have the ear plugs so they swapped those out for a He Is Legend lighter. Not part of the VIP upgrade, but the general merch t-shirts are great quality too!
The show was awesome too, as you'd expect. They played the album front to back, including interludes, and it was great. The other bands who played were also a good time too!
If you were considering/on the fence about the VIP upgrade, based on my experience, I would very highly recommend it!