12th LPU Summit to be held in Amsterdam on Nov. 7th

[[AndOne]]

I have to say it was a huge pain in the ass for to get to Darien, especially from Buffalo, there was no way to use public transportation and we had to drop a lot of money for a taxi to get there in the morning. My cell service was insanely bad in this area, it was impossible for me to upload any pictures, that sucked.

 

I agree, the delay sucked but once the line moved it was rather quick imo. All those on the fly changes were weird, stuff like the stage tour was supposed to happen before lunch and the crew Q&A was supposed to be after that, if I remember right. All those PA tests during the Digby Q&A were pretty annoying, I don't understand why they can't just stop it for half an hour and continue while we were at lunch for example.

I'm a big fan of the stage tour, why would you pick the bus tour instead? I guess the tours were assigned to make it more even and there were so many different tours on the stage. I remember from Camden that there were like 2 or 3 backstage tour groups and just 1 bus tour group or something like that because the stage tour couldn't be done.

 

Winning at the raffle is a matter of luck, there was a guy who bought 300 raffles and won NOTHING! People that win a lot usually also spend a ton of money on the raffles. Back in Hamburg I won the photo with the band twice with just 10 raffles, luck is always a factor. But you are right about the photo with the band, it's always very rushed, i don't understand why the can't take a moment for this, to make sure everyone gets a picture and that it ends up being good.

Apparently Woodlands was better organized, in terms of the crew Q&A (they had a proper one). Backstage in Darien during the band Q&A there was a ton of noise that made it really hard to understand. It took them a while to turn off one of the machines so it got better after a few minutes but I just don't understand why it took them so long, until the Q&A was almost over, to put up a microphone. I missed more than have of the Q&A cause I couldn't understand what they were saying.

 

I think that they should also make a raffle for show tickets, for the few people that don't have one, because they also can't win anything that involves prices like side stage, which is during the show.

[Numbrocker]

Houston did sell out before the summit was announced and there were quite a few people who didn't have tickets for the concert. I imagine that they plan this way before so they can't control if it sells out or not. Though I think they should hold back some seats for the summit people just for this situation.

 

Edit for Woodlands Summit thoughts.

 

I got the chance to work the Summitbso I saw a bit of a different perspective. One main problem was the registration. Easily the biggest time delay. Best solution to me is just have everyone come an hour earlier. Plus in the Woodlands our passes had our names on it so that didn't help.

 

I didn't do much activities but it seemed like everyone enjoyed it. Houston also had the benefit of having an A/C tent to hold the event. No conspiracy with the raffles or auctions. Corey won at Houston because she paid the most money at the auction. That's how auctions work. And lots of random people won the raffles.

 

I think Lorenzo just needs to hit his groove. I bet the early summits with Adam were rough too. But I still had a great time. I highly recommend doing a summit!

[[AndOne]]

I totally understand that they can't announce the summits along with the tour dates, and that the summits involve a lot of planning but that a show is almost or completely sold out seems to turn into a constant problem especially for international shows. It would be great if the LPU is able to find a solution for that, with either reserving tickets for the LPU (which they do in some way with those deluxe packages I guess), or a way to win tickets at the summit, which is definitely not impossible by using guest list spots for example.

[Geki]

I would kill to have a pic with the band.. I was really bummed out that I didn't win. But yeah, I wish they would take a little bit more time, it wouldn't take very long at all. If every person at the Summit got an individual pic with the band, that would be my dream come true, but it would probably take about an hour if everyone did (about 200 people).

Edited September 7, 2014 by Geki

[hahninator]

I think that is a super obvious problem that should definitely be fixed with the show being sold out and THEN announcing a Summit. They picked PRETTY MUCH one of the only guaranteed sell outs of Carnivores for one of the Summits - Woodlands. I know a few other shows sold out on this tour to my surprise, including Wantagh (which also sold out in 2012) and West Palm Beach. I am not sure about the rest. Anyway it's not like they say "lol show is sold out so let's announce a Summit" - I'm sure when they get the tour dates (well before they are announced) they are already looking at what shows to do a Summit at potentially. However, there definitely should be some tickets for the LPU if the show is sold out and then a Summit is announced. For example, Germany has 9 shows this tour but plenty of German fans (huge fanbase) will want to go to Amsterdam for the Summit since it's not that far...but it is almost impossible for them to do so now from what I can tell. But I don't know for sure because I am not living in Europe, etc.

 

Is it true that these Summit passes are $90 versus the $50 one in Camden in 2012?

I compliment them for doing the stage tour - probably the coolest part of the Summit. I like that a lot and wish I could have done one (sadly Camden did not have that option and I was pretty sure they weren't going to do it on Carnivores but I was wrong). The picture with the band is cool but yeah individual pictures like Jonas got would be nice.

 

Yes the band seems to be in odd shape for the Q&A sessions - Camden's was downright pathetic on their part. Nothing to do with Adam or Lorenzo or anyone else outside of LP. They asked maybe 3 questions? And took zero from the fans. The Sydney one appears to be the best Q&A based on the videos I have watched.

 

I think a large portion of this has to do with LP arriving at the venue so late. Joe posted a picture in NYC in mid afternoon the day of the Summit in Darien, lol. They roll in super late, rush the Q&A, do one song acoustic (what happened to the 2 they used to do?), do a M&G and then their portion of the Summit is done. And fans are already missing parts of the show. Luckily this didn't happen in Camden because LP was there at like 2:30pm and that whole Summit went off really successfully IMO. I'd do things totally differently if I was in the band but I am not Linkin Park, so I can't really see the Summits how they see them I guess (superstar rockstar status). They can't do like a 45 min-60 min Q&A, do a M&G with individual pictures for the fans (there aren't THAT many people in the Summits....), play 2+ songs acoustically and then hold a backstage tour or stage tour themselves? Instrument demo? It doesn't seem very hands on from the band's side and the Summits appear to be more CREW and FAN oriented than LINKIN PARK oriented. This has zero to do with Lorenzo, like I said, but it does appear the roles are shifting in modern day Summits versus the original ones in 2010-2011. That's all my opinion though.

[Numbrocker]

Lol I forgot. The reason we knew which places were getting the summit was based n the M&G packages. So it has to be decided beforehand.

 

Band Q&A was all fan questions in Houston but they were late and the speakers sucked. Individual photos would take forever. Maybe small groups instead. And the crew Q&A was cool but was log since the band was late. I know Mike and Phoenix were there on time because of the backstage tour they do. But I remember in Camden the fan portion of it was great. I always meet people and in Houston got to meet more fans.

 

And yeah passes were $90 or in TX $75 at the door if you had LPU and you wouldn't be a shirt

[ChuckCheese]

I personally had a pretty great time at the Darien summit, but I definitely understand that it wasn't as good as some have been in the past. Mark, you hit the nail on the head with your post. It is definitely more crew and fan oriented than Linkin Park oriented. The big big problem here is that the band just doesn't seem like they can be bothered by it all. More on that in a minute though.

 

Getting to the venue for Jonas, Preston and I was an absolute bitch. No public transportation whatsoever from Buffalo. Had to shell out a whole bunch of cash for a taxi. We get there and it's running pretty late, I think they made everyone wait another hour or so outside. No clue why it was so late, poor Lorenzo came out to the line a couple times to let everyone know we'd be inside soon. It takes awhile to hand out everyone's laminate and shirt (apparently at other summits you got your name on your laminate? Wish we got that.) and then we sit around for a little bit more in the VIP section. Preston has the MFR booth all set up and the LPU auction table is there as well but apparently they were telling people that they couldn't even look at the items. No clue what that was about. We have a really really long Q&A with Digby which was pretty cool, he had a lot of interesting things to say and was taking a shit ton of questions. Like Jonas said, they started testing the PA throughout the entire chat though so he would have to stop talking and wait to start again. It got pretty annoying pretty fast, not sure why they couldn't just do that once we were at lunch.

 

We have lunch and they start the auction and raffle ticket stuff. The prizes for the raffle were getting a photo pass for the first three songs, side stage for the first three songs, individual M&G photo, backstage tour with Mike and Dave. There was another one that I can't remember I think. We go do our assigned activity like sound with Pooch, crew tour, guitar tech, bass tech, DJ tech, ect. I got the crew tour lead by Sam, who was great. Walking around on stage was really really great. Very happy I got to do that and look at the band's whole set up. Sam then took us backstage to where all the dressing rooms were and catering. He also took us to the office where Digby and Megumi were working and we got to talk to them a bit more. Someone asked Sam if we could look at the buses and we said "Fuck it, why not?" and took us into one of the tour buses. Pretty awesome, we got several activities in one. We then went to FOH and talked to Pooch for a little bit. Fantastic tour of pretty much everything. I really enjoyed it.

 

There was a lot of confusion as to just what was happening at what time for the entire summit, which I think could've been handled better. Of course all the times got screwed up since the whole thing started so late but nobody seemed to know what was going on. The announce the winners of the raffle and auctions and in the middle of them calling out raffle winners, 30STM are doing their M&G literally right next to us. Pretty soon a Wonderland worker comes over to Lorenzo and tells him that we need to get the fuck out of there because LP fans are going over and taking photos and Jesus Leto doesn't like it. So we all get herded out of there right away haha.

 

Band Q&A wasn't terrible, of course everyone that asked a question asked something we've heard answered already a thousand times. Or the questions were just dumb. Per usual, the Q&A is JUST Mike and Chester. Why the rest of the band even shows up to these things I have no idea. Joe was on his phone the whole time, including the acoustic set. The winners of the individual M&G photo did NOT get what they were promised. They had the winners all get together with the band and took a photo that way. Definitely not individual. Meet and greet was your standard LP M&G with Brad getting the hell out as quickly as possible and the other guys will chat with you if you attempt to chat with them. My problem with these meet and greets is that whats allowed and whats not is such a gray area. They say no individual photos with the band, it will take too long. I don't find that to be true, there definitely were not a lot of people there, it only takes a second, and sometimes people do it anyway and the band says no problem. Very confusing. I 1000% agree with everything Mark said in his post, I really wish the band cared enough to do a longer Q&A and give us all their own backstage tour and just be more hands on with the summit. They definitely need to interact more with everyone, but I don't see that ever happening. Especially since they don't even arrive at the damn venue until 5 minutes before the Q&A.

 

Overall, I had a good experience with the summit. Could have been much better of course, but I'm gonna put that blame mostly on the band themselves. I won side stage in the raffle and it was pretty fantastic. They even let us stay for One Step Closer instead of making us leave after Points. Good stuff.

[[AndOne]]

I've seen a couple of reactions on Facebook etc. that many fans want to go to the Amsterdam summit, that simply cant go because they can't afford the summit pass + an expensive ticket.

 

I think the summit itself is pretty solid, how good the activities are and the whole experience depends a lot on the venue. For example arenas offer a much better are for backstage tours than amphitheaters.

It seems to be that Woodlands had a few more things to offer like a booth for Stagelight, since it was somewhere indoors. Darien relied a lot on the weather which was luckily pretty good.

I think a good location is very essential for a successful summit, Darien was in the middle of nowhere, I thought it was pretty cool that the venue belong to a theme park but it's was a little difficult to get there. Cities like Camden etc. are much easier to reach.

 

More interaction from the band like Mark suggested would be great but that will likely not happen. The crew has to fill this void. The band does backstage tours, not the whole band but usually Mike and Phoenix i think but you have to win it in the raffle. A stage tour with the band might be pretty chaotic I guess, the techs have lot more to tell since they know how it all works.

I just don't see that the band part of the summit has changed much over the years. There are always some dumb questions in the Q&A and it could be longer. It also sucks that only 1 acoustic song seems to be the new deal. But I have to say I'm a big fan of the new M&G system where the band walks the line and especially with the new photographer taking good photos.

 

Since the next summit is in November I'd really like to get some sort of preview for the next LPU CD.

[Geki]

It was so annoying that when we were finally let in the VIP Area after waiting all morning, we got yelled at for simply looking at the Music For Relief table. It wasn't Lorenzo or Lulu that yelled, it was very weird and kind of pissed me off right from the get go, to be honest.

 

Joe on his phone the entire Q & A and acoustic performance was an absolute joke. It's bad enough that he does that during the live show, but seriously? A lot of people paid a lot of money to go and travel to the Summit, he should have at least looked like he gave a shit about it.

 

The Q & A was cool, but it was definitely annoying that the same old questions that we all know, that have already been answered in the past, were asked. There was some interesting info, though, like when Mike said that Minutes To Midnight was the hardest album for them to make, but I guess that is kind of obvious. Mike also gave us some info about why there was no making of for The Hunting Party, which was good, I guess.

 

It seemed like Mike was really the only member of the band who was happy to be there. Mike in general seems like he is very interested in the fans and the band. At least Mike did Reading My Eyes over Bleed It Out for us. Mike was the only member of the band that I saw really interact with the fans during the Meet & Greet, which was odd because Chester and the rest of the guys seemed very happy and in a great mood at the Holmdel Meet & Greet a few days prior.

 

Honestly, I think the band was late getting to Darien. Anna Shinoda did a press related thing about her novel the day before in New York City. Chester also had his children and wife out, since they came on stage in Wantagh a few days before. I think they probably were spending time with their family in New York City or something the day before and there were complications in the morning when trying to get to Darien or something. Honestly, though, I have no idea how that would really affect the actual Summit, since most of the day is centered around the crew and the backstage area, etc. But I think this is why everything was rushed and unorganized. Overall, I did have fun at the Summit. It just wasn't as good as the one I attended in Camden in 2012.

[Michelbeats]

It was so annoying that when we were finally let in the VIP Area after waiting all morning, we got yelled at for simply looking at the Music For Relief table. It wasn't Lorenzo or Lulu that yelled, it was very weird and kind of pissed me off right from the get go, to be honest.

 

Joe on his phone the entire Q & A and acoustic performance was an absolute joke. It's bad enough that he does that during the live show, but seriously? A lot of people paid a lot of money to go and travel to the Summit, he should have at least looked like he gave a shit about it.

 

The Q & A was cool, but it was definitely annoying that the same old questions that we all know, that have already been answered in the past, were asked. There was some interesting info, though, like when Mike said that Minutes To Midnight was the hardest album for them to make, but I guess that is kind of obvious. Mike also gave us some info about why there was no making of for The Hunting Party, which was good, I guess.

 

It seemed like Mike was really the only member of the band who was happy to be there. Mike in general seems like he is very interested in the fans and the band. At least Mike did Reading My Eyes over Bleed It Out for us. Mike was the only member of the band that I saw really interact with the fans during the Meet & Greet, which was odd because Chester and the rest of the guys seemed very happy and in a great mood at the Holmdel Meet & Greet a few days prior.

 

Honestly, I think the band was late getting to Darien. Anna Shinoda did a press related thing about her novel the day before in New York City. Chester also had his children and wife out, since they came on stage in Wantagh a few days before. I think they probably were spending time with their family in New York City or something the day before and there were complications in the morning when trying to get to Darien or something. Honestly, though, I have no idea how that would really affect the actual Summit, since most of the day is centered around the crew and the backstage area, etc. But I think this is why everything was rushed and unorganized. Overall, I did have fun at the Summit. It just wasn't as good as the one I attended in Camden in 2012.

What did he say about the making off. I'm still curious about that.

 

I am going to the show in Amsterdam. The summit thing looks super cool!

How much for the tickets? Are they sold out quick?

 

In 2012 i won a meet and greet with the band and ONLY Brad, Rob and Mike (Popped up real quick and was gone).

There was somekind of mixed up with the times, since LPU had their thing going on, so i didnt had the chance to meet Joe, Chester and Phoenix.

 

Also we took a photo with the winners of the meet and greet along with Brad & Rob, but haven't got a word when i get the photo.

So my only memory of that day is a 28 sec footage i took real fast, since they said no camera's were aloud. Sucks though..

 

Going to this show will be my third LP show.

 

First time in 2007 on Pinkpop

second time in 2012 on Pinkpop

Now in Amsterdam.

[Geki]

He said something like ''we didn't feel like we needed to include a making of this time around, because we are always growing, so the process is never really done'' or something like that. Ultra lame answer and it goes against everything they have ever said about not releasing an album unless they were certain it was ready and the best it could be. He also said something about how we get to see the behind the scenes stuff at things like the Summit and LPTV, even though the band is barely involved with the Summit anymore and LPTV hasn't been updated with anything other than 2 min videos in ages. Is LPUTV or LPTV even a thing still? So much has happened this year in 2014 and we have barely any video documentation of any of it.

[Michelbeats]

He said something like ''we didn't feel like we needed to include a making of this time around, because we are always growing, so the process is never really done'' or something like that. Ultra lame answer and it goes against everything they have ever said about not releasing an album unless they were certain it was ready and the best it could be. He also said something about how we get to see the behind the scenes stuff at things like the Summit and LPTV, even though the band is barely involved with the Summit anymore and LPTV hasn't been updated with anything other than 2 min videos in ages. Is LPUTV or LPTV even a thing still? So much has happened this year in 2014 and we have barely any video documentation of any of it.

I'm speechless..

 

Too bad. I REALLY love watching them making music and breaking down the process.

LPTV's hasn't been that interesting to me this year. It's kinda the same ol same ol.

 

I used to get super excited when there was a new LPTV, it kinda died down for me. Still love the music LP makes, kinda sucks they took this "unconventional" method.

 

Back in 2012 i asked Brad if i could play a song with them on stage. But they deaded that thing during the Living Things Tour.

He didn't gave an solid reason why, but i accepted it, told him "too bad".

 

Guess we'll see more "unconventional" things from the band as time progresses.

[Numbrocker]

So more on the Woodlands as a comparison. Joe started playing the guitar they had for the acoustic set and they had a fan (minus? Might be his username) sing along. I'll upload it soon and post it on LPL. Joe also was kind enough to draw a picture for this girl in the M&G line. Chester dominated the Q&A and M&G. He was so into it. Also they asked him about STP. Pretty sure his comment about the band's treatment of him was a dig at Scott too. He said STP thanks him for knowing the words to the songs, while LP has never done that. Of course Pheonix thanks him the next second. There were the dumb questions in there but I don't know how you fix that problem.

 

I was surprised but Rob took the most time after Chester (who took so long he got lapped by Mike) and Mike in the line talking to fans. Phoenix was great as usual. Joe funny. Just Brad was in and out. I don't even think I got a full signature.

[Geki]

So more on the Woodlands as a comparison. Joe started playing the guitar they had for the acoustic set and they had a fan (minus? Might be his username) sing along. I'll upload it soon and post it on LPL. Joe also was kind enough to draw a picture for this girl in the M&G line. Chester dominated the Q&A and M&G. He was so into it. Also they asked him about STP. Pretty sure his comment about the band's treatment of him was a dig at Scott too. He said STP thanks him for knowing the words to the songs, while LP has never done that. Of course Pheonix thanks him the next second. There were the dumb questions in there but I don't know how you fix that problem.

 

I was surprised but Rob took the most time after Chester (who took so long he got lapped by Mike) and Mike in the line talking to fans. Phoenix was great as usual. Joe funny. Just Brad was in and out. I don't even think I got a full signature.

 

Joe is famous for being on his phone during the show, Q & A, Interviews, etc. Also, that's funny about the STP thing.

Edited September 10, 2014 by Geki

[Jesper]

Just got a pass

[JZLP-Benningstrong]

 

The show isn't technically sold out. Also any LPU member can head to the Summit w/o concert tickets and just stay for the Summit. We always have fans come and do the Summit w/o the concert.

 

Looking forward to it!

 

-Lorenzo

 

That is so lame and sad, if the LPU really cared about the fans they would save some tickets and give them away for free or for low prices.

After reading this thread I kinda feel dissapointed at the LPU, they want to make money with everything in the Summits.

[Kruspe]

Just got a pass

Great! Where can I leave my adress for you, so you can give it to me?

 

No, just joking. Hope you have a great time man!

[Jesper]

Great! Where can I leave my adress for you, so you can give it to me?

 

No, just joking. Hope you have a great time man!

haha Thanks

[ThePretender]

Too expensive for my taste. I'd love to go but these prices are too high. I already paid the concert tickets, and now I have to buy a LPU membership ánd a Summit pass. It's a pity.

[Kruspe]

Too expensive for my taste. I'd love to go but these prices are too high. I already paid the concert tickets, and now I have to buy a LPU membership ánd a Summit pass. It's a pity.

 

Same here...

[hahninator]

Once again, can anyone confirm the Summit prices for each Summit?

Camden was $50 and Darien/Woodlands were $90, right? Is that true?

[ChuckCheese]

Darien was $90 bucks, yes.

[Michelbeats]

How much is Amsterdam?

[[AndOne]]

$90 = 70€

[Numbrocker]

Houston was $90 but they had some extras at the door for $75 if you have LPU and. You don't get the shirt. But I wouldn't count on that always being the case. We got an email about it right before the Summit.