Might I add, by the way, that my favorite track on Saturday was 'Rough Justice." I love tLotL and didn't think we'd get a song off of it... and then they not only picked a great one but really gave it the special treatment.
And "Their Law"... holy smokes. I've heard several different recordings of it but they really, really sunk their teeth into it this time and stretched it out to let it last (probably since they knew they wouldn't get an encore).
As awesome as they were, and as much as I hope they do come back real soon... I think the crowd for Chicago and Florida would have been much, much smaller if not for all the other bands in Chicago and Severed Heads in Florida. I don't know of anyone personally over here that I would consider a Poppies fan - not since the mid 90's. And them walking away from the NIN tour after 5 or so shows of a 30 show tour really didn't help with the much needed exposure they were going to get.
I have been thinking a lot lately about how the things that musicians have gained by avoiding record companies these days also comes with a lot of things they, and more to the point 'we', have lost. It sure was nice to have a whole team of professionals working to do a release, distribution, promotion/advertising, booking, merchandise... etc. It was such a shame that the whole industry became so steeped in corruption and ripping off artists, treating them like slave labor. Also, I think there was something to be said for having a label who could keep pressure on young musicians to be productive - having a more steady flow of releases was nice... and I believe that limitations (like being short on time) are the mother of creativity. I don't think musicians should have to go back to the nonsense that went along with it, I'm just saying there were certainly a lot of perks for the fans.