I remember seeing Matt select that he was "interested" in the Facebook event for this concert a while back online and thought "well this could be really neat." He's generally stayed away from the band since he left. So it's awesome to see him attend the show as a fan and the band reach out and allow him back onstage as a guest. Jon's been in a big reconnecting phase lately - Gene Adam and Bill Owen of Purgatory were at the Atlanta concert and took pics with him and the band. I think Jon alluded to something happening with some of these former members in an interview not long ago. Who knows if that will ever happen, but at least he's committed to Demons & Wizards during Iced Earth's breaks in touring this year.
For anyone who isn't part of the Podcast in Stone Facebook group already, a number of former and current members of the band occasionally participate. Matt, Freddie Vidales, Gene Adam, Bill Owen (Purgatory), John Greely, Dave Abell, Jonah Weingarten (of Pyramaze/Sentinels/Teramaze) and Brent come to mind right now, but there may be more lurking around. They've also interviewed Jon, Stu, Matt, Luke and some of the former members (Gene, Randy Shawver, Larry Tarnowski, and Troy {coming this week}). While the hosts come off as really fanboy-ish at times, the interviews have all been fantastic and they do ask some wonderful questions and get some great conversations going with these guys.