Smyphony X @ Baltimore Soundstage 9/11/2012

I went to see Symphony X (w Aries) @ the Baltimore Soundstage , show II of the metal show gauntlet week. I forgot how far Baltimore is...maybe I shoulda gone to the DC Show instead...X_X; It also was a bit pricier than anticipated ($28 bucks...pretty sure the site had $23 as the quoted price...). Dorothy was at this show as well. This show was pretty well attended- about 130 or so people (including the opening bands). It was my first time at the Soundstage, which is smaller than Jaxx/Empire. 

I got there as Aries was on. They are a local band from Maryland, I think A Sound of Thunder recommended them. I actually thought they were pretty good-  their singer reminded me of a young not bald Geoff Tate, and they had a classic metal vibe to them. They inexplicably threw in a drum solo during their short set. Other than that, I thought they were pretty decent. Dorothy was hungry, so we stepped out to Pantera to get a snack.

Rome Apart  was on during out snack break. We heard their last song... we concurred that we didn't miss anything... This band featured not one, but 2 guitarists in Justin Beiber shirts (2 different shirts).

Symphony X come on an sounded really good, about as good as last time I think (at Jaxx). The sound wasn't as loud as I expected, and the keys were a little muffled at times. The guitar, vox, and drums were excellent- so for the most part I had no complaints in the sonic arena. Before the slow ballad song from their new album, Russell went into a Sept 11 memorial speech. I thought this was inappropriately funny because he mentioned being a knight at Medieval Times (canon). I also forgot how much the guitarist reminds me of Yngwie J Malmsteen (chubby, long hair, plays guitar, plays similar guitar, guitar virtuoso). Their Bassist reminded me of a cross between Tony Iommi and Ian Hill, but perhaps more tired looking. Russell hammed it up for the crowd a bit and reminded me that he's a solid front man. Antics included mugging for the camera, robotic walking during 'Dehumanize,' and dancing a little. At one point, some fan shouted for them to play 'Any Dio song!' Somehow it was not me.

There were some small power metal pits on 'Serpent', 'Lies', and 'The Odyssey.' Other than that nothing really crazy crowd wise. They played a lot of new stuff, and about half the set was different from last year. I dunno, I think they should play something other than the Odyssey to close. It's kind of a catch 22, cause its such an epic song, and its one of their most famous. That is how could they NOT play it. But then its like... yeah I've heard this every time I've seen them... I think the main problem is that it is because it is so long that it can be a bit...self indulgent. But let's not kid ourselves, I knew what I was in for when I go see a progressive show. 


Show 2/4 down

Merch
Aries's table was in the dark, I think they had CDs. Rome Apart had a bigger table and a tv set up. Symphony X had CDs, several shirts (tho nothing too exciting), hoodie, stickers. I picked up the alleged last copy of a CD I didn't have ($10, not bad).

Photos:
Aeris
 Symphony X I,
Symphony X II ,
Symphony X III,
Symphony X IV

Setlists:

Aries

• ?
• A time to Kill
• Prisoner of TIme
• ?(madness )
• Drum solo
• ?

Symphony X (10:00-11:20)

• Iconoclast
• The End of Innocence
• Dehumanized
• Bastards of the Machine
• Electric Messiah
• When All is Lost
• Of Sins and Shadows
• Serpent's Kiss
• Set the World on Fire (The Lie of Lies)
• The Odyssey