As we parked and forked over the $15 for parking, most of the people from the Blackguard show at Empire/Jaxx last week were parking or encountered on the way into the venue! :3 I start to pay for tickets and am informed that there is a special 2 for 1 tickets tonight. SWEET. Not advertized on the bookface or the web, so I don't know how Howard Theater is promoting rock shows like this (or NOT as the case may be).
Now we got there early cause I was kinda burned on a previous weekday concert first day of the tour experience (Kreator/Accept), so I was like OK let's just drive down and not miss anything. Scoped out the merch tables and saw 'Black Sails at Midnight' special edition for...$10. I asked to make sure that was correct. Merch girl said yes and I forked over my 10 clams. Later on, I went back to get the Insomnium CD ($10 before...) and noticed the sign saying 'All CDs $10' had been removed. I asked how much it was, and the girl replied $20. I was taken aback. And did not purchase it. Something fishy there, IMO. I got a drink at one point, to the odd price of $6.60. What, you give me 40 cents change and I give you a tip with that or on top of that, or separate? So confusing.
Blackguard went on a little early, before the anticipated 630 start time. Someone forgot to turn on the volume or something, cause about 1/3 of the way thru "Firefight" they got about 50% louder. Very similar set as the headline show at Empire (Jaxx) last week. I think they had more energy here cause there were like 5 times more people here. I slid across the floor in the 'Wastelands' pit.
System Divide was on next. I had heard one of their songs before and it sounded alright. Live they sounded similar to Amaranthe, or Soilwork crossed with Lacuna Coil. They were apparently from all over the place, including Israel and the US. They had an OK reaction, and I enjoyed their set for the most part. Their breakdowns were very heavy metal- the speakers sounded like HEAVY METAL THUNDER. The girl's vocals could have been a bit...louder. We grabbed some photos with the singer :3 after their set.
Insomnium, whom Milla wanted to see, was on next and brought it down to a a less bombastic level, but still very heavy. Slower, more epic harsh vox songs with melody. I liked them, but Milla LOVED them. After talking with some other audience members who had not heard of Insomnium, they were def impressed. Not bad at all, come back to the US guys! Their set slowed down the pace, to give one a rest for the flurry that Alestorm would provide!
Alestorm rolled out to their 8-bit intro to a huge ovation. Their keyboard player had a pokeball/Death Star t shirt. Amazing. I got some good pics this time (unlike Paganfest) and they sounded great. We got a number of different songs than the last time, to which I have mixed thoughts. We got my favourite- 'Captain Morgan's Revenge', and 2 'Squid metal' songs. Good. I was not that familiar with the squid ones. Bad. No Midget Saw. Good. Pirate song. BAD. However, the crowd was full of energy and there were a lot of pits and folk pits. I def got very rowdy at this point and somehow managed not to get knocked down.
At this point I also noticed that the Screens at either side of the stage were showing Music Video Footage ('Deaththroes..'), Live footage, or... fan videos from YouTube (Leviathan)? The same thing happened for Epica. I don't know if the guy at the lighting/sound/whatever station was just going to yubtub and grabbing a video off of it to project or if that is what they had in mind.
Epica finally took the stage after a long intro. The crowd overall seemed very receptive, but way less energetic. I think this was due to the energy that Alestorm demanded from us and that we willingly gave! Epica had a light show that was similar to the one Behemoth had, the 4 spotlight type lights. But they changed colours, unlike Behmoth's. At one point- for 'Cry for the Moon,' Simone announced that they were going to make this a special version of that song- they were going to Disco it up with 'pink and yellow lights.' And they pretty much did. And Simone even threw in some dance moves, including 60s dance The Swim! It was rather...odd to see that at a heavy show.
At the encore, one of the guys in Epica was talking about how it was the first show of the tour and various things. He mentioned that they didn't want to tour with Blackguard AGAIN, and they got Destiny Potato (shitty band name)... who canceled or didn't even exist (LOL) and they ended up with Blackguard opening on several (6) dates! He looked around the venue and said it was very nice, and then (probably noting the audience size) said "We'll probably play Jaxx next time!" I was cracking up. There was the audience participation (Men! *cheer* Women! *cheer!* Men! etc. ) before 'Cry for the Moon' that reminded me of Def Leppard's 'Women.' The keyboardist had a rotating keyboard like Styx does.
Photos:
Blackguard
Blackguard II
Blackguard III
System Divide
System Divide II
System Divide III
System Divide Singer and me
System Divide Singer and Milla
Insomnium
Insomnium II
Alestorm
Alestorm II
Epica
Epica II
Epica III
Epica IV
Epica V
Epica VI
Epica VII
Epica VIII
Setlists:
Blackguard (6:25- 7)
- Tephra
- Firefight
- The Path
- In dreams (New Song)
- Wastelands
- Fear of All Flesh
System Divide (7:15 - 7:44)
- (Unknown)
- Repent/Forget
- An Intoxicating Affair
- Ephemera
- Hollow
- (Unknown) (First song off of first album. Not sure if they meant EP or LP. either Purity in Imperfection [EP)
Insomnium (8:06- 8:31)
- Intro
- (Unknown)
- Down With the Sun
- Where The Last Wave Broke
- Through the Shadows
- One for Sorrow
Alestorm (8:47 - 9:36)
- The Sunk'n Norwegian
- Leviathan
- Keelhauled
- Nancy the Tavern Wench
- Death Throes of the Terrorsquid
- Shipwrecked
- Pirate Song
- Captain Morgan's Revenge
- Rum
Epica (10:04 - 11:38)
- Karma
- Monopoly on Truth
- Sensorium
- Unleashed
- Martyr of the Free Word
- Serenade of Self-Destruction
- The Obsessive Devotion
- Cry for the Moon (with Disco lights)
- Drum Solo
- Sancta Terra
- The Phantom Agony
Encore:
- Storm the Sorrow
- Quietus
- Consign to Oblivion
fan video:
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thoughts? Gripes? Additions? Hate? Leave a comment!