Epica / Eluveitie / The Agonist @ Baltimore Soundstage 9/8/2015

I went to see Epica with Eluveitie on the opening night of their Revolver North American tour at Baltimore Soundstage.  It sucks that most all of the heavy shows come up to Baltimore. Last time, Eluveitie sold out the place! I got a ticket in advance, in anticipation of this- but this time, it wasn't as crowded.  I saw Scott, Spencer, Jacinda, Dave and his brother, and even Rockandrollexperience(!).

Mägo de Oz @ Howard Theater 6/9/2015 (en Español)

Fui a ver la banda de folk metal de España - Mago de Oz al Teatro de Howard ($38). Ví ellos unos años pasados aquí también. Ellos fueron magnificos, pero yo no los conocía. Esta vez ellos tienen una disco nuevo (Ilussia, 2014) y quizas van a tocar musica de esto. Ví Mujeeb, Diaz, Bessy, y creo que  Scott. Kesta Happening DC, quien reporta en todo de los eventos en el DC tomó muchos fotos (hay un link abajo). Puedes verme en la camista de King Diamond.

Mago De Oz (el nombre significa Wizard of Oz)

Mägo de Oz @ Howard Theater 6/9/2015

I went to see Spanish folk/power metal legends Mago de Oz at the Howard Theater ($38). I had last seen them a couple years ago at this same venue. They were amazing then, and I barely knew them. This time, they have a somewhat new album (Ilussia, 2014) out and they were sure to play some from that. I ran in Mujeeb, Diaz, Bessy, and I think I saw Scott. Kesta Happening DC, who covers nearly all the Spanish language music and other events in the area, was taking a ton of pictures (see below for links). You can see me lurking in my King Diamond shirt if you scour.

Mago De Oz (Wizard of Oz)

Ensiferum / Korpiklaani / Trollfest @ Baltimore Soundstage 5/27/2015

Went to see Ensiferum and Korpiklaani (unfortunately Trollfest was also on the bill) at Baltimore Soundstage. I saw a number of people there- Bobbie, Dan, Victoria, Lauri, Yaniv, Sean, Sean D, Nathan and Alie, Christian, Ethan(!), Dorothy, Sarah and Evan, and maybe someone else! I was mainly excited to see Ensiferum since I loved their past live performances, and of course Korpiklaani would be fun!

One More Magic Picture

Eluveitie / Tyr / Metsatöll @ Baltimore Soundstage 9/19/2014

I went with L and Kate to see Paganfest Jr. - featuring Eluveitie, Tyr, and Metsatöll  at the Baltimore soundstage (~$20). I will say that I was not expecting nearly the crowd that was there. I saw so many people- Dan Paytas, Megan, Ethan, Kris, Jen P, Erika,Scott, Bridget, Kris, Russ, Sarah and Evan, Lex, Dorothy, Ariel y Ilem, Nathan with a J, Daniel G w/ Ben, Inga, and Sean, Greekgirl, Brittany,Larry and his brother, Lynn,Robin and Jennifer and Gat, and maybe someone else. Kevin, Victoria, and Jason were there too, but I didn't see them in the throng. Oh and that's only the people I KNOW, because there were like 700+ people there. Also this was the first night of the Origins North American tour! apparently this was a sold out show, as Eluvietie just posted it.

WE ARE HELVETICAS

Paganfest America 2014: Korpiklaani/ Turisas/ Chthonic/ Varg/ Winterhymn/ Yesterday's Saints @ Empire 4/25/2014

I went to see Paganfest America 2014, featuring coheadling Korpiklaani and Turisas. I am missing M3 Day 1 (2014) for this goddamn triple booked weekend (Paganfest, M3, local show). Last Year's Paganfest  was amazing, but this year's lineup was a bit ... "I've already seen those guys and they are kind of the same again" I saw Nathan with a J, Kris, Sean, Milla, Renae, Sarah, Ethan, Joel, Lex and Tom, and there.

Children of Bodom/ Death Angel / Tyr @ Fillmore Silver Spring 3/21/2014

I went to see Children of Bodom ($10) with Tyr and Death Angels at the Fillmore, Silver Spring. This will be a short and pretty bad review because I unfortunately got too boracho. I saw Ariel y su mujer, James, Rod, Dwayne, Chris, Sean, Dan P, Meghan, Sarah, Evan, Robin, Erich, Dorothy, Miss Lindsey, Joel, Ethan, Matt R, ZACH, Marie, KRIS, BRIDGET, JEN P, and maybe a couple others.

Finntroll/ Blackguard/ Metsatoll/ March to Victory/ Demiz @ Cafe 611 12/9/2013

We went to see Finntroll's last date on this tour ($15) after seeing the first stop on the tour at Empire. This is an odd show- usually we're fine with 1 tour stop, but when we heard they were coming to the tiny Cafe 611, we knew we had to hit that up, shiz gonna be cray cray.   We saw a number of people there- DanPaytas, Ethan, Sarah, Joel, Ulrich and Trigger, Heimdall, Patricia Lynn, Paul and Michelle, Zach, Dylan, Ms Victoria, Crystal, new friend Russ, and the older couple who goes to Fredneck shows!

Alestorm/ Trollfest @ Baltimore Soundstage 12/4/2013

We went with John and Kate to see Alestorm ($10)!!  There were several people that we knew there- Danpaytas  and Meghan, his sister, Ethan, Larry M, John S, Brittany, Marie + Rolland, Lex's friend. What was funny was that Alestorm and Halestorm were both playing in Baltimore, a couple blocks away from each other. It would have been amusing to see fans show up at the "wrong" show. Megadave was also in Silver Spring this same evening, but we had made Alestorm commitments, so no Dave Mustaine/Megadeth for me :/ 

Finntroll/ Blackguard/ Metsatöll/ Yesterdays Saints/ Sekengard @ Empire 11/4/2013

We went to see Finntroll's opening night of their 2013 North American tour ($20). This was also an interesting night because it would be the first time we would see Blackguard in ages, and the debut of local folk metal band Sekengard. We met up with John and Kate, Annie, Mike G, Sarah, Dan P, Robbie, ChrisWolf, Marie, Chris, Heavy Metal Chris, Iri, arch nemesis Ethan, Patricia, Scott, Antonio, Joel, Sean, Jason, Dorothy, Ariel y su Mujer, Jaime, Paul and Christine, LEX, and maybe a couple  more.

Arkona/ Fallen Martyr/ Yesterday's Saints/ Burning Shadows / Vitality @ Cafe 611 10/28/2013

We went up to Cafe 611 to catch Arkona on the first stop of their headline tour!  We apparently got there way early, because we actually got to see the first band (unheard of at Cafe 611).  We met up with a buncha fun friends- Iri, Ashley, their friend, Larry, Brittany, Nathan with a J, Annie, and even the couple who goes to a lot of these Fredneck shows.

Mago de Oz/ Metanium @ Howard Theater 5/22/2013

We went to see Mago de Oz ($45!!) at the swanky Howard Theater in DC. It was a night of light wallets, as mine def felt thinner at the end. We saw Dorothy, Henry, and Henry 2 there. And a TON of my Spanish (ok probably not Spanish, probably Hispanic rather, but you know what I mean) brothers.

Turisas / Firewind/ Stolen Babies @ Empire 2/5/2013

Went to see Turisas/Firewind/Stolen Babies at Empire last night with Milla and Lex. Also saw Dorothy and Sarah  (and her crew!), and Jesse there! There was a pretty good turnout, about 150 or so people, it seemed more than Doro earlier in the week. The crowd was certainly rowdier!

(Eluveitie) WINTERSUN @ Mr Smalls 12/19/2012

Went up to see Eluveitie with Wintersun and Varg in PA mainly because this was the closest that WINTERSUN was coming to us. Tickets were like 18 (about 20 with fees). It's a good thing we got in advance as it was nearly full!

Korpiklaani @ Empire, 9/21/2012

Went to see Korpiklaani with Moonsorrow, Tyr, and Mestatoll @ Empire (Empire). Milla, John, and Kate came with. Saw Dorothy there, slacking with Yesterday's Saints. Nina (A Sound of Thunder) and her husband were hanging out there, too! This must have been a close to sell out show, as we had to park across the street and walk over. The main room was PACKED with people, and the familiar stank of the unwashed assaulted any who dare open the door to the main room.

Paganfest @ Sonar 3/29/2012

Went with Milla, Ulrich, and Trigger to see Paganfest North America. This was the first stop on the tour. And the first time that Turisas has done/is doing a headling tour in North America. Pretty cool. Angie, one of Milla's friends from a bit ago, was also there. I recall saying something like "Angie, like the Rolling Stones song?" and "Steve, like Stevie Nicks...but different." Milla and Ulrich had Turisas facepaint. I might do some for Behemoth or 1349.

We parked near city hall (seemed same) and walked over. Actually was the easiest time I've had going to Sonar, somehow. When we got there some band was playing, I was thinking it was the last localish opener. It was actually the 2nd. We later learned for some reason everything was 1.5 hours late. That's right, we arrive around 8 and only one band has been on. It was a LONG night.

There were a lot of interesting people including

• People in Turisas facepaint
• really fat guy with bunny ears
• girl in white booty shorts getting groped by the guy she was with
• someone with some sort of spear
• kilted people
• various armoured people (including a dude in chain mail
• some chick with a short sword
• some guy with a batman tattoo on his chest and some DIRTY ass sweatpants with stains

Second opener was Deranged Theory , they were alright, the vocalist was in a kilt and a wrestling type belt. He had a polearm, a sword, some God of War blades, and maybe a dagger at various points during their set. They kept on mentioning different video games (Castlevania, God of War, etc.)


So Huntress finally came on and I was pumped to hear them live. Their singer, Jill Janus aka DJ Tusedae aka Penelope Tuesdae, was def working her um...sexy angle. After 30 seconds into their set I was convinced that she had to be a stripper or something previously. She reminded me of a thinner, bustier Doro (not a bad thing). I liked their slightly thrashier more classic sound. Some sort of Wiccan or witch theme, and Jill drank some 'blood' at one point...that sloppily dripped down her mouth and onto her ample cleavage.

I got a photo with Huntress (but had not turned on the flash WTF) and then Arkona came on. They sounded alright, about as good as last time I saw them (with Kamelot), but maybe better since I was a bit more familiar with their songs. I still don't think their songs are really good to mosh to. They sound better on the album, but it is still nice seeing them live. <3 Russian chicks. The crowd was pretty receptive to them, despite some resistance to moshing (and a reported ignoring the request for a wall of death).

Alestorm creeped on around... 11 I think. They came on to some amazing 8bit version of Wenches and Mead. The crowd got a bit more rowdy here. They sounded really good, but their setlist order was kind of odd- it didn't flow as well as last time (again, with Kamelot). I would have rather heard "HUNTMASTER" or "Captain Morgan's Revenge" instead of "Midget Saw," but it was nice to hear that live (hadn't been played before live here). I enjoyed their set the best of the night.

Finally, Turisas came on at like 12:30. Yeah, it was a ridiculously late night- so late that it felt like a Jaxx show. They sounded really good, but a combination of factors (tired, anxious about work, anxious about car, violins lulling factors, not THAT familiar with their songs) had me a bit underwhelmed. The violin parts sounded beautiful, especially when it was their solos. However, I really was in the mood for something less epic and more um...brutal maybe. Too many strings and synth strings too late. Epic is a good word to describe Turisas and their grandiose vision (reminded me of Rhapsody, but less narration). The songs I did recognize sounded good, but just lacked a bit of umph, IMO. They were very professional and tight (and all in facepaint :3 ), which I totes appreciated. The frontman was talking about Pabst blue ribbon and we all booed when he joked about judging Baltimore by this beer. I really wanted to hear Rasputin :(

Picture wise I realized I didn't get any of Arkona somehow. I got a bunch of Huntress (tho I coulda used a damn flash...). Alestorm's ones came out blurry and unusable. And then my phone died right when Turisas came on. Like what happened at damn Iced Earth.

Overall, this was probably my second 'worst' concert of the year so far. First worst being Deicide, so far. But I still enjoyed it for the most part. Just the whole lateness thing killed a lot of enjoyment X_X,
ALSO EX DEO was supposed to be on this tour, but they were not, for some reason :/

Facepaint hyjinx
Huntress photos
me and Huntres

Setlists






Deranged Theory

• song about the Headless horseman
• song about Darksiders
• song about Castelvania
• song that sounded like Powerslave
• song about God of War ("Abandoned by god"?)

Huntress

• ?
• ?
• Aradia
• Spelleater
• 8 of Swords

Arkona

• Pokrovy Nebesnogo Startsa
• Goi, Rode, Goi
• Yarilo
• Stenku Na Stenku
• ?
• ?

Alestorm

• 8bit intro
• Shipwrecked
• Wenches and Mead
• Sunken Norweigen
• Nancy the Tavern Wench
• Back Thru Time
• Keelhauled
• Midget Saw
• Rum

Turisas

• Intro
• The March of the Varangian Guard
• Take the Day
• To Holmgard and Beyond
• Violin Break
• The Dnieper Rapids
• One More
• The Great Escape
• Violin interlude 2
• Five Hundred and One
• Rex Regi Rebellis (Finnish version)
• Hunting Pirates
• Stand Up and Fight
• Battle Metal

 Originally posted: http://www.metalsetlists.com/showthread.php?t=19974

Children of Bodom @ Ram's head Live 3/4/2012

3/4/2012 Milla n I saw Children of Bodom live @ Ram's head Live. Revocation and Eluveitie opened for them. We got there and Revocation had been playing for a little bit. We used the restroom and then checked out the merch tables.  It was pretty crowded, people on balconies, filling up the main floor. Saw Dorothy and that guy with really long hair (Scott) here- both of which were at the Deicide show (and later at the Iced Earth show- coming soon). I think there was another band before Revocation but we didn't care about them/showed up after they finished. Merchandise they had was kinda meh, and I was not impressed with the COB shirts. Bought an Eluveitie shirt for Milla and their new CD.
 
We watched the last half of Revocation from the merch table. They were alright. I didn't think they were that great. Not bad, but not worth getting worked up over. Best part was when the front man was talking about one song that was about Valhalla or something similar (allegedly). He then proceeded to growl "ITS LIKE SKYRIM...but the DRAGONS have TITS!" Hilarious. Setlist is a guess from other sets reported on the tour.

Revocation photo

Eluveitie came on next with about 12 people on stage. Very interesting to see and hear the different folk instruments...except that the drums were too loud and drowned out the flutes and hurdy gurdy and whatever else they were using more often than not. I still thought they were good. The crowd was pretty receptive, but unsure of moshing to folk metal for some reason. Milla was way more familiar with their stuff and enjoyed their set a bit more. I took the setlist from metalsetlists.com as I could not tell you what songs they played except for that Zelda song (Epona..well makes me think of Zelda). There was totally an all girl pit at one point for them or for COB (can't recall)


Eluveitie photos


Children of Bodom finally came on after we secured a place near the middle of the back. Over the show we steadily were pushed back and ended up at the back of the right side, near the ramp (what a bad place). Children of Bodom sounded great, and may have been better than the last time I saw them. Pulling out some old favourites that I don't think I've heard them do live before (Kissing...) was excellent. Alexi sounded a bit more precise this time as well, which helped his guitar playing. Near the end of the set, Eluveitie came out and set up a table with a mixer, some liquor and were making some manner of shots and/or mixed drinks for COB. A really good setlist, I could have done with BODOM BEACH TERROR, but what can you do?


Children of Bodom photos





Setlists



Revocation
Harlot
Age Of Iniquity
Dismantle The Dictator
Across Forests & Fjords
Conjuring The Cataclysm
No Funeral

Eluveitie
Everything Remains As It Never Was
Nil
Kingdom Come Undone
Havoc
A Rose For Epona
Meet The Enemy
(Do)Minion
Quoth The Raven
Inis Mona

Last band of the night, CHILDREN OF BODOM!!!!!! This was now my 8th times seeing them live, and as I've always said, they never disappoint live. For the longest time everytime I've seen them, nothing ever topped the first time I saw them in 2006 at the Kool Haus headlining for Are You Dead Yet? But after last night, I think we have a new best Bodom show. They just played the show of their lives and the setlist for this tour is just amazing Plus they played 2 song I have never seen live before. Bodom = AWESOME

Sixpounder
Are You Dead Yet?
Silent Night, Bodom Night
Kissing The Shadows
Shovel Knockout
Living Dead Beat
Everytime I Die
Deadnight Warrior
Hate Me!
Blooddrunk
Angels Don't Kill
In Your Face
Lake Bodom
Hate Crew Deathroll
------
Bodom After Midnight
Downfall