The first new Nine Inch Nails album released since 2008's The Slip, Hesitation Marks brings back the NIN that we all know and love. I don't think it's any secret for how much I love Nine Inch Nails and Trent Reznor's work, so this album was highly anticipated for me. It is also pretty much a dream come true to be getting to see NIN live, which was the case with seeing them at the Barclay's Center in Brooklyn.
Nine Inch Nails - Barclays Center; October 14, 2013
First off, I have been waiting many years to see this band live. Trent Reznor is one musician who I highly look up to and find extremely inspirational so again, finally seeing him and NIN live is live a dream come true. Now with this expectations set, they did not disappoint in the slightest; they were fucking amazing.
One thing that really stood out about this show was just how much raw emotion Trent brought to the music. There was just so much energy that was in their performance on stage. I had seen some live videos of the upcoming live release Nine Inch Nails: Tension 2013, and the energy in this performance was so much more than those videos. I in no way mean to knock those recordings, I plan on getting it when it's released, but just to put into perspective just how phenomenal the performance at the Barclays Center was.
Musically everything sounded fantastic, and venue wise compared to where I sat for seeing Atoms for Peace this sound quality was much better. To clarify, for that show I was off to the right in section 209 a few rows from the ceiling basically in front of a speaker, and for this concert I was closer to the center ad lower in section 213. So with this venue it matters where you are for how the overall sound quality will be.
The setlist for the show was as follows: 01. Copy of A | 02. 1,000,000 | 03. Terrible Lie | 04. March of the Pigs | 05. Piggy | 06. All Time Low | 07. Disappointed | 8. Came Back Haunted | 09. Find My Way | 10. The Frail | 11. The Wretched | 12. Satellite | 13. In Two | 14. Survivalism | 15. Running | 16. A Warm Place | 17. Somewhat Damaged | 18. Wish | 19. Burn | 20. The Hand That Feeds | 21. Head Like a Hole
Encore: 22. The Day the World Went Away | 23. Even Deeper | 24. While I'm Still Here | 25. Black Noise | 26. Hurt
Aside from the energy and the music aspect of the performance (both being amazing), the visuals were stunning. Utilizing somewhat of a screen in front of the band for certain lighting effects, as well as the background, it looked fantastic. Over two months later and I'm still giddy from getting to see them live, and just how amazing they where in every aspect of the show. If you can see them live, go immediately, it's something I'll never forget (and hope to experience again).
Hesitation Marks
This album returns to the same feel of NIN as their older albums, but now approaching the music almost as through taking in all that life's brought them so far. It starts off with "The Eater of Dreams", which works as an intro that in a way reminds me of how "Pinion" leads into the EP Broken. The track listing that follows this introduction is; "Copy of A", "Came Back Haunted", "Find My Way", "All Time Low", "Disappointed", "Everything", "Satellite", "Various Methods of Escape", "Running", "I Would for You", "In Two", "While I'm Still Here", and "Black Noise."
The whole album is just really grooving out, and you can tell by the music that Trent is in a lot better place in his life than compared to previous albums. Now while musically that does not necessarily make some better that others, that's up to personal preferences, but it is an interesting observation to make when listening. What I'm really getting at with this is that Hesitation Marks is an enjoyable album that you can easily reply again and again, so with that I highly recommend giving it a listen.
The deluxe edition came with a second disc with the following remixes; "Find My Way" (Oneohtrix Point Never Remix), "All Time Low" (Todd Rundgren Remix), and "While I'm Still Here" (Breyer P-Orridge 'Howler' Remix).
Hesitation Marks was released in four different versions, each with their own unique cover artwork which was done by Russel Mills. The pieces used for the covers consisted of "Cargo In The Blood" for the deluxe CD version, "Time And Again" for the standard CD, "Turn And Burn" for the digital version, and "Other Murmurs" for the vinyl. You can see these, listed (clockwise) as shown below. You can see all four versions of the cover artork along with a description to read from Mills here.
Hesitation Marks does something very unique, and that is how there are two different masters of the album. The standard version which can be heard on all the physical copies and downloaded from iTunes or similar providers, and the audiophile mastered version that is solely from the official NIN site. There is an interesting photo set here on tumblr, which shows the audio spectrum of the "audiophile mastered" version of the album. Now at the moment I have not listened to the files for the audiophile mastered version, but I do hope to change that in the future so that I can fully experience the various aspects of this fantastic album.
Now if you would like to read another point of view regarding the album, I would recommend reading this excellent review done by one of my friends.
September, this month I got to see some of my favorite bands. Now when I say concerts which journey through emotions, I really mean how deeply some of the music performed has connected with me.
Anathema / Alcest - Gramercy Theater; September 14, 2013
When I first heard of this tour, and first heard rumor of this tour, I thought it was just too good to be true. Due to this fantastic line up, the concert was to no surprise, sold out. The opening act for this show was Mamiffer, who were an ambient/drone band that I think set a nice mood up for the rest of the concert to follow.
Mamiffer is actualy comprised of former Isis guitarist Aaron Turner, and his wife Faith Coloccia. Together they had a very interesting sound, between her vocals, bowed guitar, and looping themselves which all blended very nicely.
Their set had each song really flow into the next; 01. Rusal'e | 02. Dead Settlers | 03. Mercy | 04. Austejá
I absolutely love all of Alcest's work, and honestly their albums do not do them justice. Their performance was extremely beautiful and emotional, that while I completely love their albums all of that does not convey over a recording. One thing about Alcest, is that their music has the ability to connect so deeply with ones emotions, and can seriously help in feeling better if you are down.
Neige (Alcest)
Prior to heading to the concert, I was stressed for various reasons, one being someone who I had known passed away and their funeral was that morning. But their music really helped me feel so much better, that even more than any time I've listened to their albums. Hearing them live is just showing that recordings can not do them justice, and what fantastic musicians they are for conveying so much emotion through their music to entirely captive the cramped and sold out audience.
Every aspect of their set held the crowd's full attention, whether it be the earthly more post-rock aspects from songs off Les Voyages de l'Âme, or the heaver parts where you can't help but head-bang along to. Granted with through all of this the crowd was pretty tight, but everyone was chill and just flowed with the music through whichever mood it traveled through. Their set was the following:
Alcest
01. Autre temps | 02. Là où Naissent les Couleurs Nouvelles | 03. Les Voyages de l'Âme | 04. Opale | 05. Souvenirs d'un autre monde | 06. Beings of Light | 07. Sur l'océan couleur de fer | 08. Percées de Lumière | 09. Summer's Glory | 10. Deliverance
Two of the songs played were from their upcoming album Shelter, which after hearing I even more can not wait for its release. These songs were "Opale" and "Deliverance", which sounded absolutely fantastic. I keep re-watching a video recorded from the concert of "Opale" because it's just so beautiful; hearing those two songs live was a reminder of how much I am anticipating this album and am eager for its release. That song in particular is very warm and uplifting, where it almost transports you to another land (which is not unfamiliar for Alcest's music). Then they closed their set with the other new song, "Deliverance", which was just a nice way to conclude their older material they played with a note to look forward even more for what is to come.
Next Anathema was on, their first time as a whole band in the US in over ten years. Last time they were here, it was as support for Blackfield and only Vincent and Danny Cavanagh playing their songs acoustically. Granted they still had some problems with getting everyone overseas, unfortunately Jamie Cavanagh (bass) and John Douglass (drums) could not make it, so Daniel Cardoso (keyboards) moved on to drums and recommended Tobel Lopes to fill in on bass. All of that being said for what they had to accommodate, they put on a fantastic show.
Now with the [mostly] whole band, they played a lot off of Weather Systems, with a couple older songs as many of the fans in the audience have been waiting for over 10 years to see them live. During the set, they dedicated the song "Dreaming Light"* to both their manager [who was with them] and Steven Wilson for helping them get back on track.
Anathema
On stage the band had a lot of energy, mentioning how they are aware of how long some of the fans had waited to see them live. "I'll never forget this" was said on stage by Danny, and really I don't think anyone in the audience will forget it either. The set they played was the following:
[Intro] | 01. Untouchable, Part 1 | 02. Untouchable, Part 2 | 03. The Gathering of the Clouds | 04. Lightning Song | 05. Thin Air | 06. Dreaming Light | 07. Deep | 08. A Natural Disaster | 09. The Beginning and the End | 10. A Simple Mistake Encore: | 11. Internal Landscapes | 12. Closer | 13. Fragile Dreams | [Outro]
Several of the songs they played featured vocalist Lee Douglas who sounded amazing. Her vocals are very prominent on Weather Systems, and on stage they just come across fantastic with the band.
After the concert, since it was a relatively small venue a bunch of the guys in Anathema and Alcest were downstairs meeting and talking with fans. I still can't believe this happened, by which I mean getting to meet Neige from Alcest. Even though I was kind of [really] awkward, he was just extremely nice and polite, very chill to talk to people.
I also got to meet Vincent and Danny Cavanagh again, which was really cool. Talked to them a little bit, so that was just a nice way to end the concert. Now just to specify, the photo on the right is me with Neige, and happy beyond belief because of it. :)
I have to say this concert, Alcest's performance in particular, was one
of the best concert's I've been to musically and just the emotional
experience that was created with their music.
* If I remember correctly, this was the song that they dedicated to them, and unfortunately I did not catch the name of the manager who was on tour with them.
Atoms for Peace
Atoms for Peace - Barclays Center; September 28, 2013
The live sound of Atoms for Peace is really unique even when compared to their album AMOK. There performance brought in a whole new dimension to their music, and more so to the songs that they played off of Thom Yorke's solo album The Eraser. The opening act for them was James Holden, who performed some really cool electronic music.
Throughout the performance Thom Yorke and Flea were dancing around the whole stage, and you could tell that the entire band just has so much energy that was brought through in the music. Even with having seats way high up (literally a couple rows from the ceiling), I had a great time. Happy to saw I've seen Thom Yorke live twice now, first with Radiohead at the Prudential Center last year, and now with Atoms for Peace.
Here is the set they played, and since I hadn't been looking into what they were playing on tour (I consider that to be a little bit of "spoilers"), I was pleasantly surprised with some of their songs:
01. Before Your Very Eyes... | 02. Default | 03. The Clock | 04. Ingenue | 05. Stuck Together Pieces | 06. Unless | 07. And It Rained All Night | 08. Harrowdown Hill | 09. Dropped | 10. Cymbal Rush
Encore: 11. Skip Divided | 12. Feeling Pulled Apart by Horses | 13. Rabbit in Your Headlights [UNKLE cover] | 14. Paperbag Writer [Radiohead cover] | 15. Amok
Encore 2: 16. Atoms for Peace | 17. Black Swan
This summer I got to see quite a few concerts; Tomahawk, Rush, Yes, Wintersun, and some rather cool local bands. All these concerts being on top of my own I got to perform in due to being in my town's community band, so quite a musical summer.
This was the first time I got to see any of Mike Patton's projects live, and it was just fantastic. The opening act was Buke and Gase, who played their custom hybrid instruments. They had a really unique sound, and the whole crowd seemed to really enjoy hearing them perform.
01. Houdini Crush | 02. Hiccup | 03. Your Face Left Before You | 04. Misshaping Introduction | 05. My Best Andre Shot | 06. Fussrate | 07. Split Like a Lip, No Blood on the Beard | 08. Sleep Gets Your Ghost | 09. Cyclopean | 10. Tending the Talk
As would be expected, when Tomahawk went on they sounded fantastic. As part of their Oddfellows tour, they played a decent amount off the album, but also having a good amount of songs varying from their other albums as well.
01. Mayday | 02. Flashback | 03. Oddfellows | 04. 101 North | 05. Stone Letter | 06. Birdsong | 07. Rape This Day | 08. Capt. Midnight | 09. I.O.U. | 10. White Hats / Black Hats | 11. God Hates a Coward | 12. South Paw | 13. Point and Click | 14. Rotgut | 15. Laredo Encore: 16. Totem | 17. Just One More (George Jones cover) Encore 2: 18. How Low Can a Punk Get (Bad Brains cover)
Tomahawk @ Best Buy Theater, 6/2/13
Rush - Jones Beach; June 23, 2013
This
was my first time getting to see Rush live, as part of their Clockwork
Angels Tour, and wow they were amazing. They played for three hours,
split between two sets and an encore. For the second set they played
most of Clockwork Angels with an additional 8-piece string ensemble performing with them.
Rush @ Jones Beach, 6/23/13
Their whole set sounded fantastic, with a wide range of songs from
throughout their discography. The addition of the string ensemble really
added a fantastic new element to the sound of their songs. I really
just loved the whole thing, and hope to see them live again in the
future.
Set
1: 01. Subdivisions | 02. The Big Money | 03. Force Ten | 04. Grand
Designs | 05. Middletown Dreams | 06. Territories | 07. The Analog Kid |
08. The Pass | 09. Where's My Thing? (including drum solo) | 10. Far
Cry Set 2 (with Clockwork Angels String
Ensemble): 11. Caravan | 12. Clockwork Angels | 13. The Anarchist | 14.
Carnies | 15. The Wreckers | 16. Headlong Flight (including drum solo) |
17. Halo Effect (guitar solo intro) | 18. Wish Them Well | 19. The
Garden | 20. Dreamline | 21. Drum Solo (The Percussor) | 22. Red Sector A
| 23. YYZ (exit Clockwork Angels String Ensemble) | 24. The Spirit of
Radio Encore: 25. Tom Sawyer | 26. 2112 Part I: Overture | 27. 2112 Part II: The Temples of Syrinx | 28. 2112 Part VII: Grand Finale
One last thing I forgot to mention, as the nature of the Nikon Theater at Jones Beach being outside, and the timing of this concert, we pretty much had a perfect view of the "super moon" that was taking place. Granted there where times when the clouds would block it, but for the most part could see it above the stage set up where Rush was playing. Just something neat that added to the whole experience of the concert.
Yes - NYCB Theatre at Westbury; July 31, 2013
For this show, Yes performed
three of their albums each in their entirety which were Close To the Edge, Going For The One, and The Yes Album.
The nature of the venue I saw them in is that it is relatively small,
with a circular stage in the center and seats surrounding that. Now this
stage can spin, which it did while Yes performed, so that way as the
show went on they would be facing each part of the audience.
After
the show we stuck around a little bit, my mom wanted to
see if there was any chance in getting her programs from the 70's
signed,
and after a bit of waiting that happened! So she got Steve Howe and
Alan White to sign her
programs, since she had seen them back in '74 and '76. We also met Jon
Davison, and all three of them had signed our tickets as well. So on top
of seeing a great concert, getting to meet some of the guys in the band
was an added bonus.
Wintersun - Irving Plaza; August 8, 2013
Now
while formed in 2004 instead of as earlier as the other bands I'll talk
about here, still considered by many including myself legends.
Wintersun performed at Irving Plaza on their first US headlining tour
with Starkill, Arsis, and Fleshgod Apocalypse. Unfortunately due to
running late and missing the train, by the time my brother and I arrived
at the venue we had just missed both Starkill and Arsis.
We did get to
hear Fleshgod Apocalypse and they put on a really good show. A nice blend of heavy technical death metal, symphonic metal, and don't forget some operatic singing incorporated with the harsh vocals. Naturally I ended
up picking up a copy of their album Labyrinth which also sounds fantastic.
Their set was the following: 01. Temptation | 02. The Hypocrisy | 03. Minotaur (The Wrath of Poseidon) | 04. The Deceit | 05. The Violation | 06. Elegy | 07. The Egoism | 08. The Forsaking
After the concert I was made aware that apparently the concert I had seen was a sold out show. They deserve it, Wintersun and Fleshgod Apocalypse (I'm sure the same applies to the first two bands) each put on a killer set. Hopefully this will mean they might extend the tour with more dates. *crosses fingers*
01.
When Time Fades Away | 02. Sons of Winter and Stars | 03. Land of Snow
and Sorrow | 04. Beautiful Death | 05. Darkness and Frost | 06. Time |
07. Death and the Healing | 08. Battle Against Time | 09. Beyond the
Dark Sun | 10. The Way of the Fire | 11. Starchild
Have to say that seeing Wintersun live completely blew me away. I had been familiar with both their albums for a while and just experiencing it live was a whole different thing. On top of sounding fantastic musically, the whole bad just has a ton of energy on stage which just goes to the crowd. Everyone in the venue was just so into their songs, and there were points where the crowd was singing louder than Jari. Their performance was really just such a great experience to be in from all ways of looking at it.
One treat of the evenings performance was getting to hear a song off of the upcoming album Time II, "The Way of the Fire". From hearing this, needless to say I can't wait to hear the whole album. Wintersun also had played through all of Time I throughout the concert, as well as some songs from their first album. Now I just have to say, if you see Wintersun is having a concert in your area, I would highly recommend going as you will not be disappointed in the slightest amount.
Optic @ Even Flow, 8/17/13
Even Flow Bar & Grill; August 17, 2013
Out in Bay Shore aw a really cool show of some local bands; Harmonic Dissonance, SarGasm, Optic, and Two Cent Sam. I have seen SarGasm once before, and Optic multiple times previous so as expected they sounded great. SarGasm did some cover songs and I think some originals, and Optic performed some songs from their upcoming full length album Iris In. Harmonic Dissonance I had been meaning to see for a while, and they also put on a great performance so I'll try to see them again at some point. Now so far each of the bands that performed were metal in one way or another, and the last band Two Cent Sam was no (maybe more on the indie side), but they sounded great as well. I didn't end up staying for their whole set since I was sick and at that point in the night not feeling too well and needed to head home, but I heard most of it and they did a good job.
Sigur Rós have returned with a world tour and a new, darker and more aggressive sound, and I loved every moment of it. This having been my first time seeing them live, it was an amazing experience I don't think I'll forget.
Madison Square Garden, March 25 2013
Noted by the band to be the biggest show of their career so far (in the U.S.), given to the very lucky audience who attended the sold out show. I've read a couple posts on the concert saying how their performance really made the garden feel like an intimate venue, and I have to say that really captures the atmosphere Sigur Rós created. Watching and listening to them perform, it didn't feel like you where in a massive 20,000 capacity venue, instead feeling like you where just close by. It really was an amazing experience, both musically and visually.
The opening act was Tim Hecker, who provided a nice ambient/drone sound from behind the curtain Sigur Rós had set up. This sort of opening act reminded me of when I saw Steven Wilson on his Grace for Drowning tour at the Best Buy Theater when he had Bass Communion playing beforehand, to give an idea of how it was. Personally I thought his music worked great to listen to before Sigur Rós went on.
Now if you had ordered tickets for this tour, you would have received a free download of the Brennisteinn EP which included the songs "Brennisteinn", "Hryggjarsúla", and "Ofbirta". This gives a little insight into some of the new sound they are going towards, and who doesn't just want more music from this lovely band?
Once Sigur Rós started, their entire set was beyond amazing. Between the music, the visuals, and the overall atmosphere in the venue that they created, it was such an amazing experience. They started of the show with a curtain up surrounding the stage, which everyone was behind, that they projected images on and used the lighting inside to create other visual effects. There would be points where they used the inside light to make Jónsi appear to grow to great heights, to then back to normal. The same for how the light was angled on the other musicians inside.
In addition to the main band of Jónsi, Georg, and Orri, there was also some string, brass players, and an additional percussionist along with them. From what I could see, there were the three string players, a trombonist, french horn, and trumpet, all of which also doubled on backing vocals when needed. Even in the size of the garden with the band, you could hear them so clearly, and it really added to the whole atmosphere they had going.
Every moment of the concert I was just in awe of the music that was being played, I can not get over how fantastic of a live experience they were. It is no surprise that they sold out the Garden.
Every song they performed was with so much emotion, and just listening to them where their set to me was just perfect. The videos they used with each song, either projected behind them or on the curtain in front of them before it dropped, was stunning and matched exactly.
They closed with one of my favorite songs, "Popplagið" which is just such an emotion experience on album, hearing it live is a whole different and amazing experience. If you ever get the chance to see them live, I would highly recommend it, as I really hope to see them live again one day.
Kveikur
This album overall for me is one of their releases that is more notable, and up there with some of my other favorites from them such as Takk.. and ( ). They have described it as being "more aggressive" than their previous releases, and it is but still maintaining their core distinctive sound. Already I am thinking how I would not be surprised at all if this ends up being one of my favorite albums this year.
The album opens with the powerful, memorable, and beautiful song, "Brennisteinn". This is followed by "Hrafntinna" which continues with the really interesting percussion and also now starting to have more presence of the brass with the lovely ending at the end.
"Ísjaki" was the second song released from the album, and is the song that has Sigur Rós' first lyric video. I think this song is really upbeat, and just really fun to listen and jam out to. "Yfirborð" follows that, which starts out with a sound more reminiscent of their previous work, It then picks up a bit and keeps alternating.
"Stormur" is follows that, and then the title track "Kveikur". This song is more similar to the aggressive aspects of the first track "Brennisteinn", with Jónsi's falsetto vocals over the distorted guitar, bass and percussion elements.
"Rafstraumur" is another really great song off the album that is just really enjoyable to listen to, which is then followed by "Bláþráður". The album closes with "Var", which again goes back to the earlier sounds of Sigur Rós' previous works, with a beautiful and ambient sound with some piano being played over.
On Saturday May 11th, Ghost performed at Webster Hall in NYC as part of their Haze Over North America tour for their album Infestissumam, with Ides of Gemini opening.
As Ghost was coming on stage, they had Jocelyn Pook's "Masked Ball" playing. Hearing that really set the mood for the whole theatrical nature Ghost has, with the fog and church-like stained glass imagery at the back of the stage.
While their set was a little short compared to other concerts, maybe about average for some, it was fantastic non the less. As expected from the band, Papa Emeritus II was in full robe (with mask/facepaint, pope hat, and everything), and the Nameless Ghouls in their black hooded garb all added to the atmosphere they are known for that just amplifies with their music.
01. Infestissumam | 02. Per Aspera ad Inferi | 03. Con Clavi Con Dio | 04. Prime Mover | 05. Elizabeth | 06. Secular Haze | 07. Body and Blood | 08. Stand by Him | 09. Death Knell | 10. Satan Prayer | 11. Genesis | 12. Year Zero | 13. Ritual | Encore: 14. Monstrance Clock
With their performance, they sound fantastic. It's one thing to listen to Ghost from their albums, and another to experience their music in their church like setting. Basically everyone in the venue was fully into the mood Ghost created, and especially so when Papa Emeritus would leave it to the crowd to sing parts of the chorus to various songs. Now of course whenever Papa Emeritus II talks to the crowd, he is in full character (Vatican-like accent and everything), and going along with the bands continuity of how he is not the same as the front-man who played with Ghost in The Studio at Webster Hall two years ago. All in all, it was a fantastic concert experience musically and the satanic atmosphere the wonderful Ghost created.
Ghost - Infestissumam
With this album, Ghost have
slightly changed their name as far as the US is concerned due to legal
reasons, to now be 'Ghost B.C.'. Infestissumam (which is Latin for 'hostile') picks up where their previous album Opus Eponymous
leaves off, which is with the birth of the antichrist. In January the
single "Secular Haze" included the b-side of an ABBA cover "I'm A
Marionette" featuring Dave Grohl on drums (which is also featured on the deluxe edition of the album).
Now this album unfortunately did suffer some censorship as far as it's American CD release, that being with the inside artwork. Even with the deluxe editions*, for whatever reason the CD manufacturers refused to print it (although someone was kind enough to upload all of the fantastic art here). I have read that the vinyl editions of the album suffered no such censorship, so I think I will have to purchase for myself that edition at some point to have as well as the CD.
They are as blasphemous as ever, and I think even surpassing Opus Eponymous with this fantastic album. The album flows from song to song really nicely, and like their previous release is filled with memorable and catchy songs. Overall it is a really enjoyable album, I would highly recommend for people to check out especially if you are unfamiliar with Ghost.
* Can someone verify.. I myself only own the deluxe CD edition which seems to have the artwork from that tumblr post, and have not yet seen the vinyl so maybe this is one thing that varies by the edition?
Symphony of the Goddesses is essentially heaven for anyone familiar with The Legend of Zelda series. This concept was put together for the 25th anniversary of the series, which began in 2011 with only three concerts under the title of "The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Symphony"; Tokyo, Los Angeles, and London. Following this there was a CD released consisting of recordings of pieces some of which were performed at these concerts, which was released with the special edition of Skyward Sword.
Possibly the most notable aspect of this concert is the centerpiece which in a way derives from the title of the whole tour, Symphony of the Goddesses. This would be the multi-movement work that is put together, which tells the audience the story of the goddesses, how they have impacted the land of Hyrule, and our lovely hero Link. But this whole work, which has four main movements, is a tribute to the mythology which is presented throughout the series, of the goddesses Din, Nayru, and Farore whom also make up the iconic triforce.
The typical program of the concerts in the tour is the following, which can also be found on the official Zelda Symphony website;
~ACT I~
Overture
~INTERLUDES~
Dungeons of Hyrule
Kakariko Village ~ Hope and Calm
Songs of the Hero
~THE SYMPHONY~
Prelude ~ The Creation of Hyrule
Movement I ~ Ocarina of Time
Movement II ~ The Wind Waker
~ACT II~
Intermezzo ~ Great Fairy's Fountain
Movement III ~ Twilight Princess
Movement IV ~ A Link To The Past
Finale
This is the basic template for the tour, however each city is gong to
get a different encore. Each orchestra however is going to be different,
as they are composed of local musicians from that city. Which to me
really makes this performance all the more special and meaningful, and
gives me hope as a musician if they continue these sorts of tours to one
day be a part of playing the music to my favorite game series.
The
conductor remains the same, and she was the fantastic Eímear Noone, who
has done numerous conduction for video game orchestrations in both
concert and the studio including notable works such as World of Wardcraft, Starcraft II, and Diablo III.
She has also worked outside of the video game realm into the
"classical" world where in 2007 she conducted the Los Angeles Ballet's
production of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker.
In case you
can't tell, I find all of this fascinating and love getting to look into
the details of the performers, conductor, and all of that information
especially as the focus of the show is Zelda. The performance of video
game music in an orchestral concert setting seems to be becoming more
common with this tour, as well as the popular concert series Video Games
Live (plus the upcoming Distant Worlds concert to feature music from Final Fantasy). I love every aspect of these shows, and really hope that this is
the sort of thing that grows to being more common.
My only
complaint I could have with this is not with the concert and performers,
but the audience. From Symphony of the Goddesses and when I saw Video
Game Live, I noticed the audience members are not really familiar with
the proper concert educate in regards to orchestras. I know that yes
these shows are predominantly catering towards the gaming crowd, but
still some things like not clapping between movements or making comments
during a piece should be common knowledge. But anyway, aside from that
little detour the whole performance is just fantastic.
The concert of this tour that I saw was the performance in the Theater
at Madison Square Garden, on November 28, 2012. For this performance,
the performers were the Orchestra of St. Luke's and the Dessoff Choirs.
Before the orchestra began the second movement of the main Symphony, Eímear Noone went to take out a very special baton. Specifically one that was a replica of what Link uses in The Wind Waker, fitting for how the second movement is for that game. Just the details like that really add to the whole experience.
One thing particularly special about the show I saw at the Garden was that they did three encores. The first two, were "Ballad of the Windfish" and "Gerudo Valley". Now before the third and final piece, Jeron Moore the producer of Symphony of the Goddesses began with “The number three resonates a lot in the Zelda series.” Saying that basically made everyone completely cheer with joy knowing that we would be getting to hear more of such lovely music, and the show closed with a medley for "Majora's Mask" (which the video above is for).
The whole performance was just amazing, from the performers musicianship, the fantastic arrangements of the music from the series, and the videos which accompanied the pieces. Like one part I just loved was when the brass came in during the section for the "Dawn of the Final Day" of the Majora's Mask medley changing the whole tone of the piece. But anyway.. if you love Zelda, or just have an appreciation for music, go out and see this concert as it is just a great experience.
Well, since Muse's new album The 2nd Law came out this week, I figured it would be good to review it (as well as do a write up of the two times I got to see them live). Now for the album, before hearing the whole thing I was having very mixed feelings on the whole thing, not sure if I would like it or not. I had heard three songs from the album, "Survival", "Unsustainable", and "Madness", so given that you can't really judge the whole product based off of three parts out of context. But now here we go upon hearing the whole thing..
First off, you can not judge an album based off of three out of context songs. I was honestly not sure if I would like this album or not, because I got such mixed vibes from what I heard. But hearing everything in context with each other, yes this is Muse, and yes they are still sounding fantastic.
You can definitely hear the Queen and U2 influences, but I think it still works to be an enjoyable album. Sure it's no Absolution, but I'm not saying that's a bad thing here as many people are, merely an observation. Matt Bellamy's vocals are really strong on the album, going into his falsetto at times that more resembles how he was singing on Origin of Symmetry. This with, as I'm sure was noticed by many in The Resistance, deeper range really adds a nice quality to the songs. Also from The Resistance now having Muse experiment with orchestral instruments, this continues with the addition of brass (and more than what was heard in "Knights of Cydonia" off of Black Holes & Revelations). Even if you're having doubts after a first listen through give it another shot, since at least for myself the songs really grow on you.
This album gives Chris Wolstenholme the lead vocals on two tracks, "Save Me" and "Liquid State", where he really does a fantastic job with them. On previous albums he's just done the back up vocals to Matt Bellamy, but he really can sing lead well. "Liquid State" reminds me more of their older material, but with the change of different vocals.
The only ssong I'm still not 100% with is "Unsustainable" because I feel like they're trying to do too much at once. If you want to do the dubstep and orchestral elements together, sure, but have it rationed out a bit more. It works much better within the album than just by itself, but I think it would have been better if it wasn't so much of it going on. I do really like how the album ends with "Isolated System", which is a nice blend of the electronic and orchestral elements.
I think if you write off the whole album based on one or two songs you heard on the radio, you'll be missing out. It's a good album with some really solid songs, that really work best in context with each other. It's still Muse, and they can still write new and interesting music while incorporating elements of the vast popular music scene.There are some parts as I mentioned where I think they are trying to do too much at once, but that's only in a few places. The album is a good one, that I would not only have as a "one time listen". Go check it out.
Left: 3/5/10, Right: 10/23/10
Now that the review of their new album is done with, time to get to the two shows. Both of these shows were part of The Resistance Tour, and come April they will be around North America for their The 2nd Law Tour. I really hope I can go to that, but I can't say for certain due to ensemble requirements that semester. Though I would be shocked if they didn't add a ton more dates for the States, or later on more New York shows for that matter. So in the (sad) case I can't see them in April, I would expect to be able to see them in the area at some point on this tour.
Madison Square Garden, March 5, 2010
This show I really like to attribute to really getting me into seeing concerts. I still consider it to be one of the best shows I have seen, since I thoroughly enjoyed every second of it.
This show was actually an early birthday present from my parents, and I can't thank them enough for it. Tickets for this show and Blackfield are definitely up there for "best birthday presents". Anyway, the seats were way up in the last row of section 419, which at the time was pretty much as high up as you could go for the Garden.
The opening act was Silversun Pickups, and due to the stage set up and out seats I could not really see them. That being said, they sounded great. Their set was the following: 01. Growing Old Is Getting Old | 02. Well Thought Out Twinkles | 03. There's No Secrets This Year | 04. The Royal We | 05. Future Foe Scenarios | 06. Substitution | 07. Panic Switch | 08. Lazy Eye
Before Muse gets on stage they have projections of falling bodies over the massive towers, in the style of the Absolution cover, going as the "We Are the Universe" opening is playing. It still looked like the seats would have a blocked view, but once they got on stage, the curtains surrounding the towers dropped to have Matt, Dom, and Chris in the middle of each of the three towers. So what looked like it could have been the worst seats turned out to be some of the best with a fantastic view.
One of my favorite parts of that night was when they played "MK Ultra", which has to also be one of my favorite sons off of The Resistance (along with "Exogenesis: Symphony").
Their set was really extensive, not to mention long, including songs from all of their albums except Showbiz. I would have loved to hear some songs off of that album, but their set was amazing none the less. Being my first time seeing Muse, and first time at Madison Square Garden, I was just thrilled beyond belief to get to see one of my favorite bands. So sixteen year-old me sang along to every song, to the point of my voice getting really sore afterwords. That experience was really just incredible for me, and whenever I go to shows where it's appropriate to sing along with the crowd and band, I think of it.
Another really cool aspect of this show was the "Helsinki Jam" between Dom and Chris. Having not heard that before this concert, it was a real treat. Just those two playing, with Chris standing in front of Dom's set as it gradually turned to that at some point they got to face all parts of the audience.
For "Knights of Cydonia", it began with a harmonica introduction done by Chris, "Man with a Harmonica" which was a very suitable was to introduce their closing song. At the end, Chris even tossed the harmonica out to the audience, so who ever got that is very lucky in my opinion.
The amount of energy they had at this show just makes me want to see them again, especially at the Garden. I loved their show at Nassau Coliseum which I shall talk about shortly, but this show being earlier in the tour and with the venue, they really gave it their all.
The set for that night was: 01. Uprising | 02. Resistance | 03. New Born | 04. Map of the Problematique | 05. Supermassive Black Hole | 06. Guiding Light | 07. Interlude + Hysteria | 08. Nishe | 09. United States of Eurasia | 10. Feeling Good | 11. Helsinki Jam | 12. Undisclosed Desires | 13. MK ULTRA | 14. Starlight | 15. Plug In Baby | 16. Time Is Running Out | 17. Unnatural Selection Encore: 18. Exogenesis: Symphony Part I (Overture) | 19. Stockholm Syndrome | 20. “Man with a Harmonica” intro + Knights of Cydonia
Nassau Coliseum, October 23, 2010
Now while this show wasn't the same as the MSG one, it was still fantastic. This was towards the end of their tour, so granted they are going to be a bit tired from touring, but they can still put on a great show. The stage set up was the same for this show as the previous one, but this time I was sitting more across from the stage in section 303. It was nice having a different view, even if it was further away.
The opening act was the Canadian indie band Metric, who put on a pretty good opening set. It was the following: 01. Black Sheep | 02. Satellite Mind | 03. Dead Disco | 04. Gimme Sympathy | 05. Gold Guns Girls | 06. Sick Muse | 07. Help I'm Alive
One notable aspect of this show, was in the middle of solo in "New Born" the venue's PA went out. So you could see them playing, but barely hear them at all since they weren't being miked. This resulted in them taking a 5-10 minute break to solve the problem, picking up at the beginning of the solo. But they kept on strong after that, their music and performance was just too good the PA couldn't take it.
Anyway, another really neat part of this show was having a "House of the Rising Sun" introduction before playing "Time is Running Out". So what they did was play the instruments, as the whole pit (and some of the seated section) sings along. It was just a great way to lead into that following song.
This set consisted of: 01. Uprising | 02. Map of the Problematique | 03. New Born (+ Microphone Fiend riff) | 04. Supermassive Black Hole | 05. Resistance | 06. Hysteria (“Star-Spangled Banner” + “Interlude” intro) | 07. Guiding Light | 08. Nishe | 09. United States Of Eurasia | 10. Feeling Good | 11. Helsinki Jam | 12. Undisclosed Desires | 13. Time Is Running Out (“House of the Rising Sun” intro) | 14. Starlight | 15. Plug In Baby Encore: 16. Exogenesis: Symphony, Part 1: Overture | 17. Stockholm Syndrome | 18. Knights of Cydonia (“Man with a Harmonica” intro)
Between the two, the MSG performance was the better of the two by far, but that doesn't mean that they weren't both amazing. I just want to stress, I'm not putting down the Coliseum performance at all. It's just that the one at the Garden was just completely perfect to me. Now I'm sure I'm leaving out various detail here and there about the two nights, but with concerts you really just have to be there to fully enjoy the experience. Even though I post videos that other people recorded and posted on YouTube, it's no where near the same as being in the audience with the crowd all singing around you. I really loved them both, and hope that I get to see them again come April. If not, then at a later date in the tour. Based on my two experiences, they will always put on an absolutely fantastic show.
"Muse: Glorious"
Now going back to my whole "Lets draw something special for the various concerts I see!", we have what I did back in 2010 for the Madison Square Garden show. This took a lot of time, since first I drew and inked it on paper, then colored it in photoshop. Even though it was done over two years ago, I'm still really happy with how this came out. Muse is still one of my favorite bands, so this is my tribute to them. If you're on deviantART and are interested, I have it up there as well.
Time to talk about some of the (predominantly) instrumental bands I've seen live, who tend to fall into the whole "post rock" category. The three that shall be discussed are God Is An Astronaut, Mogwai, and Russian Circles, each with their respective opening acts for those shows. These go back a little bit, but I want to have a little bit talking about them here non the less.
God Is An Astronaut - 8/5/11 Bowery Ballroom
The opening act, was Brooklyn based indie band Monogold. Both bands really sounded great, and the whole vibe of the show was really chill. There were occasions during GIAA's set where moshing actually occurred (and the band ended up cuing the audience when to mosh at times). Nothing to extreme, but it was interesting and a bit fun to be around because everyone was just really into the music. There were times where they can just really put you into what seems like another world. The venue itself I recall being pretty nice, small, and easy to get close to the stage without being overcrowded. The whole show was really just fantastic overall though, and the next time they come to the states I would definitely go and see them again. They really put on an amazing show, with a lot of emotion, and everyone just really into the world created by their music.
Here is what their lovely set was that night: 01. Remaining Light | 02. Fragile | 03. Age of the Fifth Sun | 04. Echoes | 05. Remembrance Day | 06. Shadows | 07. Worlds In Collision | 08. Zodiac | 09. Snowfall | 10. Suicide By Star | 11. Forever Lost | 12. Route 666 | 13. All Is Violent, All Is Bright
Mogwai - 6/15/12 Webster Hall
Third time is the charm with finally getting to do this show in NYC.. with an opening act of Balam Acab. Now, by the "third time's the charm" I am referring to how this was the third time that Mowai tried to have these shows (two nights in a row) at Webster Hall. The first time being back in April 2011, and the second in September of that same year. Both of these shows ended up being cancelled either due to medical or visa problems with the band. They finally made it to New York though for the June 14th and 15th shows. I must say, their performance made it worth the wait. They sounded fantastic in their set, and really like GIAA's concert, put you in another mindset. With their instrumentals, use of feedback, and occasionally vocal songs, it just really added into a great set. It was just wonderful for them to finally make it over to the states, and everyone in the audience was enjoying it so much to see them after the long wait.
Their set was as follows: 01. Yes! I Am A Long Way From Home | 02. White Noise | 03. I Know You Are But What Am I? | 04. San Pedro | 05. Mexican Grand Prix | 06. Stanley Kubrick | 07. Stop Coming To My House | 08. Cody | 09. Ex-Cowboy | 10. How to Be a Werewolf | 11. 2 Rights Make 1 Wrong | 12. Ratts of the Capital Encore: 13. Rano Pano | 14. I'm Jim Morrison, I'm Dead | 15. We're No Here
Russian Circles - 8/18/12 Highline Ballroom
For this tour Russian Circles was performing with two opening bands; Marriages and Chelsea Wolfe. The opening bands were each good, having a very chill vibe to them and the audience during their sets. Once Russian Circles came on, they really put on a great set. On various parts of the stage they had a few lamps set up which I thought was pretty neat. Their set really sounded great, and they were quite into the music. After their last song of the main set, the venue put the lights on. However that was fixed by everyone chanting for them to come back for an encore, which they did wonderfully. One of their songs even led to a small bit of moshing in part of the crowd. But really overall, the whole show was great.
Here was their set: 01. 309 | 02. Harper Lewis | 03. Geneva | 04. Carpe | 05. Schiphol | 06. Youngblood | 07. Mlàdek Encore: 08. Death Rides a Horse
Now, way back when in the beginning of August..
System of a Down's performance at the Nikon Theater on Jones Beach went on through the storm, to be a fantastic show. SOAD is a band that I have loved since I was in elementary school, and since I missed seeing them in 2006 had no clue if I would ever get an opportunity again to actually see them. I am so glad that they reunited, putting on this tour making it where I finally did get to see them.
The opening act was Deftones, who started out their set with decent weather. In the middle of their performance a huge, dark, and well ominous cloud was coming over the theater. Being in the highest section does make you worry about well, lightning striking with a black cloud quickly engulfing the entire sky and people mentioning tornado warnings (even though it's Long Island). Well it started poring in their set, but they continued through it. Myself and basically everyone in the stands headed in a bit for shelter, since lightning quickly followed the downpour. It became difficult to hear their performance over the rain, thunder, and crowd, but I give them props for playing through all that. Their set was the following: 01. Rocket Skates | 03. Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away) | 04. My Own Summer (Shove It) | 05. Digital Bath | 06. You've Seen the Butcher | 07. Fireal [First part only] | 08. Engine No. 9 | 09. Rosemary | 10. Change (In the House of Flies) | 11. 7 Words
There was probably about a half an hour between the end of Deftones' set and when SOAD came on, due to the extreme weather and the venue being outside. But still just imagine a dark cloud like this quickly heading over you during the
opening act, when you are in the highest section (not highest seat, but
still up there) of the Nikon Theater.
This was a show that I was really looking forward to, but once they started playing it really hit me of
how much I loved listening to their music growing up, and just how much it meant to me finally getting to see them. That just made the show more special for me, despite the pouring rain, I am so very glad I got to see them. Now there aren’t too many concerts where I
know all the words to every single song they play, but for System this
was for sure and that just made me really happy. Now not including my sentimental connection to this show, they really put on a fantastic set. Some of the songs they varied how they played compared to the album, or even expanded some, which really added to it. Getting to hear all of their old songs, with their new additions and alterations was great. Plus they all just sounded great, and the whole crowd loved it. Worth every second of getting soaked in the rain.
Their set consisted of: 01. Prison Song | 02. Soldier Side - Intro | 03. B.Y.O.B. | 04. Needles | 05. Deer Dance | 06. Radio/Video | 07. Hypnotize | 08. Question! | 09. Suggestions | 10. Psycho | 11. Chop Suey! | 12. Lonely Day | 13. Bounce | 14. Kill Rock 'n Roll | 15. Lost in Hollywood | 16. Forest | 17. Mr. Jack | 18. Holy Mountains | 19. Aerials | 20. Tentative | 21. Cigaro | 22. Suite-Pee | 23. War? | 24. Sultans of Swing (interlude)
[Dire Straits cover] | 25. Toxicity | 26. Sugar
This past Sunday, September 23rd, Katatonia performed at Irving Plaza as part of the Epic Kings & Idols Tour with Devin Townsend Project, Paradise Lost, and Stolen Babies.
Stolen Babies opened up the night, with their dark cabaret styled metal. Their music was a lot different from the other bands playing, but I'm glad they were part of this tour since they really sounded great. Some of the people at the show didn't seem very enthusiastic about them, but even if they weren't your cup of tea, they still put on a good show.
Their set was:
01. Mind Your Eyes | 02. Second Sleep | 03. Never Come Back | 04. Filistata | 05. Civil Disguise | 06. Push Button | 07. Spill
Following them was Paradise Lost, a gothic-doom metal band who also put on a really good show. Durring their set I did hear a few (or just one person yelling it a few times), that they should be co-headlining. From hearing them play, I do see how them being co-headling with Katatonia would make a but more sense musically than Townsend. I haven't heard enough of them or Townsend to decide which I would have preferred being the co-headliner, but the show that actually was still very good.
Their set was as follows: 01. Enchantment | 02. Erased | 03. The Enemy | 04. Tragic Idol | 05. Faith Divides Us - Death Unites Us | 06. In This We Dwell | 07. Say Just Words
The co-headliner for the night was Devin Townsend Project, who went on third. For me, the highlight of his set was when Dominique (from Stolen Babies) joined the band onstage to sing and play accordion. For me, having her with the band really added to the song ("Wild Colonial Boy"). His set was good, it seemed to alternate with songs I thought were pretty cool and ones that were just okay. Some of his stage antics I found a bit immature, especially for someone his age, but it’s not like he out on a bad show or anything. It was good, he should have just kept the talking to a minimum (which was really my main complaint).
His set was the following, alternating between songs from Devin Townsend Project as well his other projects:
01. Supercrush! | 02. Kingdom
[Devin Townsend song] | 03. Regulator [Devin
Townsend song] | 04. Planet of the Apes | 05. Where We Belong | 06. War
[Devin Townsend song] | 07. Wild Colonial Boy (feat.
Dominique) [Devin
Townsend song] | 08. Vampira
[The Devin Townsend Band] | 09. Lucky Animals | 10. Juular | 11. Grace
Lastly, Katatonia closed out the night, and while doing so really stole the show with their performance. After Townsend's set surprisings a lot of people left, which surprised me since Katatonia still was yet to go on. But they were the ones missing out, and that just allowed for more room. I personally am really glad that for this show they were the headliner, because this allowed them to have an encore going over the allotted hour that Townsend had. I seriously loved their set, and I honestly think they completely blew away all the preceding bands with their performance. Plus I think that after their performance I would have been disappointed with whomever followed. But they were the main reason I went to this concert, so I was just so happy to get to see them. I feel like they just put so much into their songs, and it really got everyone into the music even more so. Their set seemed to be the only one that really got the crowd going, and the only one that people were actually moshing to. Just to show how much the power of gloom compels you. But in all seriousness, just seeing how everyone was so much more into the music for them really added to the whole experience.
Their set consisted of a variety of their discography, which was as followed: 01. Dead Letters | 02. Buildings | 03. The Longest Year | 04. Deliberation | 05. My Twin | 06. The Racing Heart | 07. Lethean | 08. Teargas | 09. Deadhouse | 10. Walking by a Wire | 11. July
Encore: 12. Day and Then the Shade | 13. Forsaker | 14. Leaders
While I am waiting until the end of the month to see the Epic Kings & Idols Tour, I'll take this time to discuss three tours that I had seen.
Saints and Sinners Tour; 12/11/11 Best Buy Theater
This show had three fantastic bands playing; Between the Buried and Me, Animals As Leaders, and TesseracT. Now if you also got this poster, you'll probably notice that the 12/11 date is not there, that is probably because they added that date after the tour announcement making it the last stop on the tour. Let me just say, that it was a fantastic and insane show. For example, during BTBAM's set (specifically the song "Specular Reflection") all of Animals As Leaders came on stage in their underwear and started dancing on stage. A very memorable moment indeed.
To start off the night, TesseracT was on first with their singer at the time Elliot Coleman. They were filled with energy and I thought did a great set. At the end of the show when I went to get some merch, I got to meet them since they were at the table selling items and they were really nice and signed my copy of One that I purchased.
Second on was Animals As Leaders, who put on as you may expect a fantastic show. They are instrumental, and extremely technical with their songs. Their set for the night was the following:
01. An Infinte Regression | 02. Tempting Time | 03. Song of Solomon | 04. Point to Point | 05. Cylindrical Sea | 06. Isolated Incidents | 07. Wave of Babies | 08. CAFO
To close out the show, Between the Buried and Me came on. For me with each band the night just kept getting better and better. Throughout their set the pit was insane, I wasn't intentionally in it, but during the first song it kind of appeared all of a sudden everywhere. But it was crazy, and BTBAM's playing was fantastic. Their set was:
01. Mirrors | 02. Obfuscation | 03. (B) The Decade Of Statues | 04. Disease, Injury, Madness | 05. Specular Reflection | 06. Alaska / All Bodies / Arsonist / Shevanel Cut A Flip /
Aspirations / Fire For a Dry Mouth / Lost Perfection: Anablephobia
(Medly) | 07. Viridian | 08. White Walls | Encore: 09. Mordecai
Heritage Hunter Tour; 4/11/12 Roseland Ballroom
Here we have two very well known progressive metal bands co-headlining this tour. Opeth, Mastodon, and an opening act of the Swedish occult doom metal band Ghost. It was really a wonderful combination for a night.
Ghost is very theatrical in their performance, with the lead singer dressed in satanic priest robes and a skull mask covering their face, while the rest of the band is in black robes that also hide their identity. 01. Con Clavi Con Dio | 02. Elizabeth | 03. Death Knell | 04. Prime Mover | 05. Satan Prayer | 06. Ritual
Second on was the really overall wonderful, Opeth. They mainly played their set with songs that had clean vocals, up until their encore of "Demon of the Fall" where it is just straight up harsh vocals death metal. That was so sick, I seriously loved every second of it.
That encore was a real treat for me, considering this was the first time I had gotten to see Opeth live. Also according to setlist.fm (where I mainly get the setlists from), it was the first time they played that song live since 2010. I really enjoyed their entire set though, there is no denying that. The rest of their set consisted of: 01. The Devil’s Orchard | 02. I Feel the Dark | 03. Slither | 04. Windowpane | 05. Burden | 06. The Lines in My Hand | 07. Folklore | 08. The Grand Conjuration | Encore: Demon of the Fall
Now to close out the show for this night, Mastodon was the headlining band. They put on a great show, as did Opeth and Ghost. They had a lot of energy I thought, and really between their stage set up and everything were just great. Their set was: 01. Black Tongue | 02. Hand of Stone | 03. Crystal Skull | 04. Dry Bone Valley | 05. Thickening | 06. Octopus Has No Friends | 07. Blasteroid | 08. Stargasm | 09. The Hunter | 10. Crack the Skye | 11. All the Heavy Lifting | 12. Spectrelight | 13. Curl of the Burl | 14. Bedazzled Fingernails | 15. Aqua Dementia | 16. Blood and Thunder | 17. The Sparrow
The Ophidian Trek; 5/23/12 Terminal 5
This tour consisted of Meshuggah, Baroness, and Decapitated. That stuff's crazy man.
So to start things off, Decapitated was the opening act. Out of the three bands that played, their crowd I must say was the most intense. I'll be honest, I was not too familiar with them before the show (and still not too much), I had only heard one of their albums maybe once or twice. But they put on an enjoyable show, even with getting a bit squished and moved around by the crowd.
Second on was Baroness, who I thought were fantastic. The crown during their set was really chill, so I really got to experience and appreciate their music, as well as overall performance, to it's fullest. I think their set was actually my favorite of the night, it was just really flowing and kind of captivating.
Finally to close out the night, Meshuggah came on. Their performance was fantastic,and pretty intense as I'm sure you would expect from their music. I was at a different part of the crowd for their set, but it didn't appear to be as intense as far as moshing goes as Decapitated. I really enjoyed the whole show though. Their set consisted of: [Obsidian] | 01. Demiurge | 02. Pravus | 03. Combustion | 04. Glints Collide | 05. Lethargica | 06. Do Not Look Down | 07. The Hurt That Finds You First | [Mind’s Mirrors] | 08. In Death - Is Life | 09. In Death - Is Death | 10. Bleed | 11. New Millennium Cyanide Christ | 12. I Am Colossus | 13. Rational Gaze Encore: 14. Future Breed Machine | 15. Dancers to a Discordant System |[The Last Vigil]
