Opeth, Between The Buried And Me, 3, Mr. Small's Theater - Millvale, PA - May 15, 2008 |
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May 16 2008, 08:38 PM
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 3 Musically, this band was decent. The singer had some interesting finger-picking techniques, the lead guitarist had some good solos, and the 2 drummers provided sufficient percussion. I'll admit, the singer had quite a set of pipes and could hit and hold some crazy notes. Overall, however, I did not care for the vocals at all. This band strayed into the realm of pop music a little too far for my liking, and the singer ended up sounding like Michael Jackson on a few occasions. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Between the Buried and Me Obscure bands abound this night, it seems. Thankfully, BtBaM were a bit heavier, however, they weren't really anything to write home (or to fellow GMCers) about. The singer was pretty much just a screamo sort of vocalist, although he did mix it up every now and then, nothing really stood out vocally. The guitars were there, but, like the vocals, weren't anything fantastic. I think my problem with this band is that I couldn't find anything musically to latch onto... no sort of structure, memorable melody or phrase. It just seemed like a mess of noise for the most part, and I was anything but unhappy when they left the stage. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Opeth Here it is - the main event, and probably the only reason you clicked on this review at all! The progressive death metal masters from Stockholm, Sweden (as they always announce) came to grace Mr. Small's Theater for a second time. The last time they played this venue was in February of 2006, I believe. It was freezing cold, with a wind chill well below zero, and we loyal fans froze outside waiting to get in, and apparently the band had some problems involving their tour bus that day as well. The audience that time was somewhat smaller, as well as quieter. This time, however, is an entirely different story. Since their last appearance, Opeth's popularity seems to have grown greatly in the area. The show was sold out, the place was packed, and as soon as the opening bands left, the crowd started packing in even closer to the stage. The band entered the stage and kicked right off into "Demon of the Fall", and right away the crowd went mad. I was shocked that there was even more moshing and shoving/elbowing in this crowd than there was for the last event I attended (Behemoth/Dimmu Borgir). Then they went straight into "Masters Apprentice", which was a blur of pure head-banding insanity for me.  For those of you wondering - yes, bassist Martin Mendez cut his hair for some reason. Mikael commented on it, but I couldn't quite make out what exactly he said about it, whatever it was, it was obviously comical. Of course Mikael had plenty of witty remarks and goofy comments for the night, there was a name-that-tune challenge, fart jokes, getting-laid comments, teasing the members of the crowd that fervently requested that they play "Bleak" by playing the beginning of the song and then stopping, and he even did a snippet of a drum solo as the rest of the band came out for the encore. Then there was the introduction and first dialoge of the night before going into the next song, "The Baying of the Hounds". After this, I guess they decided that the audience needed a break and went into the more somber "In My Time of Need" which really made for a beautiful moment with the crowd singing along with every word of the song. They then played a song that Mikael declared multiple times that he hates playing, "Serenity Painted Death", which was pretty awesome to see live for the first time.  Then on into some more comedic commentary before entering the next song, "Wreath" and then "To Rid the Disease" which was also another great sing-along. "Heir Apparent" was next and this song is pretty awesome live, one of my favorites of the night actually. The band left the stage and were quickly cheered back on for an encore, beginning with Mikael's "drum solo" and then going into an introduction of the band members, who each played a bit of a solo. And then the final song of the night, "The Drapery Falls", which was an incredible ending to an equally incredible performance. This show was perfect, and I'd highly recommend anyone who enjoys good music to attend an Opeth show (or two.. or three) if you get the chance. The sound levels were great, not too loud - not too soft, the performance was great, the jokes were funny, the set was long, and it was a fun time for the audience and band members alike. The opening bands may have been boring and uninteresting, at least in my opinion, but Opeth's performance made the night well worth the price of admission. For the awesome, long set list, the impeccable performance, perfect sound levels, and fantastic crowd interaction/dialoge, Opeth gets a rare 10/10 that's usually only awarded to the awesomeness of Arch Enemy's live performances!  For more pictures, you can find them in my photobucket album here. And there are some video clips below too... a nice guitar solo by new lead guitarist Fredrik Åkesson at around 7:00-9:00 in Video 2 thats worth watching... if you can ignore the crackling sounds! Video 1 Video 2 This post has been edited by steiner666: May 17 2008, 01:38 AM -------------------- ESP LTD MH-400NT (EMG 81/85 set, D'Addario Skinny Top/Fat Bottom strings)
Line 6 Toneport GX         |
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May 16 2008, 09:14 PM
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thanks for sharing. nice pictures
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May 17 2008, 06:54 PM
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posted links to additional photos and some youtube videos!
-------------------- ESP LTD MH-400NT (EMG 81/85 set, D'Addario Skinny Top/Fat Bottom strings)
Line 6 Toneport GX |
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May 17 2008, 10:46 PM
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Great!! you are lucky!!
Thanks for the incredible review!!!! |
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Gear: Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster, Gibson '67 RI Flying V, Mesa Boogie F-30 112 combo, crazy pedals.|
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May 18 2008, 09:20 PM
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QUOTE (steiner666 @ May 18 2008, 05:03 PM)  yeah, three times just isn't enough for me! I would be surprised if it ever gets enough. |
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May 19 2008, 04:13 PM
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I hope that they come to Argentina any time... Great review!
-------------------- My lessons
Do you need a Guitar Plan? Join Gab's Army Check my band:Cirse Check my soundcloud:Soundcloud Please subscribe to my:Youtube Channel |
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May 27 2008, 11:42 AM
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Great review and pictures - thanks!
-------------------- - Ivan's Video Chat Lesson Notes HERE
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