Amon Amarth - Bottom Lounge 04/14

I wonder why they took a step back in venue from HOB to Bottom Lounge? When I saw them two year ago or whatever it was at HOB they did a really nive crowd. It wasn't sold out, but it was a nice turnout. I'm sure it was several hundred more than they will get this evening.

Last time through (with Eluveitie, who probably didn't add a lot to the total) they played at the Logan Square Auditorium, a venue even further down on the DIY end of the spectrum than the Bottom Lounge, when compared to HoB. Maybe it somehow makes more economic sense for them to play at lower-cost venues?

Though that doesn't account for numbers. There were more people at the LSA show (and probably at the HoB shows) than can fit in the Bottom Lounge. Maybe they just want to ensure sellouts? Or, since they're playing a whole album that no one is familiar with yet, maybe they want to minimize the collateral damage from casual fans being bored, and limit it to their die-hard fans only?

Or maybe given that this tour was only announced 2 months in advance, all the other venues were already booked on a date that fit their routing through Chicago?

Neil
 
For the Boston show, there was going to be a Shpongle show on the date Amon Amarth is playing. The Shpongle show actually got bumped in favor of Amon Amarth....to a larger venue (Royale). Why did they negotiate an agreement for Shpongle to essentially upgrade venues so that Amon Amarth could come in to the smaller venue, instead of Amon Amarth going to the larger place? I can't prove it, but my suspicions are along the lines of Neil's: they want to play smaller places to guarantee as many sellouts as possible.
 
Here in Phoenix they are playing the Nile Theatre which they have never played before and holds 800. All the other times I can remember they played at the Marquee Theater which is slightly larger and holds 1000. So I agree with the theory that they want to ensure sell outs if at all possible.
 
Or, since they're playing a whole album that no one is familiar with yet, maybe they want to minimize the collateral damage from casual fans being bored, and limit it to their die-hard fans only?

Yeah, this was my thought for the beginning, that this tour was geared more for the die-hards, and are using it to test the waters on playing the newer material live. Definitely a one-of-a-kind event for their big fans.
 
Now THAT'S how you do a metal show. Even Diasonic wouldn't have found anything to complain about at this one.

Oh c'mon, who am I kidding? Of course they still would have invented *something* to complain about! :goggly:

Doors were listed at 7pm, showtime at 8pm. Literally to the second, when the clock chimed eight, the fog machine fired up and the intro music started. An hour later and we had heard 'Surtur Rising' in its entirety.

Then, a 15 minute break, which was a perfect time to step over to the bar and have a goblet of Three Floyds' "Ragnarok", a specialty porter brewed exclusively for Amon Amarth and tapped only at this show. Yes, for real. How awesome is that? :kickass: It was quite good, though I couldn't tell if Johan actually enjoyed drinking it on stage...it's a bit different than the lagers he usually fills his horn with!

Then another 75 minutes of music. A fairly unsurprising setlist, but they ended the main set with 'WithoutFearVictoriousMarchDeathInFire'. I have not experienced a better continuous 17 minutes in my concertgoing life. They couldn't have done it better if they had straight-up asked me "Neil, what would you like us to play?" :notworthy

Some time ago on this board we talked about how bands playing lengthy sets has effectively become a thing of the past, and one of my theories was that it's especially difficult for bands without a lot of variety to hold their fans' interest for more than 90 minutes. Well, Amon Amarth basically set out to destroy that theory, and they succeeded. At no point was the sold-out crowd more into it than during 'Pursuit of Vikings', the final song, two and a half hours in.

Neil
 
Now THAT'S how you do a metal show. Even Diasonic wouldn't have found anything to complain about at this one.

Oh c'mon, who am I kidding? Of course they still would have invented *something* to complain about! :goggly:

Doors were listed at 7pm, showtime at 8pm. Literally to the second, when the clock chimed eight, the fog machine fired up and the intro music started. An hour later and we had heard 'Surtur Rising' in its entirety.

Then, a 15 minute break, which was a perfect time to step over to the bar and have a goblet of Three Floyds' "Ragnarok", a specialty porter brewed exclusively for Amon Amarth and tapped only at this show. Yes, for real. How awesome is that? :kickass: It was quite good, though I couldn't tell if Johan actually enjoyed drinking it on stage...it's a bit different than the lagers he usually fills his horn with!

Then another 75 minutes of music. A fairly unsurprising setlist, but they ended the main set with 'WithoutFearVictoriousMarchDeathInFire'. I have not experienced a better continuous 17 minutes in my concertgoing life. They couldn't have done it better if they had straight-up asked me "Neil, what would you like us to play?" :notworthy

Some time ago on this board we talked about how bands playing lengthy sets has effectively become a thing of the past, and one of my theories was that it's especially difficult for bands without a lot of variety to hold their fans' interest for more than 90 minutes. Well, Amon Amarth basically set out to destroy that theory, and they succeeded. At no point was the sold-out crowd more into it than during 'Pursuit of Vikings', the final song, two and a half hours in.

Neil

Agreed. Great show indeed. I have zero complaints. It's going to be extremely difficult to outdo this and the Gamma Ray show the rest of the year.
 
Why would I have complained?
It's not often I complain about a show of a band that I wanted to see.
I said before that I thought this was a really cool tour for the AMON AMARTH fans (of which I personally am not). I have no doubt that this was an amazing show. Glad you all had a good time.
 
I'm not going to lie, I can't find anything to complain about with that setlist. I got some older tunes when I saw them on the "With Oden on Our Side" tour, but this one has "The Sound of Eight Hooves" and "Thousand Years of Oppression" on it...if they play that exact set (which I will assume they will), it will likely eclipse that previous show.

I'm even more stoked than I was before.
 
So about that Three Floyds Ragnarok beer...was that just available at the Chicago date, or will they have some at other dates? I did a little research...that brewery is in Indiana, so my (unfortunate) suspicion is that it was exclusive for you Chicagoans...oh well.
 
So about that Three Floyds Ragnarok beer...was that just available at the Chicago date, or will they have some at other dates? I did a little research...that brewery is in Indiana, so my (unfortunate) suspicion is that it was exclusive for you Chicagoans...oh well.

Yeah, it was just for us. The show was advertised as being "sponsored" by Three Floyds. I figured that meant they'd just have a good price on their awesome Alpha King, so it was a pleasant surprise to see it was something much more special than that.

But hey, maybe Amon Amarth took a few growlers (ale horns?) with them on the bus, and you can get some that way; then you'd *really* be drinking Amon Amarth's beer!

Three Floyds is actually a pretty well-known craft brewer, with nationwide notoriety coming from their hugely popular Dark Lord Day. It currently has tickets being offered for $150-$300 on StubHub, and this year features Slough Feg, Indian, Bible of the Devil, and more (and thus seems to be this year's Alehorn of Power?)
 
Three Floyds is actually a pretty well-known craft brewer, with nationwide notoriety coming from their hugely popular Dark Lord Day. It currently has tickets being offered for $150-$300 on StubHub, and this year features Slough Feg, Indian, Bible of the Devil, and more (and thus seems to be this year's Alehorn of Power?)

Yeah I quickly found some stuff about Dark Lord Day and DUDE I'd like to go to that. An entire day that is dedicated around a super-limited Imperial Stout? Sold. Plus, it seems like there's more than one metalhead working there. You can't argue with that. Great brewery if so.

Maybe one day I'll live close enough to have some 3Floyds beers, esp. DarkLord.:kickass:
 
Also glad that they're playing the song "Without Fear." What a furious death metal song. How they have the energy to do such a fast song after playing 20 or so songs before it baffles me.