Day 4 Thoughts

[Fixxer315]

Saturday was yet another outstanding day. In fact, this was a rare day when I enjoyed all of the bands playing. Usually, there is at least one band that is not to my tastes, and/or I miss the chance to see for various reasons, but I saw significant portions of all six bands and enjoyed them all for different reasons.

Triosphere started off the day with an entertaining set that could have been taken from the late 80's or early 90's. The vocalist/bassist was amazing, somewhat reminiscent of Doro (although when I asked her, she said that Dio and Whitesnake were her influences).

Eclipse was one of the bands I came to see and they did not disappoint. They had a very high energy show that got the crowd moving. The only downside was that their set was cut short by two songs due to time constrictions.

I knew nothing about Soen going in, but I became a fan after hearing their trippy set. In particular, they had a mid 90's Tool vibe that I enjoyed.

Vuur presented a solid set, and what really stood out was Annika's voice. It was particularly prevalent during the acoustic set, but it also carried through the rest of their songs.

Alestorm delivered what was arguably the best set of the weekend, and a large part of it was due to the raucous crowd. Their tounge-in-cheek presentation was a delight to see, as they delivered 90 minutes of fun. The crowd played along, with a pantomime of rowing partway through one song.

Tarja had a tough act to follow, and although she delivered a fine performance, it wasn't quite among the elite of the weekend. To be honest, I spent the first half of the set wondering two things. First, what was the deal with the keyboardist? It seemed as if there were some problems with his sound as he was constantly conferring with the stagehand, although I couldn't tell anything from where I was sitting. Second, how did Tarja not fall out of her top in the first half of the show? Seriously, it was a good set, and Tarja demonstrated why she was heads and shoulders above most of the symphonic metal singers that have emerged since Nightwish broke out onto the scene.

Again, thanks to everyone for a great weekend.

 

[KingsGene]

Triosphere was killer right out of the gate, we were right on the stage right rail for them. Mix was a little sketchy where I was standing, could've used more bass to my plugged ears. They were very cool, and stopped their set midway through to pass a microphone to a guy right next to me who proposed to his girl right then and there. True love at PPUSA still exists! That was a wonderful gesture for a band doing their first USA show.

Saturday was all about Eclipse for me, and they did not disappoint. Erik Mårtensson was indeed as advertised, full of energy and a fantastic frontman, glad he also played guitar for a couple tunes as well. They also included some quieter numbers midway which was cool. I have no idea how they were received as I spent most of the set screaming my head off from the 2nd row center floor. As mentioned above, the end of their set was bit of a cluster as they did not keep track of their time, and did not finish as strong as they could have. Discussions will vary on this, but they started 5 minutes late, played a needlessly long introduction, included a "happy birthday" song for Erik's kid, and ended up finishing with "Black Rain" instead of the rousing "I Don't Wanna Say I'm Sorry" and/or "Runaways". Beyond that, a fantastic performance.

Soen was decent, I watched from the seats. Their sound was very tight, and impressive. I liked their vocalist a lot, and the Tool/Opeth vibe was very evident. Will have to go back and re-listen to their albums.

Vuur was not my thing. I love Anneke's vocals, and enjoyed her performance with The Gentle Storm recently, but this band/album did not fit my wheelhouse. I gave it 3 or 4 songs, then headed out for dinner.

Alestorm.....hmmm. I hadn't seen them before, but I knew it was going to be crazy. I went to the seats and watched the madness unfold. I totally understand the spectacle of the whole thing, and I am sure all of those dressed up in the pirate garb and waving inflatable swords and such had a great time. I laughed along with everyone else, and glad to have witnessed it....from afar. It is what it is....not very serious and a hell of a good time fraternity party. Not going to buy the records, but I would go see it again....when I am drunk and can get a ride home.

Tarja was way better than I expected; I have never been a fan of her operatic vocal style and did not anticipate staying very long. But, I always try to give it a go in a live setting. She really does take over the stage in true diva style, and looked amazing doing it. They had a great sound overall. I hung out for about half the set, and evidently missed the Nightwish stuff based on the setlist I saw later.