Epica/Kamelot in Santa Ana

[spag]

Never got a chance to post last night.

This was a GREAT show. Four bands, all of them rocked.

Prymary - I enjoyed the last time I saw them, and was looking forward to it. The set was so short though! Maybe five songs? Great band, picked up their newest CD but haven't given it a listen.

Dark Haven - Damn are they young, but lots of energy and a good sound. I picked up their CD as well, but it was disappointing compared to what I had just seen. Maybe their new stuff is just better, or their old recordings weren't the best. Don't know, but they were a lot of fun. Nice guys too.

Epica - What can I say, great performance. It was a slightly different set than at PP7, but they did do the Death cover as well. Simone was having some problem with the mic thingy on her dress though, and was messing with it the entire time. To be honest, it was kind of distracting to the performance. She should stick to wearing outfits she can headbang in.

Kamelot - Holy fuck was that a great show. Seriously, it was incredible. Kahn is amazing live, I had no idea. The finale with March of Mephisto was amazing, and left goosebumps on my arms for a while. Of course they were never going to get to all the songs I had hoped for, but it was a great set list. I'll definitely be picking up their new DVD when it hits the shelves.

The Galaxy is still my favorite venue in SoCal, and I can't wait for Blind Guardian. I did see a few PP t-shirts in the audience, but never really got a chance to talk to anyone. Hope everyone that went enjoyed it as much as we did.

 

[SharkBlack]

The Galaxy is a great spot, cool layout, but is it still like 100 degrees in there during the summer months or did they finally decide to turn up the aircon. That was always my main complaint. I haven't been there since around 2000. Hopefully that has changed.
Simone was headbangin' hard in San Francisco on Sunday! I was bummed they dropped my favorite song Mother of Light from the set, but they were great none the less.
Kamelot was tight! Roy Kahn is da man for sure....

 

[Bear]

The show the other night was awesome as well, I am still reeling!!!!!!I think the closeness of the smaller stages on this tour really makes for a more powerful show... They tore it the hell up in SF!!!

Bear

 

[Curufin]

My neck has been stiff all week from headbanging so hard at the San Francisco show. We didn't have ANY opening bands, which was awesome. Both Epica and Kamelot played amazing sets; the only thing I missed on Kamelot's set was The Spell... I really wish they would've played that one (and Nights of Arabia too).

Great show, and I hope to see them back soon!

 

[mtndewqueen88]

They didn't play Nights of Arabia? That's one of the first songs I ever heard by them...

Damn I wish they hit up Atlanta.

 

[actordude]

I was there at the Galaxy as well.....regarding the a/c: it was hot but not overbearing. I've seen a ton of shows there and its been worse so no complaints from me.

As for Epica: Spag was correct about Simone's mic clip on the back of her dress. She was fidgeting with it constantly. I do think she's a great frontwoman (love her headbanging/hair twirling!) and her voice sounded fantastic. She's much more animated than Tarja ever could hope to be....I had hoped to hear "Phantom Agony" but was satisfied with the set list. Now my negatives: actually only one - the "grunting" vocals just killed me. It was way too much for me. I guess I'm just more of a "clean" vocals kinda guy. It seemed that he was singing more than she was!!! Even with that being said, I enjoyed seeing them.......

*one footnote: they were playing Nightwish in between bands on the P.A. and my buddy and I both looked at each other and said "Epica was/is good, but they just can't touch Nightwish...." just my opinion though!!

Kamelot: Not much to say other than they just slayed. Roy is simply a fantastic frontman and vocalist. He's very dramatic as everyone knows but as others have stated, he was even more into it than I've ever seen!!! I missed seeing Glenn but they didn't miss a beat. I read somewhere on the boards that Grillo is a "boring" drummer. I didn't think so at all......he played with great emotion and ferocity. Set list was Black Halo heavy, but that was cool with me. The Khan/Simone duet was great, and Karma as an encore was sweet!!

The crowd was small - about 250-300 would be a good guesstimate......I saw Gamma Ray there a few months ago and they had a similar size crowd. The cool thing was that it didn't matter one bit. Both bands gave 1000% effort and it showed!

Next up at the Galaxy: Blind F'ing Guardian!!!

 

[longshot9]

Had to pipe in as well, Kamelot was awesome in SF. Roy was VERY into it and seemed to truly be having a great time. They sounded fantastic. Grillo was a MONSTER on the drums. I'd never heard him do a solo before and had no idea he was such a fast drummer. That boy can play.

Saw Queensryche last night and had a very good time. The acting out of both O:M's was indeed cool, it was like going to a play or something. The last song from OM2, which has a big duet with Geoff and Pamela, sounded un-fucking-believable live. They were amazing together. Good show as well. Good week of metal here in SF.