Man, Epica never fails to put on an awesome show. This was an amazing culmination to great week for concerts. For starters, i, like most new york area metalheads, had never been to the Highline Ballroom before. It's the sister club to BB King's, owned by the same person. It's nestled down in the meat packing district. When you get there, the smell is less than pleasant, but once you get inside, that minor quibble is easily forgotten. It's a pretty nice venue.
I actually enjoyed all of the bands. First up was Unexpect. This is an interesting, if chaotic (to borrow a very apt word that one fellow concert goer used) collection of musicians. They have 7 members, including 2 guitarists (one who also seemed to be a co-lead vocalist), a drummer, a keyboardist, a bassist who plays what appeared to be a 9 string bass, a violinist, and a female vocalist. They also get credit for their energy level. I would have to hear a studio recording to form a solid opinion about their music, but i wasn't turned off. If anything, my curiosity was piqued. Here's some pictures of these guys:
Here you can see that crazy bass guitar, and the violinist.
Ok, so i could have taken better pictures of these guys, but at least you can get the idea.
Next up was The Agonist. They were a pretty straightforward band with a female growler. Actually i thought they were pretty decent. Perhaps not overly groundbreaking, but they were enjoyable. Some pictures:
Visions of Atlantis was the next band to play. I had not heard their current album Trinity, or anything with their current vocalist, Melissa Ferlaak. The woman can definitely sing, i was impressed. She also has good stage presence (beyond the fact that she's gorgeous). A friend of mine said, after VoA's set, that Anette could learn a thing or two from Melissa (in the moves department). Anyway, i had written off VoA has pretty much too cheesy for my taste, but i may have to give the new album a shot. Don't ask about a setlist, i am not familiar enough with their songs to piece it together, and they didn't have any printed out. Anyway, here are some pictures:
Sing it, Mario!
Wolfgang rocking it.
<to be continued next message as i ran out of picture posting ability for one message>
I actually enjoyed all of the bands. First up was Unexpect. This is an interesting, if chaotic (to borrow a very apt word that one fellow concert goer used) collection of musicians. They have 7 members, including 2 guitarists (one who also seemed to be a co-lead vocalist), a drummer, a keyboardist, a bassist who plays what appeared to be a 9 string bass, a violinist, and a female vocalist. They also get credit for their energy level. I would have to hear a studio recording to form a solid opinion about their music, but i wasn't turned off. If anything, my curiosity was piqued. Here's some pictures of these guys:
Here you can see that crazy bass guitar, and the violinist.
Ok, so i could have taken better pictures of these guys, but at least you can get the idea.
Next up was The Agonist. They were a pretty straightforward band with a female growler. Actually i thought they were pretty decent. Perhaps not overly groundbreaking, but they were enjoyable. Some pictures:
Visions of Atlantis was the next band to play. I had not heard their current album Trinity, or anything with their current vocalist, Melissa Ferlaak. The woman can definitely sing, i was impressed. She also has good stage presence (beyond the fact that she's gorgeous). A friend of mine said, after VoA's set, that Anette could learn a thing or two from Melissa (in the moves department). Anyway, i had written off VoA has pretty much too cheesy for my taste, but i may have to give the new album a shot. Don't ask about a setlist, i am not familiar enough with their songs to piece it together, and they didn't have any printed out. Anyway, here are some pictures:
Sing it, Mario!
Wolfgang rocking it.
<to be continued next message as i ran out of picture posting ability for one message>
