european tour 2008!

Well... it is. Every Friday they run a club-night, I phoned them to check as well. It's definitely going to be kaput by 9:45pm.

why don't they have club night in a fucking club? utter bullshit, it really is.
 
I know, utterly ridiculous but not much can be done about it. I just hope they have some sense and get the support on pretty damn early, if there's any chance of Opeth even getting through an hour and a half, they'll have to be on at 8:15 and doors are at 6:30.

I can see us potentially getting only 6/7 songs. Surely though, in such a situation, a support band should get cut (no offence to them) but the headlining act should never be compromisd by forseeable time issues, that's just a given.
 
I know, utterly ridiculous but not much can be done about it. I just hope they have some sense and get the support on pretty damn early, if there's any chance of Opeth even getting through an hour and a half, they'll have to be on at 8:15 and doors are at 6:30.

I can see us potentially getting only 6/7 songs. Surely though, in such a situation, a support band should get cut (no offence to them) but the headlining act should never be compromisd by forseeable time issues, that's just a given.

yep. couldn't care less about Ocean tbf.
 
So just got back from THE GREATEST GIG of MY LIFE!

I get off the bus, right in front of Shepherds Bush Empire. I take 2 steps. I see Per and Mike standing outside, Mike on the phone! FUCK! FUCK ! I think. I manage to squeeze out the word "Per" and shake his hand etc. Mike gets off the phone and I manage to mention I'm a massive fan, and get a photo before he rushes off for the gig. Best moment of my life...

SDC10056.jpg


Anyway the GIG!

Ocean seemed ok, the last song was great anyway. Bit like BTBAM.

Cynic were on fine form, only played a short set:

something...
Evolutionary Sleeper
Veil of Maya
Adam's Murmur
How could I
Instigated Birth ( i think...)

I was standing towards the back of the stalls with great sound quality and a decent enough view. Masvidal's soloes slay me and his voice was great (I met Tymon the other guitarist outside too!)

Then Opeth... Man. Its a tight venue and was completely packed but we got an abosolute treat. Mike mentioned he was cutting out his shit talk because of time but we still got some great comedy. Favourite was : "And on the keyboards... We all cut off our pubes and taped them to his face; its Per Wiberg!" And "Rate WAtershed! 1-5! Who would give it 1? You? ... Fuck you!"

Setlist:

Heir Apparent
TGC (was actually really impressive live)
Godheads Lament (OMG)
The Lotus Eater - straight into
Bleak
Hope Leaves (mike's voice was awesome in this!)
Deliverance (My favourite opeth song, now seen it live, yay! Axe was on par with Lopez here)
Demon of the Fall
Drapery Falls!

So we got a nice full setlist, no complaints from me, the sound was great and the band was tighter than a witches cleft!
 
Agreed, Godheads lament was fucking incredible. Better than the studio version in my opinion!

I had a seat second row at the front of tier one, it was as if opeth were playing for me in my living room. Best ive ever seen them, despite the fairly familiar set list (apart from GH and Lotus eater seen em all a few times), all of them were amazing.

loved the animation and film on the screen in the background and the light show was very well done.

Other highlight: Freddies lovely solo at the end of Hope Leaves - wow. Also loved the backing vox of Freddie and Per on GH, great contribution and imagine how good The Moor will sound with this in mind. Oh, and the way Deliverance was started off was a nice surprise also - very effective, at first i didn't quite know what it was!

I think Cynic must have shortened their set? Because opeth got in 95 minutes and finished exactly on 10.50 by my watch. I never thought i would ever get to see them and remember them releasing focus when i was about 16 - it was an interesting experience.

Mike, thanks for your Bon Jovi impersonation during Hope Leaves and i'm sorry we all moaned about the set list - you all were simply awesome. It must be tough trying to find the time to master the old songs with 3 new members - not only that, you are almost having to re-write them with regards to Pers contribution. People should really bear this in mind, I should have probably thought of that previously.

Best opeth gig (i have attended) to date and to be perfectly honest, it was better than the Roundhouse gig. Better atmosphere from the crowd, better sound and louder...and no-one having fucking conversations around me during the songs. heh. I have also never seen such moshing activity before, i think the greater energy from the band rubs off on people now.

Oh and by the way Mike, you made me laugh out loud when i saw you go over and kick Freddie on the leg.

Also noticed the audience, so many different types of people - I'm sure there was one girl with her Mum, who looked like an regular Mum (not a rock chick) and i must say there were some really nice looking ladies on tier one, so opeth gigs now = chicks, it's official.
 
^^
I concur. The gig in London last night was just brilliant. The Ocean didn't do much for me, but Cynic were great, fab musicians and overall very enjoyable. Opeth.........stunning. From the crushing start of "heir apparent" to "the drapery falls" they were on fine form. Really nice lighting and animation, perfectly suiting the mood of the songs.

Particular highlights for both of us were "the lotus eater" with excellent harmonies from Fred and Per, "godheads lament"..because, well, it's just a brilliant song, and as mentioned by the above poster, I think this was better than the studio version..also, even though I've seen it many times before, "deliverance" was brilliantly performed..brutal and beautiful in equal measure.

Major props to Fred for not altering Peters great solo in "Deliverance" and also for his terrific solo at the end of "hope leaves"..a real "classic rock" solo...

Leaving the best till last, the man of the match for me was Axe...unbelievably tight and aggressive drumming, the guy is a killer drummer with real drive and groove in his playing. For where Opeth are now, he suits them perfectly.

In summary, this is the best I've seen Opeth live, they are at the top of their game, don't miss them!
 
yeah the london gig last night was fantastic. i was stuck up in tier 3, unfortunately, so i didn't really get to see the animations on the screen, and i couldn't really hear what mike was saying between songs. and people up there were really, really tame. but the line for the bar was short :kickass:

third time i've seen opeth, and the first since 2004. the new lineup sounds great, i was surprised how well 'lotus eater' came across too. 'godhead's lament' sounded awesome. and 'deliverance' was just as good as i remembered it from a few years ago, by far my favorite opeth song live.

i wish they could've played all night, but it was actually a really satisfying set list and amount of time...am i the only person who would like to see 'demon of the fall' dropped from the setlist and replaced with, say, 'karma?'

the ocean sounded OK, i'm a big fan of precambrian, but not really too special live. cynic was cool, started out a bit slow but picked up steam by the end of the set. cool venue, my first (and probably last, as my American ass has to go home in a few weeks) time at shepherds bush.
 
Just getting ready to leave for Bristol, look out for 6 bearded guys (yeah right, at an Opeth gig... who would have thought... lol), but one of us is 6 foot 8... so he'll probably be easy to spot...

It should be a really good show, even if it is short... it's still Opeth! I really hope they don't cut Bleak though!!
 
Just back from London. Setlist was great tonight, a full 1hr35-ish.

Sound wasn't as good as Brum (vocals were little quiet) but still great and clean sounding.

Bleak was awesome. I was disappointed not to see it at Brum but so glad it was added back in last night. Hope it stays for Notts on saturday. :)

I was watching mostly Axe all night and he kicked some serious ass. He made it look easy and grooved so well.
 
Agree with the above posters. Fantastic performance, especially by Axe, he had what it took to seriously ace Deliverance this time round. Godhead Lament, wow. I can't say I liked Fred's deviation all that much but it was still good and everything else was bang on. As much as I love it, i'd definitely replace Demon of the Fall for Karma/A Fair Judgement/something 'new'

I was sure Cynic shortened their set too but i'm glad they put in How Could I, it was literally awesome seeing them as I never thought I would either....Reinert. Wonderful!!

I like SB Empire, mainly because it's a good sized venue but I guess if you;re stuck on the upper levels, it's not that fun. Luckily enough I was at the front but usually have trouble seeing when I'm not there. They really should have the ground sloped, making it easier to see for those at the back but oh well. Not sure if it's better than the Roundhouse though - the atmosphere was great there too, and it just felt more ethereal and appropriate.
 
OMG, I have just witnessed something very very special indeed. That was the most amazing gig of my life, nothing before has come even close.
 
I agree too. It was one of the best gigs I've ever seen, and the best Opeth show, and I've seen two of the 'classics' in Australia. This, however, was truly something special.
 
I think Demon of the Fall is awesome but it loses a lot live (The perfectly demonic tone on the studio version is almost impossible to repeat live, the keyboards under the verse riff make one riff dominate the other, and that long pause between the "greeeeeey..." and the first acoustic riff), so ya, Karma would be badass.

Great to hear you're working on diversifying the setlist some with The Moor, Harlequin Forest, Hessian Peel, and so on, but I have to ask for a couple of other personal favorites: Have The Funeral Portrait or Beneath the Mire been up for consideration at all?