Ok, this is for the Nevermore/Savatage show at Jaxx in Springfield, VA and it could get quite lengthy but for Nevermore fans, its worth it.
I got there at 8:00 and doors opened at 7:30, but there was this long ass line because security was very tight, checking bags and stuff, so I was probably waiting for about half an hour. I bought my ticket and went in and they weren't letting people onto the floor yet so we were trapped like sardines. I went to the merchandise table and asked them if they had anymore of the 'Believe in Nothing' EP and they said they were all sold out. I eyed the work shirt for a bit and then went to the other side of the club. They finally let everyone down and there was this crazy race to the front of the stage. It was only a few people so I just walked down and still got third row so I didn't mind. The first band went on called Mindstab, a regional act, and they incorporated some down tuned guitars with growling and singing, and the occassional rap. They went on late so they were not very welcome by the fans waiting for Nevermore and Savatage. He kept asking why we weren't moving around and I just felt like holding up a sign saying "We're not here to see you". Anyway, they got off after about 35 minutes and then the countdown commenced.
Nevermore appeared about 10 minutes past 10:00, after a long battle with Jim's bass equipment, which haunted him throughout the set. The lights went dark and over the speakers came 'Rape Me' by Lounge Against the Machine, or at least I think that it was them, a novelty act that turns current songs into a lounge style. As soon as the song ended, the lights went up and the band broke out into 'Politics of Ecstasy' so the band could do one final check of the sound, with Warrell saying 'I hate you' over and over again over the intro riff. Then they stopped and went straight into Engines of Hate. Throughout the show the drums were too loud but Warrel's voice was very loud too, which is a huge part of this bands sound, so I was happy. Loomis was nice and loud too, especially on the leads. The set list was as follows
Engines of Hate
This Sacrament
The River Dragon Has Come
Narcosynthesis
The Heart Collector
Beyond Within
Inside Four Walls
Next In Line
Dead Heart in a Dead World
We Disintegrate
After We Disintegrate the band just wanted to keep going but they got the axe. They played a solid hour. It ended kind of abrudtly but they put Beyond Within into the set for the first time on this leg of the tour. Also, they added one from DHIADW that they haven't been playing and didn't do Sound of Silence. I bee-lined straight back to the merch table and picked up the last L-Sized Work shirt they had.
I didn't want to stay for Savatage and I was thirsty as hell so I left the club and went to the 7-11 next door, and met a few other Neverheads. They told me that they just met the guys in the back of the club and that they would probably still be over there, so I legged it and found Jim! At first, everyone stayed back and let him load his stuff. Eventually he walked over to sign some stuff and I got him to sign my Dreaming Neon Black cover. Soon, the other guys started to trickle over and I got all their autographs too. The highlights of the conversations were:
-Curran Murphy still doesn't know if he is a full time member of the band, but the band wants to demo their next album at his studio, so it looks hopeful
-Andy Sneap would be the first choice for the new record, but he is very popular and very expensive now, the last "cheap" record he did being DHIADW, but he called Jeff a few months ago and wondered when they could get going again, so maybe he will cut them a break
-A live DVD is up in the air right now. Jim said it was in the works and Jeff says he has to see the footage from the Wacken Open Air festival to see if its good enough to be released.
-The new record will be their last for Century Media and then they will start looking for another label.
-The band would like to play a lot of older stuff on the road but Jeff seems to lose interest in stuff he's written two days after he writes it, and he's very critical of himself, so its hard to just break out an old tune on the road, since he is reluctant to teach them to Murphy. They said they wanted to do 'Lost' from PoE, since the VA crowd was the hottest of the tour (not just saying that, it was truly an amazing audience) but the promoter wouldn't let them keep going.
-If Warrel sees a Sanctuary shirt in the audience, he tries to break out a Sanctuary song for the crowd.
-As far as the new album goes, Warrel has lyrics and Jeff has riffs, but its not together at this point, but it will be brutal, Warrel will make sure of it. Murphy's impression of him was deep and dead on...."We can't use that riff on the next record dude, that sounds like Korn. Uh-uh"
I don't think I have anything else, there was a lot more chatter but I don't think it was anything newsworthy. So there you go. I'll be seeing them again whenever I can. Great band.
I got there at 8:00 and doors opened at 7:30, but there was this long ass line because security was very tight, checking bags and stuff, so I was probably waiting for about half an hour. I bought my ticket and went in and they weren't letting people onto the floor yet so we were trapped like sardines. I went to the merchandise table and asked them if they had anymore of the 'Believe in Nothing' EP and they said they were all sold out. I eyed the work shirt for a bit and then went to the other side of the club. They finally let everyone down and there was this crazy race to the front of the stage. It was only a few people so I just walked down and still got third row so I didn't mind. The first band went on called Mindstab, a regional act, and they incorporated some down tuned guitars with growling and singing, and the occassional rap. They went on late so they were not very welcome by the fans waiting for Nevermore and Savatage. He kept asking why we weren't moving around and I just felt like holding up a sign saying "We're not here to see you". Anyway, they got off after about 35 minutes and then the countdown commenced.
Nevermore appeared about 10 minutes past 10:00, after a long battle with Jim's bass equipment, which haunted him throughout the set. The lights went dark and over the speakers came 'Rape Me' by Lounge Against the Machine, or at least I think that it was them, a novelty act that turns current songs into a lounge style. As soon as the song ended, the lights went up and the band broke out into 'Politics of Ecstasy' so the band could do one final check of the sound, with Warrell saying 'I hate you' over and over again over the intro riff. Then they stopped and went straight into Engines of Hate. Throughout the show the drums were too loud but Warrel's voice was very loud too, which is a huge part of this bands sound, so I was happy. Loomis was nice and loud too, especially on the leads. The set list was as follows
Engines of Hate
This Sacrament
The River Dragon Has Come
Narcosynthesis
The Heart Collector
Beyond Within
Inside Four Walls
Next In Line
Dead Heart in a Dead World
We Disintegrate
After We Disintegrate the band just wanted to keep going but they got the axe. They played a solid hour. It ended kind of abrudtly but they put Beyond Within into the set for the first time on this leg of the tour. Also, they added one from DHIADW that they haven't been playing and didn't do Sound of Silence. I bee-lined straight back to the merch table and picked up the last L-Sized Work shirt they had.
I didn't want to stay for Savatage and I was thirsty as hell so I left the club and went to the 7-11 next door, and met a few other Neverheads. They told me that they just met the guys in the back of the club and that they would probably still be over there, so I legged it and found Jim! At first, everyone stayed back and let him load his stuff. Eventually he walked over to sign some stuff and I got him to sign my Dreaming Neon Black cover. Soon, the other guys started to trickle over and I got all their autographs too. The highlights of the conversations were:
-Curran Murphy still doesn't know if he is a full time member of the band, but the band wants to demo their next album at his studio, so it looks hopeful
-Andy Sneap would be the first choice for the new record, but he is very popular and very expensive now, the last "cheap" record he did being DHIADW, but he called Jeff a few months ago and wondered when they could get going again, so maybe he will cut them a break
-A live DVD is up in the air right now. Jim said it was in the works and Jeff says he has to see the footage from the Wacken Open Air festival to see if its good enough to be released.
-The new record will be their last for Century Media and then they will start looking for another label.
-The band would like to play a lot of older stuff on the road but Jeff seems to lose interest in stuff he's written two days after he writes it, and he's very critical of himself, so its hard to just break out an old tune on the road, since he is reluctant to teach them to Murphy. They said they wanted to do 'Lost' from PoE, since the VA crowd was the hottest of the tour (not just saying that, it was truly an amazing audience) but the promoter wouldn't let them keep going.
-If Warrel sees a Sanctuary shirt in the audience, he tries to break out a Sanctuary song for the crowd.
-As far as the new album goes, Warrel has lyrics and Jeff has riffs, but its not together at this point, but it will be brutal, Warrel will make sure of it. Murphy's impression of him was deep and dead on...."We can't use that riff on the next record dude, that sounds like Korn. Uh-uh"
I don't think I have anything else, there was a lot more chatter but I don't think it was anything newsworthy. So there you go. I'll be seeing them again whenever I can. Great band.