Noble Viking said:
already went talk later *drunk*
Alright, I'm drunk now too, but here's what I posted about about my experience at Gigantour at the Gigantour forums....*warning!* This is a long and through review.....
Irvine 7/24
The day started off really bright and sunny. I remember thinking, "Man, this is so great! I actually get to go to a great show, see bands that I love, and do something that I truly enjoy." I called my friend that was going with me pretty early and told him to get ready for me to pick him up. When I went and got my friend, we picked up a couple coolers and proceeded to the liquor store for some beer and ice. After purchasing a large quantity of beer, we were all set to go! The time by then was 11:30 and I was about to go onto the 405 south freeway onramp.
Surprisingly, the L.A. traffic was almost non-existent. I sped to the show at a constant rate at about 80-90mph and made it to the amphitheater around 12:15. The scene around the venue was very secluded; there seemed to be big hills in the distance, vast open grassy areas, and only a few obscure buildings within the vicinity. The parking lot was not packed at all, but there were already people drinking and barbequing. My friend and I figured we should get started too and cracked some beers open. We then noticed a sign that said "consuming alcohol in the parking lot is prohibited" with prohibited in big red letters. We continued to drink despite the sign, but some guy with a Nextel was looking at everyone and kept periodically radioing in to someone. I don't know what it's like where you guys live, but the cops around L.A. are really strict and sneaky. We moved away from the suspicious person and continued to drink and sure enough, about a half an hour later, cops were creeping through the parking lot. I sat the beers to the side of the car because I noticed the cops at a distance. We got scrutinized but the cop and everything seemed to be o.k. and then we saw a group of 4-5 cops walking around from car to car checking each car's contents. I said, "Fuck this, let's just get to the line now before we get a goddamn drinking ticket."
The line seemed really long as we approached it, but they had enough security to get everyone through quickly. The security guard made me empty out my pockets and told me that I couldn't take my permanent marker in. I had to either thrown it away or walk to back to my car so I walked away, put the Sharpe in my sock and then came back to be let in this time. The venue was very open, and the first notable things I saw were the second stage and the merchandise booth. Previously in the parking lot, some guy was trying to sell bootleg Gigantour shirts at ten dollars a piece, but due to me liking official merchandise, I held out. I came up to the booths and saw that the prices were pretty ridiculous. It was $35 for a Gigantour shirt, $25-$30 for band shirts and hats, $50 for a Dream Theater work shirt, and $10 for some kind of bottle opener. I really wanted this Gigantour shirt that had a Steamroller running over the Gigantour logo, but I just couldn't get myself to justify paying $35 for it so I walked away. I already had my Death Sound of Perseverance shirt on anyway and I got reactions from people that were like OOORAHHH Death! \m/ Coors is a sponsor of the venue and there was plenty of Coors around, however, I really dislike Coors especially at ten bucks a beer! Luckily, I found one place that was serving Sierra Nevada at ten bucks a piece too which was much better than Coors. Toward the end of my beer, Bobaflex was about to come on and Gigantour was about to begin!
I really wanted to have a good time and make it a point to listen to all the bands. I attempted to remove any prejudices or biases I had in attempt to enjoy the show as fully as possible! Bobaflex came on stage and their first few songs got everybody loosened up. The guys in the band were jumping and moving around on stage and had great energy! I think all of the band members were doing some type of vocals, but they had two main vocalists. One of the guys was the actual "vocalist" and the other was the rhythm guitar player. I'm sorry to say though, I really didn't like the last couple songs they played. One of the songs was like "Turn the heat up! Turn the fuckin' heat up!" for the majority of the song. I thought that they shouldve mixed up their set a little more because I don't think those last songs made a good impression on the crowd.
The next band to play was another second stage band called Dry Kill Logic. I was actually surprised to find out they weren't as "mallcore" as some people described. They had some parts to some songs I enjoyed and the crowd seemed to have been feeling their music. I thought the low end sounded really good during their set. I left midway into their last song to get prepared for Nevermore.
Right after Dry Kill Logic ended, Nevermore started playing immediately. Either everyone didn't know that they had to move to the first stage or they didn't have enough time to move because there was hardly anybody there. I've seen Nevermore twice before, and this time they seemed much more mature and professional. They played some song off their new album towards the end that I really liked. I never realized how good those guitarists were. The solos were really tasteful and clean. I actually really enjoyed their show despite how I'd like to have heard more of their material. Truthfully though, when they said it was their last song, I left two minutes before it ended so I could get in the front of the second stage to see one of my favorite bands at the moment Symphony X.
As I walked up to the second stage, I noticed they changed the band banners in the background for each band and this time there was a huge red Symphony X banner in the background. Russell Allen emerged from behind the curtains and the crowd went nuts! Then came Romeo, Pinnella and so forth and there was a lot of energy in the crowd. I was right in front of Romeo; I was only about five feet away from him when he began playing the intro to Inferno. God, it was amazing to see him shred those songs like they were nothing. He had insane technique and patterns on the guitar that I just couldn't comprehend. The solos were executed in the same manner as the standard riffs in the song. It was almost look liked Romeo played the solos in the songs as easily as the regular riffs. Next was the song Evolution, which is one of my favorite Symphony X songs. The chorus was really fun to sing along with everybody! Wicked was the third song played and Romeo and Allen did some bluesy breakdown when Russell had to perform his solo vocal part in the song! The last two songs were off of the album the Divine Wings of Tragedy: Sea of Lies and Of Sins and Shadows. Yes, the solos were played flawlessly and my hair and everyone elses hair was flying in every direction. There were people crowd surfing too and after each song, people would chant SYMPHONY! SYMPHONY! and others would chant X! X! in between each time we said Symphony! The only complaint I had about their show was that the sound wasnt too good and the keyboards were really hard to hear especially in songs like Evolution and Of Sins and Shadows. Romeo threw out a few picks and then the band walked off the stage to my left where they seemed to have some kind of tour bus. Allen, Rullo, and Romeo were all hanging out in between their bus and the second stage. I know I said I would try to remove my prejudices, but I going to be honest, I figured that Fear Factorys first song wouldnt be worth missing out on meeting Symphony X. I waited around and Rullo came up to the crowd and gave everyone high fives and then the man, Michael Romeo came and started signing stuff. I managed to tell him that his solo CD the Dark Chapter was one of the best CDs Ive ever heard in my life. He said thank you very much! and signed my ticket stub!
After meeting Michael Romeo, I felt really good and was finally ready to go to the first stage to see Fear Factory play. Ive seen Fear Factory twice last year with Lamb of God and Children of Bodom. Im pretty sure they played a lot of the songs that they played on the last tour that I saw them on because I recognized some of the songs. The crowd during Fear Factory was kind of small too, but they did have their head bangers banging along with them and their music. Theyve got some cool industrial elements to their songs, but after seeing Symphony X, even Fear Factorys unique elements in their music just didnt appeal to me and neither did the next band Life of Agony.
So I moved over to the second stage and saw Life of Agony start playing, and yes, theyre extreme mallcore music. The crowd was hoping up and down to a lot their songs. I saw someone try to do some of that hardcore dancing or whatever, but the person quickly stopped when no one else was doing it. The last thing I heard the singer say was something like this songs for those whove been molested! The song began and I just left. It was really bad in my opinion. I instead met a really cool kid named Aaron who had Megadeths vic tattooed on his arm. I later saw him towards the end of the show and he got his shirt and CD autographed by Mustaine and also got his picture taken with him on his cell phone. He seemed really happy!
Next came the two headlining bands, Dream Theater and Megadeth. The backdrop for Dream Theater was a huge banner of their newest CD cover Octovarium. They had some interesting flashing, rotating multicolored lights and stuff during their show. The singer had a red light illuminating his face, and Petruccis guitar seemed to shine brightly when hit at the right angle by light. Honestly, Ive never really heard enough of Dream Theater before to say that Ive actually like or dislike them, but after last night, I am a new fan of theirs. They were amazing. Every single member of the band was talented as hell and their songs had some heavy riffing and awesome solos that I didnt expect. The way the vocalist harmonized with the guitar was amazing. The bass emphasized the drums perfectly and the keyboard player Rudess was shredding his keyboard and accented certain notes really well with his pitch bending. Hes a really good keyboard player and his rotating keyboard made him interesting to watch! Portneys drum kit was huge! Ive heard a lot of good and bad things about Petrucci, but only the good things mentioned about him seemed to shine through last night. The most amazing thing about Petrucci was his technique. Earlier in the day, the sun was shinning brightly and I never noticed that there was a big screen above the stage that showed the band members playing up close on the big screen until later in the night because it was dark. That is where I saw his incredible picking technique and solos! Portneys drum kit was huge! It had three bass drums and also a gong that I dont think was used during the show. Whatever encore song they played really kicked ass too. I believe it was called Pull Me Under judging by the chorus. All in all, I could see why Dream Theater was a headlining band. Not only did they have a huge fan base there to support them, but they were like a flawless metal symphony. I truly enjoyed their show and will definitely buy an album of theirs very soon.
After Dream Theater ended, Megadeth was set to start playing in half an hour. Megadeth is a favorite band of mine, and I know how talented Mustaine is, but I really thought how could Megadeth possibly out do or compare to Dream Theaters set? Well to me, Megadeth heeded the call and showed everyone why they belong in the top slot! The whole venue was packed and ready for Megadeth! In half an hour the lights went out and the venue was totally dark. Then, a red rotating flashing light came on to my left of the stage when Blackmail the Universe came on. Everyone started going nuts. With all honesty, I consider myself a Megadeth fan, but I only have the Megadeth CDs up to Countdown to Extinction. I recognized some of the new songs because Ive heard them so much at the Gigantour homepage, but some of the songs during the show I didnt recognize. Although I didnt know some of the songs, they were still really cool hearing them! I really like Daves composition skills and the songs that I had never heard reaffirmed his skills and my need to get the remaining Megadeths Cds I dont have. I was rocking out to the drummer and Mustaine in particular. The new guitarists takes on the solos were pretty accurate and in good taste. The solo on Tornado of Souls was played by Glen and I believe it was note for note; I was very impressed by his skills. The highlights for me during Megadeth were Hanger 18, Skin o my Teeth, Wake up Dead, Tornado of Souls, Sweating Bullets which I never expected and was really great to see and hear, Kick the Chair for the awesome pyrotechnics, the two sing along finishers Peace sells and Symphony of Destruction, and the encore song Holy Wars. After Holy Wars was over, a shower of sparks came from above the stage and the band got together, took a bow, said they had a good night, and said goodbye. After Holy Wars, my jaw was on the floor. I couldnt believe how much Megadeth rocked and how I just experienced the greatest show I had ever been to. On the way out to the parking lot, I saw my friend and he had such a big smile on his face and started punching me lightly while saying hysterically That kicked so much ass! Megadeth fucking rocked! I got in the car and the desert moon was shining brightly and beautifully that night. It served as a serene backdrop for our departure from the best live show Ive ever been to which was last night at Gigantour. I can only hope that something as great as Gigantour will endure for many years. Come on again Gigantour!
