I just got back from the U.S. right now, after being completely 'slayed' by last night's show. It was by far the best concert I've ever been to.
We got to Houston ound 5:30 PM after a looong 6 hour drive; and Fitzgerald's was relatively easy to find. My uncle and I got off the truck to go ask if you could bring in a camera, and a guy who was already in line said there should be no problem, so we went to an electronics store so I could buy a disposable one. There were about 10 people standing right in front of Fitzgerald's, and by the time we got back (around 7:15) there was already a considerable line; somewhere around 70 people, though some where only buying their ticket, while some of us were already in line to get in.
They let us in at exactly 8:00 PM, and to my surprise, they didn't even bother to check what I had on me...I could've easily recorded the show, but I didn't have the equipment and I wanted to fully enjoy it, but I did bring in 2 cameras, which were put to good use.
The merch stand sucked; all they were selling were shirts and a couple of CDs, no Opeth rollies or beanies
. The shirts were expensive too; $25 for short sleeves and $30 for long sleeves. After buying a longsleeve "Fair Judgement Tour" shirt, I got near the stage. I was right in front of the main microphone, and only one guy stood between me and the stage rail.
Yakuza took the stage at around 9:05 PM and they played for almost half an hour. They were surprisingly well received by the crowd, although some assholes laughed at them for using a Saxophone and a clarinet. I personally thought they were great, I even bought their album. I'm not sure of the playlist, but I do know they played Yama and Chicago Typewriter, which was their set's highlight for me. The lead singer/sax player is awesome, he was really into it, although you could tell he was nervous. His voice is much more powerful than in the album, and just a lot better overall. The saxophone sounded awesome, so did the clarinet (though he only used it for one song). Haha, he kept dropping the microphones at one point; he actually dropped ALL THREE mics
, and then subsequently grabbed all three and singed to all of them. Their set was over at around 9:35, and the crowd seemed to like them.
Lacuna Coil took the stage at around 10 PM, and the crowd went wild. You could tell a lot of people were there for LC, especially the chicks. I personally don't like them that much, but I must say they completely fucking rocked last night. Christina was amazing, honestly, for me, she carried the whole band on her shoulders. The guitarist/bassist/drummer aren't that good, but Christina made up for everything. Nevermind the fact that she is absolubtely gorgeous; her range and overall singing hability is incredible. She was wearing that asian looking red dress she's worn in several photo shoots for Comalies. I'll post the pictures once I can find a scanner.
They opened with Swamped, and ended their set with Daylight Dancer. Other songs they played were Halflife, When a Dead Man Walks, Senzafine, Self Deception, Heaven's a Lie and Tightrope. They were awesome; and ended their set at around 10:50 or 11:00 PM. The crowd went "aww" when they announced the last song . I took more pictures of Christina than I took of Opeth, heh. You could tell they were really enjoying the night, they were really energetic and shook a lot of our hands. My favorite moment was when Christina asked "Are you guys feeling hot" to which everyone responded yes, then a drunk guy yelled "take it off" and someone else yelled "Welcome to Houston!"
Some chicks who were right in the stage rail actually left once LC was over. Once I saw an open spot, I quickly got in front. I was almost exactly in front of the microphone, just one guy next to it, but I was in the stage rail (or whatever it's called) and the band would be withing touching distance. Opeth went on stage at around 11:20-11:30, and ended at 1 AM. Once the lights dimmed, everyone went absolubtely mad, you could feel the floor shaking. They came out and waved hi to the crowd, and bursted into Leper Affinity without saying one word to us. Fuck, it was the PERFECT opener. It was really intense, not only did it kick my ass, it also gave it a wedgie several more kicks. After it was over, Mike thanked us and introduced themselves. He was really enjoying it, as he frequently smiled while he was playing. He introduced the next track off Morningrise, Advent. It was also an amazing performance, and it definetely made Advent a personal favorite. The slow parts were played slightly slower, and I think Mendez screwed up for a second there, but nothing noticeable. My god, Mike gets really emotional when he's playing. You can easily tell he's feeling the music and knows more out of heart than memory.
He introduced the title track off Deliverance, but first he chatted with us a little. He said they'd be coming back for a separate Damnation tour, but i don't remember if he mentioned Porcupine Tree. The band was also waiting for the band downstairs to stop playing; and Mike said something like "they sound really boring" and "let's drown them out" or something to that effect. Deliverance was definetely one of the best performances of the night. The whole band went really metal on us (heh) and the middle section was utter perfection. But the definite highlight of the song was the outro; fuck me, it was incredible. Lopez is one awesome drummer, and he deserves more credit. Mendez completely owned the bass as well, and to my surprise, Mikael played most of the solos, but both him and Peter were equally amazing. Also, Peter is one TALL guy
. The drapery falls was next, and again, utter perfection; didn't miss a note.
I could go on and on, but right now my neck feels like it's about to fall off, I can't feel my legs, and I've slept less than 2 hours, so I'll finish this off. This was the complete setlist:
The Leper Affinity
Advent
Deliverance
The Drapery Falls
Godhead's Lament
Credence
Bleak (Credence went right into Bleak, which was awesome)
A Fair Judgement (played slower than in the album)
---5 minute break---
Demon of the Fall :hotjump:
When they came back to play Demon, Mike told us "This is basically a death metal song" to which everyone \m/'ed to. He told us to sing along and to use all that saved energy for this one, and if we didn't respond, they would stop playing and leave. He was one funny 'mofo' Mikael's "cold" growl was incredible, it gave me goosebumps. Right before the song went into the chorus (demon, demon of the fall!), he pointed at us telling us we should sing that part. Everyone did so, but of course he growled along too. Goddamnit, this was the perfect closer for the set. The band waved goodbye and shook our hands, I shook Peter's, Mike's and Mendez's hands, but not Lopez. Peter also gave away his guitar pick, and I was kinda close to getting it. The Mike gave his to a chick I believe. After they left, there was one pick in the stage floor, but two guys fought over it, so no pick for me.
On my way downstairs, I saw the Yakuza guitarist, and I shaked his hand and told him they had a great show. He was really cool.
A couple of people (I'd say about 10-15) waited in front of the bus for the band to come out. Mike and Mendez came out of the venue at around 1:20, and got inside the bus, but Mike told us they'd come out soon to hang out with us and sign our stuff. Peter came out of the venue a little later, and got inside the bus too. About 15 minutes later, Mike and Mendez came out to sign our stuff and take picture with us. They were both REALLY cool, just really nice and happy. You'd think they'd be really tired and would just sign a few cds and leave, but they hung out for quite a while. I got my picture taken with Mike and Mendez
and also got my shirt signed by Mike, thanks to some dude who lent me his metallic marker. Mike also signed someone's guitar, which was a really cool idea...too bad I didn't bring mine. I talked to Mendez in Spanish too, and he personally told me they'd be coming to Mexico soon. Mikael also said that, he said they would tour Chile, Mexico and Venezuela (or Peru..I don't remember) but they don't exactly know when. I didn't take a picture with Peter cause I left right after I got one with Mike and Mendez, but I remembered I had my Damnation CD in the truck, so I took out the booklet and went back about 10 minutes later in hopes of seeing them again. Mike and Mendez were gone, but Peter was there, so I shook his hand and he signed it. He's really tall and has a very 'serious' look. The only one I didn't get to meet was Lopez. Too bad, but I still couldn't believe it was so easy to meet them.
Overall, last night was incredible, I'm still in shock. I'll definetely be making the trip back for the Damnation tour, and now I'll be prepared; I'll take my CDs to sign.
Anyone else thought it was great?
We got to Houston ound 5:30 PM after a looong 6 hour drive; and Fitzgerald's was relatively easy to find. My uncle and I got off the truck to go ask if you could bring in a camera, and a guy who was already in line said there should be no problem, so we went to an electronics store so I could buy a disposable one. There were about 10 people standing right in front of Fitzgerald's, and by the time we got back (around 7:15) there was already a considerable line; somewhere around 70 people, though some where only buying their ticket, while some of us were already in line to get in.
They let us in at exactly 8:00 PM, and to my surprise, they didn't even bother to check what I had on me...I could've easily recorded the show, but I didn't have the equipment and I wanted to fully enjoy it, but I did bring in 2 cameras, which were put to good use.
The merch stand sucked; all they were selling were shirts and a couple of CDs, no Opeth rollies or beanies
. The shirts were expensive too; $25 for short sleeves and $30 for long sleeves. After buying a longsleeve "Fair Judgement Tour" shirt, I got near the stage. I was right in front of the main microphone, and only one guy stood between me and the stage rail. Yakuza took the stage at around 9:05 PM and they played for almost half an hour. They were surprisingly well received by the crowd, although some assholes laughed at them for using a Saxophone and a clarinet. I personally thought they were great, I even bought their album. I'm not sure of the playlist, but I do know they played Yama and Chicago Typewriter, which was their set's highlight for me. The lead singer/sax player is awesome, he was really into it, although you could tell he was nervous. His voice is much more powerful than in the album, and just a lot better overall. The saxophone sounded awesome, so did the clarinet (though he only used it for one song). Haha, he kept dropping the microphones at one point; he actually dropped ALL THREE mics
, and then subsequently grabbed all three and singed to all of them. Their set was over at around 9:35, and the crowd seemed to like them.Lacuna Coil took the stage at around 10 PM, and the crowd went wild. You could tell a lot of people were there for LC, especially the chicks. I personally don't like them that much, but I must say they completely fucking rocked last night. Christina was amazing, honestly, for me, she carried the whole band on her shoulders. The guitarist/bassist/drummer aren't that good, but Christina made up for everything. Nevermind the fact that she is absolubtely gorgeous; her range and overall singing hability is incredible. She was wearing that asian looking red dress she's worn in several photo shoots for Comalies. I'll post the pictures once I can find a scanner.
They opened with Swamped, and ended their set with Daylight Dancer. Other songs they played were Halflife, When a Dead Man Walks, Senzafine, Self Deception, Heaven's a Lie and Tightrope. They were awesome; and ended their set at around 10:50 or 11:00 PM. The crowd went "aww" when they announced the last song
. I took more pictures of Christina than I took of Opeth, heh. You could tell they were really enjoying the night, they were really energetic and shook a lot of our hands. My favorite moment was when Christina asked "Are you guys feeling hot" to which everyone responded yes, then a drunk guy yelled "take it off" and someone else yelled "Welcome to Houston!"Some chicks who were right in the stage rail actually left once LC was over. Once I saw an open spot, I quickly got in front. I was almost exactly in front of the microphone, just one guy next to it, but I was in the stage rail (or whatever it's called) and the band would be withing touching distance. Opeth went on stage at around 11:20-11:30, and ended at 1 AM. Once the lights dimmed, everyone went absolubtely mad, you could feel the floor shaking. They came out and waved hi to the crowd, and bursted into Leper Affinity without saying one word to us. Fuck, it was the PERFECT opener. It was really intense, not only did it kick my ass, it also gave it a wedgie several more kicks. After it was over, Mike thanked us and introduced themselves. He was really enjoying it, as he frequently smiled while he was playing. He introduced the next track off Morningrise, Advent. It was also an amazing performance, and it definetely made Advent a personal favorite. The slow parts were played slightly slower, and I think Mendez screwed up for a second there, but nothing noticeable. My god, Mike gets really emotional when he's playing. You can easily tell he's feeling the music and knows more out of heart than memory.
He introduced the title track off Deliverance, but first he chatted with us a little. He said they'd be coming back for a separate Damnation tour, but i don't remember if he mentioned Porcupine Tree. The band was also waiting for the band downstairs to stop playing; and Mike said something like "they sound really boring" and "let's drown them out" or something to that effect. Deliverance was definetely one of the best performances of the night. The whole band went really metal on us (heh) and the middle section was utter perfection. But the definite highlight of the song was the outro; fuck me, it was incredible. Lopez is one awesome drummer, and he deserves more credit. Mendez completely owned the bass as well, and to my surprise, Mikael played most of the solos, but both him and Peter were equally amazing. Also, Peter is one TALL guy
. The drapery falls was next, and again, utter perfection; didn't miss a note.I could go on and on, but right now my neck feels like it's about to fall off, I can't feel my legs, and I've slept less than 2 hours, so I'll finish this off. This was the complete setlist:
The Leper Affinity
Advent
Deliverance
The Drapery Falls
Godhead's Lament
Credence
Bleak (Credence went right into Bleak, which was awesome)
A Fair Judgement (played slower than in the album)
---5 minute break---
Demon of the Fall :hotjump:
When they came back to play Demon, Mike told us "This is basically a death metal song" to which everyone \m/'ed to. He told us to sing along and to use all that saved energy for this one, and if we didn't respond, they would stop playing and leave. He was one funny 'mofo'
Mikael's "cold" growl was incredible, it gave me goosebumps. Right before the song went into the chorus (demon, demon of the fall!), he pointed at us telling us we should sing that part. Everyone did so, but of course he growled along too. Goddamnit, this was the perfect closer for the set. The band waved goodbye and shook our hands, I shook Peter's, Mike's and Mendez's hands, but not Lopez. Peter also gave away his guitar pick, and I was kinda close to getting it. The Mike gave his to a chick I believe. After they left, there was one pick in the stage floor, but two guys fought over it, so no pick for me.On my way downstairs, I saw the Yakuza guitarist, and I shaked his hand and told him they had a great show. He was really cool.
A couple of people (I'd say about 10-15) waited in front of the bus for the band to come out. Mike and Mendez came out of the venue at around 1:20, and got inside the bus, but Mike told us they'd come out soon to hang out with us and sign our stuff. Peter came out of the venue a little later, and got inside the bus too. About 15 minutes later, Mike and Mendez came out to sign our stuff and take picture with us. They were both REALLY cool, just really nice and happy. You'd think they'd be really tired and would just sign a few cds and leave, but they hung out for quite a while. I got my picture taken with Mike and Mendez
and also got my shirt signed by Mike, thanks to some dude who lent me his metallic marker. Mike also signed someone's guitar, which was a really cool idea...too bad I didn't bring mine. I talked to Mendez in Spanish too, and he personally told me they'd be coming to Mexico soon. Mikael also said that, he said they would tour Chile, Mexico and Venezuela (or Peru..I don't remember) but they don't exactly know when. I didn't take a picture with Peter cause I left right after I got one with Mike and Mendez, but I remembered I had my Damnation CD in the truck, so I took out the booklet and went back about 10 minutes later in hopes of seeing them again. Mike and Mendez were gone, but Peter was there, so I shook his hand and he signed it. He's really tall and has a very 'serious' look. The only one I didn't get to meet was Lopez. Too bad, but I still couldn't believe it was so easy to meet them.Overall, last night was incredible, I'm still in shock. I'll definetely be making the trip back for the Damnation tour, and now I'll be prepared; I'll take my CDs to sign.
Anyone else thought it was great?
. I've never gotten a pick or drumstick or anything from a concert, so when he walked up to where I was and stuck it out in front of me I grabbed that sucker as quick as I could. Now I feel a little bad though, maybe it was meant for you... oh well, I don't feel that bad because you got to get all chummy with Lopez and he said he'd get you and your dad backstage in July 
