Iced Earth tour dates...

[skyrefuge]

Nothing and I mean NOTHING will ever top the Iced Earth/In Flames/Jag Panzer show at the Metro in '02. Nothing.

Well, except Athens, Greece in '99. Yeah, you knew I was gonna say that.

But that was just Iced Earth. In terms of overall lineup, I guess I'd take the Iced Earth/Nevermore shows (April/May '99), though yeah, Iced Earth/In Flames/Jag Panzer was nice too. Overall Iced Earth hasn't had the greatest touring packages, at least in the US.

I was there! And also at the next night's show at Harpo's in Detroit.

huh, I was at both of those shows too, but now I don't even remember knowing that you were at both, which seems weird. But yeah, Summer Dying was certainly a sweet addition to the Detroit show. (technically they were 3 nights apart)

Also say Iced Earth play at JJ Kelleys a year or two before that. I can't remember who opened. I want to say Nevermore but I'm not sure.

Yeah, probably with Nevermore in April '99. They played JJ Kelley's 3 times before that: Feb. '99 with Jag Panzer and Anvil (yeah, the now "famous" Anvil), August '98 with Stonehenge, and May '98 with Stonehenge and Ion Vein.

I think the show that IE did on "The dark Saga" tour at Jackhammers was MUCH better. they played twice in one night (1 all ages/ 1 over 21). That hands down was the best performance I have ever seen them play. Plus the turnout was minimal because of a downpour/ thunderstorm that night.

I would guess that the turnout had less to do with the weather, and more to do with the fact that in 1997, no one knew about underground, Euro-styled metal bands.

Neil

 

[booB]

huh, I was at both of those shows too, but now I don't even remember knowing that you were at both, which seems weird. But yeah, Summer Dying was certainly a sweet addition to the Detroit show. (technically they were 3 nights apart)

Heh, we hung out at the Detroit show, Mister-No-Long-Term-Memory. You were one of the aforementioned IE forum friends. Funny, I didn't remember the shows being three nights apart. I do, however, remember having to drive back home to Indiana right after the show because I had to work in the morning. I even nodded off once in the car on the way home. Scared me shitless. Obviously, it was an ill-advised road trip.

 

[TychoCelchu]

Random memory comment. I did not go to that 2002 Iced Earth show at Harpo's with Summer Dying, but I did see them open for the Dimmu/Nevermore/Bodom/Hypocrisy show at Harpo's in late 2003 and when Summer Dying went on the first thing they said was "It's been a year since we've been here, Harpos!" which didn't mean anything to me at the time. Seeing them mentioned in this thread now puts that into context, seven years later. Ha. /tangent

 

[BalanceofPower]

I'll be at the Chicago show. I'm really looking forward to seeing Sons of Liberty.

 

[Jasonic]

I'll be at the Chicago show. I'm really looking forward to seeing Sons of Liberty.

Nice, maybe I will tag along with ya. Being a weekday, I would be heading there from Northbrook.

Wow, I don't think I knew that IE toured with Anvil. I knew of them touring with Jag Panzer / Quiet Room / Nevermore / etc, and then of course with Blind Guardian in Europe. Before the Jag Panzer / In Flames tour, I saw IE open for Megadeth, in Rockford.

I suppose many here may have forgotten that originally instead of the Megadeth tour, IE were supposed to go out with Judas Priest (Ripper fronted) and Anthrax. That tour got postponed, due to 9/11.

 

[skyrefuge]

And BTW why should it matter what the crowd size is anyway? Isn't it about the music?

Well, to me, both matter. Often, the crowd is a very large component in my enjoyment of a show. This is particularly true for a band like Iced Earth, who generally put out a pretty consistent performance, so the crowd/environment end up being a major differentiator between shows.

That show in 1997 was awesome, but that's because it was the first Iced Earth performance ever in the US outside of Florida, a first meeting (or at least rebirth) of this nascent underground culture. This was a few months before the first(?) Powermad festival (one of the inspirations for the birth of ProgPowerUSA, 4 years later), and a similar spirit was in the air. The rest of the country still thought that "metal was dead", killed off by Nirvana to never return, but we were among the privileged few who knew better. So it was a small club of in-the-know passionate die-hards who all really wanted to be there. And yeah, Iced Earth gave a kickass performance, and it was the only time I saw Randy Shawver with the band.

But still, it would have been even better if there had been more people there. Particularly since Jackhammer's was relatively huge, so the two or three rows of people in front of the stage made the empty cavern behind rather hollow.

That's why some of my favorite Iced Earth memories are the Riley's/Smiler Coogan's/J.J. Kelley's shows of the '98-'99 period. They were still early enough so that everyone in attendance was a die-hard burning with excitement, but by then there enough fans to fill the smaller venues, so the energy in those places was just off the charts.

Neil

 

[Jasonic]

The rest of the country still thought that "metal was dead", killed off by Nirvana to never return, but we were among the privileged few who knew better.

I was one of these people!
Well, by the early 90s, I had actually gotten completely out of metal, as most of the bands I loved either went into obscurity (I mean, here in the States, were you honestly aware that Helloween made an album called PINK BUBBLES GO APE? I sure as hell didn't!! This was PRE-interwebs folks!), or they started going south (IE - Anthrax, Slayer, etc).

It was in the late 90s when I first heard IE actually, with Dark Saga, where I first realized there were still REAL metal bands in existence. This was also the time I discovered underground black metal. Not that it was ever really my thing, but certainly interesting!

 

[TlalocFJCV]

. But at PP, it was soooo boring. The long wait for them to come on didn't help either. I think I watched a few songs before I went out to the hallway.

.

I agree here, I did not leave but I was getting sleep, I think ICED EARTH was a dissapointment as a headliner at PPIX, the setlist was too boring, slow and lack of power.

Just my twwo cents here.

See ya at PPXI

 

[Justin G]

The combination of consecutive mediocre albums and Jon's political views (sounds like he's Tea Partying now) have totally pushed Iced Earth off my radar. It's a shame, because I really enjoyed them at one time. Damn, I guess it's been close to a decade now.

 

[Metalmilitia2000]

I have been sitting back and laughing at these comments that are negative towards, IE, SoL, and Schaffer himself. If you don't like Iced Earth musically or lyrically, fine. If you don't like Sons Of Liberty musically or lyrically, fine. If you don't like Schaffer as a person, fine. Those are all things that are easily remedied by just not paying attention to him, or his music. What I find funny though is the very fact that people keep attacking him or SoL because of his lyrical content, within that record. The man has been more inspired by this subject than anything else he has ever written, and I think it shows. He simply sings his praises of The Constitution and the visions of our forefathers. It's not about the left/right paradigm, it's not about Republicans or Democrats, it's about rallying people to get this country back on track, within a Constitutional sense. If you are not an American, or have no interest in the way your government works and makes decisions FOR you (rather than making your decisions FROM you, as designed), then so be it. But if you would actually sit down, read the lyrics, and put them in a context of what's going on in this country today, then maybe, just maybe, you might realize what the man is talking about, and stop attacking him simply because of your own political beliefs (where he never even speaks of his on the album!) This isn't about Glenn Beck, this isn't about Alex Jones, it isn't about George Bush, or Barack Obama, it's about Jon Schaffer's support of The Constitution, which I think should have the support of everyone else in this country, and not just him. Just remember, a government big enough to give you anything you need is also big enough to take away everything you have. Let that sink in.

That's all I've got to say.

Brent

 

[nomisofsiman]

And BTW why should it matter what the crowd size is anyway? Isn't it about the music? I'd much rather have a band play at 100% than have a packed show and a band play at 10%. Plus when moving around proves difficult then your comment loses all merit.

Of course it's always about the music, but come on when there are more people in a crowd, there is more energy and when there's more energy in the crowd it pumps up the band more. I agree that a band that plays at full power with a puny crowd I have major kudos for, but everyone knows that (for the most part) when there are more people, the band plays better. There's always a place at a concert where you can move btw. It's just a matter of how badly you want to see the band up close. Even at some of the smallest shows if you wanna get up close, moving around will prove to be difficult, but it's a metal show man. They're almost always like that no matter how large the crowd.

 

[BalanceofPower]

I have been sitting back and laughing at these comments that are negative towards, IE, SoL, and Schaffer himself. If you don't like Iced Earth musically or lyrically, fine. If you don't like Sons Of Liberty musically or lyrically, fine. If you don't like Schaffer as a person, fine. Those are all things that are easily remedied by just not paying attention to him, or his music. What I find funny though is the very fact that people keep attacking him or SoL because of his lyrical content, within that record. The man has been more inspired by this subject than anything else he has ever written, and I think it shows. He simply sings his praises of The Constitution and the visions of our forefathers. It's not about the left/right paradigm, it's not about Republicans or Democrats, it's about rallying people to get this country back on track, within a Constitutional sense. If you are not an American, or have no interest in the way your government works and makes decisions FOR you (rather than making your decisions FROM you, as designed), then so be it. But if you would actually sit down, read the lyrics, and put them in a context of what's going on in this country today, then maybe, just maybe, you might realize what the man is talking about, and stop attacking him simply because of your own political beliefs (where he never even speaks of his on the album!) This isn't about Glenn Beck, this isn't about Alex Jones, it isn't about George Bush, or Barack Obama, it's about Jon Schaffer's support of The Constitution, which I think should have the support of everyone else in this country, and not just him. Just remember, a government big enough to give you anything you need is also big enough to take away everything you have. Let that sink in.

That's all I've got to say.

Brent

+1000

 

[Metalmilitia2000]

+1000

Thanks Vito, I owe you a beer either at this show or at Maiden!

 

[edgeofthorns]

I have been sitting back and laughing at these comments that are negative towards, IE, SoL, and Schaffer himself. If you don't like Iced Earth musically or lyrically, fine. If you don't like Sons Of Liberty musically or lyrically, fine. If you don't like Schaffer as a person, fine. Those are all things that are easily remedied by just not paying attention to him, or his music. What I find funny though is the very fact that people keep attacking him or SoL because of his lyrical content, within that record. The man has been more inspired by this subject than anything else he has ever written, and I think it shows. He simply sings his praises of The Constitution and the visions of our forefathers. It's not about the left/right paradigm, it's not about Republicans or Democrats, it's about rallying people to get this country back on track, within a Constitutional sense. If you are not an American, or have no interest in the way your government works and makes decisions FOR you (rather than making your decisions FROM you, as designed), then so be it. But if you would actually sit down, read the lyrics, and put them in a context of what's going on in this country today, then maybe, just maybe, you might realize what the man is talking about, and stop attacking him simply because of your own political beliefs (where he never even speaks of his on the album!) This isn't about Glenn Beck, this isn't about Alex Jones, it isn't about George Bush, or Barack Obama, it's about Jon Schaffer's support of The Constitution, which I think should have the support of everyone else in this country, and not just him. Just remember, a government big enough to give you anything you need is also big enough to take away everything you have. Let that sink in.

That's all I've got to say.

Brent

Great post!

~Brian~

 

[Metalmilitia2000]

Great post!

~Brian~

Wait... you and I actually AGREE on something?!

I'd better grab a coat before I die because I think Hell froze over!

 

[edgeofthorns]

Wait... you and I actually AGREE on something?!

I'd better grab a coat before I die because I think Hell froze over!

...I don't know how anyone with a brain could argue with anything you said! I totally respect both Shaffer and Barlow. I think both of those guys love our country.

~Brian~

 

[Justin G]

I find it amusing that after snoozing through eight years of torture, secret prisons, unchecked executive power, illegal wiretapping and the like, people are suddenly rediscovering the Constitution. What is it that has people so concerned all of the sudden? I guess nothing says government tyranny like helping poor people get health insurance.

 

[War Ensemble]

Wait... you and I actually AGREE on something?!

I'd better grab MY ICED EARTH coat before I die because I think Hell froze over!

Fixed.

 

[Metalmilitia2000]

I find it amusing that after snoozing through eight years of torture, secret prisons, unchecked executive power, illegal wiretapping and the like, people are suddenly rediscovering the Constitution. What is it that has people so concerned all of the sudden? I guess nothing says government tyranny like helping poor people get health insurance.

Every single person I know who has been screaming about The Constitution has been doing it since the early days of Bush, or at least since they found out about what was going on. The longer time goes by, the more comes out about exactly what the Patriot Act and the supplement to it entailed. The more you push, the more you are gonna be pushed back, and I think they are starting to see that now. Besides, this is also the first time in history that the Federal Government has mandated that it's citizens have to purchase something, and nowhere in The Constitution does it give them the right to do that or enforce it. I'm not going to go any further into a tangent on this subject, as it is getting off of the original subject and I know Glenn wouldn't appreciate it. If you want to discuss it further, I'd be happy to in a PM.

Brent

 

[Metalmilitia2000]

Fixed.

I'm going to punch you in the nutsack the next time I see you at Station 4, hahahahahaha.