Opeth in Milwaukee 9/26

[Pantone_User]

Heya all,

First time poster here. I have lurked for many years... my bad.

Just a little tidbit of information about today's show @ the RAVE in MKE.

In my Geek Love of Opeth I decided to drive over to the venue for tonight's gig, to see if I could spot the band over my lunch hour. As of 12:20pm CST their bus was still not there. A few cars around but no buses, trailers, trucks of any type. I immediately thought, "wow, sucks to be them." I dont know about everyone else, but I would be worn out very quickly if i arrived at a venue less than 7 hours before a performance every day. Hopefully this isnt the norm.

I had hoped selfishly to get something signed by them if their bus was there, and if I could muster the courage to actually knock. Now I just hope they have time for a snooze, a beer, and a good sound check.

I for one, will definitely relish my 6th time seeing them knowing what they go through on tour. Being a dad of a baby myself, like Mendez, and Mikael, makes me appreciate them being here all the more.


BTW.... For my money, Hessian Peel / Hex Omega is the best 2 song combo in Opeth's collection? Discuss..

 

[RollMyCoaster13]

i'll be there. was at the chicago show too. ballin

 

[Lothlorien]

interesting call on the 2 song combo. i feel together they are fantastic, but im not sure if its the best 2 song combo in opeth's entire catalogue.

 

[Metamyr]

So many better ones out there...

Wreath - Deliverance
Atonement - Reverie/Harlequin Forest
Face of Melinda - Serenity Painted Death
Coil - Heir Apparent

 

[RollMyCoaster13]

i was there and met all of them, got pictures, autographs, and even chatted with mike for a bit

 

[kalmah42090]

Face of Melinda and Serenity Painted Death is my choice

 

[The Evil Toucan]

April Ethereal --> When for the win.

 

[Tacomancer]

I was there too, what an awesome show! By far the best performance i've seen them play? My favorite parts of the night were definitely Night and the Silent Water and Mike fucking around with Mendez. Mike reading that girl's letter was pretty cool. And In the Mist She was Standing/Under the Weeping Moon

 

[RollMyCoaster13]

I was there too, what an awesome show! By far the best performance i've seen them play? My favorite parts of the night were definitely Night and the Silent Water and Mike fucking around with Mendez. Mike reading that girl's letter was pretty cool. And In the Mist She was Standing/Under the Weeping Moon

i have the whole reading of the letter on video, plus some short clips from bleak and serenity. i'll post to youtube if you guys are interested...let me know

 

[Pantone_User]

I thought it was a very good show. Not my favorite. They seemed a bit tired to me for some reason. Not too tired to rock the house, but not very energized. the banter during the songs was funny per usual, with the "letter' being the highlight.

I wish they would drop Demon of the Fall and The Drapery Falls from their modern set lists. Anyone who has been a fan for a bit, has seen Demon many times, and the Drapery Falls is not their best tune to end with by far.

Blackwater Park would be my choice for perfect ending tune.

Did anyone else notice how uncomfortable Fredrik Looked playing with that Finger Slide during Drapery Falls? I think i noticed a smile/smirk from Mendez when Fred kept making it sound like Ass.

Still great to see them again.
Would love to hear more off of Watershed.


As for best two song combos, April Ethereal -- When is very good. I think of all listed, that combo sounds most sonically close to the one i chose of Hessian / Hex.

To me these songs really portray the sonic vibe of Opeth. They both have interesting and unique sounding song structures with dynamic tempo changes etc. They dont have very apparent foreshadowing of what mayhem is going to follow. The beginning quiet section of Hessian, with the keyboard, and Triple note on the Ride Cymbal is AMAZing.... best way to scare a new listener to Opeth EVER.

 

[RollMyCoaster13]

Did anyone else notice how uncomfortable Fredrik Looked playing with that Finger Slide during Drapery Falls? I think i noticed a smile/smirk from Mendez when Fred kept making it sound like Ass.

yes, it was VERY awkward, but i dont think it was his fault. possibly a dead fret. thats what it sounded like, and he was PISSED too. i was right in front of him and he threw the slide down after that part and kept shaking his head. bummber, but a great show.

 

[Theophage]

yeah, I went to the show with that girl. she practically broke my arm from squeezing it so hard as mikael was reading the letter. it was awesome. hi emily!

 

[sgswimmer]

i like how hours of wealth goes into grand conjuration

every time if finish playing hours of wealth on guitar, it just seems like i HAVE to play grand conjuration afterwards. its impossible though, unless i switch guitars

tuning is dadfae on grand conjuration versus eadgbe on hours of wealth

 

[gvndarklighter]

I arrived to the show a couple hours earlier than intended (I was driving from Michigan), at around 3:00, and Mikael, Martin, and Axe were standing around smoking in front of the Rave. I didn't bother them, and a few minutes later they walked in and started practicing, which was cool because through the open doors I heard them playing the entirety of Hope Leaves, The Lotus Eater, and part of Deliverance.

Their set list, by the way, was: Heir Apparent, The Grand Conjuration, Hope Leaves, Serenity Painted Death, Deliverance, Night & the Silent Water, Bleak, Demon of the Fall, and The Drapery Falls as an encore. I probably got the order wrong.

I thought the show was fantastic. Once they adjusted the sound after Heir Apparent it was one of the best sound setups I've ever heard, very balanced and not overpoweringly loud. Frederik did have a hell of a time with his slide solo, but that was the only major mistake I noticed. Mikael pulled off the difficult solo in Serenity Painted Death perfectly, a highlight of the show.

And I managed to get Per's autograph, which, since I'm a pianist, was quite a thrill.

Oh, and as a footnote, I thought High on Fire was fun. Not my favorite music, but not nearly as bad as some folks here have been saying. Though, I agree that the singer could have used a shirt.

 

[shapechanger]

I was there too, what an awesome show! By far the best performance i've seen them play? My favorite parts of the night were definitely Night and the Silent Water and Mike fucking around with Mendez. Mike reading that girl's letter was pretty cool. And In the Mist She was Standing/Under the Weeping Moon

yes! We are totally interested! did you post the vid? Can you email any pics?

shapechanger6@gmail.com

I thought the show was outstanding. It was my first Opeth show and I was NOT let down at all. I was third row center for the whole show. Some guy next to me kept yelling "You're the BIG A" to Mikael. It was kinda funny.

 

[shapechanger]

i have the whole reading of the letter on video, plus some short clips from bleak and serenity. i'll post to youtube if you guys are interested...let me know

Whoops. I quoted the wrong metalhead above. Yes, please post that vid and email any pics. It would be GREATLY appreciated!

\m/

 

[Theophage]

update: mikael did indeed call emily's dad. awesome.

 

[RollMyCoaster13]

no way what did he say?

 

[mikrow]

update: mikael did indeed call emily's dad. awesome.

he said happy birthday, duh!

i'm still basically floored and completely stunned that all of this happened for my dad... he deserves it.


here's the video I took; if anyone has a better quality, pleeease upload it!! the one i have is such awful quality and i scream too much in the background.

yeah, I went to the show with that girl. she practically broke my arm from squeezing it so hard as mikael was reading the letter. it was awesome. hi emily!

Your arm was fine, stop QQing, nub.