Not every show has a crowd as courteous as ProgPower. I get that. The Maryland Deathfest crowd is rowdy as hell - and rightfully so: there's a lot of rowdy death/grind/black metal going on up on stage.
But at the Opeth and Katatonia show in Kansas City last night, I was confused and annoyed as fuck by many people in the crowd for various reasons, so allow me to vent just a bit (I'll try not to go on too long).
Let me first say both bands were fantastic. Katatonia sounded tight and every bit as atmospheric, heavy, and melancholy as they do on their albums. Opeth's set, while unorthodox, was also extremely well played, and enthusiastically delivered. There is no more charismatic frontman in metal than Mikael Akerfeldt.
That said, there were more than a handful of people in the crowd of nearly 1,000 that made it very difficult to watch. There were typical metalheads, atypical fans, women and men both who might be unaccustomed to a metal show, and just plain assholes. All these folks were amidst a greater number of passionate people who were extremely courteous and grateful for the performances on stage.
But the aforementioned folks made it worse.
The "typical" metalheads were the meathead types that just wanted to mosh and crowdsurf - even during the calm parts. That's certainly welcome at many shows, but what if there was a pit during Riverside?
Second, atypical fans. These include indie rock fans, prog rock fans, nu-metal/metalcore fans, and also significant others of guys/gals who are legitimate fans. These guys were there and paid the same price as the rest of us, but otherwise looked uninterested in what was going on on stage. I can understand there being some stoic folks that just wanna "soak it in", but it made it difficult for even mild-mannered headbanging when these people would glare at anyone who would accidentally knock into them.
So this is where it made it difficult: I was annoyed by the "typical" meathead metal guys but I was also annoyed by the people who weren't rocking out at all. I didn't know where my allegiance stood. I was somewhere in the middle I think: I wanted to rock out, but I didn't want to get in anyone's way.
The assholes were the worst, though. These guys were the ones constantly heckling the bands, particularly Opeth, or just being rude in general. Opeth played a more somber, clean set. They had the acoustic guitars out for several songs. Despite this, cries for "BLACK ROSE IMMORTAL!" or "BLEEAAAKK!" rang out during the middle of songs. Mikael was getting visibly annoyed at times. I applauded his effort to continue with the set as planned and not actively acknowledge the unreciprocated douchebaggery coming from the crowd.
So to sum this up, maybe Opeth is one of those iconoclastic metal bands that just draws in a crowd with no cohesive identity. They attract metalheads looking to fuck shit up. They attract metalheads who want to stand there and soak it in. They attract guys to bring their girlfriends, try to protect them when things get rowdy, and ultimately fight back too hard when someone accidently slams against them.
This is a wall of text I know. But any commentary on this is appreciated. What have you guys seen on this tour?
But at the Opeth and Katatonia show in Kansas City last night, I was confused and annoyed as fuck by many people in the crowd for various reasons, so allow me to vent just a bit (I'll try not to go on too long).
Let me first say both bands were fantastic. Katatonia sounded tight and every bit as atmospheric, heavy, and melancholy as they do on their albums. Opeth's set, while unorthodox, was also extremely well played, and enthusiastically delivered. There is no more charismatic frontman in metal than Mikael Akerfeldt.
That said, there were more than a handful of people in the crowd of nearly 1,000 that made it very difficult to watch. There were typical metalheads, atypical fans, women and men both who might be unaccustomed to a metal show, and just plain assholes. All these folks were amidst a greater number of passionate people who were extremely courteous and grateful for the performances on stage.
But the aforementioned folks made it worse.
The "typical" metalheads were the meathead types that just wanted to mosh and crowdsurf - even during the calm parts. That's certainly welcome at many shows, but what if there was a pit during Riverside?
Second, atypical fans. These include indie rock fans, prog rock fans, nu-metal/metalcore fans, and also significant others of guys/gals who are legitimate fans. These guys were there and paid the same price as the rest of us, but otherwise looked uninterested in what was going on on stage. I can understand there being some stoic folks that just wanna "soak it in", but it made it difficult for even mild-mannered headbanging when these people would glare at anyone who would accidentally knock into them.
So this is where it made it difficult: I was annoyed by the "typical" meathead metal guys but I was also annoyed by the people who weren't rocking out at all. I didn't know where my allegiance stood. I was somewhere in the middle I think: I wanted to rock out, but I didn't want to get in anyone's way.
The assholes were the worst, though. These guys were the ones constantly heckling the bands, particularly Opeth, or just being rude in general. Opeth played a more somber, clean set. They had the acoustic guitars out for several songs. Despite this, cries for "BLACK ROSE IMMORTAL!" or "BLEEAAAKK!" rang out during the middle of songs. Mikael was getting visibly annoyed at times. I applauded his effort to continue with the set as planned and not actively acknowledge the unreciprocated douchebaggery coming from the crowd.
So to sum this up, maybe Opeth is one of those iconoclastic metal bands that just draws in a crowd with no cohesive identity. They attract metalheads looking to fuck shit up. They attract metalheads who want to stand there and soak it in. They attract guys to bring their girlfriends, try to protect them when things get rowdy, and ultimately fight back too hard when someone accidently slams against them.
This is a wall of text I know. But any commentary on this is appreciated. What have you guys seen on this tour?
