Opeth
5/11/06 Portsmouth Pyramids
Review by Tom Strutton
It pains me to say it but Opeth's first show on this November tour of the UK was something of a dissapointment. I have seen Opeth perfom three times over the past twelve months (Mean Fiddler, Forum, Portsmouth Pyramids), and now I can confirm in my mind that there are many more live acts that wipe the floor with the Opeth of today. I stress that I rank Opeth among the greatest recording artists past and present, but last night's performance highlighted some glaring faults that the band need to work on in order to retain my favour:
Performance:
Anyone who has seen a lot of live performances will understand that some bands come closer to replicating the exact sounds as heard on cd than others. The engineer and particularities of the venue may influence this outcome but largely the impression received is from the bands performance. Whether or not one approves of verisimilitude between cd and live show is of course subjective, but when the studio recording is so painstakingly good why should every effort not be made to replicate it in performance? Here is my gripe: Mikael's voice was great but the songs miss the vocal harmonies that make the studio recordings transcendental. There is no excuse for this...get a keyboard player that can sing. Another thing that found its way under my skin and refused to budge was the lack of care put into replicating the studio guitar tones. CD = near perfect guitar tones, Live = rookie guitar tones. Oh, and the bass drum was barely audible. These may sound like minor gripes but, again, there is no excuse. I really just think that little effort had gone into the whole affair, which refelcted the band's couldn't care less attitude that characterised the whole evening. I expect a lot of retaliation for these observations along the lines of "If you wanted to hear the cd you should've stayed at home", to which I answer that live performances should have the professionalism of a cd plus an added particular sense of occasion and flair.
Mikael's banter and crowd rapport:
This was probably the lowest point in the evening, at times embarrasing, although some comments garnered a few laughs uncomfortable laughs from the patient crowd (kudos to the fans by the way, extremely well behaved and great atmosphere). Mikaels' extended commentaries between songs were boring, uninspired and delivered in a 'don't give a shit' and I'm too cool for school' manner. A little bit of dignity and a little less childish amusement in making 'the sign of the devil' wouldn't go amiss (Guys, if you're reading this, you're not 'rock and roll' and, contrary to what you might have planned, Ghost Reveries on the whole does not have an Occult flavour about it).
The final insult came when Mikael introduced The Grand Conjuration as a song 'many people hate', and then issued the cringeworthy cliche along the lines of 'fuck those people, we're gonna play it anyway'. If a lot of people hate it wouldn't it be so bad to re-appraise the song rather than casting off your fans opinons like they don't matter?! I for one think that The Grand Conjuration is a low point of Ghost Reveries, althiugh I will admit that they pulled it off with some force last night, probably because there was a certain need to prove a point with this song that didn't fuel the other song's. However, the final nail in the coffin was Mikael's rendition of the strummed intro to Tom Petty's classic Free Fallin', an embarrasing interlude that preceded the encore of Deliverance. It was hard to tell if this little bit of 'fun' was impromptu or contrived, but it killed the mood, and even more sadly it signalled a band that seemed tired of touring and resigned to inventing ways to make performing bearable.
On the Plus Side...
The setlist was very good. I was pleased by Windowpane, though I thought it was strange coming straight after The Grand Conjuration and would have benefitted from an earlier or later appearance. Mikael told us that this was the first time Opeth have played The Night and The Silent Water in the UK and it's inclusion will no doubt make many fans jump for joy. Finally, despite my criticism's I actually had quite a good night and maintain that a bad Opeth gig is still better than a good gig by most other bands.
I am very interested to hear from anyone who attends shows from the rest of this tour, particularly if people agree with any of my criticisms. And of course I am more than willing to listen to those who disagree.
5/11/06 Portsmouth Pyramids
Review by Tom Strutton
It pains me to say it but Opeth's first show on this November tour of the UK was something of a dissapointment. I have seen Opeth perfom three times over the past twelve months (Mean Fiddler, Forum, Portsmouth Pyramids), and now I can confirm in my mind that there are many more live acts that wipe the floor with the Opeth of today. I stress that I rank Opeth among the greatest recording artists past and present, but last night's performance highlighted some glaring faults that the band need to work on in order to retain my favour:
Performance:
Anyone who has seen a lot of live performances will understand that some bands come closer to replicating the exact sounds as heard on cd than others. The engineer and particularities of the venue may influence this outcome but largely the impression received is from the bands performance. Whether or not one approves of verisimilitude between cd and live show is of course subjective, but when the studio recording is so painstakingly good why should every effort not be made to replicate it in performance? Here is my gripe: Mikael's voice was great but the songs miss the vocal harmonies that make the studio recordings transcendental. There is no excuse for this...get a keyboard player that can sing. Another thing that found its way under my skin and refused to budge was the lack of care put into replicating the studio guitar tones. CD = near perfect guitar tones, Live = rookie guitar tones. Oh, and the bass drum was barely audible. These may sound like minor gripes but, again, there is no excuse. I really just think that little effort had gone into the whole affair, which refelcted the band's couldn't care less attitude that characterised the whole evening. I expect a lot of retaliation for these observations along the lines of "If you wanted to hear the cd you should've stayed at home", to which I answer that live performances should have the professionalism of a cd plus an added particular sense of occasion and flair.
Mikael's banter and crowd rapport:
This was probably the lowest point in the evening, at times embarrasing, although some comments garnered a few laughs uncomfortable laughs from the patient crowd (kudos to the fans by the way, extremely well behaved and great atmosphere). Mikaels' extended commentaries between songs were boring, uninspired and delivered in a 'don't give a shit' and I'm too cool for school' manner. A little bit of dignity and a little less childish amusement in making 'the sign of the devil' wouldn't go amiss (Guys, if you're reading this, you're not 'rock and roll' and, contrary to what you might have planned, Ghost Reveries on the whole does not have an Occult flavour about it).
The final insult came when Mikael introduced The Grand Conjuration as a song 'many people hate', and then issued the cringeworthy cliche along the lines of 'fuck those people, we're gonna play it anyway'. If a lot of people hate it wouldn't it be so bad to re-appraise the song rather than casting off your fans opinons like they don't matter?! I for one think that The Grand Conjuration is a low point of Ghost Reveries, althiugh I will admit that they pulled it off with some force last night, probably because there was a certain need to prove a point with this song that didn't fuel the other song's. However, the final nail in the coffin was Mikael's rendition of the strummed intro to Tom Petty's classic Free Fallin', an embarrasing interlude that preceded the encore of Deliverance. It was hard to tell if this little bit of 'fun' was impromptu or contrived, but it killed the mood, and even more sadly it signalled a band that seemed tired of touring and resigned to inventing ways to make performing bearable.
On the Plus Side...
The setlist was very good. I was pleased by Windowpane, though I thought it was strange coming straight after The Grand Conjuration and would have benefitted from an earlier or later appearance. Mikael told us that this was the first time Opeth have played The Night and The Silent Water in the UK and it's inclusion will no doubt make many fans jump for joy. Finally, despite my criticism's I actually had quite a good night and maintain that a bad Opeth gig is still better than a good gig by most other bands.
I am very interested to hear from anyone who attends shows from the rest of this tour, particularly if people agree with any of my criticisms. And of course I am more than willing to listen to those who disagree.
Setlist:
Ghost of Perdition
When
Bleak
Face of Melinda
The Night and the Silent Water
The Grand Conjuration
Windowpane
Blackwater Park
---------------
Deliverance
Ghost of Perdition
When
Bleak
Face of Melinda
The Night and the Silent Water
The Grand Conjuration
Windowpane
Blackwater Park
---------------
Deliverance
) that he's not good enough. What did you think?
