Okay. Here is my first cut at telling of my experience opening for two of my favorite bands at Jaxx on November 21st. I wont bore everyone with all the work that went into everything leading up to the gig. Ill start with arriving at the venue...
Pre Show:
I get there and talk to management about business stuff. While I am, Devin walks by on his cell phone. After Im done with business stuff, I talk to Devin for a while. I gave him a copy of my bands CD, and he said he likes getting stuff like that because theyll listen to it on the road between cities. He signs my version of Terria, takes pictures with me, then with Nicki, chats a bit and then hes off to warm up his vocals. He was an extremely nice guy, and very approachable.
Next we unload our gear and watch Symphony X soundcheck. The whole band is there minus Russell. After they are done, they all go back to the bus except Mike Leopold. I chat with him for a while, get a picture with him and an autograph. I gave him a copy of my bands CD and my email address and he said hed listen and let me know what he thinks. Another really nice guy. Dave & Mike (keys & bass in DTB) are playing hackysack and me and Nicki chat with them too. So far none of these guys have the rock star mentality, which is refreshing.
Next Devy and his band soundcheck. Afterwards, we sound check. 30 minutes until show time.
Odins Court Set:
I was expecting a good crowd, but this was unbelievable. The place was packed wall to wall when we started. People were all pressed against the stage and rail. We played for 40 minutes. All originals and one cover. This crowd was, without a doubt, the BEST crowd Ive ever played for. People were screaming, cheering, headbanging, etc. So much fun. I was having a blast. The most fulfilling part was that people were enjoying our originals so much. Thats a nice feeling when you put so much work and heart into them. Here was our set:
Odin's Court - "Paradise Lost: Chapter 1"
Odin's Court - "His Dark Materials"
Odin's Court - "Homecoming"
Odin's Court - "Paradise Lost: Chapter 3"
Odin's Court - "Surreal Contemplations"
Odin's Court - "Utopian Rust"
Odin's Court - "D2C"
Judas Priest - "Breakin' the Law
After Our Set:
While loading up the gear out back, Braves lead singer (Michelle) told me how she enjoyed us and that she really liked my voice a lot. As if it wasnt gratifying enough to get such a nice comment from a fellow musician, Devin came over and commented on our performance. He said he really liked us. Though the most flattering remark he made was when he said, You have a fu**ing awesome voice! You sounded really great. Mike Leopold also said we sounded really good, as well as several of the DTBs members and SXs crew. I must say I was flying high.
Devin Townsend Band Set:
Nicki and I went up front for Devins set since were both such huge fans. The only problem was he was so incredibly loud that we couldnt stand it. Even though we had earplugs, we had to go back to the merchandise booth. From there we had a great view, and it sounded much better. Since I think about 1 in 30 people there seemed to care about Devin, we were getting really strange looks from people as we sang and screamed along to his amazing music. His band was great, and he was awesome.
The setlist itself was a decent sampling of all his albums (minus Physicist. He played some of my favorites, but not all of them. Regardless of what he played, I was just happy to see him live. He has been playing a medley of "Away" and "Deep Peace" on this tour, but his effects were messed up so he did "Deadhead" instead. Here is his setlist:
"Seventh Wave "
"Storm"
"Earth Day"
"Regulator"
"Truth"
"Life"
"Deadhead"
"Bad Devil"
Symphony X Set:
It was obvious that the majority of this near sell out crowd was there to see Symphony X. Which was a cool sight considering when I saw Symphony X at Jaxx the previous November they were with Blind Guardian, and everyone was there to see them rather than SX. That tour did a lot for SXs fanbase. You can read my review for that show here.
They played great. They were tight and full of energy. Highlights for me were "Communion and the Oracle", "Accolade II", and "The Odyssey". One complaint I had was that they played everything too fast! I mean, there stuff is fast already. I call this "Iron Maiden syndrome". Its cool sometimes, but in many cases it takes away from the song itself. At any rate, here is their setlist:
"Inferno"
"Wicked"
"Evolution"
"Communion and the Oracle"
"Accolade II"
"King of Terror"
"Smoke and Mirrors"
"Sea of Lies"
"Sins and Shadows"
"They Odyssey"
During their set, Nicki and I hung out with Devin, his guitarist, and drummer in the lobby. We talked to them about all kinds of things for 30 minutes or so: everything from deep, intelligent stuff to music to whacky to weird. One of my favorite conversations was when we were both talking to each other about our influences, composing, arranging, etc. Turns out we are both highly influenced by Yanni and Enya! But we have the same philosophy about it go atmospheric, larger than life sound, etc, but do it METAL. :evil He is a super cool guy, and definitely one of the coolest professional musicians Ive ever met.
Devin complimented my voice again, and he asked a bunch of questions about my band. I gave them all Odins Court T-Shirts, and they really liked them. They said they were going to wear them on stage during the tour (so if you see them 11/22 or later, look for them!). Devin signed Nickis special edition of Terria.
Post Show:
The place emptied out really fast. I packed up the last of our merchandise and hung around talking to people. After about 10 minutes, all of Symphony X came through to the front. People were waiting in line at the front door for autographs and pictures. I thought it was pretty cool that they did that. After all the fans left, Jaxx locked the doors and we hung out with Symphony X until 3am. I got a picture with all of SX and then just Rullo (since he was mostly cut out of my full band picture). Nicki got Leopold to sign her ticket stub.
I talked to Devin a little more before he hit the road. He and his band left much, much earlier than Symphony X to get to Cleveland. They had a mobile home they tour in, while Symphony X had a huge full size bus as a home. Anyway, back to the venue
Everyone was hanging out at the bar drinking and talking. I talked to all the members of Symphony X several times. They were all friendly, with Leopold being the nicest of all of them. Romeo was fun to talk to since we talked about music, composing, arrangements, etc. Nicki had fun lighting everyones cigarettes because no one seemed to have a lighter.
I noticed that Leopold was a really quiet guy and sat at the bar by himself drinking while everyone else talked. Nicki and I went over to him again after talking to everyone else, and we talked for 30 to 45 minutes. He is really cool guy. We had some great conversations about everything under the sun. I really do wish the best for him and Symphony X they deserve to "make it". They are right on the edge of breaking through so that they can do this for a living (which may come to a surprise to many of you they all do other jobs when they arent in the studio, writing, or touring).
Their bus was scheduled to leave at 3am, so we said goodbye and hit the road ourselves. It was about a 1.5-hour drive home, so I ended up getting to bed around 5:30am. It was a very eventful and memorable experience indeed. Can't beat playing for 500 screaming Prog Metal nuts!
Pictures:
Finally, here are some pictures. These arent from the actually sets. Those will come later. Ill let everyone know when those are ready. In the meantime..
* Matt & Devin
* Nicki & Devin
* Matt & Lepond
* Matt & Rullo
* Matt & Symphony X
P.S. Those of you who saw the show, please comment and let me know what you thought! I love getting feedback. And if you liked us, please email about getting on our mailing list.
Rock on!
Pre Show:
I get there and talk to management about business stuff. While I am, Devin walks by on his cell phone. After Im done with business stuff, I talk to Devin for a while. I gave him a copy of my bands CD, and he said he likes getting stuff like that because theyll listen to it on the road between cities. He signs my version of Terria, takes pictures with me, then with Nicki, chats a bit and then hes off to warm up his vocals. He was an extremely nice guy, and very approachable.
Next we unload our gear and watch Symphony X soundcheck. The whole band is there minus Russell. After they are done, they all go back to the bus except Mike Leopold. I chat with him for a while, get a picture with him and an autograph. I gave him a copy of my bands CD and my email address and he said hed listen and let me know what he thinks. Another really nice guy. Dave & Mike (keys & bass in DTB) are playing hackysack and me and Nicki chat with them too. So far none of these guys have the rock star mentality, which is refreshing.
Next Devy and his band soundcheck. Afterwards, we sound check. 30 minutes until show time.
Odins Court Set:
I was expecting a good crowd, but this was unbelievable. The place was packed wall to wall when we started. People were all pressed against the stage and rail. We played for 40 minutes. All originals and one cover. This crowd was, without a doubt, the BEST crowd Ive ever played for. People were screaming, cheering, headbanging, etc. So much fun. I was having a blast. The most fulfilling part was that people were enjoying our originals so much. Thats a nice feeling when you put so much work and heart into them. Here was our set:
Odin's Court - "Paradise Lost: Chapter 1"
Odin's Court - "His Dark Materials"
Odin's Court - "Homecoming"
Odin's Court - "Paradise Lost: Chapter 3"
Odin's Court - "Surreal Contemplations"
Odin's Court - "Utopian Rust"
Odin's Court - "D2C"
Judas Priest - "Breakin' the Law
After Our Set:
While loading up the gear out back, Braves lead singer (Michelle) told me how she enjoyed us and that she really liked my voice a lot. As if it wasnt gratifying enough to get such a nice comment from a fellow musician, Devin came over and commented on our performance. He said he really liked us. Though the most flattering remark he made was when he said, You have a fu**ing awesome voice! You sounded really great. Mike Leopold also said we sounded really good, as well as several of the DTBs members and SXs crew. I must say I was flying high.
Devin Townsend Band Set:
Nicki and I went up front for Devins set since were both such huge fans. The only problem was he was so incredibly loud that we couldnt stand it. Even though we had earplugs, we had to go back to the merchandise booth. From there we had a great view, and it sounded much better. Since I think about 1 in 30 people there seemed to care about Devin, we were getting really strange looks from people as we sang and screamed along to his amazing music. His band was great, and he was awesome.
The setlist itself was a decent sampling of all his albums (minus Physicist. He played some of my favorites, but not all of them. Regardless of what he played, I was just happy to see him live. He has been playing a medley of "Away" and "Deep Peace" on this tour, but his effects were messed up so he did "Deadhead" instead. Here is his setlist:
"Seventh Wave "
"Storm"
"Earth Day"
"Regulator"
"Truth"
"Life"
"Deadhead"
"Bad Devil"
Symphony X Set:
It was obvious that the majority of this near sell out crowd was there to see Symphony X. Which was a cool sight considering when I saw Symphony X at Jaxx the previous November they were with Blind Guardian, and everyone was there to see them rather than SX. That tour did a lot for SXs fanbase. You can read my review for that show here.
They played great. They were tight and full of energy. Highlights for me were "Communion and the Oracle", "Accolade II", and "The Odyssey". One complaint I had was that they played everything too fast! I mean, there stuff is fast already. I call this "Iron Maiden syndrome". Its cool sometimes, but in many cases it takes away from the song itself. At any rate, here is their setlist:
"Inferno"
"Wicked"
"Evolution"
"Communion and the Oracle"
"Accolade II"
"King of Terror"
"Smoke and Mirrors"
"Sea of Lies"
"Sins and Shadows"
"They Odyssey"
During their set, Nicki and I hung out with Devin, his guitarist, and drummer in the lobby. We talked to them about all kinds of things for 30 minutes or so: everything from deep, intelligent stuff to music to whacky to weird. One of my favorite conversations was when we were both talking to each other about our influences, composing, arranging, etc. Turns out we are both highly influenced by Yanni and Enya!
But we have the same philosophy about it go atmospheric, larger than life sound, etc, but do it METAL. :evil He is a super cool guy, and definitely one of the coolest professional musicians Ive ever met.Devin complimented my voice again, and he asked a bunch of questions about my band. I gave them all Odins Court T-Shirts, and they really liked them. They said they were going to wear them on stage during the tour (so if you see them 11/22 or later, look for them!
). Devin signed Nickis special edition of Terria. Post Show:
The place emptied out really fast. I packed up the last of our merchandise and hung around talking to people. After about 10 minutes, all of Symphony X came through to the front. People were waiting in line at the front door for autographs and pictures. I thought it was pretty cool that they did that. After all the fans left, Jaxx locked the doors and we hung out with Symphony X until 3am. I got a picture with all of SX and then just Rullo (since he was mostly cut out of my full band picture). Nicki got Leopold to sign her ticket stub.
I talked to Devin a little more before he hit the road. He and his band left much, much earlier than Symphony X to get to Cleveland. They had a mobile home they tour in, while Symphony X had a huge full size bus as a home. Anyway, back to the venue
Everyone was hanging out at the bar drinking and talking. I talked to all the members of Symphony X several times. They were all friendly, with Leopold being the nicest of all of them. Romeo was fun to talk to since we talked about music, composing, arrangements, etc. Nicki had fun lighting everyones cigarettes because no one seemed to have a lighter.
I noticed that Leopold was a really quiet guy and sat at the bar by himself drinking while everyone else talked. Nicki and I went over to him again after talking to everyone else, and we talked for 30 to 45 minutes. He is really cool guy. We had some great conversations about everything under the sun. I really do wish the best for him and Symphony X they deserve to "make it". They are right on the edge of breaking through so that they can do this for a living (which may come to a surprise to many of you they all do other jobs when they arent in the studio, writing, or touring).
Their bus was scheduled to leave at 3am, so we said goodbye and hit the road ourselves. It was about a 1.5-hour drive home, so I ended up getting to bed around 5:30am. It was a very eventful and memorable experience indeed. Can't beat playing for 500 screaming Prog Metal nuts!
Pictures:
Finally, here are some pictures. These arent from the actually sets. Those will come later. Ill let everyone know when those are ready. In the meantime..
* Matt & Devin
* Nicki & Devin
* Matt & Lepond
* Matt & Rullo
* Matt & Symphony X
P.S. Those of you who saw the show, please comment and let me know what you thought! I love getting feedback. And if you liked us, please email about getting on our mailing list.
Rock on!
