We made it a point to get to the venue 30 minutes before the doors opened, as this was scheduled to be a seated performance, and we wanted decent seats. However, arriving 30 minutes early still put us behind several hundred people. As it turned out, both the venue and the bands decided to forgo the seated performance concept, due to ticket demand. Needless to say, the place was packed.
Ill start with Porcupine Tree, as they opened the dual headline bill. The first thing that impressed me about Porcupine Tree was how well they handled the crowd. Ive watched many bands wither in front of Opeths loyal following. However, whether it be out of respect for the music, Steve Wilsons professional relationship as Opeths producer, or Steves personal relationship with Mikael, the Opeth contingent (which I would estimate made up close to 70% of the crowd) was very into and respectful of Porcupine Tree. Porcupine Tree ran through a 90 minute set, that was heavy on In Absentia material, flawlessly. While I wouldnt describe their stage presence as overly energetic, the music was delivered as well as music can be. Wilsons voice and guitar play was dead on, as were the musicians who backed him. Highlights of the show included Russia on Ice, Futile and Blackest Eyes. I was disappointed that I didnt get to hear The Sound of Muzak, as its my favorite Porcupine Tree song.
Opeth took the stage about a half hour after Porcupine Tree wrapped up. They opened with an absolutely flawless rendition of Windowpane. Given how hard it is to play acoustic music live, how little time Opeth had to prepare, and that they were playing a set made up completely of songs that theyve never played live, I was concerned about how well theyd be able to pull it off. However, after hearing them breeze through the opening number, my fears were allayed. They went through the rest of Damnation, in its entirety, in order. Some of the more subtle songs didnt come across as well as others. There were even a few moments where crowd chatter was almost as loud as the subtle strains of the more musically sparse numbers from Damnation. Opeth left the stage monetarily, until Mikael returned and played the first half of Benighted unaccompanied. While he did a nice job, I felt that this song could have benefited by allowing Peter to handle the guitar duties, allowing Mikael to focus on the vocal line, as Mikael seemed to struggle at times attempting to deliver both. The band rejoined Mikael half way through Benighted, segued into To Bid You Farewell, and followed it with Soldier of Fortune. The band closed with Face of Melinda, which was the highlight of the evening.
I was very impressed with how well Opeth was able to pull off their softer material. Mikael is a heck of a lead player, and I really wish hed occasionally just rip into a two minute solo. His playing is beautifully restrained, but is often too much of a tease. If I had one complaint about Opeths presentation, it would be the set list. I have no problem with them doing an all acoustic tour. Truth be told, I was very much looking forward to it. However, they didnt need to play all of Damnation, and I certainly could have done without a Deep Purple cover song. I would have much preferred to hear some of the more subtle tracks from My Arms, Your Hearse and Blackwater Park.
GZ
Ill start with Porcupine Tree, as they opened the dual headline bill. The first thing that impressed me about Porcupine Tree was how well they handled the crowd. Ive watched many bands wither in front of Opeths loyal following. However, whether it be out of respect for the music, Steve Wilsons professional relationship as Opeths producer, or Steves personal relationship with Mikael, the Opeth contingent (which I would estimate made up close to 70% of the crowd) was very into and respectful of Porcupine Tree. Porcupine Tree ran through a 90 minute set, that was heavy on In Absentia material, flawlessly. While I wouldnt describe their stage presence as overly energetic, the music was delivered as well as music can be. Wilsons voice and guitar play was dead on, as were the musicians who backed him. Highlights of the show included Russia on Ice, Futile and Blackest Eyes. I was disappointed that I didnt get to hear The Sound of Muzak, as its my favorite Porcupine Tree song.
Opeth took the stage about a half hour after Porcupine Tree wrapped up. They opened with an absolutely flawless rendition of Windowpane. Given how hard it is to play acoustic music live, how little time Opeth had to prepare, and that they were playing a set made up completely of songs that theyve never played live, I was concerned about how well theyd be able to pull it off. However, after hearing them breeze through the opening number, my fears were allayed. They went through the rest of Damnation, in its entirety, in order. Some of the more subtle songs didnt come across as well as others. There were even a few moments where crowd chatter was almost as loud as the subtle strains of the more musically sparse numbers from Damnation. Opeth left the stage monetarily, until Mikael returned and played the first half of Benighted unaccompanied. While he did a nice job, I felt that this song could have benefited by allowing Peter to handle the guitar duties, allowing Mikael to focus on the vocal line, as Mikael seemed to struggle at times attempting to deliver both. The band rejoined Mikael half way through Benighted, segued into To Bid You Farewell, and followed it with Soldier of Fortune. The band closed with Face of Melinda, which was the highlight of the evening.
I was very impressed with how well Opeth was able to pull off their softer material. Mikael is a heck of a lead player, and I really wish hed occasionally just rip into a two minute solo. His playing is beautifully restrained, but is often too much of a tease. If I had one complaint about Opeths presentation, it would be the set list. I have no problem with them doing an all acoustic tour. Truth be told, I was very much looking forward to it. However, they didnt need to play all of Damnation, and I certainly could have done without a Deep Purple cover song. I would have much preferred to hear some of the more subtle tracks from My Arms, Your Hearse and Blackwater Park.
GZ
