-or-
Gríma Wormtongue can still frikkin' rock!!!
Archive from MySpace blog
Category: Music
So, tickets go on sale Friday for Heaven and Hell -- again -- (Thursday, I think, through the local rock station) for a September show at the casino. I'm in a quandary as to whether to buy. I know it's going to be a great show; I've already seen it.
Heaven and Hell played the Mohegan Sun Arena May 15th, with Megadeth (and some other band I didn't see) in tow. In September, they'll play with Queensrÿche and Alice Cooper -- the former I've seen 5 times, and the latter never. The May show was fantastic. September promises to be as good -- if the 3 major bands on the bill doesn't shorten everyone's set. This isn't the show you you want 3 hour-long set for -- after only an hour, each of these bands is only getting warmed up.
Megadeth, on the other hand, is the perfect band to do an hour before the headliner. Why? Because in an hour's time, they can blister and burn through some 10 of their greatest hits and a nice sampling off the new record. The busted on stage, the drummer pinned to the back of the stage curtain by his kit looking like an animal in a cage, and with maybe two words on welcome, slammed into a blistering set that covered everything a fan would want to hear. A couple words from Dave to promote the new album, a couple more to thank the crowd for their enthusiasm -- and who wouldn't be enthused with a set that ran like a runaway train from start to finish of his career. Hanger 18, Sweating Bullets, and a medley of 5 tunes, including the classic Mechanics Dave wrote for Metallica before his unceremonious departure. The best thing about Megadeth medley, though, in 6 minutes, they play 5 songs, start to finish, each normally clocking 3 minutes long. Mechanics reminded me of an important thing: for as popular as Metallica has become, for anything they play (The Four Horsemen, for example, being James Hetfield's lyrical rewrite for Mechanics), Dave and Megadeth can play it bigger, louder, better, and without doubt... faster.
So Megadeth's set closed, and you'd think we'd been playing for an hour, so we went for a smoke and another beer. Cooled off, and back in the auditorium -- our seats, thank to a good hookup at the Sun, were phenomenal, by the way -- we waited to see what was in store for us from the headlining act. Well, from the moment the curtain lifted, we weren't disappointed.
The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences doesn't give awards for live performance. They should. And if they did, The Heaven and Hell Tour would undoubtedly win the Grammy for Best Set Decoration. The curtains parted to reveal the ruins of a gothic church, stone arches, torches, and 3 stained glass windows that revealed as video screens displaying images such as angels smoking cigarettes.
On the left (the far end from our vantage point), Geezer Butler, in his elder years now looking like Gérard Depardieu with a bass. At the rear of the stage, Vinny Appice, a menacing humanoid representation of the Muppet Show's Animal, across between Joe Pesci and an Orge. On the right, Tony Iommi... OK, Tony Iommi just looks like Tony Iommi, plastic fingertips and all. And running to the front of the stage, the Angry Gnome of Metal -- scratch that; his prior battles with gnomes being quite well known, referring to him as such seems wrong -- the Gollum-like Metal God that he is, the man who brought us Metal Hand, Gríma Worm... I mean, Ronnie James Dio. But yeah, he really does look too much like Gríma Wormtongue from The Lord of the Rings. He does.
But anyway, enough mocking the appearance of 4 of the greatest men to ever get together and make Metal, they deserve better than the fickle comparisons of my mind's eye. They deserve to get together and make an album. Oh wait, they did. And for an album that spans the "best of" of a career that lasted an entire two studio albums, it truly is an amazing offering. And the tour to support it, amazing as well..
I'd like to stop a moment, and thank VH1 Classic for existing. Not only is it possibly the only place on television to listen to good music, but the VH1 Classic Concert Series has brought us some of the best shows in recent memory. The joy of this series for me, is that I can finally catch some of the bands, that in their hey-day, I was just too young to go see. Pandora's Box of classic shows, of bands I got into too late, or bands who toured when I was still in Elementary School, has been opened. But Eddie Trunk, our modern-day Pandora, need not be chastised for what he has released into the world.
Musically -- and when it comes down to it,musically is what really matters -- the show surpassed my expectations. I had seen Black Sabbath, the real Black Sabbath, at OzzFest not too many years ago -- again, a line-up I had expected had passed me by before I was born. At that show I had been impressed with the musicianship of the original line-up, but that was nothing compared to what I heard at Heaven and Hell. It would be my humble opinion that Black Sabbath really blossomed into true Heavy Metal at the time when they picked up Dio. Tony Iommi is an indisputably awesome guitarist, but this era of the band really allowed him to display the kind of prowess that defines him as a Metal God. Geezer Butler, who almost seems absent in early Sabbath, really shines, and unlike many of his contemporaries, produces a fast, heavy sound without the aid of pick. And of course, there is Vinny Appice. Perhaps moreso than Dio himself, the addition of Appice on drums truly defines the heavier, darker, truly just more metal sound of Dio era Sabbath. The man is a monster... and not just in appearance.
I haven't yet picked up the album this tour supports, but I know I will. There is no way I could not. Perhaps it is in fact a bi-product of the fact that The Dio Years is an eponymous spanning a mere two albums, but everything just fit together. From the heaviest, to the lightest ballad -- well, what passes for a ballad from Dio and Sabbath -- everything just flowed together beautifully. Shockingly, the two of the three new song that they did play live, not only fit, not only were just great tunes, they in fact sounded more like the older works of Sabbath than everything else they played. Ronnie, Tony, Geezer and Vinny truly succeeded when they got back into the studio, and managed to put together 3 tracks that unequivocally deserved to be call Black Sabbath songs.
Kudos, boys.
Now, the question does remain... do I do it all again? I'll have to think on that some more. But in thinking on it initially, I was lucky to have been reminded of what a fantastic show it was the first time around.
Currently listening :
The Dio Years
By Black Sabbath
Release date: 03 April, 2007
Showing posts with label Queensryche. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Queensryche. Show all posts
11 November 2006
Mindcrime II, Take II
-or-
Why the Venue Makes Everything Different
Archived MySpace blog
Category: Music
It's been a while since I've written a blog, and it seems odd that what should inspire me to write now is something I wrote a blog about not 2 months ago. But... here we are.
September 22nd, I saw Queensrÿche perform Operation: Mindrime and Operation: Mindcrime II at the Nokia Theater in New York. I went with my friends, and brothers, Jim and Joe, and had an amazing time, which you can read about here. Not long after, and after posting the above mentioned blog, I learned that my friend Phil was regretting that he didn't make the show. So, knowing that there's only a limited amount of Queensrÿche left to see, and that I would love to see the show again, I invited Phil, and of course my girl Molly, and got tickets for the show at the Chevy (Oakdale) Theatre, in Wallingford.
So, about 6:30 we depart West Haven, having picked up Angie -- who had gotten tickets with other friends, and would later have her own separate story to tell of her night. Here's your Kudos, Angie! -- and Phil, and were en route. It's about 10 or 15 minutes to the Oakdale, so after a brief discussion of that fact that we shall not "be that guy" and play any Queensrÿche on the way to the show, and a couple of running Ren and Stimpy references, we found ourselves there.
So now we are there, and of the reason why this is indeed a separate blog, and my friend Clint can now attest, a venue can make or break a show. This is by no meas a tear at the Oakdale, it has it's up points and its down points, but it simply amazes me how different the experience was at a different venue.
We arrived, and after out quick walk over from Premier Parking, we found ourselves inside the theatre. The Oakdale has a large, if slightly crowded, lobby, ringed by concessions. The beer is only slightly overpriced, and true to it's theatre roots, also has the more typical concessions like popcorn, nachos, and coffee. I can't be certain, but I do believe the merch booth was even a bit cheaper than in New York, and I did find myself buying a t-shirt from the tour.
Our seats were excellent, aisle seats right near the front of our level, and with no seats in front of us as we were at the edge of the pie-wedge shaped section 207. The view was amazing, and in stark contrast to the New York show, where we did not have seats at all until the second act.
By the time Anarchy-X came up, and I could actually see the stage set and the incomparable Scott Rockenfield wailing away at that telltale drum lick, I realized the value of our seats. I was able now to see that the sets... and moreover some of the images on the projection behind the set... had been changed since the original Mindcrime production I had been lucky enough to see a couple years back. The band sounded awesome as always, and the house sound, although maybe a touch scaled down from the Nokia, was clean and clear.
But, when Geoff Tate stumble on stage to belt out the first notes of Revolution Calling, they all but weren't there. By midway through the song, they had his vocals up, and a couple songs in, they seemed to be EQ'd perfectly, but then, when Pamela Moore came on for Spreading the Disease, it was the same old thing all over again.
Pamela's vocals would unfortunately never be spot-on, and the issues the wireless headset mics seemed to be causing only came out more in contrast to the crystal clear canned vocals of The Chase, featuring Ronnie James Dio, in the second act. In fact, even the band's synch with the the other prerecorded orchestration and effects seemed just a hair off.
The inferiority of the vocals, though, was set off by the visual superiority of the show from my much better vantage point. Visually, the show was stunning, and this was the first time I got to see the performance in its entirety without impediment. Geoff's performance was brilliant, and he moved about the stage with an energy and showmanship rare in this day and age -- rarer still when not 5 hours earlier he appeared on WCCC sounding like he was in fact dying of his head cold.
Against my better judgment, I did not mug Angela for her backstage pass, nor did I have an opportunity to acquire any of the Queensrÿche money from I'm American, but I still had a phenomenal time.
Kudos to you, Queensrÿche!
Currently watching :
Queensryche - Operation Livecrime
Release date: 20 November, 2001
Why the Venue Makes Everything Different
Archived MySpace blog
Category: Music
It's been a while since I've written a blog, and it seems odd that what should inspire me to write now is something I wrote a blog about not 2 months ago. But... here we are.
September 22nd, I saw Queensrÿche perform Operation: Mindrime and Operation: Mindcrime II at the Nokia Theater in New York. I went with my friends, and brothers, Jim and Joe, and had an amazing time, which you can read about here. Not long after, and after posting the above mentioned blog, I learned that my friend Phil was regretting that he didn't make the show. So, knowing that there's only a limited amount of Queensrÿche left to see, and that I would love to see the show again, I invited Phil, and of course my girl Molly, and got tickets for the show at the Chevy (Oakdale) Theatre, in Wallingford.
So, about 6:30 we depart West Haven, having picked up Angie -- who had gotten tickets with other friends, and would later have her own separate story to tell of her night. Here's your Kudos, Angie! -- and Phil, and were en route. It's about 10 or 15 minutes to the Oakdale, so after a brief discussion of that fact that we shall not "be that guy" and play any Queensrÿche on the way to the show, and a couple of running Ren and Stimpy references, we found ourselves there.
So now we are there, and of the reason why this is indeed a separate blog, and my friend Clint can now attest, a venue can make or break a show. This is by no meas a tear at the Oakdale, it has it's up points and its down points, but it simply amazes me how different the experience was at a different venue.
We arrived, and after out quick walk over from Premier Parking, we found ourselves inside the theatre. The Oakdale has a large, if slightly crowded, lobby, ringed by concessions. The beer is only slightly overpriced, and true to it's theatre roots, also has the more typical concessions like popcorn, nachos, and coffee. I can't be certain, but I do believe the merch booth was even a bit cheaper than in New York, and I did find myself buying a t-shirt from the tour.
Our seats were excellent, aisle seats right near the front of our level, and with no seats in front of us as we were at the edge of the pie-wedge shaped section 207. The view was amazing, and in stark contrast to the New York show, where we did not have seats at all until the second act.
By the time Anarchy-X came up, and I could actually see the stage set and the incomparable Scott Rockenfield wailing away at that telltale drum lick, I realized the value of our seats. I was able now to see that the sets... and moreover some of the images on the projection behind the set... had been changed since the original Mindcrime production I had been lucky enough to see a couple years back. The band sounded awesome as always, and the house sound, although maybe a touch scaled down from the Nokia, was clean and clear.
But, when Geoff Tate stumble on stage to belt out the first notes of Revolution Calling, they all but weren't there. By midway through the song, they had his vocals up, and a couple songs in, they seemed to be EQ'd perfectly, but then, when Pamela Moore came on for Spreading the Disease, it was the same old thing all over again.
Pamela's vocals would unfortunately never be spot-on, and the issues the wireless headset mics seemed to be causing only came out more in contrast to the crystal clear canned vocals of The Chase, featuring Ronnie James Dio, in the second act. In fact, even the band's synch with the the other prerecorded orchestration and effects seemed just a hair off.
The inferiority of the vocals, though, was set off by the visual superiority of the show from my much better vantage point. Visually, the show was stunning, and this was the first time I got to see the performance in its entirety without impediment. Geoff's performance was brilliant, and he moved about the stage with an energy and showmanship rare in this day and age -- rarer still when not 5 hours earlier he appeared on WCCC sounding like he was in fact dying of his head cold.
Against my better judgment, I did not mug Angela for her backstage pass, nor did I have an opportunity to acquire any of the Queensrÿche money from I'm American, but I still had a phenomenal time.
Kudos to you, Queensrÿche!
Currently watching :
Queensryche - Operation Livecrime
Release date: 20 November, 2001
24 September 2006
Speak the Word...
REVOLUTION
...The Word is All of Us.
Archive from MySpace blog
Category: Music
So here it is, the first big show of the Fall... OK, last of the Summer if you want to get technical, yesterday was actually the first day of Fall. But this one... well this one's been planned for so long... I heard about it at the end of a show at the Webster last year, and knew I was going.
And so it was, that Jim and I were taking a trip to New York. I love New York -- yeah, I know that sounds trite -- I just can't think of another city with that much energy. And I think you bring that energy with you when you go to New York to do something, especially to a show. And so, this is how we find ourselves on the 4:52 out of New Haven.
I left work a bit early, just so I could catch the right train. Changed clothes in the parking garage; what a sight that must have been if anyone was looking. Run to track 14; Jim had already bought my train ticket for me. The train ride was uneventful -- crowded, but average -- highlighted in the first 3 stops by Jim trying in vain to see if his brother had caught the same train in Milford.
Somewhere down the line, Fairfield County, "You're gonna have to get on or off the train." "You have to clear the doors; ON or OFF." The on-board loudspeaker, to some teenager in Greens Farms; he and his friends couldn't figure out which car they were getting on. Our, it seemed, was the answer, and 3 girls and a guy, armed with large bags, proceeded to walk up and down the aisle of the train, bumping into as many people as possible on the way. "Sorry." "Oops, sorry." Where is... who's the Mayor of Green's Farms, anyway?
On to New York. Jim's brother Joe caught a later train. He'll meet us at the theater. Smoke break at Grand Central, then back underground, we're on an S train, Times Square bound. It's a small, tightly packed subway train, one stop. OK, so it's only a 5 block walk... but when in Rome, ya know?
Times Square is truly and amazing place. I've been there a few times, and to New York many more... but Time Square always impresses me: A giant Mecca to industry and popular culture. At 2 in the morning, it still looks like broad daylight. So there we are, looking up -- everything is up in Times Square -- asking "where is the Nokia Theatre?" I suggested in jest that if the Cingular building is beside us, the Verizon building to our right, LG straight ahead, Nokia must be up and to the left. Who'd have thought I'd be correct? Times Square may indeed be laid out by market share.
No Joe yet, and no phone to call Ang, Dre, or Pete, so... break for dinner. When the plan is to meet 5 or 6 people in New York when we're all taking different transportation, it's unfortunately a bad time for your phone to run out of juice. But, food in our bellies, we returned to the Nokia, undaunted.
Fantastic venue. At least that's my opinion. I think it's shared by those I've spoken to. Small, intimate, very few bad views... and excellently set-up hall. Even at the security end, the venue is well designed, and very efficient. Once you're pasted the front doors, you don't need your tickets, you don't interact with the security. They're there, but very unobtrusive. A variety of bars along the way to the main hall keep the crowds down. All in all, one of the best venues I've ever been to.
But at 8:05 the lights dropped. Joe's not yet to be found, nor have I spied anyone else. It no longer matters. From this point on it's about Geoff Tate, Mike Stone, Michael Wilton, Eddie Jackson, and Scott Rockenfield. Last year we saw Operation: Mindcrime live. At the end of the show we saw a trailer for the very long-waited sequel. Now it was here. Not only was Mindcrime II finally a reality, but it was in fact presented in the best way possible, both shows, full rock opera format, back to back with only a show intermission. In short: Queensrÿche, Operation: Mindcrime I & II. And it was awesome.
Remember Now, Anarchy-X, Revolution Calling; the audience singing along. The stage show getting harder to see over the assembled crowd. Operation: Mindcrime, Speak; by now the room is packed, ever giant word flashed on the screen echoing through the crowd. Spreading The Disease, The Mission, Suite Sister Mary.
"Don't ever trust..." By The Needle Lies the crowd is in a fervor. Everyone is completely into the show. There is the guy next to us -- awesome guy -- he must be 70, in an AC/DC t-shirt, with his sweet, grandmotherly wife, headbanging and completely rocking out. I want to be that guy when I'm his age... I really do.
Electric Requiem, Breaking the Silence, I Don't believe in Love; at this point we take our exit. No we didn't leave for good... quite the opposite. But we've seen Mindcrime before. We listen to Waiting For 22, My Empty Room, and Eyes Of A Stranger from outside the main hall so we can grab a smoke. We're heading back to the hall right as everyone's leaving, right in time to spot Joe, and perfectly to snipe 3 prime seats, just left of center, in the front row of the seated tier. Still no sight of the rest, but Jim, Joe and I are in perfect position to see every moment of what we came there to see: Operation: Mindcrime II.
Freiheit Overture began, and the energy was incredible. Convict began, and Geoff Tate comes out on stage in an orange jumpsuit.I'm American; throwing funny money into the audience. One Foot in Hell, Hostage, Hands, Speed of Light; everything with the clarity you can't just get by listening to the album. Signs Say Go, Re-Arrange You, Chase; Ronnie James Dio up on the screen, while his canned -- yet wonderfully produced -- vocals meshed perfectly with the live instrumentation. The opera itself was less intense; less characters and lacking the style of Tate singing and interacting with Nikki, but still captivating, still strong. Murderer?, Circles, If I Could Change It All, An Intentional Confrontation, Junkie's Blues; a strong finish.
The house music came up, but the lights did not. There's still a treat in store. Jim asked another fan -- one he'd gathered had been to last night's show as well -- and discovered that indeed there was an encore. Three songs, including Jet City Woman, and... thankfully... no Silently Lucidity. The audience got into the encore possibly even more strongly than the show itself. Not out of dislike for the performance, but during the Mindcrimes you had to watch and listen, during the encore... just sing along... just Speak the Word.
Currently listening :
Operation: Mindcrime
By Queensrÿche
Release date: 06 May, 2003
...The Word is All of Us.
Archive from MySpace blog
Category: Music
So here it is, the first big show of the Fall... OK, last of the Summer if you want to get technical, yesterday was actually the first day of Fall. But this one... well this one's been planned for so long... I heard about it at the end of a show at the Webster last year, and knew I was going.
And so it was, that Jim and I were taking a trip to New York. I love New York -- yeah, I know that sounds trite -- I just can't think of another city with that much energy. And I think you bring that energy with you when you go to New York to do something, especially to a show. And so, this is how we find ourselves on the 4:52 out of New Haven.
I left work a bit early, just so I could catch the right train. Changed clothes in the parking garage; what a sight that must have been if anyone was looking. Run to track 14; Jim had already bought my train ticket for me. The train ride was uneventful -- crowded, but average -- highlighted in the first 3 stops by Jim trying in vain to see if his brother had caught the same train in Milford.
Somewhere down the line, Fairfield County, "You're gonna have to get on or off the train." "You have to clear the doors; ON or OFF." The on-board loudspeaker, to some teenager in Greens Farms; he and his friends couldn't figure out which car they were getting on. Our, it seemed, was the answer, and 3 girls and a guy, armed with large bags, proceeded to walk up and down the aisle of the train, bumping into as many people as possible on the way. "Sorry." "Oops, sorry." Where is... who's the Mayor of Green's Farms, anyway?
On to New York. Jim's brother Joe caught a later train. He'll meet us at the theater. Smoke break at Grand Central, then back underground, we're on an S train, Times Square bound. It's a small, tightly packed subway train, one stop. OK, so it's only a 5 block walk... but when in Rome, ya know?
Times Square is truly and amazing place. I've been there a few times, and to New York many more... but Time Square always impresses me: A giant Mecca to industry and popular culture. At 2 in the morning, it still looks like broad daylight. So there we are, looking up -- everything is up in Times Square -- asking "where is the Nokia Theatre?" I suggested in jest that if the Cingular building is beside us, the Verizon building to our right, LG straight ahead, Nokia must be up and to the left. Who'd have thought I'd be correct? Times Square may indeed be laid out by market share.
No Joe yet, and no phone to call Ang, Dre, or Pete, so... break for dinner. When the plan is to meet 5 or 6 people in New York when we're all taking different transportation, it's unfortunately a bad time for your phone to run out of juice. But, food in our bellies, we returned to the Nokia, undaunted.
Fantastic venue. At least that's my opinion. I think it's shared by those I've spoken to. Small, intimate, very few bad views... and excellently set-up hall. Even at the security end, the venue is well designed, and very efficient. Once you're pasted the front doors, you don't need your tickets, you don't interact with the security. They're there, but very unobtrusive. A variety of bars along the way to the main hall keep the crowds down. All in all, one of the best venues I've ever been to.
But at 8:05 the lights dropped. Joe's not yet to be found, nor have I spied anyone else. It no longer matters. From this point on it's about Geoff Tate, Mike Stone, Michael Wilton, Eddie Jackson, and Scott Rockenfield. Last year we saw Operation: Mindcrime live. At the end of the show we saw a trailer for the very long-waited sequel. Now it was here. Not only was Mindcrime II finally a reality, but it was in fact presented in the best way possible, both shows, full rock opera format, back to back with only a show intermission. In short: Queensrÿche, Operation: Mindcrime I & II. And it was awesome.
Remember Now, Anarchy-X, Revolution Calling; the audience singing along. The stage show getting harder to see over the assembled crowd. Operation: Mindcrime, Speak; by now the room is packed, ever giant word flashed on the screen echoing through the crowd. Spreading The Disease, The Mission, Suite Sister Mary.
"Don't ever trust..." By The Needle Lies the crowd is in a fervor. Everyone is completely into the show. There is the guy next to us -- awesome guy -- he must be 70, in an AC/DC t-shirt, with his sweet, grandmotherly wife, headbanging and completely rocking out. I want to be that guy when I'm his age... I really do.
Electric Requiem, Breaking the Silence, I Don't believe in Love; at this point we take our exit. No we didn't leave for good... quite the opposite. But we've seen Mindcrime before. We listen to Waiting For 22, My Empty Room, and Eyes Of A Stranger from outside the main hall so we can grab a smoke. We're heading back to the hall right as everyone's leaving, right in time to spot Joe, and perfectly to snipe 3 prime seats, just left of center, in the front row of the seated tier. Still no sight of the rest, but Jim, Joe and I are in perfect position to see every moment of what we came there to see: Operation: Mindcrime II.
Freiheit Overture began, and the energy was incredible. Convict began, and Geoff Tate comes out on stage in an orange jumpsuit.I'm American; throwing funny money into the audience. One Foot in Hell, Hostage, Hands, Speed of Light; everything with the clarity you can't just get by listening to the album. Signs Say Go, Re-Arrange You, Chase; Ronnie James Dio up on the screen, while his canned -- yet wonderfully produced -- vocals meshed perfectly with the live instrumentation. The opera itself was less intense; less characters and lacking the style of Tate singing and interacting with Nikki, but still captivating, still strong. Murderer?, Circles, If I Could Change It All, An Intentional Confrontation, Junkie's Blues; a strong finish.
The house music came up, but the lights did not. There's still a treat in store. Jim asked another fan -- one he'd gathered had been to last night's show as well -- and discovered that indeed there was an encore. Three songs, including Jet City Woman, and... thankfully... no Silently Lucidity. The audience got into the encore possibly even more strongly than the show itself. Not out of dislike for the performance, but during the Mindcrimes you had to watch and listen, during the encore... just sing along... just Speak the Word.
Currently listening :
Operation: Mindcrime
By Queensrÿche
Release date: 06 May, 2003
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