Zilla's Concert Experiences: RBO Edition

[SMAP]

MonstrO?!

Holy shit, I'd go for them.

[Zilla2112]

Apr 18, 2012 15:46:18 GMT -5 SMAP said:

MonstrO?!

Holy shit, I'd go for them.

They were pretty damn good indeed. Hell, all of the bands were. I'll get to writing about it in the next few days.

[Zilla2112]

Added Clutch/Hellyeah summary.

[Zilla2112]

St. Vincent
with Shearwater

Town Ballroom
May 5th, 2012

St. Vincent:

Marrow
Cheerleader
Chloe in the Afternoon
Save Me From What I Want
Actor Out of Work
Dilettante
Black Rainbow
Cruel
Surgeon
Champagne Year
Neutered Fruit
Northern Lights
Year of the Tiger
She is Beyond Good and Evil
Krokodil
The Party

Shearwater:

The Snow Leopard
Castaways
Animal Life
Dread Sovereign
You As You Were
Pushing the River
Immaculate
Run the Banner Down
Breaking the Yearlings
Insolence











This concert also has a decent amount of history to it: St. Vincent was supposed to play a show at the Town Ballroom in December of 2011, one which I couldn't attend. However, she cancelled it due to some issue which I don't know about. Thankfully, she rescheduled the concert to May 5th, which worked perfectly for me. Most of my school was on a trip in Chicago that weekend, and while I would have liked to go, I'm glad I was able to see St. Vincent instead.

After a nice Arby's dinner, a trip to the Ballroom, and some waiting time, we were in the Ballroom. My dad and I found a really nice spot in the lowest level, which was perfect for this show. The crowd was completely different from what we normally see at metal shows, for sure.

The waiting time until Shearwater started was pretty long, but it was worth it once they got started. I'm not too familiar with the band but they had good energy, a cool sound, and well written songs. Some of their stuff was certainly better than others, but they made a good opener for St. Vincent.

After about a half an hour, St. Vincent finally took the stage. Her backing band and live setup was definitely interesting: from the audience's perspective, the drum kit was set up on the left side of the stage, and there was no bass player: that was handled by the Minimoog player. There was also another keyboard player, and of course, Annie Clark herself center stage, with an assortment of guitars located directly behind her.

This setup proved to work very well: most of the songs sounded similar to how they do on her albums, with some interesting variations here and there. Most of the setlist consisted of material from Strange Mercy, though there were a bunch of Actor songs put in along with some other material.

St. Vincent herself was incredible! Her vocal performance was practically perfect, and her guitar playing was cool as can be. The backing band was incredibly solid as well. The light show was well done too, with some moments being absolutely breathtaking with the combination of the fog machines and the lights.

Annie's chatter between songs was pretty cool too, and was a drastic contrast from the shouting encouragement of moshing I often hear in metal shows. She talked about how "Year of the Tiger" was written partially by her mother and mentioned how she received a dish scrubber in the shape of Sid Vicious known as "Sid Dishes", which was pretty funny. Annie also out down her guitar and jumped into the crowd during "Krokodil", which was fun to watch.

The most amazing moment was probably the encore of "The Party". The arrangement was very different from the version on Actor, as this only featured Annie and her keyboardist performing. It was far more emotional than the original song, and it's already one of my favorite St. Vincent songs to begin with. The crowd was impressed too, and wanted another encore, which sadly didn't happen. Regardless, my dad and I are both glad that we went to this show. My dad generally doesn't listen to a lot of indie rock, but he probably enjoyed this concert as much as I did.

[Zilla2112]

Dream Theater
with Crimson ProjeKct Dark Day Sunday

Artpark
June 17th, 2012

Dream Theater:

Bridges in the Sky
6:00
The Dark Eternal Night
This is the Life
The Root of All Evil
Lost Not Forgotten
A Fortune in Lies
Surrounded
On the Backs of Angels
War Inside My Head
The Test that Stumped Them All
The Spirit Carries On
Breaking All Illusions
Metropolis Pt. 1: The Miracle and the Sleeper











After being wowed by Dream Theater at the Town Ballroom, I waited a while for the next time they'd come to the Buffalo area. It took about two years for them to come back, but it was totally worth it. My dad not only went along, but so did Zac and Rachel. The concert was a birthday gift for Zac, as well as a father's day gift for my dad and a birthday gift for me.

After eating dinner at McDonalds, we picked up Zac and Rachel and went to Artpark. The park is pretty big and has two major venues: an outdoor stage (which I saw The Machine and will see several bands on) and an indoor amphitheater (which this concert and my graduation were held).

We got to the outdoor concession stands and merch booths and noticed something funny: there wasn't anything King Crimson related at all, and instead there was a booth for a band called Dark Day Sunday. As we went into the concert hall, we were soon informed that Crimson ProjeKct had dropped off the tour. Our seating for the show was excellent: we were right in the front row of the regular seats, just outside of the pit in which there were pricier seats.

While we waited for Dark Day Sunday to started, Zac, Rachel, and I talked with this cool guy in front of us about Dream Theater, Queensryche, concerts, and other cool stuff. Eventually, Dark Day Sunday got started, and they didn't sound anything like King Crimson at all. They weren't bad: they were a good metal band, with a skilled guitarist and drummer, but their music seemed to blend together. There's only so much of fast triggered kicks and heavy riffs I can take before it gets stale. The mixing was a bit off too: I could only hear the drums clearly, with some lead guitar and the vocals.

Once Dark Day Sunday was finished, we waited a short bit for Dream Theater to be ready. We noticed that, despite the capacity of the venue we were in, the entire top portion of seats were almost completely empty. It's a bit of a shame, considering that a band the caliber of Dream Theater deserves to sell out these venues.

Anyways, the show started with Hans Zimmer's "Dream is Collapsing" (featured in Inception) being played while an animation played on the three cube-shaped screens suspended above the band. This animation was a real treat to me! It displayed all five band members as various characters as they board a plane (the one on the A Dramatic Turn of Events cover). John Myung was a ninja, Jordan Rudess was a wizard, James LaBrie was a pirate, John Petrucci was Zeus, and Mike Mangini was a genie. After this clever intro, the band took the stage and opened with "Bridges in the Sky".

As always, the band's instrumental skills were flawless as ever. Petrucci, Rudess, and Myung played as excellently as the last time I saw them, and LaBrie's vocals were very solid throughout the show. Mike Mangini, who replaced Mike Portnoy, did an awesome job playing Portnoy's parts, and while his stage antics weren't as cool as Portnoy's, he displayed great energy and technical profiency as he fit in perfectly with the rest of the band.

Dream Theater's set, while not as good as the first time I saw them, was still excellent. Much of the songs came from their latest release, A Dramatic Turn of Events, though they played selections from all throughout their career. Interestingly enough, they played "A Fortune in Lies", off of their first album When Dream and Day Unite. It sounded great having LaBrie on vocals, as he wasn't in the band when the song was recorded.

The only weak part of the whole set was "Surrounded": they played it well, but I've never been a fan of that song. I would have preferred to hear almost any other track off of Images and Words over that one. Otherwise, the rest of their set hit home. "The Spirit Carries On", as well as the improvisation Petrucci and Rudess did beforehand, was just heavenly.

After the band left the stage briefly once "Breaking All Illusions" was done, they came back for an encore of the classic "Metropolis Pt. 1", the only song that was played both times. I absolutely loved their performance of this song. Once the band finished, we all left the amphitheater, and I picked up a poster from the tour (as everything else was very expensive). Overall, the concert was totally worth it, and I would return to Artpark to see Kansas perform only two days after!

[Zilla2112]

Kansas
with The Marcangelo Perricelli Band

Artpark
June 19th, 2012

Kansas:

Magnum Opus
Belexes
Point of Know Return
Song For America
On The Other Side
Nobody's Home
Hold On
Dust in The Wind
The Wall
Cheyenne Anthem
Miracles Out of Nowhere
Icarus - Borne on Wings of Steel
Portrait (He Knew)
Fight Fire with Fire
Carry On Wayward Son





Two days after seeing Dream Theater at Artpark, my dad, Zac, Rachel, Alex, and I all went out to see Kansas at the outdoor venue. It took us a while to get there, as we had to make several stops to pick everybody up, but we got there well before Kansas started.

When we arrived, The Marcangelo Perricelli Band was already playing, and while I missed a bit of their performance, they were surprisingly good for an opener. Their music had a cool, retro prog vibe, and it was interesting throughout. All of the musicians were talented, including Marcangelo Perricelli who sang and played keyboard.

Once they finished their set and after a waiting period, Kansas finally took the stage, starting with "Magnum Opus" and playing a variety of songs from their repertoire. Pretty much everything I said about the band when I saw them two years ago applies here: even the setlists played were remarkably similar, containing most, if not all of the band's hits. All five members of the band played remarkably well, and the crowd certainly enjoyed it as well.

Kansas finished the show with an encore of "Fight Fire With Fire" and the classic "Carry On Wayward Son", both of which sounded great. After they finished, my dad drove everybody home. I'm really glad I went to this concert: at only $5 a ticket, it was totally worth it!

[SMAP]

Kansas has always been one of those bands I would love to see live but never have. The Wall is one of my favorite prog songs*


*at least, from popular, commercially successful prog bands.

[Zilla2112]

Jun 20, 2012 15:23:34 GMT -5 SMAP said:

Kansas has always been one of those bands I would love to see live but never have. The Wall is one of my favorite prog songs*


*at least, from popular, commercially successful prog bands.

They were fantastic! Hopefully you'll be able to see them soon.

[Zilla2112]

Yes
with Procol Harum

Artpark
July 17th, 2012

Yes:

Yours Is No Disgrace
Tempus Fugit
I've Seen All Good People
America
Clap
Fly From Here - Overture
Fly From Here - Pt I - We Can Fly
Fly From Here - Pt II - Sad Night at the Airfield
Fly From Here - Pt III - Madman at the Screens
Fly From Here - Pt IV - Bumpy Ride
Fly From Here - Pt I - We Can Fly
Owner of a Lonely Heart
Heart of the Sunrise

Procol Harum:

Wall Street Blues
As Strong as Samson
Pandora's Box
Homburg
An Old English Dream
A Salty Dog
Simple Sister
A Whiter Shade of Pale
Conquistador









This was certainly an interesting show! For this Artpark concert, I went with Zac, Rachel, Alex, and my dad. After picking everybody up, we were sure to make it to Artpark early in order to catch Procol Harum's entire performance. After some waiting and some surprising rain, Procol Harum finally took the stage.

Procol Harum was definitely a solid opener for the show. I don't know them too well aside from their first album, but it seemed like they played a good amount of older material. While all of the band members were talented for sure, several of us found their set to be boring at parts, as they played more ballads as opposed to more upbeat tunes. Regardless, I'm glad we went early enough to see them, especially "A Whiter Shade of Pale", which was great.

After some more waiting, Yes began to perform with their line-up of Steve Howe, Chris Squire, Alan White, Geoff Downes, and new singer Jon Davison. They started with "Yours Is No Disgrace", and while it didn't sound as good as it does on the studio recording, they still have it after over 30 years. Jon Davison was an excellent vocalist as well, adding a great deal of energy to the band as he sang the parts of Jon Anderson.

Other highlights include Steve Howe's acoustic solo, "Clap", which sounded excellent, and the Fly From Here Suite, which was performed in its entirety. Even though I'm not as familiar with it compared to their earlier material, it sounded excellent live, and I'm glad they played it. The band also played "Owner of a Lonely Heart" and the epic "Heart of the Sunrise", both of which were stellar.

However, during "Heart of the Sunrise", Alex pointed out to me that there was a lightning storm coming in from behind us. The band obviously noticed the storm as well, and despite trying to get another song in (probably "Roundabout"), they left the stage after "Heart of the Sunrise". It was kinda disappointing that we didn't get to see Yes perform what is arguably their most important song, but their set was still pretty long and was certainly enjoyable. It took us a long time to leave Artpark with everybody else leaving, but we all got home safely. I'm glad I got to see Yes with my friends, and hopefully, I'll be able to attend another concert with them soon!

[Zilla2112]

Heart
with The Bruce Wojick Band

Artpark
July 24th, 2012

Heart:

Intro
Fanatic
Magic Man
Heartless
What About Love
Mistral Wind
Even It Up
Straight On
These Dreams
Alone
Dear Old America
Crazy On You
Barracuda
59 Crunch
Love, Reign O'er Me







This is definitely a highlight show of the summer, for sure! I went down to Artpark again for this one, but with my mom and little brother this time. We got there later than normal, so we missed the opening act, though I heard it was just okay.

I met up with Zac, his mom, and my friend Jake at the park, and we chilled out before the show started. My mom got me a burger, which was pretty tasty, and we talked about stuff until the show started. The place was packed! I couldn't see the stage too well from where I was standing, but I could see one of the video screens just fine.

Heart then took the stage, starting with a new song, "Fanatic". The first thing to note is how incredible Ann Wilson sang during the show. She's currently 62 years old, and yet her powerhouse voice hasn't aged one bit. This was definitely displayed when Heart performed some of their classic material, like "Magic Man" and "Heartless".

The rest of the band was awesome too. Nancy Wilson's guitar playing was excellent, the backing band, which consisted of a drummer, bassist, lead guitarist, and keyboardist, played perfectly as well.

Heart's setlist was very solid as well. The new songs they played off of their upcoming release, 'Fanatic', were solid, and even their cheesier 80's material was well performed. Their strongest stuff was their classic 70's songs, though, and I really enjoyed that. For the encore, Heart played another new song, as well as a cover of The Who's "Love, Reign O'er Me". We tried to beat the crowds by leaving a bit earlier, though we had to wait in traffic for about 45 minutes in Lewiston before we could get on the road anyways. Regardless, this was an excellent show, and it was definitely worth going.

[Diabet]

I might as well list bands I've seen

Zappa Plays Zappa (frank zappa cover band, they're awesome) - New Orleans LA
Skillet(went with some friends, I honestly hate skillet) - Bossier City LA
AC/DC - Dallas, TX , Shreveport, LA
Les Claypool - Little Rock, AR
MellowHype - Branson, MO (met hodgy and left brain, they're complete assholes)
Mastodon - Atlanta, GA
Dick Vomit - Monroe, LA (local band, opened fpr the black veil brides)
Black Veil Brides - Monroe, LA (They were fucking horrible and andy autotuned his shitty ass screams to where they sounded somewhat 1 notch between I want to kill a baby and I want to rape a baby then kill it)

[Zilla2112]

Ted Nugent
with Laura Wilde

Erie County Fairgrounds
August 12th, 2012

Gonzo
Just What the Doctor Ordered
Wango Tango
Turn it Up
Free For All
Stormtroopin'
Wang Dang Sweet Poontang
Red House
Need You Bad
Live it Up
Hey Baby
Fred Bear
Cat Scratch Fever
Stranglehold



I didn't even know that I would be going to this show until about a half-an-hour before I was picked up! Basically, my best friend Zac was supposed to go to the Erie County Fair and see Ted Nugent with both his dad and his dad's girlfriend, but she was unable to go along due to illness. I got a call from Zac inviting me to come along, and I took the offer.

I rode down to the fair with both Zac and his dad, which was at least a 30 minute ride. We arrived at the fair more than an hour before the concert started, so I got a double cheeseburger for dinner while Zac bought some chocolate covered bacon and fried cookie dough, which he thought were pretty good. Zac and I then checked out a couple of rides, which were pretty fun.

After that, we went down to the horse racing track where the concert was being held. We had some pretty good seats in the bleachers, and we could see everything very well. When we got there, the opening act, Laura Wilde, was already playing. She was pretty damn good: Laura and her band played straight up hard rock, but she played with a ton of energy and it was very fitting for this type of show. She also covered AC/DC's "Jailbreak", which sounded great.

Once Laura Wilde finished, it took about 30 minutes until Ted Nugent took the stage. We looked at all of the guitars Ted had on stage: there were at least a dozen of them, and they looked awesome. Ted and his band then went on stage, and they started the show with a bunch of rockin' tunes. All of the band members were great: not only was Ted's guitar playing excellent, but Derek St. Holmes, who was the rhythm guitarist and a vocalist in Ted Nugent's early solo career, was part of Ted's touring band, and he played and sang very well.

Uncle Ted is well known for being a conservative and an advocate for gun rights, and he certainly displayed this between songs. He said that if he were president, he would give everybody a free machine gun, and proceeded to show his machine gun to the audience. He noted that the machine gun he held had "balls" on it, which I found to be very humorous. Ted also talked about how we need to get rid of the criminals in the White House by voting for Romney/Ryan in November, and later on called Obama a "son of a bitch". Ted also talked about his sobriety, his performances, his love of America and the troops, and his love of hunting, which he does every day.

The setlist played covered most of Ted Nugent's classic material, and it worked very well overall. Of course, hearing his two most well known songs, "Cat Scratch Fever" and "Stranglehold" live was great. Before playing "Stranglehold", Ted called it the anthem for taking the country back, and after the song ended, Ted and his band members all put on helmets, grabbed their machine guns, and raised an American flag on stage to close the show.

I'm certain most liberals would have hated this concert, but as a moderate, I found it to be very enjoyable. I don't agree 100% with Nuge, but he was certainly entertaining, whether he was rocking everyone's asses off or making political comments. I'm certainly glad I went, I must give a HUGE thank you to Zac and his dad for taking me with them.

[Toki]

Jul 28, 2012 0:46:20 GMT -5 Diabet said:

I might as well list bands I've seen

Zappa Plays Zappa (frank zappa cover band, they're awesome) - New Orleans LA
Skillet(went with some friends, I honestly hate skillet) - Bossier City LA
AC/DC - Dallas, TX , Shreveport, LA
Les Claypool - Little Rock, AR
MellowHype - Branson, MO (met hodgy and left brain, they're complete assholes)
Mastodon - Atlanta, GA
Dick Vomit - Monroe, LA (local band, opened fpr the black veil brides)
Black Veil Brides - Monroe, LA (They were fucking horrible and andy autotuned his shitty ass screams to where they sounded somewhat 1 notch between I want to kill a baby and I want to rape a baby then kill it)

Mastodon sucks live.

[Diabet]

Aug 13, 2012 0:12:10 GMT -5 Toki said:

Jul 28, 2012 0:46:20 GMT -5 Diabet said:

I might as well list bands I've seen

Zappa Plays Zappa (frank zappa cover band, they're awesome) - New Orleans LA
Skillet(went with some friends, I honestly hate skillet) - Bossier City LA
AC/DC - Dallas, TX , Shreveport, LA
Les Claypool - Little Rock, AR
MellowHype - Branson, MO (met hodgy and left brain, they're complete assholes)
Mastodon - Atlanta, GA
Dick Vomit - Monroe, LA (local band, opened fpr the black veil brides)
Black Veil Brides - Monroe, LA (They were fucking horrible and andy autotuned his shitty ass screams to where they sounded somewhat 1 notch between I want to kill a baby and I want to rape a baby then kill it)

Mastodon sucks live.

They were actually good.

[Toki]

Aug 14, 2012 12:15:09 GMT -5 Diabet said:

Aug 13, 2012 0:12:10 GMT -5 Toki said:

Mastodon sucks live.

They were actually good.

They have good days and bad days, but all of the footage I've seen, the singer was always out of key.