Zilla's Concert Experiences: RBO Edition

[Diabet]

Aug 14, 2012 16:38:56 GMT -5 Toki said:

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

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.

They played The Bit and Blood andThunder spot on.

[Zilla2112]

The Tea Party
with Nelson Starr, The Etchings, and Melia Maccarone

Molson Canal Concert Series
August 24th, 2012

The Tea Party:

The River
The Bazaar
Lullaby
Psychopomp
Correspondences
The Messenger
Fire in the Head
The Badger
Shadows on the Mountainside
Sun Going Down
Zahira
The Halcyon Days
Save Me
Heaven Coming Down
Release
Temptation
Winter Solstice
Sister Awake



This was my last concert of the summer, as well as the last (and probably best) concert of the 2012 Labatt Canal Concert Series. It's a shame the lineup wasn't as strong this year, especially when compared to last year, but I'm glad The Tea Party came again. I went with my dad, as well as my friend Meg, who had never been to a rock concert before.

We arrived at the concert after The Etchings and Melia Maccarone performed, leaving Nelson Starr as the only opening act we saw. After buying some Tea Party CDs and waiting around a little bit, Nelson Starr and his band performed. They were decent: they were talented musicians, but they weren't too exciting. They did play some stuff from The Beatles and The Police, which was welcome. While they were performing, I met up with Zac and Rachel, and we chilled while we waited for The Tea Party to start, though they had to leave partway through their set.

The Tea Party was excellent, like they were the year before. Jeff Martin's voice was great as well: his voice wasn't hoarse like it was the year before. Their setlist is incredibly similar to the one played last year, and it seemed to work fine for everybody. The double necked guitar, the theremin, and the bow were all back as the band played their hits. They also put in some parts of other famous songs while performing their own, including "Nobody's Fault But Mine", "All Along the Watchtower", "Stairway to Heaven", and "Paint It, Black". Overall, it was an awesome show, and hopefully they'll be back in Lockport next year as well!

[Zilla2112]

Uptown Groove

Mark Studios
August 25th, 2012

(no setlist or video available)

This, like the other Mark Studios parties, is hard to call a concert, but since I've included the other two I've been to, I might as well include this one as well.

The Uptown Groove is a really cool band that played a variety of material, including jazz standards, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson, and even modern stuff like Bruno Mars and Jason Mraz. The whole band was excellent: Sean and Phil created an awesome rhythm section, Casey played some tasty sax solos, Seth nailed the guitar parts and backing vocals, and Amanda's lead vocals were absolutely stunning. The food was excellent as well! If you want to read and hear more from Uptown Groove, check them out here:

www.theuptowngroove.com/

[Zilla2112]

Steve Vai
with Beverly McClellan

UB Center for the Performing Arts
September 22nd, 2012

Racing the World
Velorum
Building the Church
Tender Surrender
Gravity Storm
D a v e Weiner Acoustic Guitar Solo
Weeping China Doll
The Moon and I
The Animal
Whispering a Prayer
The Audience Is Listening
Deborah Henson-Conant Electric Harp Solo
Rescue Me or Bury Me
Sisters
Treasure Island
Salamanders in the Sun
Pusa Road
Drum Solo
The Ultra Zone
Frank
Build Me a Song
For the Love of God
Taurus Bulba



This was an excellent show, and I must thank Zac very very very much for taking me! This concert (along with the Yes concert) was my birthday gift from Zac, and I must say it was an awesome one. The concert was held right at the University at Buffalo, where I go to school, in their Center for the Arts. Once we arrived there and waited around for a bit, they opened the Mainstage Theater. Our seats were in the balcony, but we could see everything fine.

At 8:00, Beverly McClellan took the stage with her acoustic guitar as she played a mostly acoustic set. She has an incredible, soulful voice, and her talents at guitar and piano were great as she performed solo or with Steve Vai's rhythm guitarist and harpist. Her set mixed her original tunes with covers of songs like "Crossroads" and "Nobody's Fault But Mine", and they were all performed well. She performed for exactly 30 minutes.

After a short wait, Vai and his band began their incredible show. Starting with some tracks off the new album, 'The Story of Light', Vai and his backing band kicked ass, with Vai showing off his guitar mastery. Whether he was throwing his guitar around, making funny faces, or dancing, he was very fun to watch, and of course, his playing sounded amazing too. The only gripe I had was that the kick drum lacked the "attack" that you hear on most modern rock albums and in live shows, but I'm nitpicking.

The setlist Vai played was very well chosen. It included a track from every single Steve Vai studio album, from 'Flex-Able' to 'The Story of Light' and everything in between. There were plenty of tracks off of the new album, as well as a bunch of stuff off of 'Passion and Warfare'. While it didn't include "Lotus Feet", my favorite song of his, it's understandable considering how that song requires an entire orchestra. Vai's set also included an acoustic set, with renditions of "Rescue Me or Bury Me", "Sisters" and others.

What I thought was cool was that Steve Vai allowed the members of his backing band to have their own solo moments. For example, D a v e Weiner, Vai's rhythm guitarist, played a solo acoustic guitar piece off of his record, as well as playing various solos with Vai. Deborah Henson, Vai's electric harpist, played a beautiful solo piece from her own record, while Vai's drummer went into an intense drum solo.

Some of the coolest moments in the entire show include a section where the drummer appeared onstage wearing a portable drum kit. The mini-kit included several electronic drums and real cymbals and was full of lights, and there was a small skull on the set that led to some comedic moments. Another awesome section happened during the performance of "The Ultra Zone", where Steve appeared wearing a suit full of lights, a light-up mask, and gloves that glowed as Steve played his crazy guitar. It was an awesome effect, and it's definitely better actually seeing it than me describing it. I should also mention that Steve changed his outfit at least three other times during the show, and is probably the only rock artist out there who does that.

The show ended with a bang! After playing Vai's tribute to Frank Zappa, he called a girl from the audience onto the stage to write a song. She vocalized a drum beat, bass-line, and guitar melody, and Steve arranged it into a full song on stage and performed the whole thing. Afterward, Vai played an incredible rendition of his classic "For the Love of God", and reappeared for an encore of "Taurus Bulba" from The Fire Garden Suite.

Once the show was done, Zac and I got Steve Vai shirts from the merch booth and we headed home. I'm so glad I got to see Steve Vai live, and it's definitely an experience I won't forget. I'm surprised that, for the amount of talent that Vai has and how relatively elaborate his show is, there were so few people there. There was a decent crowd, but the theater wasn't even close to being full. He definitely deserves to play to larger crowds, though this type of venue provided a pretty intimate experience, even from the balcony.

[Zilla2112]

Godspeed You! Black Emperor
with Tony Conrad

Town Ballroom
October 15th, 2012

Hope Drone
Mladic
Sleep
Behemoth
East Hastings









This was a pretty cool show! I went to this show with Elysia, who was super excited for it. First, Elysia and I chilled out, ate some Wendy's, and watched videos about Roller Coaster Tycoon mishaps and original characters named Blonic. After that, my dad picked us up and we went to the ever so awesome Town Ballroom.

We got there, waited for a bit discussing Infinite Jest, and then we got inside. We looked at the merch booth, but surprisingly, there wasn't much there. There was only one type of shirt, only available in larger sizes, and there was 'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend! exclusively on vinyl. Elysia picked up both of those, but I decided not to get anything since I was hoping to get LYSF on CD. We waited for a bit, getting a good spot on the right side railing, and then came on the first act.

And oh boy, did I not like the first act. We saw these various stringed instruments onstage, and I was hoping I'd hear some beautiful, melodic music. Turns out that they would drone for 30 minutes straight with little variation. Meaningless, purposeless droning. This act just went on and on, and literally nothing happened except for a few brief changes. As my dad said, this would be great atmospheric Halloween music, but it does nothing musically and just bored me. Elysia seemed to like it, but I could have done without this act. (It turns out that Tony Conrad teaches at my university too. Weird.)

After that mess was done, we waited a bit more for Godspeed to take the stage. They then announced that violinist Sophie Trudeau would not be performing due to a family emergency. Hopefully, all will go well for her. Regardless, the show went on, and Godspeed started off with their improvised intro, "Hope Drone". You see, this is where droning has a purpose. Instead of meandering aimlessly like the other act, this droning built up into the start of "Mladic".

The band on stage consisted of two drummers, three guitarists, and two bassists. There were TONS of pedals and things on the floor that the band utilized to create noise during the show. An upright bass was used as well as electric ones. While the band played, video footage played on a screen behind them, consisting mainly of black and white, melancholy backgrounds and flashing text and images, which was an interesting touch.

All of the band members played incredibly well, and the setlist from what we heard was really good. "Hope Drone" went seamlessly into "Mladic", the first track off of their new album. After that, the band played a beautiful rendition of the first part of "Sleep", which as a huge fan of Lift Your Skinny Fists, was great to hear. Once that was over, GY!BE went into their new, unreleased 40 minute epic, aptly titled "Behemoth". This track combined heavy drumming, gradual buildups, and droning into a cool sounding package.

Once "Behemoth" was over, we had to leave the concert early in order to get Elysia home on time. It looks like we missed their performance of "East Hastings", but regardless, we saw a great deal of the concert, and what we saw of Godspeed was excellent. I'd definitely like to see GY!BE again (hopefully without Tony Conrad on board) in the future. Next up, and probably my last concert of 2012, is Rush! Elysia, if you've got anything else you'd like to mention about this epic concert, feel free to add it.

[Elysia Drake]

all right time to do MY version of the concert

gy!be concert title name you already know this junk

SO yes I got PICKED UP and we went to zilla's house and got some Wendy's shit was cool and we like talked about gaymes and stuff

THEN we drove all the way to buffalo and the venue right and so we were next to all these FILTHY HIPSTERS I don't want to talk about it but the hippie next to me (who actually was NOT a hippie because he likes ted nugent like what???) is reading Infinite Jest too!! (by the way all of you dicks read it it will give you CULTURE) so yeah that was nice

um we went inside there was a lot of waiting and I got GY!BE stuff!! a shirt about GOD'S PEE and some lame record about ascending, it was totally dumb right

the COVER BAND these guys had some balls to play the same note for like 30 minutes so that was sweet and the lead violinist asian guy (I THINK he was asian hmm) got like this EXTRA STRING and played the violin on that it was rad like yeah it was hella long but I still thought it was sweet

THEN WE WAITED A LOT I DONT LIKE WAITING FOR THINGS

AND THEN GY!BE GOT ON OH GOSH IT WAS COOL they played a lot of cool stuff and the VIDEO SCREEN MAN that showed like all this very artsy black and white pictures of some dead people and passports and houses and fields and train tracks so very cool

there was a guitarist and another guitarist that also doubled as a sound guy or something and he also played some cowbell I think!! and a bassist and another bassist that was ALSO a cello dude so that was nice! there was no violin lady tonight but ah well. and TWO drummers like woah. they played some music but uh you already know that so not really a big deal it was rad just know that

then WE WENT HOME. it was fun. 10/10 would attend again even though waiting.

[SMAP]

i love tony conrad

[Zilla2112]

Oct 16, 2012 0:01:48 GMT -5 Elysia Drake said:

all right time to do MY version of the concert

gy!be concert title name you already know this junk

SO yes I got PICKED UP and we went to zilla's house and got some Wendy's shit was cool and we like talked about gaymes and stuff

THEN we drove all the way to buffalo and the venue right and so we were next to all these FILTHY HIPSTERS I don't want to talk about it but the hippie next to me (who actually was NOT a hippie because he likes ted nugent like what???) is reading Infinite Jest too!! (by the way all of you dicks read it it will give you CULTURE) so yeah that was nice

um we went inside there was a lot of waiting and I got GY!BE stuff!! a shirt about GOD'S PEE and some lame record about ascending, it was totally dumb right

the COVER BAND these guys had some balls to play the same note for like 30 minutes so that was sweet and the lead violinist asian guy (I THINK he was asian hmm) got like this EXTRA STRING and played the violin on that it was rad like yeah it was hella long but I still thought it was sweet

THEN WE WAITED A LOT I DONT LIKE WAITING FOR THINGS

AND THEN GY!BE GOT ON OH GOSH IT WAS COOL they played a lot of cool stuff and the VIDEO SCREEN MAN that showed like all this very artsy black and white pictures of some dead people and passports and houses and fields and train tracks so very cool

there was a guitarist and another guitarist that also doubled as a sound guy or something and he also played some cowbell I think!! and a bassist and another bassist that was ALSO a cello dude so that was nice! there was no violin lady tonight but ah well. and TWO drummers like woah. they played some music but uh you already know that so not really a big deal it was rad just know that

then WE WENT HOME. it was fun. 10/10 would attend again even though waiting.

awww yeeeee

You get used to the waiting once you go to a lot of concerts, especially ones with a lot of openers like the Devin Townsend show (waiting for Devy to get on stage was crazy, but it was more than worth it).

[Elysia Drake]

Oct 16, 2012 15:45:46 GMT -5 SMAP said:

i love tony conrad

hug

[Zilla2112]

Added some videos for the GY!BE concert (including an audio recording of the entire show)! It turns out that the only thing they played after "Behemoth" was "East Hastings".

[Zilla2112]

Rush

First Niagara Center
October 26th, 2012

Subdivisions
The Big Money
Force Ten
Grand Designs
Limelight
Territories
The Analog Kid
Bravado
Where's My Thing?
Far Cry

Caravan
Clockwork Angels
The Anarchist
Carnies
The Wreckers
Headlong Flight
Halo Effect
Seven Cities of Gold
The Garden
Manhattan Project
Drum Solo
Red Sector A
YYZ
The Spirit of Radio
Tom Sawyer
2112 Part I: Overture
2112 Part II: The Temples of Syrinx
2112 Part VII: Grand Finale





















This concert, like many others here, was awesome! I got tickets for my dad and I a while ago, and they also came with Clockwork Angels on CD and a Clockwork Angels t-shirt (which I proudly wore to the show). What worried me, however, were the setlists that I saw before the show. There was a large number of 80's 90's stuff that I wasn't familiar with, and there wasn't much from the 70's at all. Regardless, I decided it would be worth going because this may be a once in a lifetime thing.

After a short day of school, weeks of listening to the Rush discography, and some drumming to my favorite Rush tunes, my dad took me out to eat at Burrito Bay (buffalo chicken burrito yum) and we went down to the First Niagara Center. The place was pretty much packed once the concert started. Our seats were in the 200 section to the right of the stage, which was a good spot to be for this show.

Surprisingly, a lot of people I know went to this show. My best friend Zac, who is the biggest Rush fan I know, got seats in the 3rd row, right in front of the stage. I didn't get to meet up with him or his mom during the show, but we Waved to each other. I'm certain he absolutely loved being that close! Elysia and Rachel were at the concert as well, and they were also in the 200 section, only to the opposite of where my dad and I were. Before the show, I met up with them and talked about how epic the concert was going to be! My friend Donny was also there too (I talked to him on the phone after the show), and my friend Dan from UB also attended.

After a decent wait with prog epics being played over the PA, a humorous video appeared on the screen, showing the band being assembled before the show. Then Rush took the stage, starting with their Signals hit, "Subdivisions". While it certainly isn't my favorite Rush song, they played it well. The first part of their setlist mainly consisted from stuff from the 80's and 90's, as expected, but what I absolutely did not expect was to hear "Limelight" during this set. Absolutely awesome! It was the first time they played it on this tour, and I was so glad to hear it. Some of the material here was pretty cheesy (especially the stuff from Power Windows and Hold Your Fire), but it wasn't too bad actually being there and seeing the band playing it. Songs like "The Analog Kid" and "Far Cry" were pretty cool to hear too. Neil also had his first drum solo during "Where's My Thing?" in which he went insane playing fast rolls and patterns. After this set, Rush took a 15 minute intermission, where I went to chill with Elysia and Rachel again.

It's interesting to note how energetic Rush is, despite their age. Geddy was walking in a really funny way around the stage, while Alex played passionate solos and Neil went crazy on the drums. Instrumentally, they're as talented as ever, and any mistakes were few, far between, and barely noticeable. Geddy's vocals aren't as good as they were back in the 70's (obviously), but he sang most of the material fine.

Visually, the show was incredible too! There was various weird stuff behind the band as they played, including a working popcorn machine, a large brain in a vat, clocks(?) and other stuff. During songs like "Where's My Thing?", a man in a chicken suit, a man in a gorilla suit, and a weird scientist person randomly went on stage while the band was playing. There was a screen behind the band as well, and during most of the songs, some sort of video was playing. This included live footage of the band playing filmed through different cameras, as well as complimentary footage of imagery that fits the songs.

After the intermission, a mini-movie played on the big screen in which a tax collector (who I assume is the non-naked guy on Hemispheres) goes to look for the Watchmaker (of Clockwork Angels), but instead finds dwarf versions of the band members who play tricks on him. This was hilarious and well made! After that, the band started their Clockwork Angels part of the set, in which they were joined by a string section. This was excellent! Not only is the music on this album really good, but there was so much going on that kept it interesting. Whether it was complimentary video footage, pyrotechnics, fireworks, or just the band themselves having a good time, this part of the show was great. I liked the song selection here, picking and choosing the best tracks from the album, and in particular, the performance of "The Garden" at the end was really beautiful.

The string section stayed on stage for a few songs after the Clockwork Angels set as Rush went back to play some more older material. The other major drum solo was between "Manhattan Project" and "Red Sector A", in which Neil played a more melodic solo using his electronic pads. Very cool indeed! After this, Rush played a bunch of their best songs: "YYZ", "The Spirit of Radio", and for the encore, "Tom Sawyer" and an abridged "2112". I was playing air instruments during this whole part, as it was so awesome! The concert ended with a conclusion to the video played after the intermission.

From Geddy's vocal performance on "2112", though, you can tell why they don't play a lot of 70's stuff. Even with the song tuned down at least a whole step (the only song to do this I believe), Geddy couldn't come close to hitting the high notes. Regardless, it was great to hear the band playing a decent amount of material off of their best albums, 2112 and Moving Pictures, and even though there were a handful of cheesy tunes, the concert was totally worth seeing. I'd recommend a Rush concert to pretty much anybody, considering how much work they put into both the audio and visual aspects of the show. Hopefully, this won't be their last tour, as I definitely would love to see them live again. And Elysia, you can feel free to add your experiences of this concert as well!

[Zilla2112]

STEMM

Dingens Bar and Grill
October 31st, 2012

(no videos or setlist available)

This show, which is probably the last show of 2012 for me, was definitely different from the other two I went to this month, but it was awesome regardless. Let me give some information on STEMM first. STEMM is a Buffalo, NY area metalcore/groove metal act which is most famous for making the UFC theme, "Face the Pain". My dad worked with the group in the past and knows several of the members. However, this year, the band will be calling it quits, so they're playing a few final shows in the area before they split-up. This spooky Halloween show was one of them, and since my dad and I were free that night, we decided to go.

After a long day of school, my dad picked me up and took me to Burrito Bay again (which is awesome). We then went to my house and my dad's house, where my dad put on his Guitar Hero costume. His awesome costume included a black wig, face paint, jean jacket, fake tattoos, spiked belt, spiked wristbands, and a Guitar Hero controller. I, on the other hand, didn't have much of a costume, so I brought my Guy Fawkes mask. We then went to the venue, which was a place called Dingens Bar & Grill on the edge of the city of Buffalo.

When we got there, the place was relatively empty. Other than the band themselves, their roadies, the bartenders, and a few others probably not there for the concert, we were the first ones there. We waited for about two hours before the show started. During this time, I got all of the STEMM CDs for only $20, my dad and I chilled while the band set up, and eventually, my dad would talk to some cool friends of his.

The band got started at about 9:40 as opposed to the event's start time of 9:00. Because the venue was really small and there were only about 50 people there, I got to be right up front for the entire show. I have to say, this is the first show in a while where I headbanged a lot! As opposed to the other recent concerts, which were usually classic rock, this show was pure heavy metal.

STEMM played incredibly well, nailing every note and rhythm. Their drummer, Dan Nelligan, played all the fills and double kick with ease. Vocalist and guitarist Joe Cafrella sang very well, while his and lead guitarist Alex Scouten's guitar work was tight. Bassist Mario Nobilio played his parts excellently too. The songs they chose to play included selections from all three of their albums, including a cool cover of Nine Inch Nails' "Wish". The band said they had no planned setlist for this show, and that it was more like a rehearsal that people were watching. The band took some requests from the audience, and even though the band said they wouldn't play "13 Years", a song from their years with former vocalist T.J. Frost, a girl in the audience went onstage and screamed T.J.'s parts as they band played the request.

All in all, this was a really fun way to spend my Halloween and my (maybe) last concert of 2012! It's a shame STEMM is breaking up, because they're such talented musicians and songwriters. I won't be able to make it to their last show, which is at the Town Ballroom where they will play with all the former members of STEMM, but I was very glad to at least be able to see them this Halloween.

[Zilla2112]

Trans-Siberian Orchestra

First Niagara Center
December 27, 2012

Winter Palace
Faith Noel
The Lost Christmas Eve
Wizards in Winter
Christmas Dreams
Christmas Nights in Blue
Christmas Jam
Siberian Sleigh Ride
What Is Christmas?
For the Sake of Our Brother
The Wisdom of Snow
Wish Liszt (Toy Shop Madness)
Back to a Reason, Part II
What Child Is This?
Christmas Canon Rock
Different Wings
The Mountain
A Mad Russian's Christmas
Dreams of Fireflies (On a Christmas Night)
Toccata - Carpimus Noctem
Someday
Child Unseen
Requiem (The Fifth)
This Christmas Day
Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24)





What do you know? Exactly one year after seeing the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, I'd be seeing them again! This time, it was less of a surprise, considering my mom bought the tickets a while before the show. We went down to the First Niagara Center for the concert, and traffic was absolutely ridiculous. There were few people directing traffic, which left it at a standstill. Getting into the parking lot was crazy too, and we were worried that we'd be late.

Thankfully, we were able to get to our seats just as the concert was starting! We were up in the 300s, which was a pretty cool place to see the entire stage. The band consisted of pretty much the same members as the last time, with a drummer, two guitarists, a bassist, two keyboardists, and electric violinist, a string section, a dozen singers, and a narrator. This time, however, the band decided to play an abridged version of The Lost Christmas Eve, which worked very well live.

A lot of the music was very fun and upbeat, with a great deal of cheesiness. However, the story of the businessman whose wife died during childbirth, leaving his son permanently brain-damaged, was very sad indeed. It was definitely a contrast from the exciting music the band played earlier with all the lighting and pyrotechnics.

The second half of the show, much like the first time I saw TSO, consisted of various tunes from most of their albums, including some of their non-Christmas stuff from Beethoven's Last Night and Night Castle. Funnily enough, for their encore, they didn't even walk off-stage as one of the band members noted how cliche encores are. The band ended the show with the epic "Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24)", which sounded excellent as it was combined with epic platforms, lighting, pyrotechnics, and fireworks. After that, we went home (after waiting through tons of traffic, of course).

[straf]

So this is years late, but you saw Steve Vai holy shit. He is a MONSTER.

[Zilla2112]

Jan 6, 2013 20:36:31 GMT -5 straf said:

So this is years late, but you saw Steve Vai holy shit. He is a MONSTER.

Indeed! He's such an excellent guitarist, and seeing him do all his crazy techniques live was fantastic.

Also, I'll have the other show info done sometime in the near future.