Dark Tranquillity @ Harper’s Ferry – Allston, MA
May 19th, 2010 in Concert, Reviews by Chris DingmanOnly three months after playing a short set in Boston with Killswitch Engage, Dark Tranquillity returned to treat their loyal fans to a headlining show at the cozy Harper’s Ferry. Hometown heavies Acaro were the first to take the stage that night, and they controlled the room with ease. Frontman Chris Harrell engaged the early arrivals with a charming and energetic sense of humor, which his band backed up with terrific, raw energy and enthusiasm in their brief performance.
Mutiny Within continued the same standard of crowd interaction, making frequent eye contact and shaking hands with fans while unleashing an excellent blend of technical wizardry and well-implemented melodic ideas.
Niklas Sundin
Although vocalist Chris Clancy was too low in the mix, his fervent vocals matched his bandmates’ ferocity – and exceptional pop sensibilities – with equal skill. Guitarists Dan Bage and Brandon Jacobs pulled off their challenging parts live with room to spare, and the entire band clearly enjoyed every minute of their time on stage.
Threat Signal changed up the vibe of the night with ferocious, syncopated riffing and harshly melodic vocals courtesy of frontman Jon Howard. Howard strained a bit on the rare clean vocals, but his gravely melodies and frequent screams were fearsome.
Guitarist Travis Montgomery was noticeably quieter than counterpart Adam Weber, which highlighted Weber’s outstanding rhythm tone but regrettably also masked Montgomery’s burning solos – which were a definite highlight of the performance. Most importantly, Threat Signal were incredibly tight throughout their entire set, nailing every hit with an almost mechanical ease that turned the floor into a flurry of frantic limbs.
As soon as their backdrop lit the stage, Dark Tranquillity were summoned by a room packed full of fans.
Martin Henriksson
Their arrival was met with an explosion of excitement, which frontman Mikael Stanne immediately took advantage of – getting up close and personal with the crowd from the outset.
The audience weren’t as familiar with the material from this year’s We Are The Void, which opened the show, and so it wasn’t until the third song from 2007’s Fiction that they completely opened up. Regardless, Dark Tranquillity stood by the quality of their latest work – delivering a riveting rendition of the majestic album closer ‘Iridium.’
Guitarists Martin Henriksson and Niklas Sundin both had a more reserved presence than Stanne, and each took time on both sides of the stage to connect with as much of their audience as possible.
Their live tones, powered by their well-tweaked V-Amps, were as strong and consistent as ever, while the duo’s tight harmonies in songs like ‘Misery’s Crown,’ ‘The Fatalist’ and the stunning ‘Iridium’ helped make those tracks highlights of the evening.
Niklas had some terrific solo moments, particularly during his well-placed lead in ‘The Wonders At Your Feet,’ while Martin took the night’s award for most exceptional headbanging.
Towards the end of the set, Dark Tranquillity unleashed two live favorites that took the crowd over the edge: ‘Lost To Apathy’ and their infectious final number, ‘Terminus.’ Afterwards, the whole band graciously mingled with fans near the merch tables to chat and give autographs – an extension of their performance that felt natural in such an intimate venue.
Dark Tranquillity @ House Of Blues – Boston, MA
February 4th, 2010 in Concert, Reviews by Chris DingmanFans of melodic death metal were treated to some of Sweden’s finest when Dark Tranquillity took the stage at the House Of Blues in Boston for the first date of their new tour. For the next month and a half, the metal legends will be trekking through North America in support of their forthcoming album We Are The Void (to be released on February 24th in Sweden and March 9th in North America), along with The Devil Wears Prada and metalcore icons Killswitch Engage.
Dark Tranquillity began the evening by pumping up the crowd with the hook-laden ‘Terminus (Where Death Is Most Alive)’ and the rousing ‘The Lesser Faith’ before launching into a crushing rendition of ‘Dream Oblivion’ from We Are The Void. At the front of the stage, the terrific riff interplay of guitarists Martin Henriksson and Niklas Sundin provided the foundation for vocalist Mikael Stanne to engage the audience with his spirited stage presence. Dark Tranquillity thrilled dedicated fans by revisiting older tracks like ‘White Noise/Black Silence’ as well as ‘The Endless Feed’ – one of their most dynamic and intricately crafted songs. ‘The Endless Feed’ would have benefited from a mix that highlighted Martin Brändström’s keyboards, but Stanne’s nuanced growls and the seamlessly shifting grooves of drummer Anders Jivarp and bassist Daniel Antonsson helped make this a standout track of the night.
All too soon, the band reached their final song, ‘Final Resistance,’ and graciously left the Boston stage to The Devil Wears Prada and headliners Killswitch Engage, who bested technical difficulties to perform an excellent show to an enthusiastic hometown crowd. Here’s hoping that this tour brings Killswitch fans into Dark Tranquillity‘s mighty fold and into the venues when the Swedish band returns for their own headlining tour later this year.
Jeff Beck @ House Of Blues – Boston, MA
April 13th, 2009 in Concert, Reviews by Chris Dingman
Visits from Jeff Beck are cause for celebration – not only because these visits are so infrequent, or even because Beck was one of three noted guitarists to emerge from Britain’s legendary Yardbirds in the 60’s. Ever since he came into the public eye, Beck has been pushing the boundaries of rock guitar playing in general, and the limitations of the Strat in particular. Beck takes harmonic and whammy bar techniques that many players use as effects, and creates full, expressive melodic lines with them. He also controls his volume knob with authority, by using smooth swells on melodies along to expand their dynamic range. This, coupled with Beck’s preference for fingers over picks, gives Beck a command of his instrument that allows him tremendous room for expression.
The musical context that surrounds his playing has changed with the times – hard rock in the 60’s, funky fusion in the 70’s, synthesized dance music in the 80’s and loop-based techno in the 90’s into the new millennium – but Beck’s basic style has not changed as much as it has evolved. While other players have surpassed Beck in speed, few can match his dynamic control and sheer range of expressive techniques. Beck has spent his time in the woodshed finding ways to create new sounds with his guitar, and create old sounds in new ways – and decades later he’s still at it. This year he was publicly recognized for his achievements by being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist. Beck had been inducted before as a member of The Yarbirds in 1992, but now the world has officially given Beck credit for the unique and innovate style his fans have long appreciated.
When Jeff Beck walked onto the stage a few minutes after 8:45 at Boston’s new House Of Blues, he had the audience’s full attention without playing a single note. The main room of the House Of Blues was filled to capacity, having sold out weeks in advance. Many in the crowd were of the age to have grown up with Beck’s music, but many of them brought children with them, and a respectable piece of the audience consisted of young musicians eager for the opportunity to experience Beck’s legendary playing firsthand.
As soon as he burst into the triumphant ‘Beck’s Bolero,’ the older members of the crowd burst into enthusiastic cheers, recognizing the classic track from the Jeff Beck Group’s first album Truth. Beck’s stage presence was typically focused, but engaged – he gratefully acknowledged the roomful of fans, but kept most of his energy on performing his demanding lines. There were moments when Beck became visibly excited on stage, as he did during an explosive rendition of his live staple ‘Brush With The Blues.’ In recent years, Beck has been opening the song with part of his interpretation of the jazz standard ‘Goodbye Pork Pie Hat,’ so the audience knew what to expect when they heard the famous strains of Mingus’ melody. Beck built it slowly from a quiet blues, gradually increasing the volume and intensity of the song’s head until it reached the solo section, where he burst into passionate flailing that left his audience emotionally exhausted.
Beck and his current band of Tal Wilkenfeld on bass, Jason Rebello on keys and Vinnie Colaiuta on drums laid the groove down hard on tracks like the reggae-inspired ‘Behind The Veil.’ Beck locked in with his band and delivered the song’s snappy and syncopated theme with energy to spare, and when it came time for the bridge’s soaring melody, his Strat positively screamed with barely controlled feedback. Although Beck often prefers to use his whammy bar for melodies that most would execute with a slide, he does break out a slide for key portions of his songs. ‘Angel (Footsteps)’ is played almost entirely with a slide, and Boston received an amazing rendition of this hypnotic melody. Beck’s intonation was spot on, and remained so even after the solo section, when he placed his slide above the frets entirely to play the refrain in a piercing octave. Against the song’s spacey backdrop, Beck’s liquid line was transcendent.
The Nitin Sawhney composition ‘Nadia’ that Beck has been favoring in recent live sets had him interpreting the beautiful melody with volume swells and smooth dips of his whammy bar. Beck looked and sounded like he felt every note of the song, right up to its climax, when he gently rolled his volume up on one repeating, plaintive note. Beck had more trouble with the graceful ‘Where Were You.’ The brief ballad, with Beck playing rubato accompanied by Rebello’s soft synth pads, features one of Beck’s most challenging melodies. The tune itself is simple, but in addition to Beck’s usual and tasteful volume knob treatment, the melody involves an array of natural harmonics that Beck turns into melodies. To do this, he sounds the harmonic, and raises and depresses his whammy bar to the exact pitches of the melody. Sounding the harmonics and manipulating the bar to specific pitches are both challenging techniques, and smoothly fitting the dynamics of those unusual techniques into the melody is another task in itself. Beck struggled with some of the harmonics, and his pitches with the whammy bar were not always in tune, but nonetheless his performance was bold and earnest.
Since the late 90’s, Beck has been playing a lively instrumental arrangement of the Beatles’ ‘A Day In The Life,’ and his performance of it that night was one of the highlights of the show. The song gave Beck the opportunity to hit fierce and loud, and quickly break into a gentle, lilting melody – and he took amazing advantage of both extremes. Beck’s band was with him for every dynamic switch, helping him prove that a guitar in the right hands can be every bit as expressive as the human voice.
Liquid Tension Experiment @ B.B. King’s Blues Club – New York, NY
June 23rd, 2008 in Concert, Reviews by Chris Dingman
After 10 years, Liquid Tension Experiment fans finally get what they want: another tour. Ever since Dream Theater’s drummer Mike Portnoy and guitarist John Petrucci recorded two largely improvised albums in 1998 and 1999 with bassist Tony Levin and keyboardist Jordan Rudess, fans have been clamoring for more LTE. The quartet made four concert appearances in 1999, including a brief performance at the Winter NAMM that was filmed by an enthusiastic audience member, and has since been shared broadly enough to whet the appetites of the Internet community. When Petrucci and Portnoy decided that they wanted Rudess in Dream Theater, Portnoy reasoned that since 3 of 4 members in LTE were now in Dream Theater, the supergroup was finished. Since then, Dream Theater’s instrumental side project has been on an indefinite hiatus, with the exception of last year’s Spontaneous Combustion – a collection of jams between Levin, Portnoy, and Rudess recorded during the Liquid Tension Experiment 2 sessions, while Petrucci’s wife was giving birth. But de facto bandleader Portnoy has always been a fan of anniversary celebrations, and this year is the 10th anniversary of LTE’s first album. In celebration, the band are rewarding their loyal fans with 6 concerts this June.
Liquid Tension Experiment took the stage to find the floor of the homey B.B. King’s packed tightly with fans eager to finally see their favorite songs in action. LTE kicked the evening off with one of those tracks – the burning ‘Acid Rain.’ Petrucci’s 7-string sounded positively monstrous on the opening riff, and he and Rudess ripped through their famous unisons with energy to spare. Petrucci’s solo was extended beyond its generous studio length, and sounded mostly improvised. Hearing him wail so freely over ‘Acid Rain’ was a thrill, since he tends to perform his composed Dream Theater solos almost exactly as they were recorded. It’s impressive that LTE chose to begin their lengthy set with ‘Acid Rain’ – a song that the band claimed in 1999 was too exhausting to play as anything other than a closer.
‘Kindred Spirits’ was terrific, and dampened only slightly by Petrucci’s half-step misfret near the end of his soulful solo – which is the only mistake I remember noticing during the entire 130-minute show. After Rudess finished his wild solo, Portnoy’s increasingly energetic drumming during Petrucci and Rudess’ final unison brought the song to a thrilling conclusion. Here again and throughout the show, the band extended solo sections beyond their normal length and even added new ones – an approach that was very much in the improvisational spirit of LTE, since both of their albums were written quickly and spontaneously. These live solos turned out better than the recorded originals almost every time.
The band then got into more progressive territory, with the mini-epics ‘Biaxident’ and ‘Freedom Of Speech.’ ‘Biaxident’ was played beautifully at the NAMM show in 1999, so fans who follow bootleg videos have already had the chance to see the band play it second-hand. However, no bootleg can match the experience of seeing them pull off the song’s many changes with such deft skill live. The groovy middle-section was especially spirited, and Petrucci’s tone for his solo was pleasingly silky. ‘Freedom Of Speech’ was the real thrill of the two, though, with its hard-hitting jams ended by one of the band’s prettiest melodies. Petrucci’s well-developed solo near the beginning of the song has always been a favorite – picking up steam by building on the song’s triumphant melody and taking it through a lengthy chord progression. He performed it expertly, from its intricate, cascading slides to the string-bending anticipations. The slowly intensifying jam that followed the solo was also riveting – showcasing excellent communication and dynamic control within the band, and some fantastic groove development from Portnoy.
The band led into ‘Another Dimension’ with a meandering jam that was interesting, but not too compelling. It worked well as an intro, and played around with some of the themes from the upcoming song, but the audience was glad to hear Levin’s familiar Chapman Stick line signal the beginning of ‘Another Dimension.’ The song is heavy on the album, but live it was mosh-worthy. Of course, true moshing wasn’t an option for a packed crowd of prog rock analysts, but they did engage in a respectable amount of head banging! The song’s dizzying changes didn’t slow the band down at all, except during Rudess’ tasteful accordion solo, where the rest of the band had a chance to lay back a bit. The screaming finale was nothing short of absolute metal – Portnoy pummeled his set while Levin and Petrucci escalated their riffs higher and higher, leading to a final dominating chug.
Levin and Portnoy left the stage briefly to let Petrucci and Rudess slow things down for ‘State Of Grace.’ Without Portnoy laying down the groove, the duo phrased a bit loosely, but still delivered a sensitive ballad that allowed Petrucci to stretch out with some expressive soloing. The rhythm section joined the pair back up on stage and burst into ‘Universal Mind’ – a track famous for the high-speed guitar/keyboard unison arpeggio that opens the song. Most guitarists would play this arpeggio using the efficient sweep-picking technique, but not Petrucci. He alternate picked his way through it almost perfectly, in the intro and every time it appeared later in the song. The song also features a terrific trade-off jam between Petrucci and Rudess, which at this show included solos both familiar and fresh. Towards the end of the piece, Rudess took a brief but fantastic keyboard solo; similar to the one he played in the same place during this song at the NAMM show in 1999.
After a jam that was much more experimental than the first, and saw the band getting into some strange tonalities, they segued smoothly into a prog reworking of Gershwin’s ‘Rhapsody In Blue.’ The conversion worked startlingly well, and featured some terrific solo sections – again featuring a rocking solo from Petrucci that sounded very spontaneous. This new piece was almost the highlight of the night, topped only by the next song: the epic ‘When The Water Breaks.’ As soon as Portnoy announced that they had one more big song for the night, the audience breathed a sigh of relief.
‘When The Water Breaks’ ranks as one of LTE’s best and most diverse compositions, and the band’s performance of it was near perfect. The song began with a lullaby intro from Rudess, followed by a frantic mechanical riff and a fiery guitar melody that gave way to a dreamy groove featuring another infectious guitar theme from Petrucci – all executed with liquid tones and apparent ease. That was all in the first four minutes of the tune, which later provided explosive solo sections on a bed of heavy rock grooves. The band’s tight rendition of this opus was stunning – they held together just as well during the dynamic jams as they did during the song’s many breakneck transitions.
Having already exceeded the expectations of most reasonable fans, the full band departed for a moment before bringing Levin back onto the stage for a brief but very tasteful solo spot. As the rest of LTE reemerged, the familiar vamp of ‘Osmosis’ was filled in with guitar, keyboard and drums. Before the song could develop into the winding, layered groove it becomes on the album, LTE burst into the rapid-fire opening of ‘Paradigm Shift.’ That the band still had the energy to pull off the relentless first moments of that song after playing for 2 hours straight is astonishing (not to mention that they would repeat the entire show for the second set of the night!). The entire song was a highlight of chunky rock riffs and sexy grooves that featured an amazing performance of one of Petrucci’s best-developed and most dramatic solos.
The band spent a moment looking out into the crowd and bowing to their many fans, before eagerly leaving the stage to get rested for the lengthy concert they were scheduled to play in little over an hour. LTE fans without tickets to the 11:30 show filtered slowly out of the downstairs club while the hardest of the hardcore mingled by the bar. Portnoy has recently suggested that he’d be open to recording another album with LTE, and the band seemed to enjoy playing this music again – lighting up especially during their arrangement of ‘Rhapsody In Blue.’ Judging by the reception that fans gave them in New York, the world is ready for more Liquid Tension Experiment.
Setlist
Acid Rain
Kindred Spirits
Biaxident
Freedom Of Speech
Improv Jam ->
Another Dimension
State Of Grace
Universal Mind (w/ Keyboard Solo)
Improv Jam ->
Rhapsody In Blue
When The Water Breaks
-Encore-
Osmosis ->
Paradigm Shift
Progressive Nation 2008 @ Fillmore – Miami Beach, FL
May 30th, 2008 in Concert, Reviews by Chris DingmanProgressive rock luminaries Dream Theater founded the Progressive Nation tour this year in an effort to bring together some of the genre’s most exciting acts. Swedish progressive metal band Opeth was given second billing on the tour, with the newer bands 3 and Between The Buried And Me opening the shows. Progressive rock bands are famous for defying trends and focusing on musicianship, but at the Fillmore in Miami Beach on May 30th, the headlining acts of Progressive Nation proved that they could defy technical difficulties as well, with their professionalism and performances.
Tommy Rogers of Between the Buried and Me
3 formed in the 90’s, but have been taking off and turning heads in the progressive community in the last few years. The band began the evening with an energetic performance and a gripping stage presence. I was pleasantly surprised with the clarity of the mix in Miami, as I had also attended the concert in D.C. on May 26th, where the mix for the opening bands had been muddy and heavy on bass – making it difficult to hear the guitars and vocals.
Front man Joey Eppard delivered distinct and inflective upper-register vocals, and played his acoustic and even his electric guitar with his fingers, resulting in some extraordinary solos. 3’s drummer Chris Gartmann and percussionist Joe Stote shared a great duet late in the set, showcasing some incredible coordination and drawing a terrific response from the audience. As the band members quickly packed up their gear, 3 left the growing crowd hungry for more.
After a few short minutes, the youngest band on the bill, Between The Buried And Me, came out and kept the energy level high with their heavy brand of prog. Just as with 3, the sound for this band was also cleaner than it had been at the D.C. show, and the music came across much better as a result. Their songs were full of quick transitions and time changes, which they executed with apparent ease.
Keyboard player and vocalist Tommy Rogers mostly screamed through the songs, easing confidently into melodies during the calmer moments of the music. His keyboard parts kept him back with the band much of the time, but whenever he wasn’t playing he came to the front of the stage and involved the audience more actively. Lead guitarist Paul Waggoner was fluid and tasteful, delivering impressive sweep arpeggios and tasteful melodic lines with equal precision. The marriage of progressive song structures and contemporary metal that Between The Buried And Me brought to the table provided some of the heaviest moments of the show, and served to wind up expectations even further for the headliners of the night.
Mikael Akerfeldt of Opeth
By the time the banner sporting Opeth’s stylized ‘O’ was lowered onto the stage, fans were hungry for the band’s dynamic brand of progressive metal. Moments later, Opeth delivered – opening their set with the crowd-pleasing ‘Demon Of The Fall.’ Fredrik Åkesson, the newcomer who recently replaced Peter Lindgren on second guitar, proved himself to be an asset to Opeth’s live act with his aggressive playing and vicious head banging.
This was fortunate, since singer and guitarist Mikael Åkerfeldt had strained his neck the day before by attempting a sideways head thrashing (In Lenny Kravitz style, as he explained to the audience), and was unable to move his head much in any direction. He did, however, provide witty banter between songs, grabbing the audience’s attention with his deep voice and humble humor.
Near the end of their second song, Opeth’s performance was interrupted by the sudden descent of a giant curtain that cut Åkerfeldt, Åkesson, and bassist Mendez off from drummer Axenrot and keyboardist Per Wiberg. Impressively, Opeth finished the song without disruption, and anyone listening would have been unaware of the onstage intrusion until after the song had ended, when Åkerfeldt engaged the audience with his clever remarks about the situation.
Just before he began to lead the band in the next song, curtain be damned, they were pulled off the stage while the staff sorted out the technical difficulties. Roughly 20 minutes later, the band returned to the stage and quickly regained their momentum.
Martin Axenrot, who has been touring with Opeth since Martin Lopez departed in 2005, finally had a chance to perform music he recorded with the band when they brought out the punishing new track ‘Heir Apparent’ from their new album, Watershed. While Axenrot and Åkesson both sounded tight and played well throughout the show, they shone especially on ‘Heir Apparent,’ where Åkesson had a chance to perform his own wild guitar solo. After 60 minutes of music, fans were sorry to see Opeth go, but excited for the last performers of the night: Dream Theater.
John Petrucci of Dream Theater
Dream Theater burst onto the stage in front of a crowd that were already on their feet in anticipation. At the end of the intro video featuring highlights from the various periods of their career, Dream Theater kicked into the opening riff of the thrashing ‘Constant Motion’ – stirring the fans on the Fillmore floor into a frenzy. Unfortunately, this energy was disrupted when guitarist John Petrucci lost his sound in the middle of his solo. While he walked over to his amp to sort out the difficulty, drummer Mike Portnoy seized the attention of the room with a spirited drum spot, and cued keyboardist Jordan Rudess to take over with his solo. The band then smoothly transitioned back into the song once Petrucci regained his sound, and continued the show with fresh determination.
Critics in the past have complained that Dream Theater were a stiff and clinical band to watch live, although fans of the band have never been deterred by Dream Theater’s focused and precise performances. Portnoy has always been the exception as an energetic performer who seems to feed off the energy of the crowd, and this attitude appears to be rubbing off on his band mates. Petrucci in particular has begun to move around much more on stage, making eye contact with his band as well as with his devoted fans, especially during his many solos.
Vocalist James LaBrie has always connected well with audiences, but even he seemed to be particularly enthusiastic at the Fillmore that night, displaying a great amount of energy throughout the entire set. Considering the tour was nearing the end, it’s understandable that he was strained while performing some of the more physically demanding upper-register lines, but to his credit he found ways to adapt his parts when necessary to complement the songs. Rudess played brilliantly all night, especially lighting up the epic ‘Blind Faith’ with a polyphonic piano spot, a rocking organ solo, and a screaming synth lead – which he also put to use during a jaw-dropping unison line with Petrucci. The unison line was perfect to the recorded version, but Rudess’ solos showcased some refreshing improvisation that served to liven up an already exciting song choice.
Petrucci’s pick got ahead of his fretting hand during some of the fastest solo runs, but his attack was so aggressive that it was easy to ignore any slurred notes. It was also easy to forgive any imperfections of the night when he took his extended solo in ‘Surrounded’ – phrasing passionately over the changes to Marillion’s ‘Sugar Mice’ and throwing in quotes from Pink Floyd’s ‘Mother.’ His tone for that solo was warm and smooth, with just the right amount of delay. Across the stage from Petrucci, bassist John Myung’s lines shone through mightily, and his focused presence brought a stability that matched his musical role.
Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater
Some fans always like to grumble about Mike Portnoy’s strong personality, but his inspired live performance and entertaining stage antics made him a key ingredient of Dream Theater’s show. He was a thrill to watch throughout the evening – crushing his mammoth drum set during the ‘In The Name Of God’ portion of the final medley, and appearing on screen as a video game hero in a hilarious animated short synched to the punishing metal of ‘The Dark Eternal Night’ that featured Portnoy running around in a modified version of Super Mario Bros and saving the rest of the band. Between the 90-minute sets that Dream Theater played both nights I saw them, only two songs were repeated. Dream Theater are a band that love their fans, and the work they put into delivering diverse sets night after night is only one of the ways that they continue to prove it.
Progressive Nation 2008 has lived up to its name and given fans across America the opportunity to see a mixture of both emerging and established progressive talent on a single stage. Each band gave excellent performances, and brought a distinct brand of prog to the concerts. Opeth and Dream Theater both proved that they were up to the task of conquering the unexpected with professionalism and a sense of humor. If the tour returns next year, I highly recommend that you make it out to a show. Or two.
Vanna @ Harper’s Ferry – Boston, MA
May 1st, 2008 in Concert, Reviews by Mike Kindel
A gentle breeze softly caresses the dawning of a new spring day. The birds chirp merrily in the tranquil meadow, without a hint or warning of the onslaught to come. Suddenly, the skies darken and a hurricane rips the beautiful scene apart; the perfect parallel to the live performance of the Massachusetts born, hardcore explosion of talent that is Vanna.
Vanna came crashing into Harper’s Ferry, destroying every eardrum within reach, and inciting bloodthirsty fans to mangle their bodies in the inevitable pit. As they had already completed most of their tour, this band had become seasoned live performers, very much in control of what they were doing. Once the amps were fired up, they launched into the set. Front man Chris Preece delivered monster vocals, living up to everything on the studio album. The band’s stage presence matched the aggression of their fans. They were head banging right along with the crowd that had packed itself at the foot of the stage, and rocking out – violently swinging their instruments around, and even spraying the audience with beer. The boys looked comfortable onstage in their hometown, obviously enjoying every minute of their performance.
Total musical chaos and abuse seemed to reign on stage at first glance – the group’s guitar straps were even duct taped onto their guitars – yet this was contrasted by the overall tightness of the band. The tone and blend of the show were rough around the edges, depending on where the listener was in relation to the stage, but that was to be expected from the small bar and served well to cover up any performance mistakes.
Nick Lambert
The demographic was unique and pleasantly surprising, as it included a plethora of college-age females. This could be attributed to the bill for the evening, which contained mostly pop-dance bands. Although Vanna were quite different from the rest, they were still very well received and connected with the crowd, who shouted along with the songs. The band brought the power of the tracks on their most recent album, Curses, to life, pouring their hearts into their rather short performance. They demonstrated a mastery of breakdowns in their songwriting – and their live replication of the heaviest parts were spot-on and brutal enough to give you chills. Vanna maintained an exceptionally high level of energy throughout their set from the first chord to the last scream.
Offstage, the members of Vanna are very laidback and friendly, as if they pent up all of their anger and aggression and released it during their performance. Guitarists Nick and Evan were happy to talk and share stories of their tour as well as answer guitar-specific questions about tunings, strings, etc. – which made for a very satisfying experience. Coming from a band that was as heavy as Vanna, it was good to see the band as a group of humble and outgoing boys.
For the heavier side of music, Vanna is definitely a band to keep your eye on. The screaming from the vocalist, Chris, is unique and distinguishable in this genre. The riffs are catchy, and their breakdowns are very tasteful. They are in the process of recording their new album – which after hearing a live performance of their new single, should turn out just as, if not more impressive than Curses. They plan on touring behind their forthcoming new album as well, so keep up with their dates and head to a show nearest you.
Eddie Jelley and Cold Shot (SRV Tribute) @ Palace Theater – Waterbury, CT
April 12th, 2008 in Concert, Reviews by Mike Kindel
Every inch of the Waterbury Palace Theater is elegant enough to hold a crowd wearing tuxedoes and cocktail dresses – a far cry from the skeptical demographic of predominantly middle-aged men that attended the Stevie Ray Vaughan tribute show performed by guitarist Eddie Jelley and his band Cold Shot on April 12th. Although not completely satisfied with his performance, Jelley definitely rocked the stage and brought the blues music of Stevie Ray Vaughan back into attendee’s hearts.
Jelley and his band took the stage with confidence, but also with instruments that were out of tune with each other, creating an awkward opening. Additionally, the sound crew overseeing the show took a long time to dial in the sound, overpowering a muddy rhythm section with Jelley’s loud guitar. The performers, however, were professional and experienced enough to communicate with each other musically and ‘tune up’ quickly on stage. The band looked and dressed the part, with Jelley even wielding a homemade SRV Stratocaster.
Desipite Vaughan’s vast influence on the guitar community, the easygoing Jelley claims that SRV is not his favorite guitar player, or even a major source of childhood inspiration. The self-taught guitarist takes care to note that his goal with this tribute group is not to precisely replicate SRV’s music, but to tour the SRV catalogue in an attempt to bring the legend and his music back into people’s lives. As much as his audiences enjoy his performances, of course they will always compare his performances against those of SRV.
Eddie Jelley established himself as distinctive player who was not content to emulate SRV. He played more notes than the Texan would have, and chose licks outside of the Hendrix and Albert King repertoire that formed the basis of SRV’s blues. Jelley explains this by citing influences such as Neal Schon of Journey over more typical bluesmen like Eric Clapton. Jelley even performed in a Journey tribute band as well, and played many shows in the Connecticut area with the band “Salty Dog and the Good Rats” in his younger days.
Though Jelley set himself apart musically from SRV, he was eager to emulate SRV’s famously engaging performance style. Jelley and his band studied SRV’s live DVDs – imitating SRV’s exaggerated facial expressions and reenacting crowd favorites down to the placement of drum solos. Jelley’s attention to detail in his presentation of SRV’s music reflects his desire to move as many people as possible.
Although the band captured the visuals of Double Trouble, the overall sound was slightly unfilled during the standard SRV hits. Buildups were powerful, but the explosion that should have followed wasn’t quite as strong in comparison, as if the gains were not pushed high enough. Jelley, a seasoned touring musician, felt that the band’s performance was looser than their usual standard. Their rehearsal the day before the gig had been extensive, and by the time of the actual show the band was exhausted.
Eddie Jelley’s rig was as conservative as he is humble: he had one Marshall amp with no footswitch or pedal board, a Dunlop Crybaby wah pedal, an echo pedal and a Tube Screamer – no guitar stand or tuning pedal. However, when the sound was finally dialed in, this was sufficient enough to produce a great blues tone.
The band took a short intermission, allowing fans to go drink and smoke. This break served to liven the air of the Waterbury venue. The tribute band blasted into their second set, pulling a great deal of enthusiasm from the audience. SRV’s version of “Little Wing” was their best song of the night, and saw the band locking into a deep head-bobbing groove.
Overall, Cold Shot did a good job of recapturing the magic of Stevie Ray Vaughan, and his band Double Trouble. The show ended on the powerful hit “Voodoo Child,” which rocked the Palace and brought fans to their feet. This beautiful and soulfully delivered tune was the perfect show closer and left fans with a buzz of electricity and satisfaction – touched once more by the music of Stevie Ray Vaughan.
Trans-Siberian Orchestra @ Civic Center – Hartford, CT
November 16th, 2007 in Concert, Reviews by Mike Kindel
They came upon the Midnight Clear, and lit up the Hartford Civic Center on November 16th with lights, lasers, pyrotechnics, smoke, and even snow, and backed their theatrical performance with musicianship and epic arrangements of everyone’s favorite Christmas songs that put even the biggest Scrooges in the holiday spirit. The diverse demographic proved that all ages could rock out under one roof. The Civic Center in Hartford, CT is a multi-purpose coliseum that was perfect for a Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert.
The show opened with the band, in conjunction with a local radio station, informing fans that a donation of $16,720 would be given to a charitable foundation called Cherish Children. As soon as they were finished the Trans-Siberian Orchestra launched into their set list, bringing everyone to their feet. Peter Shaw, the narrator, moved the story along between songs, telling a tale of an Angel sent to find Christmas Spirit on Earth from the perspective of a man in a bar on Christmas Eve who helps a stranger in need. As Shaw declared that snow had begun to fall, snowmakers in the rafters above began showering the audience on cue. The choreographed lights and lasers also did their part in bringing the wintry experience to life. The feeling of Christmas was overwhelming as fans reached up and tried to catch the snowflakes.
Positioned on raised platforms on either side of the stage were guitarists Chris Caffery and Alex Skolnick, delivering familiar holiday melodies from their classic metal stances. Their guitars sang with crystal clear tones that complemented the already vibrant and plush overall sound. With an orchestra behind them, one would think that the texture would get muddy or too thick for a rock band, however the band was extremely tight and the levels had been set perfectly for the arena. No one string instrument stuck out over the rest and the guitars blended nicely with the orchestra, drums and vocals.
The Trans-Siberian Orchestra have gotten their act down to an exact science – to the point that each movement on stage was precise and rehearsed. I disliked that there was very little room for improvisation. The singers entered and exited on cue just as the guitar players maneuvered to planned destinations. In the background of the stage, Shaw’s air guitar proved to be a minor distraction, although the female vocalists were eye-candy enough to divert attention. TSO’s first set ended on an uplifting note with crowd favorite “Greensleeves,” leaving fans in the wake of holiday spirit.
The first half of the show ended and bandleader Chris Caffery took the stage as customary to inquire about how his fans were doing. He wore a Patriots Jersey, knowing it would cause some buzz in the Connecticut venue – which it did. It was refreshing and humanizing to see the man as more than just a guitar player in a band. He then introduced the band and thanked the military for its service and protection.
The band’s second set broke away from the strict storytelling of the first half, allowing the players more freedom to rock out. TSO played a medley with a wide range of songs that spanned from “Proud Mary” to “We Will Rock You.” Their arrangements of these rock classics were very original and true to the sound that TSO has made recognizable as their own over the years. The keyboard players got to solo, dueling each other back and fourth. The band followed an etude by Mozart with Boston’s “Foreplay/Long Time.” The drummer got his moment to shine as well, demonstrating impressive skills and even throwing in the drum beat from Van Halen’s “Hot For Teacher.”
The lighting throughout the set flashed a plethora of different colors, keeping the visual senses on edge. Violin player Mark Wood even had a glow-in-the-dark violin and bow. The show drew towards a close and doubled and redoubled in energy, akin to the grand finale of a fireworks display – the walls of lights, lasers, dry ice and pyrotechnics all on full blast.
Guitarists Chris and Alex raced through the crowd with their guitars. At the rear of the arena, they were locked into a second stage which rose from the ground as the two stood triumphantly with their axes, shredding Christmas rock; dry ice rolling around their ankles as they ascended. They rejoined the band on the main stage for the end of the set while the lights and lasers blurred the air, paralleling the guitarists’ fingers and the drummer’s sticks.
This concert was definitely an unforgettable experience. No holiday season would be complete without a traditional visit from the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
Overall: 4 out of 5
It was professional, original and fun. A must see for the whole family.
Blind Guardian @ The Palladium – Worcester, MA
December 1st, 2006 in Concert, Reviews by Mike Kindel
Hansi Kürsch
After four long years, German power metal kings Blind Guardian made their triumphant return to the United States to tour their new album A Twist in the Myth. However, the tour is not just to publicize the new album, but also to show the American metal fans that after more than 20 years of countless hits and a brand new drummer, they can still teach audiences what the word ‘epic’ really means.
The show took place at the Worcester Palladium – a venue with majestic artwork, a bar, and a known reputation as being one of the most ‘metal’ venues this side of L.A. Upon entering the Palladium there was a definitive charge surrounding the place, an anticipation of a piece of American metal history colliding with gods – the calm before the storm. Guardian came in swinging with their hit “Into the Storm” to supercharge the crowd and followed it up with “Born In a Mourning Hall” – a true sing-a-long.
Marcus Siepen
Before long, the pit had started moshing to the overall explosive sound, excited to damage their bodies as well as their ears. The driving riffs complemented Hansi Kürsch’s vocals creating the melodic balance that everyone in the pit had been waiting for. The chaos and crowd surfing kept up as Guardian pulled hit after legendary hit out of their repertoire, leaving little dead air between songs. For a band that is known throughout the metal world as one to layer their tracks multiple times, they replicated the album versions of their songs to a remarkable perfection, then took it a step beyond, doubling and redoubling their energy. One of the biggest crowd pleasers, ‘Valhalla’ had fans’ energy shaking the Palladium.
André Olbrich
Kürsch and guitarists Marcus Siepen and André Olbrich demonstrated long years of professional stage experience, involving and playing to the audience (though not much encouragement was needed to get people clapping and singing along). At one point Kursh cautioned fans about being too energetic (obviously a joke). The band loved doing their job and their chemistry extended past their musicianship.
To keep the adrenaline going, Blind Guardian only performed one acoustic hit during their main set. Towards the end of the show, with the feeling that the power and magic of the night was coming to a close, both the band and fans readied themselves for an unforgettable three-song encore. After waiting until the crowd’s anticipation peaked, the band charged back on stage firing into their power hit “Imaginations From the Other Side.”
They followed the thunder up with their most famous acoustic hit, “Bard’s Song,” an expectation at any Guardian show. Blind Guardian, as true metal warriors, reserved their most powerful and epic song for their finale: “Mirror Mirror.” The raw captivation the band had over the screaming, raging fans was enough to shock the body into shivers; a truly unforgettable night.
Overall: 4.5 out of 5
One of the best shows musically and visually. Definitely a polished metal band and due to rare US tours, be sure to catch them if you can.
