Piątek 17 Paź 2008, 13:59
Wed 15 Oct – Opeth, High on Fire, Baroness
In 2005, I was a senior in high school. In October of 2005, I had a project of big importance in my economics class that would eventually be the cause I failed the class. Opeth released Ghost Reveries three years ago. Last time I saw Opeth was three years ago at a venue that is now dead, Trees (coolest fucking venue!). Last time I saw Opeth, they came with two bands that could have been good if they would have not been playing with Opeth. Last time I saw Opeth, they played Sepultura between bands!
October 15, 2008.
The place was the House of Blues on the skirts of downtown Dallas. Where hundreds of hockey fans took too much of space for us to park comfortably, just because they went to watch the Dallas Stars. Honestly, I was not very excited to see Opeth. I mean, I love them, but the long wait to hear news from them, the departure from two of the best members the band has ever had, and all those tours that skipped us… well, it didn't feel the same as it did when they we my favorite band anytime between 2004 and 2007.
The first band playing was Baroness. I really liked them through the first two songs I heard when I got there. Anything after that, it just sounded the same over and over. High on Fire played next, it was just the same story as with Baroness. Two songs, and that's it. And, Opeth brought us two sucky bands (no offense to their fans).
Impatient, that is one way to put it. I suddenly became very impatient. While listening to High On Fire, I began to hear a few Opeth songs in my head and imagined the crowd jumping. When High On Fire ended, the club played crappy music like always. I wished they had played Sepultura again like when Baroness left the stage. I wondered if Opeth themselves had ordered the club to play Sepultura like that one time at Trees.
After a while, people started feeling it. Yeah, you know, that feeling you get when you are minutes, maybe seconds away from seeing your favorite band. There was this Hispanic guy a few meters behind me yelling "Ooo- pet" without the "h" in the end, over and over. The guy sounded like a hungry bear! Meanwhile, I was pondering about my uncertain future on my sociology class, and the test that I might fail the following day.
Showtime! The lights go off, the curtain opens, and the band walks out. The first song up was not "Porcelain Heart" as I thought it would be, in fact it was not played at all (and I was happy with that). Instead, Opeth played "Heir Apparent" first. Great choice, the band played that song quite sharp, it sounded better than it does on the album. The song made them look massive on stage.
Then they played "The Grand Conjuration," "Serenity Painted Death," and "Hope Leaves" in that order. The latter song is one of my preferred songs off of "Damnation," and I looked forward to hearing it. I thought however, that the song did not sound all that well. The guitars sounded unfamiliar at times, and I even got lost a few times, especially when Fredrik Akesson added a solo to the song.
Next, "The Lotus Eater." This is the one song off Watershed that I hoped to hear the most. Mikael Akerfeldt actually hummed the intro to the song, following the blast beats which some hardcore Opeth fans never wished to hear. The song was performed very accurately, and that jazzy part in the end was fun. I do not know what a lotus is exactly, but now I feel like eating some.
After that song, it was all about the classics. All in the following order, "Bleak," The Night and the Silent Water," "Demon of the Fall," and "The Drapery Falls" after the encore. All of these songs were great, you get exactly what Opeth has ever had to offer. My personal favorite song for the night was "The Night and the Silent Water." All the melodies in the song and the smooth way the guys played that song made me just want to float around if it was possible. I just fell in love with the moment. Martin Mendez is so slick, I could argue that he is the best bass player in the world. No, he does not play "brutal" and all that fast like Alex Webster, but his notes are just exotic.
There are a few observations I must point out. First, Martin Axernot got better. By that, I mean regarding Opeth. Although he will never be better in Opeth than Martin Lopez ever was, he has camouflaged more into the Opeth style. I like the way he played last night, I noticed he threw in a bunch of on-the-spot improvised drum fills and he would just mess around with the snare and hi-hat while just following a certain beat in a way that Lopez used to. Although, most of his drum fills were repetitive and not as tasteful as Lopez were. A typical Axe drum fill sounds like when you throw a rubber bouncy ball into a bunch of walls, from left to right style.
Another thing, I miss Mikael being this humble Swedish guy who just used to say, "Good evening. We are Opeth from Stockholm, Sweden. This… is.. Deliverance." Now it seems he just has to make a joke about anything that causes idiots to laugh unnecessarily loud. It's not that funny.
Last thing I must point out. Last night was the third time I saw Opeth. I never got to see them with the classic line-up. The first and second time, they were missing my idol, Lopez. And last night, they were also Lindgren-less. And this is a clear example that "size does not matter." Akesson is a big guy, but he will never be greater than Peter Lindgren either.
Other than that, Opeth is awesome. I will be one of the first people to buy the ticket to their next show in town.