So, we waited outside in the cold in a long line-up for about 40 minutes or so. Most hadn’t brought jackets because we didn’t want to coat-check, so there was a fair bit of shivering in the line (it was about -1 so not too bad). That meant I missed probably half of Dark Tranquility’s set, which kinda sucked.
As advertised (by everyone I’ve talked to), the sound at Red’s was pretty craptacular. Not surprising – the layout of the place was definitely not designed for acoustics. For Opeth’s set I had a great spot above the stage where I could see plenty, but it was to the right of the stage and the sound was just too muddy: I couldn’t even hear what Mikael was saying when he talked between songs. So I moved to a spot right behind the mixing desk for the rest of the show, and that was decent, though not as good as when I heard them in Vancouver.
I’d never heard Dark Tranquility before, but enjoyed their stuff, and they put on a great show. Their singer’s voice is naturally baritone, not tenor like Mikael’s, and his usual mode is more of a roar (it reminded me of Lemmy, and the guy from Kreator, and to my mind made the music sound ‘German’ somehow) rather than a full-on death metal grunt. Lots of heavy riffing, plenty of dynamics and some twin-guitar harmonies that reminded me of Iron Maiden at times but weren’t quite the same. Pity they weren’t the main support, I thought.
DevilDriver were very competent at what they did, played fast and well, worked the crowd… but it just didn’t do that much for me. It was an unrelenting wall of noise. I dunno – on a bill where that’s what I came for, maybe… but on a melo-death bill, the fit just didn’t seem to be there.
Opeth was amazing as ever. They played a heavier set than in Vancouver, with plenty of variety. If I remember right the setlist was:
Ghost Reveries
White Cluster
The Amen Corner
Closure
The Baying Of The Hounds
Under the Weeping Moon
The Grand Conjuration
Drapery Falls
Deliverance (encore)
Mikael moved around more and seemed to be really enjoying his singing and playing. Peter’s guitar sounded a bit ‘tinny’ in some of the parts, but that was totally the fault of the venue and the sound. Per Wiburg does a great job of playing the keys and singing backing vocals, and was more prominent in the stage show and more active than I’ve seen before. Martin Mendez stood still except for the headbanging and anchored the band with rock solid bass, and Martin Axenrot murdered the skins. (Do we know when/whether Martin Lopez is returning?)
Fantastic show from a fantastic band in an average venue… but I’m glad I went. Moving to Australia in a couple of months, it’ll probably be a long time before I get to see Opeth live again.