Concerts for 2023

[jimgolf]

Yeah it’s definitely the most excited i’ve been for a concert in a while. Just like you said, i’ve heard they are a great live experience. Plus, you never know when they will hang it up. They are getting up there in age and Tool seems like the kind of band that would just post something online or release a song called “we retired.’” No farewell tour, no final album, just “it’s been cool, cya.”

[ReaperKK]

That's why I've been making an effort to see them. Danny Carey talked on a live stream a year or so ago about getting older and it being harder and harder to play Tool material for an entire live show.

[El Barto]

Apparently DT came through town over the weekend and I didn't notice. I'd intended to go, but thought it was a ways off. Wasn't aware the tour had even started. The good news is, looking at the set list I'm kind of glad I saved my money. Sorry I missed the other DT, though.

[lonestar]

Yeah, the set definitely doesn't intrigue me into going.

[cramx3]

Setlist is good for me, not my favorite but has enough changes and a cool encore to make me an IN for 2 of those DT/DT shows. 

Last Saturday night was Tarja in NYC.  I'm pretty annoyed about the situation.  I noticed last week Gramercy Theater tweeted about the show although it was supposed to be at Irving Plaza.  I finally got an email Saturday informing me of the change of venue but what I didn't notice was a change in time apparently.  It said doors were at 6 and I knew there was an opener from the promotion poster for the tour (even though they don't list one on livenation). Anyway, after speaking to someone after the show, turns out the doors AND show started at 6pm?! So I was shocked when I got into the venue at 7:30pm and noticed Tarja was already on her third song.  However, the venue was pretty packed so I guess I was a minority on not realizing this.  Sucks because I totally could have caught a train earlier and made it on time and I did want to see her first song, the new one that was being played for the first time this tour. 

Anyway, show was actually pretty good though.  I don't love her solo music, but the performance is really good and these songs definitely feel better live than on the album, for me.  Immediately though I noticed a different backing band than the last time I saw her.  No live cello which SUCKS because I thought the live cello added so much to her show the last time and I was looking forward to it.  Also, there were two guitarists instead of one last time.... and lastly, David Wimbish (from Living Colour) was on bass?!  Granted, I didn't immediately catch who it was live, but noticed that he had a bit more groove and live presence (and at one time looked like he was trying to rock out with Tarja who just stepped aside and didn't engage with him ) and upon research after the show, realized he actually worked on some of her albums and had performed live with her previously.

I thought her backing band was solid.  After one of the songs they went into a jam doing solos that was really fun and maybe one of my favorite parts of the entire set.  She also did a solo piano bit that had some awkward drunken dude in the crowd screaming reactions to kind of ruin the mood.  Crowd was pretty reactive for her.  It looked like some people tried to even mosh but most people were not seemingly into that.  Also looked like a lot of people south of the border made the trip up north to catch the show. I always like that for these bands who don't tour much in north and even less in south america when they come up to NYC for shows (Noticed this at Powerwolf earlier this year too).

I think the worst song of the night actually may have been the only Nightwish song, Nemo.  She just didn't sound good on this one for some reason.  Definitely got the biggest pop from the crowd, but the performance itself was a bit of a letdown.

Show ended at 9pm and the venue promptly kicked people out so they could host Bad Bunny night afterwards.  Honestly, the whole moving the venue situation was shit and I got screwed because of it.  Having a headline act go on at 7:30pm on a Saturday was lame. But the show was actually much better than I expected. 



Tarja Living the Dream LIVE @ Gramercy Theater New York City NY 6/17/2023

Next concert:

June 23rd - Avenged Sevenfold & Falling in Reverse @ Madison Square Garden, New York City NY

[lonestar]

Who's the opening band?

[cramx3]

Who's the opening band?

Chaosevm

never heard of them and obviously didn't see them to comment

[lonestar]

Never heard of them either.

[cramx3]

Soo I totally forgot that Living Colour was opening for Avenged Sevenfold tomorrow!  Now I'm super pumped for that show!

Also, got an email for a sale, and scooped up a $35 after fees ticket to see Tears for Fears and Cold War Kids Monday at the Garden.

[Lonk]

Soo I totally forgot that Living Colour was opening for Avenged Sevenfold tomorrow!  Now I'm super pumped for that show!

Let me know how that goes, I don't have tickets yet but planning on seeing them in July with Alexisonfire.

[cramx3]

Soo I totally forgot that Living Colour was opening for Avenged Sevenfold tomorrow!  Now I'm super pumped for that show!

Let me know how that goes, I don't have tickets yet but planning on seeing them in July with Alexisonfire.

Should be good, apparently the show starts at 6:30 so I just need to make sure I get there on time.  They were solid last year when I saw them, although they were arguing on stage with hot mics before starting their set  I'm curious if Doub Wimbish (their bassist) will be there since he just played with Tarja last week in NYC and is in Minnesota tonight but has an off day tomorrow to potentially fly in and back out to catch back with the tour?  We will see, but I expect a fun set albeit maybe to not many people at the arena since it's early.

And of course I'll get to see what all the fuss was about needing computers o perform when I see Falling in Reverse for the first time.

[cramx3]

I wrote more about A7X specifically in their thread, but I'll share more about the openers and the concert overall here....

The show had a late start apparently due to A7X being late from flight delays.  They didn't open the doors until later than advertised and when we got to our seat, they clearly weren't close to being ready for the show as all 3 drum sets were still being put together. 

First to come on was Living Colour.  I could see them setting up for about 45 minutes before they finally went on. I'm guessing they didn't get to do a sound check either.  lots of test 1 2 test 1 2 could be heard.  They didn't sound the greatest, just not mixed greatly, but they were loud and it sounded raw.  Sadly they only did 5 songs so it was very short, but by the time they finished the set with Cult of Personality the crowd became alive and it started really feeling like a big rock show was happening. 



Next was Falling In Reverse.  First time seeing them and I had sampled them beforehand, but didn't know them too well going into the show.  They were a lot of fun.  People were really into them too and the crowd was loud for a few of their songs.  Kind of reminded me of The Used.  Loved the outfit of the guitarist and singer. 



Avenged Sevenfold had major sound issues from the late start and it really sucked, but overall, I liked the setlist, the crowd was wild and loud, and it was overall a lot of fun.  A really good concert overall.

Avenged Sevenfold, Falling in Reverse, Living Colour LIVE @ Madison Square Garden New York City 2023

I also saw Tears for Fears last night, I'll write something up tomorrow.

Next up tomorrow:

June 28th - Dream Theater, Devin Townsend & Animals As Leaders @ Hulu Theater, New York City NY

[Stadler]

Huh.  Living Color went on first?  Am I out of the loop in not ever hearing who "Falling In Reverse" are?

[Lonk]

Huh.  Living Color went on first?  Am I out of the loop in not ever hearing who "Falling In Reverse" are?

New(ish) modern metal/rap band, you're not missing much (I think). What I have sampled from them is not necessarily bad, just not very interesting, IMO.

[cramx3]

Huh.  Living Color went on first?  Am I out of the loop in not ever hearing who "Falling In Reverse" are?

New(ish) modern metal/rap band, you're not missing much (I think). What I have sampled from them is not necessarily bad, just not very interesting, IMO.

Yeah, that's how I felt but they were fun live which makes me enjoy them a bit more than I did going into the show.  Although I haven't seen much of anything rap related besides that one song.  They sound more like pop punk with a bit of an edge to it or maybe a bit more modern.  They are the band that Eddie Trunk recently feuded with because they cancelled a show because they didn't have their laptops. I'm not entire sure why they need them besides some backing tracks.  It didn't seem like they completely relied on them. The singer's got enough enthusiasm on stage to keep you entertained.

And yeah, Living Colour aren't exactly a big band these days.  They went on early at a festival I saw them at last year too.  But they didn't perform to an empty arena like I feared they might. 

[lonestar]

Finally getting back into the concert swing of things with Tarja this Friday. Going in blind, and gonna just grab a seat and enjoy the show.

After that is the highly anticipated Asterism show, can't wait to see one of the best up and coming guitarists in action.


The only surety after that is BAND-MAID but I'll probably pull the trigger on Kamelot in early September.

Fucking bummed that both Arch Echo and Baroness announced shows in Berkeley on the weekend where I'll be out of town for my niece's wedding. Baroness is on a Sunday so I may be able to hit that one, but Arch Echo is definitely a no go, damn shame too since it's in a sweet venue.

[lonestar]

Well this is a crazy first for me... The Asterism show in Santa Ana as well as the NYC show have been spontaneously declared free shows, first come first serve. So if anyone is in either area and wants to get a taste of an amazing instrumental band, it's 7/9 in LA and 7/11 in NYC.

[Anguyen92]

Huh.  That's in The Observatory.  About a 15 minute drive down on only one street where I am at.  I'll think about it.  On a Sunday as well.

[lonestar]

Huh.  That's in The Observatory.  About a 15 minute drive down on only one street where I am at.  I'll think about it.  On a Sunday as well.

Here's a teaser for you...they're all amazing, but the guitarist is seriously next level..

https://youtu.be/JZXNSZAYiI8


If I think its worth a 6 hour drive, I'd imagine it'd be worth your 15 minutes

[cramx3]

Free sounds nice and I'm free for that NYC date, but I'm just not sure I'll go though.  Kind of looking forward to having two full weeks without a show to give my wallet a cool down (even if the show is free, getting there in NYC certainly isn't) and just to do other things with my free time.  I'll have to keep it on my radar though, that can change.

Two nights ago was Tears for Fears with Cold War Kids at Madison Square Garden.  I wasn't going to go to this show even though I thought they were so much fun last year, but when I got an email with a discount code making a ticket come out to $35 after fees... sure! I was in the last row, but I actually like it up there at the Garden, would rather that seat than thousands of others in the upper sections.  Anyway, I got there right after Cold War Kids had started and was surprised to see the seats mostly filled already for the opener.  I wasn't really into them.  I saw them once before and couldn't remember much about their set that time other than it being unmemorable and well, yeah, unmemorable.  None of the songs were catchy or interesting. Boring, but the old ladies next to me seemed to enjoy it.



Tears for Fears played the exact same set as last year and had the exact same stage show so in some sense it wasn't as interesting as the first time, but I was once again just so impressed with how good they sound live.  The two singers both have great voices and the female backing vocalist adds so much to the live sound of them.  It's just so goood! I thought it was funny how they talked about being the first time the band has performed at MSG, but 3 of the members of the backing band had played there before including for Sinead OConnor which got some laughs from the crowd.  Eventually I saw some seats down below that were empty and I moved down and snuck into a great seat for the last bunch of songs.  Great way to end the night from a much more expensive seat with a great view!



Tears for Fears & Cold War Kids LIVE @ Madison Square Garden New York City NY 6/26/2023

Heading out from work soon for Dream Theater tonight 

[lonestar]

Awww yeah...seeing the house band is always a plus!!! Gonna skip them this tour, the set doesn't have any huge surprises, and Devy really doesn't fire me up a bunch. Should be a solid show nonetheless.

[Samsara]

Living Colour is one of my all-time favorite bands, particularly live (their first three albums are great, the last few, hit and miss). I am seeing them twice this summer. That will bring me to 11x having seen Living Colour. I WISH i could have seen them play MSG, even as an opener. Be cool to see that at home.

Fun fact - Corey Glover and I went to the same school. We had a laugh over that when I interviewed him about 10 years ago.

Really looking forward to that Extreme/Living Colour tour in August.

Picked up tickets to see Alice in Chains in October. Front row, dead center. Should be fun.

[TAC]

Tears for Fears & Cold War Kids LIVE @ Madison Square Garden New York City NY 6/26/2023

I have literally never heard of the Cold War Kids, and wait...Tears For Fears are touring arenas??

[cramx3]

Tears for Fears & Cold War Kids LIVE @ Madison Square Garden New York City NY 6/26/2023

I have literally never heard of the Cold War Kids, and wait...Tears For Fears are touring arenas??

Cold War Kids aren't metal and I'm not sure if they are popular.  I didn't care for them and I doubt you would either, but apparently they've been around for 15 or so years.  And yeah, last summer Tears did a big amphitheater tour and I guess this year its arenas. It didn't sell out and they offered discount tickets, but it did overall sell decently especially for a Monday.

[Samsara]

Tim,

Yeah, Tears for Fears playing arenas was shocking to me too. My wife saw them play the arena here a couple years ago with a friend and I was baffled. Apparently they are pretty damn big these days.

[lonestar]

Tim,

Yeah, Tears for Fears playing arenas was shocking to me too. My wife saw them play the arena here a couple years ago with a friend and I was baffled. Apparently they are pretty damn big these days.

Nostalgia is a pretty strong motivator.

[cramx3]

Tim,

Yeah, Tears for Fears playing arenas was shocking to me too. My wife saw them play the arena here a couple years ago with a friend and I was baffled. Apparently they are pretty damn big these days.

Nostalgia is a pretty strong motivator.

Yeah, I also wonder if them releasing a new album for the first time in a long time recently has to do with some of it.  But these older bands definitely can draw crowds these days for the nostalgia.

[TAC]

Tim,

Yeah, Tears for Fears playing arenas was shocking to me too. My wife saw them play the arena here a couple years ago with a friend and I was baffled. Apparently they are pretty damn big these days.

Yeah, the Def Leppard Motley Crue tour proved that I guess.


Nostalgia is a pretty strong motivator.

[King Postwhore]

Tears for Fears were excellent live when I saw them last year.

[cramx3]

Tears for Fears were excellent live when I saw them last year.

Yeah, they were really good.  I'm glad I saw the show again from last year (they are literally doing the exact same show)

[King Postwhore]

Tears for Fears were excellent live when I saw them last year.

Yeah, they were really good.  I'm glad I saw the show again from last year (they are literally doing the exact same show)

That's why I passed this time.

[lonestar]

Who's the opening band?

Chaosevm

never heard of them and obviously didn't see them to comment

You didn't miss much.. They were alright but not earthshaking.


Tarja on the other hand put on an outstanding show on all fronts, very enjoyable. You were right about her backing band, they were very tight, and the exchanging solos part might have been my favorite as well.

Seems the time issue was a tour thing, our show said it started at 8,but the opener went on at 7:30. Fucking weird.

[PixelDream]

Coming Friday I’m going to see Rammstein for the third time. The day after we’re going to a festival which has Nile Rodgers & Chic, Riverside and Porcupine Tree performing on the same day!

In September another festival with Katatonia and Infected Mushroom as headliners. In December I’m going to see Regressive Hypnosis, a Dream Theater tribute band with Wudstik on vocals (he does lead vocals on E=MC2 by Ayreon).

[King Postwhore]

Seeing a very unique band tonight. Bella's Bartok.  They are a bit like Squirrel Nut Zippers.  Then DT/Devy tomorrow.

[SoundscapeMN]

I had no idea Everything Everything were doing a fall NA Tour, and it includes Minneapolis October 13th.

The Raw Data Feel tour, is their 1st Headlining NA Tour I believe. I only have seen them once before, as an opener for The Joy Formidable in 2016.

Tickets went on sale over a month ago, lol.

Bugged about not knowing, but better now than later. I still was able to get a seated ticket tonight.



which just in (Rock)October I have:

10/3 Peter Gabriel
10/13 Everything Everything
10/25 The Dear Hunter