On July 26th Sounds of the Underground came to town. Originally destined for the Pacific Coliseum, it subsequently got moved to the PNE Forum. Last minute venue changes are not a good sign.

Either I didn't get mailed a ticket, or I somehow lost it. So I got to experience the joy of ticketmaster reissues. Whee.

The format of the show was about a dozen bands that did 25 minute sets throughout the afternoon, and a half dozen bigger bands that did 45 minute sets in the evening, with Gwar having a dedicated spot at 1700h.

Of the smaller bands that played, I really only got into Strapping Young Lad. This is probably because I liked Devin Townsend on Steve Vai's "Sex and Religon", and the vocals he did on "Natural Science" on the Rush tribute "Working Man". I'm still a bit bitter that I can't find that CD. I didn't get into many of the other bands, probably because the acoustics were nasty.

Gwar came on and made a mess that I stayed well clear of. I wasn't really in the mood to get hosed down with blue goo (now I know why everyone wears black to hard rock concerts). Gwar is good at what their unique brand of show. I'm just not a fan of it.

The real reason I came to the show was because Opeth was playing. They were the first of the headliners to play. Good thing, as I wasn' t the only one getting rather impatient.

Opeth played a 45 minute set, which was enough to get 4 songs in. They started with the title track from Deliverance, and then played the only acoustic song that I heard all day -- To Rid the Disease from Damnation. After that, they played a track from their new album, I can't recall which, I'd have to listen carefully to "The Ghost Reveries" to figure out which. They finished with their old-time favourite "Demon of the Fall".

The new track (and now that I've got the whole CD) is very interesting, as Opeth has taken a progressive bend (interestingly enough, when I seeded pandora with Opeth, it gave me Dream Theater). This makes me happy.

After Opeth exited, so did I.