Ugly Music for Ugly People

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 didnt 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 Vais "Sex and
Religon", and the vocals he did on "Natural Science" on the Rush tribute
"Working Man". Im still a bit bitter that I cant find that CD. I didnt 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 wasnt 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. Im
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 cant recall which, Id 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 Ive 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.

jack | posted Tue Jul 26 00:00:00 2005 | #
category: inside/shows