Opeth -- Philadelphia, PA -- September 24th, 2011

leglessmoof · #1 09-23-2011, 10:07 PM

The venue (Trocadero) was as packed as I've ever seen it. Maybe because you could get in free with a Philadelphia Film & Music Festival pass. Don't know. Either way, it was pretty hot in there. They had some fans up near the stage which kept it tolerable. But they turned the fans off halfway through the show, because they were drowning out the soft parts of the music. After that it was uncomfortably hot.

I don't have Katatonia's set. Sorry.

The Devil's Orchard
I Feel the Dark
Face of Melinda
Porcelain Heart
Pyre
The Throat of Winter
Closure
Patterns in the Ivy II
Slither
A Fair Judgement
Hex Omega
Folklore

Same Opeth setlist, except they replaced Nepenthe with Pyre. Mikael said this was the first time they had performed Pyre in front of an audience.

Also, Closure and Patterns in the Ivy II might be in the wrong order. Can't remember.

This was a cool show to see -- Face of Melinda, Porcelain Heart, A Fair Judgement, and Hex Omega alone were worth the price of admission. But at the same time, it's nowhere near the best Opeth show that I've been to. I have nothing against any of these songs individually, but I'd rather hear them as part of a more diverse setlist. If Mikael doesn't want to growl anymore, that's fine -- just play the songs instrumentally, or hire a touring vocalist to do the growls.

jd091 · #2 09-23-2011, 10:13 PM

Opeth said on Facebook that it was sold out, so I'd assume the Troc was as packed as it's ever been!

Still wish Atonement/Windopane was in this...

leglessmoof · #3 09-23-2011, 10:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jd091

Opeth said on Facebook that it was sold out, so I'd assume the Troc was as packed as it's ever been!

Still wish Atonement/Windopane was in this...

"Sold out" doesn't necessarily mean that a venue will be full. It just means that all the tickets were sold. For various reasons, a venue might not sell a particular show to full capacity. Plus there are always going to be a few people that buy tickets but don't actually attend the show.

Obviously that wasn't the case here, since the show was sold out and the venue was packed. But the two don't always go hand in hand.

For example, I saw Metallica at the Wachovia Center in 2004 which was a "sold out" show, even though most (all?) of the seats on the upper level of the arena were empty.

kulamram · #4 09-24-2011, 01:52 AM

those huge moving spotlights were blinding at times to those of us up in the balcony. during some of the softer (parts of) songs, the loud talking of some of the crowd drowned out the music. granted, these were merely small disturbances. i had gone primarily to see how the new material would be presented live. it was reassuring to hear mike say that they're not turning their backs on their older albums but, rather, showcasing what i'll call their more recent and non-death metal side. personally, i find opeth's first five albums amazing, damnation and deliverance fine, ghost reveries and watershed rather uninspiring (for me) and heritage to be fresher than their last two but the first opeth album i will not buy. their next tour will likely be the first one i will not attend as i found myself repeatedly describing the experience beyond a certain point in the set as tedious. "not my taste" is not synonymous with "talentless shit band": certainly not where mike's concerned! from now on, although i'll continue to follow his artistic growth with respect, i'll derive my musical pleasure elsewhere.

by the way, katatonia was SOLID as always!

Derelict · #5 09-26-2011, 09:08 AM

Katatonia did six or so new songs, July, My Twin, Omerta, and Evidence