Mastodon -- Silver Spring, MD -- May 9th, 2012

[IrritatedTrout]

The venue was really cool, and really new. Everyone was really friendly at this show, even security were really chatty and nice.

Ghost:

Con Clavi Con Dio
Elizabeth
Prime Mover
Death Knell
Satan Prayer
Ritual

I came in on the fence about whether Ghost were cool or stupid. Well it turns out Ghost was really fun. The music was simple but enjoyable and the costumes were fucking great. Papa's makeup is even textured to make him look old and decaying, very awesome. I loved his antics and mannerisms too, between sounding like an old Italian pope and "controlling" the ghouls, he did a great job. I liked their use of incense. I wanted to get a Ghost tour shirt because they looked awesome but $30 was a little too much when I don't even have the CD yet ($15 was too much for a CD too, I'll get it from Amazon). Would see again.

Mastodon:

Black Tongue
Hand of Stone
Crystal Skull
Dry Bone Valley
Thickening
Octopus Has No Friends
Blasteroid
Stargasm
The Hunter
Crack the Skye
All the Heavy Lifting
Spectrelight
Curl of the Burl
Bedazzled Fingernails
Aqua Dementia
Blood and Thunder
The Sparrow

Mastodon kicked ass as usual. I was stoked to hear almost all of The Hunter as I missed the last tour. Most of the stuff translated well live and the live vocals (especially Troy's) seemed to have improved. Brann sounded really good vocally as well. Troy had great stage presence and seemed to really be enjoying himself. The only problem was he gave my side of the room almost no love. Bill was pretty energetic too, I'll have to be on that side next time. Brent played well but was pretty stone faced throughout the set, his slide guitar in The Sparrow was cool though. I did get a Brent pick at the end which I'd imagine is hard to get as he didn't even throw any, his roadie did after the set. It has a sweet drawing of him on it.

I really couldn't have asked for a better set, especially co-headlining. Hand of Stone was a cool deep cut and Curl of the Burl, Dry Bone Valley, Blasteroid, The Hunter, and Blood and Thunder were the best songs of the night. I could hear Troy really well and his playing was great, I was especially digging that "octopus crawl" riff on the bass during Octopus Has No Friends. I picked up a tour shirt after the show. As usual they had a ton of cool merch including that big 9 LP boxset signed by the band (for $300 though). They also had Asstodon track shorts I wanted.

Opeth:

The Devil's Orchard
I Feel the Dark
Slither
Windowpane
Burden
The Lines in My Hand

I assume they played:
Folklore
Demon of the Fall
The Grand Conjuration

I'm not an Opeth fan but I respect what they do and they are all very talented players. However, for me their music amounts to less than the sum of it's parts. I just can't get interested in it. I watched the first 3 songs from the rail and then gave up my spot because I was tired and had to piss bad. Mikael did impress me with some of his playing and it was cool how he dedicated Slither to Dio. It was the best song of theirs that I saw. He was a pretty funny dude too. I stayed until Burden which was a cool song and then decided to get a head start on the drive home after they went into Lines and it wasn't grabbing me. The music isn't my thing and being at the back of a nearly sold out hall sucks (I've never really been in the back before).

Great show, looking forward to seeing Mastodon and Ghost again. Won't be seeing Opeth again but glad I got to check it out once.

[AnataFan4Life]

Good to see that Mikael is still in good spirits even after his injury. Can't wait to go to this tonight

[Frankthetank727]

Originally Posted by IrritatedTrout

I'm not an Opeth fan but I respect what they do and they are all very talented players. However, for me their music amounts to less than the sum of it's parts. I just can't get interested in it. I watched the first 3 songs from the rail and then gave up my spot because I was tired and had to piss bad..

Have you seen them before? Because I saw them on the Heritage tour (my 7th time seeing them) and it was actually what I thought to be their weakest performance and setlist out of all those shows I had seen. Opeth is kind of one of those bands where if you have a really good first impression of them you will love them, or , in your case, if you see them and have a shitty experience you probably won't like them. Their shows in the past were full of energy and I always loved seeing them, but something about this last round of tours is off. I think it might be Mikael's attitude towards the fans or the fact that he thinks he is invincible by putting out a record that "everyone will hate" just because he can. Either way, I feel how they are now is not representative of what they usually sound like live. It's unfortunate that they have kind of ended up this way, but oh well. If you have the patience, I highly recommend checking out any of their live DVDs to give you a better since of what they can do live.

[petrovar]

Originally Posted by Frankthetank727

I think it might be Mikael's attitude towards the fans or the fact that he thinks he is invincible by putting out a record that "everyone will hate" just because he can.

You're not serious are you? They put out Heritage because that is the progression the band has been going in and it's the album he wanted to make. He didn't do it to piss off the metal fans. Artists make music for themselves and if people like it, cool. He didn't want to keep making the same Opeth album. Heritage is one of my top three Opeth albums (Blackwater Park and Morningrise are the others). I like everything about Opeth, not just the heavy stuff and certainly appreciate the balance the band has.

[The Ghost at Number One]

Originally Posted by petrovar

You're not serious are you? They put out Heritage because that is the progression the band has been going in and it's the album he wanted to make. He didn't do it to piss off the metal fans. Artists make music for themselves and if people like it, cool. He didn't want to keep making the same Opeth album.

Fact.

[TonyD]

The fact that 3/4 of their set is lighter material that isn't what made them as a band is pretty lame though. You would think that if they're playing a co-headlining show and exposing themselves to a lot of fans that wouldn't normally see them, they would represent themselves as a band better.

[petrovar]

Originally Posted by TonyD

The fact that 3/4 of their set is lighter material that isn't what made them as a band is pretty lame though. You would think that if they're playing a co-headlining show and exposing themselves to a lot of fans that wouldn't normally see them, they would represent themselves as a band better.

If it were up to me, they'd have a 50% heavy/50% chill set. I hear what you are saying, but I think what Mikael is trying to get in people's heads now is that they are not just a death metal band with some mellow parts splashed in. They are a progressive band now (at least for the foreseeable future) and don't want to mislead people, even new fans.

[jhdeity]

I'm shocked someone would see a show at The Fillmore and not rave about it for at least an entire paragraph. BY FAR the best sounding venue I've ever been in and I've been in a shitton. I love everything about that place with the tiny exception of the food prices being out of this world. Food was great though, just way overpriced. Note to self: Eat before going there.

Not a bad seat in the house, sound was mind blowing, upstairs is swank as all hell and even the doors to enter the room are totally WTF? with the merch area set up for bands to hang and chill with people.

So yeah I love The Fillmore.... hahaha

I bet Mastodon sounded incredible there...

[The Ghost at Number One]

Originally Posted by jhdeity

I'm shocked someone would see a show at The Fillmore and not rave about it for at least an entire paragraph.

There's now a Fillmore in Silver Spring, MD?!

[VelvetHarry]

Originally Posted by TonyD

The fact that 3/4 of their set is lighter material that isn't what made them as a band is pretty lame though. You would think that if they're playing a co-headlining show and exposing themselves to a lot of fans that wouldn't normally see them, they would represent themselves as a band better.

I'm a big Opeth fan, but I agree with you about their live presence. I can never understand what Mikael is mumbling on stage in between songs and they are never really super animated on stage, even during the heavy songs. I love them on CD but they've never been one of my "must see" live bands every single time they come through.