Symphony X, March 24 2011, Sheffield UK

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   The night started a bit disspointing for me, finding out the state of the venue inappropriate (to say the least) for this concert. Corporation is a venue that could, under other circumstances, be a perfect place for such gigs. The reasons for not being I will not discuss herein.

Ticket mentioned 7pm start, however Power Quest opened at 7.45 and tested my patience for 45 minutes. Ridiculously typical poser/epic/power metal that makes Rhapsody and Sonata Arctica sound like the most original bands in the world. Nothing really caught my attention, the only positive was the good, without faults, execution of what they had to play. The singer's attempts to involve the crowd failed terribly.

Symphony X jumped in at about 9pm and played for only 80 minutes (with encore), including 3 new tracks. End of Innocence is closer to the typical fast-paced melodic S-X tracks, Prometheus is by far the most challenging of the three, with many changes in tempo and style, and Dehumanised has a more of a heavy-edge to it, closer to Serpent's Kiss style. 5 tracks came from Paradise Lost and were the most popular among the crowd. Added to these, they also played the "hit" track from each of the 4 albums prior to Paradise Lost (see below). The sound was relatively good with no big problems. Romeo elaborated on his solos (as expected) and Allen gave a great vocal performance - good chance to see a great voice live. All the band performed at high standards and we could now be speaking for a perfect show if the venue was better. Great night eventually with the crowd being involved in the singing etc. I would personally prefer to hear less "catchy" tunes like Egypt or The Accolade, but the setlist was "targeted" and I could have no real complaints for a first S-X experience.

Setlist: (I think is right!)

Of Sins and Shadows
Domination
Serpent's Kiss
End of Innocence
Paradise Lost
Inferno (Unleash the Fire)
Smoke and Mirrors
Prometheus (I Am Alive)
Evolution (The Grand Design)
Set the World on Fire (The Lie of Lies)

Dehumanized
Eve of Seduction

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aapatsos Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: November 11 2005 Location: Manchester, UK Status: Offline Points: 9226	Topic: Symphony X, March 24 2011, Sheffield UK Posted: March 25 2011 at 15:43
	The night started a bit disspointing for me, finding out the state of the venue inappropriate (to say the least) for this concert. Corporation is a venue that could, under other circumstances, be a perfect place for such gigs. The reasons for not being I will not discuss herein. Ticket mentioned 7pm start, however Power Quest opened at 7.45 and tested my patience for 45 minutes. Ridiculously typical poser/epic/power metal that makes Rhapsody and Sonata Arctica sound like the most original bands in the world. Nothing really caught my attention, the only positive was the good, without faults, execution of what they had to play. The singer's attempts to involve the crowd failed terribly. Symphony X jumped in at about 9pm and played for only 80 minutes (with encore), including 3 new tracks. End of Innocence is closer to the typical fast-paced melodic S-X tracks, Prometheus is by far the most challenging of the three, with many changes in tempo and style, and Dehumanised has a more of a heavy-edge to it, closer to Serpent's Kiss style. 5 tracks came from Paradise Lost and were the most popular among the crowd. Added to these, they also played the "hit" track from each of the 4 albums prior to Paradise Lost (see below). The sound was relatively good with no big problems. Romeo elaborated on his solos (as expected) and Allen gave a great vocal performance - good chance to see a great voice live. All the band performed at high standards and we could now be speaking for a perfect show if the venue was better. Great night eventually with the crowd being involved in the singing etc. I would personally prefer to hear less "catchy" tunes like Egypt or The Accolade, but the setlist was "targeted" and I could have no real complaints for a first S-X experience. Setlist: (I think is right!) Of Sins and Shadows Domination Serpent's Kiss End of Innocence Paradise Lost Inferno (Unleash the Fire) Smoke and Mirrors Prometheus (I Am Alive) Evolution (The Grand Design) Set the World on Fire (The Lie of Lies) Dehumanized Eve of Seduction

sleeper Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: October 09 2005 Location: Entropia Status: Offline Points: 16449	Posted: March 26 2011 at 15:42
	Nice review. Me and a mate went to The Robin the day before to see them, he was at Sheffield Uni and he has nothing good to say about the Corporation. We got pretty much the same set though in a different order. I think I agree with about every point made (we were late there and Power Quest were already on stage, within 5 minutes we wished we had turned up 20 minutes later). What was the crowd like up Sheffield? We had about 200 people singing along to pretty much every song (yes, myself included) and the return to the stage for the encore was greeted with most the crowd calling for The Odessey, I admit I got swept up in the atmosphere of the whole performance.
	Spending more than I should on Prog since 2005

aapatsos Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: November 11 2005 Location: Manchester, UK Status: Offline Points: 9226	Posted: March 27 2011 at 05:16
	^ I doubt I am going back there for a concert. Crowdwise, more or less similar response to the one you described - I was surprised to see so many people being familiar with the songs; good "vibes" generally. There was a mix ranging from youngsters to middle-aged people, all seemed to enjoy the show. Most seem to be familiar with Paradise Lost but the rest of the tracks got a good response as well. Indeed, most of the crowd were calling for Odyssey before the encore (coincidence?) which I found very short - only a couple of tracks - however, I could catch the train home just on time so no big complaints :)

JS19 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: October 10 2010 Location: Lancaster, UK Status: Offline Points: 1321	Posted: May 23 2011 at 18:24
	London gig two days before was huge. The crowd was the best I have ever seen, I'm not sure why Symphony X don't seem to engage the crowds at other venues. When I was there, everyone, and I mean everyone was engaged in the performance. I really was spectacular, made ten times better by the crowd. I'm a pretty reserved guy, but I may have engaged in a little 'singalong' ... AKA every song ..... Oh and Powerquest were just plain BAD, my mate said they were 'probably the worst excuse for music he had ever heard live'. Edited by JS19 - May 23 2011 at 18:27


sleeper Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: October 09 2005 Location: Entropia Status: Offline Points: 16449	Posted: May 23 2011 at 20:24
	Its amazing how many people are saying that about Powerquest.
	Spending more than I should on Prog since 2005