Progressive Nation Atlanta 5/28/08

I did not write any of the setlists down, they are strictly from memory so there are a few blank spots and maybe a song or two left out.  Did the best I could!

 

Three:

 

The Word is Born of Flame

The End is Begun

Battlecry

(I think they played one between these two but I didn't know the song)

All That Remains

My Divided Falling

Monster (contained Joey's acoustic solo, percussion duet, Latin jam, and Joey's vocal solo)

They ended with another song that I didn't know

 

Three played an energetic show as always, and the crowd was very responsive and enthusiastic.  Joey's solo was incredible, and the percussion duet was really neat.  Joey's voice sounded much better live than on the album, and his playing was really good.  There was so much gear on the stage belonging to all of the bands that the members of Three had no room to move around, but they showed great energy anyway.  All in all, a great performance by a lesser known band.

 

Between the Buried and Me:

 

Selkies

Prequel to the Sequel

(might have been another song transition)

White Walls

 

BTBAM is probably my least favorite of the bands on the tour.  The hardcore screaming gets old very quickly to me and becomes a bit annoying.  When they are not screaming the mellow instrumental sections contain some astounding music.  It's a shame that they don't play the more mellow stuff more often because it really is good.  The singer (don't know his name) was very energetic onstage, although almost to the point of looking a bit ridiculous.  With Three's gear out of the way there was much more room for the band members to move around.  When the band went into White Walls from the mellow intro, it was very intense.  The opening riff sounded thunderous and I even saw a few small mosh pits in the general admission area below.  The lead guitar player displayed some amazing soloing, although it was a bit too technical for my tastes.  The sweep picking section during Selkies was very impressive though.  Overall, a decent show.  Not really my taste, but it had enough good moments to satisfy me.

 

Opeth:

 

Demon of the Fall

The Baying of the Hounds

To Rid the Disease

Heir Apparent

Wreath

The Drapery Falls

 

I must admit, I was very nervous about Opeth.  With a new guitar player and a new drummer I was very fearful that the Opeth I loved might be gone.  Well, my fears weren't completely unwarranted but I am also relieved a bit.  Demon of the Fall was a great opener- nice and heavy.  The Baying of the Hounds was pretty good, Mikael's guitar was a little hard to hear which made a few of the parts sound a bit weak.  To Rid the Disease was a nice surprise because it is my favorite from Damnation.  It was played very beautifully and was one of the highlights of the set.  When Mikael announced that the next song was off of the new album I got very excited.  The only song I had heard from Watershed was The Lotus Eater (I'm trying to wait for the 'official' release of the album!) so I was anxious to hear if the new album could live up to the impossibly high standards of Ghost Reveries.  Well, I am pleased to say that the new song passed even my wildest expectations.  If this song is an indication of what is to come from the next album than it could very well be Opeth's best.  At times it was as heavy as anything Opeth has done, at other times it was as soft and beautiful- it is the real deal, folks.  The new guitar player, Fredrik Akkeson i think his name is, let out a completely fantastic guitar solo about halfway through the song.  It was fairly shreddy for an Opeth song, but it fit well and had the crowd screaming for more.  Next came the low point of the set, which was Wreath- probably my least favorite Opeth song.  It's not that it's really that bad, it's just really long and has almost no mellow parts to offset the heavy parts.  Finally, they ended with The Drapery Falls which was mind blowing.  A perfect way to close the set.  The lights were good, and by this point all of the other bands' gear was out of the way to reveal a much neater looking stage.  Mikael was hilarious between songs, making jokes about metal, Yngwie Malmsteen, Nickelback, and many other things.  Probably the most I've ever laughed at a metal concert.  I did have a couple of complaints with Opeth's set though.  First and foremost it seems they tried to 'out-heavy' everybody by sticking to their heaviest material, leaving little room for the more mellow parts that are equally as important.  In addition, the sound was not exactly that clear and it was hard to hear the intricate details that make Opeth's songs so good.  I also have to admit that I was very disappointed by Martin Axenrot, the new drummer.  He does not have the same feel and groove as Martin Lopez, and he relies on playing all out far too much.  Maybe he sounds better on the album, so I'll have to wait to form a final opinion.  Apart from a few complaints, a very good show.

 

Dream Theater:

 

(intro video)

Constant Motion

Beyond This Life

Surrounded (including some of Mother by Pink Floyd and what I think was Sugar Mice by Marillion)

(From here my memory is a little blank so errors are likely)

Dark Eternal Night

Erotomania

Voices

As I Am

Encore Medley:
Trial of Tears, Finally Free, Learning to Live, In the Name of God, Octavarium

 

Finally it was time for the main act to start.  When the lights went off I nearly lost my mind in the excitement.  Then, the curtain dropped to reveal a stage that was twice as large as the one that had been used for the first three bands.  A screen at the back played an intro video that was a sort of montage of the bands career ending with Systematic Chaos.  The the band rushed on and began the opening riff of Constant Motion.  IT was a great opener and the crowd loved it.  From there they went into Beyond This Life, which unfortunately did not feature the improv as seen on the Budokan DVD.  Surround came next, and it was excellent.  It was somewhat of a new version, and it sounded a lot better.  An extended instrumental section was added at the middle which included an insane unison between Petrucci and Ruddess, who was playing a keytar next to Petrucci at the front of the stage.  To make things even better, Petrucci played the solo from Pink Floyd's Mother, and they transitioned into what I think was Sugar Mice by Marillion.  It went back into the final outro of Surrounded.  Dark Eternal Night came next which is probably my least favorite from the new album.  It's just too heavy without any soft sections to add balance.  Erotomania came next followed by Voices but oddly enough no Silent Man to finish the trilogy.  Normally I don't care much for Voices, but live it was very good.  It was many times heavier than the original which was a welcome change, and the band tore through it with lots of energy.  As I Am was good, really heavy and very energetic.  The encore medley was excellent and featured the intro, verse, and chorus from Trial of Tears, the ending of Finally Free, a short instrumental part from Learning to Live, a few minutes of In the Name of God, and the last four minutes of Octavarium.  In the Name of God was incredible, definately a highlight of the show, and Petrucci's solo during Octavarium cannot be described in words.  I have always like Petrucci's playing, but was never blown away by it like I am by say, Steve Vai.  But now I have a whole new respect for Petrucci.  His playing was some of the best I have ever seen.  The whole show seemed to revolved around him, and it is not easy to outshine musicians of the level of talent.  He had a perfect balance between feel and technical ability.  Portnoy appeared to be having a great time, and even played a game of catch with one of his drumsticks with one of the stage crew during one of the tricky sections of Erotomania.  LaBrie was good, although he did a bit to much of his high pitched screaming (think the "Trapped inside this Octavarium!" voice).  I wish that they had played Take the Time, which is one of my very favorite DT songs, because they have played it at many of their shows recently.  Something from Six Degrees would have been nice as well.  It seems they were trying to 'out-heavy' the other bands as well.  The sound left a lot to desired as well.  It was VERY loud to the point where the mix was barely audible.  Ruddess' keyboards sounded thin and piercing.  Fortunately, the band was flawless, far surpassing my expectations.  Simply put, one of the best live acts I have ever seen.

 

After the show we waited around with a small crowd by the trailers for the band to come out, but after about 40 minutes my group was ready to leave so I didn't get to talk to the bands or get autographs.

 

Everyone should experience Progressive Nation 2008!  Four great bands for a very reasonable price.  Very hard to complain about that!

 

 

 

 

 

 

And Adrian Belew is playing tonight here in tampa.  Friend cacelled on me though cause of the NBA playoff game, so I might not get to see it

 

Do you have Colors? Listen to it a couple of times, it really grows on you. Also Alaska is great, not as good as Colors but still great.

 

I don't have it, but I have heard about half of the songs from it including White Walls, Ants, Prequel.  I absolutely love the mellow parts, especially the guitar work but to hardcore stuff really bugs me.  I can handle Opeth's death growls becuase they are not overused and the music during those parts usually has a great groove.  BTBAM often seems to just play all out without really having a groove or much direction.  I have a lot of respect for them, but maybe I just need to give it more time.