Wow.  Just wow.

Since the ProgNation tour wasn’t coming to Pittsburgh, the three opening bands decided to do an off-date show here while Dream Theater rested their old bones.   That was great for me, mainly because I’m not terribly interested in seeing DT again at this point, and because they weren’t there, ticket prices were much lower (DT are a bunch of greedy old men). 

I arrived just as 3 were beginning their set, and they once again proved that they are a very worthy live act.  I have always been sort of tepid about their studio albums, but they really put on a great high-energy performance.  The effect of the two drummers comes across much better live than in the studio (and of course it wouldn’t be a prog rock show without a drum solo).  The only detraction for me was that they played pretty much the exact same set I saw them perform two years ago.  Even the “jam” parts were the same.  Still, enjoyable.

Next up were progressive metalcore darlings Between the Buried and Me.  Now, I have never been able to get into this band, despite repeated attempts, but I though maybe seeing them live would change my mind. 

It didn’t.

But I did realize exactly why I don’t like them.  They’re certainly talented musicians and they don’t hesitate to show that off.  Their songs have many clever little passages and neat progressive parts.  The problem for me is that for every interesting part, they visit at least two lame metalcore cliches, like chug-a-chug breakdowns and half-speed changeups.  Anyway, needless to say I was disappointed by BTBAM.  They are certainly talented and they sounded good, but they are just not my cup of metal tea.  Fortunately, this afforded me time to spend at the bar (hooray for Mr. Smalls having East End Brewry “Big Hop” on tap!).

A few beers later, I was brave enough to fight my way up to the front of the house before Opeth came on.  With Opeth, a band with a fairly large catalog of very long songs, it’s hard to know what to expect.  All I hoped was that they would play “The Drapery Falls”, which is my favorite song of theirs. 

I couldn’t have asked for a better set.  They sounded perfect and absolutely destroyed.  The band isn’t much for stage antics... they mostly just stand in place and play, maybe headbang a little, but the crowd was completely into it and going nuts.  They pulled songs from as far back as Still Life, and played “Heir Apparent” from the upcoming album, which was described by Akerfelt himself (in his goofy Swedish accent) as “very brutal”.  They even played “In My Time of Need” and “To Rid the Disease” from Damnation, and “Demons of the Fall” from Deliverance.  All of this I watched from a few feet back from center stage, while moshing erupted intermittently around me.

After a ripping set, they left the stage,  and I would have been satisfied with the set, even though they hadn’t played my favorite song.  The sold-out crowd cheered them back onstage, and they started into The Drapery Falls. 

I about lost my sh**.

So today, despite 3 Advil, my head and neck are killing me, and I can’t hear a damn thing, but that’s just the sign of a good show.

Fantastic night, one of the best shows I’ve seen in a very long time.  I highly recommend catching these guys on one of the ProgNation off-dates.  The price is right, and the show is much better.  Can’t wait to see them again in september!