GAMMA RAY in New York City -- post reviews please

[SwordLord]

AUGH!!!

I have been dying to get a review of Gamma Ray in NYC and possibly a set-list and nobody's posted one.

My metal mind is hungry for knowledge -- who went? How much did they slay? What did they play?


A little news? Anyone? Bueller ... Bueller ...

 

[eaeolian]

I'll try and post a review of VA tomorrow, if i have any high-order brain functions working when I get here in the morning...

 

[J-Dubya 777]

I'll try and post a review of VA tomorrow, if i have any high-order bran functions working when I get here in the morning...

Hehehehehehe "bran" functions? Little trouble with the ol' turd cutter????




J-Dubya

 

[eaeolian]

Hehehehehehe "bran" functions? Little trouble with the ol' turd cutter????




J-Dubya

Not after bran!

 

[YtseJammer]

In sum, excellent show. Setlist has changed since their European tour earlier this year.

Setlist:

1.Intro/Gardens of the sinners
2.New world order
3.Fight
4.Blood Religion
5.Armageddon
6.The Silence
7.Heavy metal Universe
8.I Want Out
9.Rebellion in Dreamland
10.Land of the Free
ENCORE
11.Valley of the Kings
12.Somewhere out in Space
13.Rebellion in Dreamland (reprise)
ENCORE 2
13.Send me a sign


Kai Hansen said he was "not expecting this" (referring to the size and enthusiasm of the crowd) and after the show, commented "we will be back...we WILL be back again."


The venue was probably about 75% capacity (about 750 people) on a Monday night, with Dragonforce playing the next night.

Other random thoughts:

Gamma Ray must be doing well financially, Dan Zimmerman seems to have put on a couple of pounds and must be eating very well.

Band played for about 85 minutes, was hoping to hear a longer setlist, but I liked the songs they opted to play. Was very surprised hearing Armageddon, but love the tune and it made my night!

 

[Squeak]

Ahem Nathan... scroll down a few to this thread and you'll see a little bit.

http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=238242

Can't wait for Minnesota, WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

 

[AngraRULES]

It was an excellent performance, without a doubt. I am not the biggest Gamma Ray fan in the world, but I enjoyed the whole rest and sang along a bunch of songs! Excellent performance by Kai himself, he's a showman! Sound was perfect, kudos to the sound tech at BB Kings!

Also, Into Eternity did a good job as well. They had only 2 weeks to rehearse with the "NEW" line up (Jim back on drums and Colin filling in for Rob who didn't make it to this tour) and delivered a good show. New material kicks major amounts of ass, I can't wait to hear that in studio!

The openers, Arctic Flame also did a good job showcasing a more school heavy metal music. Nothing absolutely exceptional, but I was impressed, they have a good future! Also, a bunch of great guys too!

 

[MetalFury]

It was a fantastic show! I actually met and hung out with (for about 1/2 hr) the legendary Kai Hansen! He is one of my fav. vocalists and guitarists and other then Rob Halford, Kai was #2 on my list of musicians I wanted to meet.
My fiancee and I did a short interview with Kai and took LOTS of pics.
We are friends with the opening band, Arctic Flame, and it was great to see them have a chance opening a show like this. For the most part the crowd seemed to like them and they got a decent response.
We had taken alot of pics of Arctic Flame over the past yr or so and gave the band permission to use our pics if they wanted. Well, we found out last night that they used some of our live pics on their just released 1st full length cd. They put some of our shots in the cd booklet. Of course they gave us a thanks and a photo credit. They have just recently gotten a deal with a German label and they are gonna play a German festival later in the yr. Deb and I are thrilled for these guys...they deserve it!

 

[SwordLord]

In sum, excellent show. Setlist has changed since their European tour earlier this year.

Setlist:

1.Intro/Gardens of the sinners
2.New world order
3.Fight
4.Blood Religion
5.Armageddon
6.The Silence
7.Heavy metal Universe
8.I Want Out
9.Rebellion in Dreamland
10.Land of the Free
ENCORE
11.Valley of the Kings
12.Somewhere out in Space
13.Rebellion in Dreamland (reprise)
ENCORE 2
13.Send me a sign

OH MY GOD!

BLOOD RELIGION?! I WANT OUT?! SOMEWHERE OUT IN SPACE?! REBELLION IN DREAMLAND?! THE SILENCE!? THOSE ARE MY FAVORITES!!! I LOVE MY LIFE!!!

Kai Hansen said he was "not expecting this" (referring to the size and enthusiasm of the crowd) and after the show, commented "we will be back...we WILL be back again."

The venue was probably about 75% capacity (about 750 people) on a Monday night, with Dragonforce playing the next night.

Other random thoughts:

Gamma Ray must be doing well financially, Dan Zimmerman seems to have put on a couple of pounds and must be eating very well.

Band played for about 85 minutes, was hoping to hear a longer setlist, but I liked the songs they opted to play. Was very surprised hearing Armageddon, but love the tune and it made my night!

Thank you for this excellent review -- I appreciate it. It's nice to know that the crowd was into it, I can't imagine that they wouldn't be. I am hopeful that *my* show will be 75% full -- it means I'll be able to eat for the rest of the month!

Thanks for the time in posting the setlist -- did you steal one or is your memory just that good?

Nathan

 

[AngraRULES]

Thanks for the time in posting the setlist -- did you steal one or is your memory just that good?

Nathan

He's just a whacko.

 

[YtseJammer]

He's just a whacko.

Careful now...

My memory is that good....(but I just copied and pasted it from the other thread)

They also announced that they were changing the setlist for the MN show, in particular, something about replacing all tunes from Land of the Free and Somewhere Out in Space with boy-band covers. Enjoy.

 

[Torn2Shreds]

In sum, excellent show. Setlist has changed since their European tour earlier this year.

Setlist:

1.Intro/Gardens of the sinners
2.New world order
3.Fight
4.Blood Religion
5.Armageddon
6.The Silence
7.Heavy metal Universe
8.I Want Out
9.Rebellion in Dreamland
10.Land of the Free
ENCORE
11.Valley of the Kings
12.Somewhere out in Space
13.Rebellion in Dreamland (reprise)
ENCORE 2
13.Send me a sign

That indeed is a great setlist... Oh, and just in case any of you did not know, Gamma Ray are playing in Montreal on Friday night. They are FILMING THE SHOW FOR A DVD due in September!!!

So those of you that will miss them on their North American Tour this year (me included) will get to see it in September. I really can't wait for this one.

 

[SwordLord]

They also announced that they were changing the setlist for the MN show, in particular, something about replacing all tunes from Land of the Free and Somewhere Out in Space with boy-band covers. Enjoy.

Oh I can't wait! I've always wanted to hear Kai Hanson belt out "After the Rain!"

Or "One More Try" by Timmy-T! Oh yeeeeeeaaah!

 

[SeaStorm]

One more try, I didn't know how
much I loved you
One more try, let me put
my arms around
Living in this lonely world
without you
Oh baby can't we give it
one more try

Actually, I loved that song in high school! I probably never told my metalhead friends that at the time. I wonder if I can find that on CD somewhere...

 

[SeaStorm]

Wait, did I just admit that out loud?

 

[SwordLord]

Wait, did I just admit that out loud?

Yes you did and I'll be cutting your membership card to the Metal Brotherhood in half at the Gamma Ray show. In fact, I may do it from the stage so that all can witness and attest to your heresy.




Then again, I like Europe and Enya ... so I guess I really can't give you too much crap ... or can I?

 

[Magius]

The setlist at Jaxx was the same except that Dream Healer(?) and Heart Of The Unicorn replaced Armageddon. Also, Kai's voice was having some trouble due to "...some Siberian bug." The perfromance was pretty tight except his vocals faded out at times. I think the sound guy could have helped out here. It was a good show anyway.

<rant> Is it just me or do a lot of sound men seem oblivious, apathetic, or lazy? Obviously some nail the mix just right regardless of the venue, but other shows can sound horrible in the same place. When they sound bad it seems no one ever tries to fix it. Surely they can hear how bad it sounds as well as everyone else can. Oh well... </rant>

Division: Excellent. Great show. Liked what I'd heard in their MySpace, but right after they played we bought 2 copies of each CD and a longsleeve T. Mike, was good to meet you.

Into Eternity: Once again, is it just me? Everytime I hear this band they sound like a totally disorganized cacophony of Metal sounds. It's like 5 musicians practicing their instruments on 5 different songs in the same room at the same time. Of course the Mosh Pit had to be going for their entire set too. I guess they were okay if you like them, but I just don't get IE.

 

[noodlesatf]

Into Eternity: Once again, is it just me? Everytime I hear this band they sound like a totally disorganized cacophony of Metal sounds. It's like 5 musicians practicing their instruments on 5 different songs in the same room at the same time. Of course the Mosh Pit had to be going for their entire set too. I guess they were okay if you like them, but I just don't get IE.

I don't think the soundman at Jaxx knows what to do with them. I saw them soundcheck at Nevermore, and before they turned on the PA, they sounded amazing. There is so much going on, you really have to have the mix perfect, or it turns into muddled garbage. Earplugs are a must when listening to this band, because it cuts down on all that reverb and background noise from the room. Still, I can understand why people wouldn't like them, because they are all over the place.

Thanks for coming out! Come up and say hi to me at the next show. Just look down, I'm the short bald one.

 

[eaeolian]

Thanks for coming out! Come up and say hi to me at the next show. Just look down, I'm the short bald one.

He lives in Atlanta, so I suspect you won't be along the next time I see him (ProgPower). Nice meeting you - sorry you had to stand in line for so long - and I'm glad you enjoyed the show!

 

[AngraRULES]

Into Eternity: Once again, is it just me? Everytime I hear this band they sound like a totally disorganized cacophony of Metal sounds. It's like 5 musicians practicing their instruments on 5 different songs in the same room at the same time. Of course the Mosh Pit had to be going for their entire set too. I guess they were okay if you like them, but I just don't get IE.

It's probably just you. LOL