Iced Earth tour dates...

[NobleKnight]

That is one thing I love about this forum...when I try and do a little bit of bragging and "name drop" the JJ Kellys show, I get smacked down by someone who actually saw them on the Dark Saga tour. I didn't even know they toured for that lol

All of 100 people at the show...

Now who saw Arch Enemy and Nevermore at Kelleys with maybe 75 people?

 

[War Ensemble]

I'm going to punch you in the nutsack the next time I see you at Station 4, hahahahahaha.

I might need to invest in a W.A.S.P. sawblade codpiece.

 

[Metalmilitia2000]

I might need to invest in a W.A.S.P. sawblade codpiece.

And a new nickname.. Blackie Ballless

 

[skyrefuge]

I was one of these people!
Well, by the early 90s, I had actually gotten completely out of metal, as most of the bands I loved either went into obscurity (I mean, here in the States, were you honestly aware that Helloween made an album called PINK BUBBLES GO APE? I sure as hell didn't!! This was PRE-interwebs folks!), or they started going south (IE - Anthrax, Slayer, etc).

*I* knew about 'Pink Bubbles Go Ape', and owned a copy...I'm pretty sure I even had the 'Kids of the Century' single in '94 or so. But yeah, that just supports your point: the only people who would go to an Iced Earth show in 1997 were the same people who would know about PBGA, and that was a very small group of people at the time.

When thinking about this period, I usually wonder if my impressions are biased by my personal experience. Like, maybe there *was* a thriving underground metal touring scene, and I was just unaware of it, and Iced Earth's (and Nevermore's) role in kick-starting the rebirth are much more minor than I think. So thanks for sharing your view from the other side of things, because it adds strong corroboration to my impressions.

You also make a good point that metal bands didn't just *poof* disappear in the mid-90s, but more that the big names were seen to be old and in decline, and there was no awareness yet of younger, smaller bands coming up to carry on the torch.

Neil

 

[skyrefuge]

That is one thing I love about this forum...when I try and do a little bit of bragging and "name drop" the JJ Kellys show, I get smacked down by someone who actually saw them on the Dark Saga tour. I didn't even know they toured for that lol

haha, yeah, we apologize for that. Should I mention that they played a total of 7 times in the Chicago area (and twice in Milwaukee) before you saw them at J.J. Kelley's, or should I just keep my mouth shut?

If you go to http://www.songkick.com/users/skyre...04-23&page=1&start_date=1994-11-05&tab=artist and click on "Iced Earth", you can see all the shows they've played in the area (more specifically, all their shows I've gone to).

Now who saw Arch Enemy and Nevermore at Kelleys with maybe 75 people?

C'mon, you're just settin' yourself up now! I was there, and also at the two shows on either side of it. They played Smiler Coogan's, J.J. Kelley's, and Riley's Rock House three nights in a row, Jan. 14-16 2000. At J.J. Kelley's, I talked with Daniel Erlandsson and got some drumsticks from him, after he had nailed my girlfriend in the eye with a drumstick thrown from the stage the night before at Smiler Coogan's. Clearly he hadn't thought out the physics of throwing drumsticks in a small bar with 8ft. ceilings! I think J.J. Kelley's was also the show where, right in the middle of one of their songs, Warrel leaned over and asked "Are you Neil?!" and told me to come party on the bus with them afterwards (but I passed). And I believe the show the following night at Riley's was the one where he was literally falling-down drunk, so much that he needed a roadie to crouch behind him onstage to keep him (generally) upright.

So I'm sorry that your "name-dropping" has backfired for you, but it's worked out splendidly for me, so thanks for that.

http://www.songkick.com/users/skyre...2-31&page=1&start_date=1997-08-01&tab=concert has a good view of shows I saw from this period, with stuff like Dimmu Borgir/Samael in '99, or In Flames playing at a Knights of Columbus hall.

Neil

 

[Sumeet]

Warrel leaned over and asked "Are you Neil?!" and told me to come party on the bus with them afterwards (but I passed).

Say what!?

In Flames playing at a Knights of Columbus hall.

This must have been the same tour where they played a roller skating rink in NJ, heh.

... In retrospect though, the situation for underground metal seemed to suddenly change a lot within a short span of time. In Flames was playing almost comical venues in 1999, but by 2002, I saw them headlining a 1500 or so person venue in Philadelphia, along with Killswitch Engage, Dark Tranquillity, and Sentenced. Man, what a kickass lineup. And Iced Earth... having seen them play their first-ever shows in the northeast in 1998 and 1999 (playing to about 50 and 150 people respectively), by 2001 - 2002, they were headlining that same 1500-capacity venue, and opening for Megadeth.

The mid to late 90's attitude of underground metal fans on the web was largely "Yeah, we'll never get a chance to see those guys in north america." or "Better book that flight to europe if you ever want to see those guys!". But that seemed to change within only like 5 years, to the point where people in north america (well, at least in the northeast, the upper midwest / great lakes, and the southwest) could reasonably expect to see an underground metal show on a fairly regular basis. Looking back, my impression of it is that two of the major factors in this change were Iron Maiden's lineup change and fairly extensive touring in 1999 - 2000, and ProgPower starting up in 2001 and consistently bringing over lots of european bands year after year. Of course, these were undoubtedly significant factors, but like what you said earlier, my perception of this could certainly be somewhat skewed since I'm really into Iron Maiden and ProgPower... there are likely other important factors that I forgot, or am not giving enough weight to because I don't know as much about them.

 

[Savage Pumpkin]

And don't forget the uprising of the internet in 96-97 as well. I thought it was so cool that three of the best metal bands of that period (Iced Earh, Gamma Ray, and Helloween) all had Official websites run by people in the USA (Thanks Neil!). I also think the advent of specialty mail order shops through USA mags to get imports helped alot. I got a Japanese copy of "Pink Bubbles Go Ape" that way. I also got a lot of discs from a place here in Chicago called Hip Kat Records as well as Rolling Stones. But what I remember really helping the scene was the first two Hammerfall discs revitalizing power metal as a genre.

 

[AirGuitarLoonhouse]

I like Iced Earth. I like shows at the HoB. Not going to miss this! The HoB is one of the better venues around here and much easier to get there and park as opposed to many others.

 

[skyrefuge]

Say what!?

We'd met through Iced Earth the year before when the two bands toured together, so he knew me as the Iced Earth web guy. But it's not like we'd really hung out or anything, so it was pretty amazing that not only did he remember who I was and what I looked like, he also remembered my name, AND remembered all that right in the middle of a performance. I feel kinda bad that I stood the poor guy up!

... In retrospect though, the situation for underground metal seemed to suddenly change a lot within a short span of time.

Yeah, I think the fanbases had been building slowly but steadily, due to the rising Internet and such, so the main thing bands needed was to gain a foothold on these shores, so that the waiting fanbases could be unlocked. Someone willing to take a chance, booking agents to organize touring routes and establish the template that other bands could follow. So that's the kind of thing that I think bands like Iced Earth (and Nevermore) helped establish for their European brethren. And then of course things like ProgPower and earlier, the Milwaukee Metalfest were other ways for bands to get a foothold and take on less risk.

Looking back, my impression of it is that two of the major factors in this change were Iron Maiden's lineup change and fairly extensive touring in 1999 - 2000, and ProgPower starting up in 2001 and consistently bringing over lots of european bands year after year. Of course, these were undoubtedly significant factors, but like what you said earlier, my perception of this could certainly be somewhat skewed since I'm really into Iron Maiden and ProgPower... there are likely other important factors that I forgot, or am not giving enough weight to because I don't know as much about them.

Yeah, I definitely agree that ProgPower played a role, although that was almost more part of a second wave, adding to what had been established a few years earlier. I have a tougher time seeing an Iron Maiden connection, just because Maiden has always been pretty disconnected from the underground. I don't remember them ever touring with an "underground" band of the category we're talking about, and the message of the lineup change was really more backward-looking than forward-looking (even though within the band that motivation was still forward).

Neil

 

[Jasonic]

Chicago called Hip Kat Records as well as Rolling Stones.

Yep, I have shopped at every Hip Kat location ever!
I used to shop from them when they used to attend the Hillside Record Convetions back in the late 80s.

I got a lot of my punk and metal vinyl collection from them.

There used to be another store on Dundee in Wheeling called Rock N Records, which was primarily a punk and hardcore store.

There were SO many bands who had albums that I never knew about until many years later, such as Helloween, Destruction, etc.....

I suppose if I hadn't gotten out of metal and still kept in touch with underground fanzines, Imight have been aware of such releases.

 

[TychoCelchu]

For me, discovering mail-order CD distros (both the web and the postal mail kind where I sent in a paper checklist) was a huge difference maker in my own knowledge-expansion for metal. There was an entertaining few years where people would look at my CD shelf and say "I've never heard of any of these!" I was somewhat less successful in trying to point people towards The End or similar web mailorders.

 

[DADRocks]

I like Iced Earth. I like shows at the HoB. Not going to miss this! The HoB is one of the better venues around here and much easier to get there and park as opposed to many others.

+1, and I spent the extra few bucks for the VIP pass as well. Looking forward to seeing them again.

 

[tenebre]

Where id you see VIP tickets for HOB? Currently it says the tickets aren't even on sale until next week and no VIP are listed.

 

[Jibrille]

Where id you see VIP tickets for HOB? Currently it says the tickets aren't even on sale until next week and no VIP are listed.

The link is on icedearth.com
http://tixx1.artistarena.com/icedearth/