To say I was psyched for this show, would be a dramatic understatement. Nevermore is, without question, my favorite band, and Evergrey is, undoubtedly in my top five. Its such a rare thing that two of your favorite bands get billed together, much less have them afforded the opportunity to perform extended sets.
This was my first trip to Jaxx. The Jaxx staff and owner are very cool and very laid back. The venue itself, while small, has fairly good sight lines, is laid out well and has an excellent sound system. Given it's only 200 miles from my home, I'd certainly return for bands I cant catch near me.
First off, a big thanks to eaeolian (Mike of Division) for getting us tickets. While I was a bit too busy socializing, I did have a chance to catch some of Divisions set. They had excellent energy and a tight sound. They impressed me enough that Ill be checking out more of them in the future.
Sunday was the 5th time Ive seen Evergrey live and it was easily their worst performance. While I dont want to start any unsubstantiated rumors (maybe someone who interacted with them prior to the show can comment), it appeared that Tom and Henrik were somewhat less than sober. Tom couldnt remember a single line to the first verse of Rulers of the Mind, the execution of the songs was sloppy and their performance lacked energy. We walked out after four or five songs.
Even though I was thrilled at this double billing. The truth of the matter is, I would have walked to Jaxx just to see Nevermore do a headline set. Luckily, they didnt disappoint. This was the 8th time Ive seen Nevermore live, and I have to say, it was their best performance.
Although he had to pull out of the In Flames tour, due to health issues, Jim Sheppard flew in specially to perform this show. Im not sure if that alone drove Nevermore to up the ante or if it was the energy of the sold out crowd, but Nevermores set was just stunning. While I believe Steve Smyths addition has been a real positive for the band, its hard to deny that they sound even tighter with Chris Broderick (Jag Panzer) on 2nd guitar. Chris is a sensational guitar player and has great energy on stage. And its clear to see, he loves playing with Nevermore. The minute and a half that he and Loomis traded licks, was priceless.
Unfortunately, Nevermore didnt play anything from Politics and only played one track from Dreaming (a jaw-dropping rendition of Poison God Machine). While I would have enjoyed a few more old songs, I love all of their material equally, and dont care a great deal what they choose to play.
Warrells vocals were as up front in the mix as Ive ever heard them and he was dead-on.
Mike (eaeolian) had commented earlier, that it would be interesting to see how Van held up, given that extended sets are hardest on drummers. Suffice it to say, Van was up to the challenge. The man is half beast, half drum machine.
Lastly, it was cool to meet and chat with some of the folks from the UM boards; Karen (Dead Lioness), Jamie (jamiek) and Mike (eaeolian). All in all, great night.
Zod
This was my first trip to Jaxx. The Jaxx staff and owner are very cool and very laid back. The venue itself, while small, has fairly good sight lines, is laid out well and has an excellent sound system. Given it's only 200 miles from my home, I'd certainly return for bands I cant catch near me.
First off, a big thanks to eaeolian (Mike of Division) for getting us tickets. While I was a bit too busy socializing, I did have a chance to catch some of Divisions set. They had excellent energy and a tight sound. They impressed me enough that Ill be checking out more of them in the future.
Sunday was the 5th time Ive seen Evergrey live and it was easily their worst performance. While I dont want to start any unsubstantiated rumors (maybe someone who interacted with them prior to the show can comment), it appeared that Tom and Henrik were somewhat less than sober. Tom couldnt remember a single line to the first verse of Rulers of the Mind, the execution of the songs was sloppy and their performance lacked energy. We walked out after four or five songs.
Even though I was thrilled at this double billing. The truth of the matter is, I would have walked to Jaxx just to see Nevermore do a headline set. Luckily, they didnt disappoint. This was the 8th time Ive seen Nevermore live, and I have to say, it was their best performance.
Although he had to pull out of the In Flames tour, due to health issues, Jim Sheppard flew in specially to perform this show. Im not sure if that alone drove Nevermore to up the ante or if it was the energy of the sold out crowd, but Nevermores set was just stunning. While I believe Steve Smyths addition has been a real positive for the band, its hard to deny that they sound even tighter with Chris Broderick (Jag Panzer) on 2nd guitar. Chris is a sensational guitar player and has great energy on stage. And its clear to see, he loves playing with Nevermore. The minute and a half that he and Loomis traded licks, was priceless.
Unfortunately, Nevermore didnt play anything from Politics and only played one track from Dreaming (a jaw-dropping rendition of Poison God Machine). While I would have enjoyed a few more old songs, I love all of their material equally, and dont care a great deal what they choose to play.
Warrells vocals were as up front in the mix as Ive ever heard them and he was dead-on.
Mike (eaeolian) had commented earlier, that it would be interesting to see how Van held up, given that extended sets are hardest on drummers. Suffice it to say, Van was up to the challenge. The man is half beast, half drum machine.
Lastly, it was cool to meet and chat with some of the folks from the UM boards; Karen (Dead Lioness), Jamie (jamiek) and Mike (eaeolian). All in all, great night.
Zod
Sorry, we didn't get to meet up. DemonoftheWoods, BlackenedDawn and I were looking for you, but now such luck. That place was so packed it was hard for me to find the people I did know.
) The energy for Nevermore was intense, although from the back of the bar - comparing the Nevermore crowd to the Evergrey crowd - I would have to say that quite a bit of people left after Evergrey. It might have just been the way the crowd shifted, but there did seem to be a lot more room after Evergrey left the stage.
