Last night my brother and I took the 4 hour trip to Northern Virginia to see Symphony X with Devin Townsend. Local openers were Odin's Court, Ephemeral Sun and Brave.
I don't particularly care for Jaxx (the venue). The main problem is that the stage is so low, it's like a foot above the floor. So all you can see are the bandmembers' heads above the crowd. Not good if you want to watch Michael Romeo's fingers obliterate the fretboard.
Odin's Court started off the night in fine metal fashion. They seemed to be a potent blend of prog/power metal with searing guitar. They cloused with a rousing rendition of Judas Priest's "Breaking the Law".
Ephemeral Sun followed. It was their first public performance. This band is simply unclassifiable. They have a unique sound that blends together many genres. There are elements of prog, doom, gothic and jazz. They had a female vocalist who had a nice ethereal voice, though perhaps a bit underutilized. The songs were very complex and featured some absolutely jaw-dropping keyboard pyrotechnics. A couple of the songs were a bit awkward, but overall they left a good impression on me. At their best moments, Ephemeral Sun was absolutely captivating.
Brave was next. I did not even realize Brave was playing until I checked Jaxx's website the day of the show. It was a nice suprise and a little extra something to look forward to as I made my trip. I have had their album "Searching for the Sun" for quite some time and enjoyed it modestly. Nothing would prepare me for the awesomeness of Brave's performance. Brave is also a band that combines diverse styles into a unique sound. They have metal and prog elements, but they also have a lot of pop and have a sound that is accessible though too damn good for mass consumption. They are fronted by Michelle Loose, who also plays keyboards. They recently added a violinist to their band, which provides an exciting new texture to their sound. Brave tore through a set of old and new and met with an enormous crowd response. I was in aural ecstasy for their duration of their set, suprised and amazed at just how good they were. The musicianship was tight, the songs were instantly memorable and fulfilling and Michelle's strong, beautiful vocals were otherworldly. She had great charisma and presence on stage. The violiln/guitar duels were extremely enjoyable. They have a new album out in the spring... I can't wait for that... and I hope I get to see this great band again soon.
Next came Devin Townsend. I love much of his work and was excited to see this musical visionary in action. However, I met with massive disappointment. Firstly, I was disappointed with the setlist. I love much of Devin's work, but there is also some stuff of his that I hate. Unfortunately, he drew much of his setlist from the latter. However, it wouldn't have mattered much if he did play all my favorite songs, because his performance was atrocious. Even "Life" was ruined by his weak vocals, superfluous vulgarity, idiotic and unfunny comments and his inability to reproduce his studio wizadry live. Devin's stage persona is contrived, offensive and seriously stupid. He was a big letdown after the excellent performances by the three local bands. I doubt he won over many fans with his loathesome performance. I will not be watching him when I see Symphony X again in a couple weeks in Pittsburgh.
Symphony X redeemed the night with a high-energy performance of favorites and Odyssey tunes. Russell was the consummate showman, and was quite humble and appreciative. He was the anti-Devin.
Rullo's drumming was exceptionally entertaining. They closed with "The Odyssey", their magnum opus. I really earned a new appreciation of that work of art. It is incredible to think of the work that Symphony X put into composing and performing that masterpiece. I was entranced by the band for the entirity of that 20+ minute epic. At the end of the song, the crowd exploded in rapturous appreciation. We are so lucky to have a band like this. My only complaint was the volume. I don't understand why headliners must always have head-splitting volume. I thought the sound for Brave was perfect. Oh well, my earplugs saved the day.
Overall, it was an excellent evening of metallic merriment.
I don't particularly care for Jaxx (the venue). The main problem is that the stage is so low, it's like a foot above the floor. So all you can see are the bandmembers' heads above the crowd. Not good if you want to watch Michael Romeo's fingers obliterate the fretboard.
Odin's Court started off the night in fine metal fashion. They seemed to be a potent blend of prog/power metal with searing guitar. They cloused with a rousing rendition of Judas Priest's "Breaking the Law".
Ephemeral Sun followed. It was their first public performance. This band is simply unclassifiable. They have a unique sound that blends together many genres. There are elements of prog, doom, gothic and jazz. They had a female vocalist who had a nice ethereal voice, though perhaps a bit underutilized. The songs were very complex and featured some absolutely jaw-dropping keyboard pyrotechnics. A couple of the songs were a bit awkward, but overall they left a good impression on me. At their best moments, Ephemeral Sun was absolutely captivating.
Brave was next. I did not even realize Brave was playing until I checked Jaxx's website the day of the show. It was a nice suprise and a little extra something to look forward to as I made my trip. I have had their album "Searching for the Sun" for quite some time and enjoyed it modestly. Nothing would prepare me for the awesomeness of Brave's performance. Brave is also a band that combines diverse styles into a unique sound. They have metal and prog elements, but they also have a lot of pop and have a sound that is accessible though too damn good for mass consumption. They are fronted by Michelle Loose, who also plays keyboards. They recently added a violinist to their band, which provides an exciting new texture to their sound. Brave tore through a set of old and new and met with an enormous crowd response. I was in aural ecstasy for their duration of their set, suprised and amazed at just how good they were. The musicianship was tight, the songs were instantly memorable and fulfilling and Michelle's strong, beautiful vocals were otherworldly. She had great charisma and presence on stage. The violiln/guitar duels were extremely enjoyable. They have a new album out in the spring... I can't wait for that... and I hope I get to see this great band again soon.
Next came Devin Townsend. I love much of his work and was excited to see this musical visionary in action. However, I met with massive disappointment. Firstly, I was disappointed with the setlist. I love much of Devin's work, but there is also some stuff of his that I hate. Unfortunately, he drew much of his setlist from the latter. However, it wouldn't have mattered much if he did play all my favorite songs, because his performance was atrocious. Even "Life" was ruined by his weak vocals, superfluous vulgarity, idiotic and unfunny comments and his inability to reproduce his studio wizadry live. Devin's stage persona is contrived, offensive and seriously stupid. He was a big letdown after the excellent performances by the three local bands. I doubt he won over many fans with his loathesome performance. I will not be watching him when I see Symphony X again in a couple weeks in Pittsburgh.
Symphony X redeemed the night with a high-energy performance of favorites and Odyssey tunes. Russell was the consummate showman, and was quite humble and appreciative. He was the anti-Devin.
Rullo's drumming was exceptionally entertaining. They closed with "The Odyssey", their magnum opus. I really earned a new appreciation of that work of art. It is incredible to think of the work that Symphony X put into composing and performing that masterpiece. I was entranced by the band for the entirity of that 20+ minute epic. At the end of the song, the crowd exploded in rapturous appreciation. We are so lucky to have a band like this. My only complaint was the volume. I don't understand why headliners must always have head-splitting volume. I thought the sound for Brave was perfect. Oh well, my earplugs saved the day. Overall, it was an excellent evening of metallic merriment.
Devin did keep his smartass persona to a minimum when I saw him, and I didn't have any serious problems with his performance.
