Concert Reviews - Ensiferum & Amon Amarth

I am exhausted. The show last night was pretty intense and I didn't get to bed until after 1:00 a.m. We caught the Amon Amarth with Ensiferum concert. It was kinda cool, before the show, Amon Amarth was standing by the shirt/etc vendors to sign autographs. Lucky me, they went to get ready for the show right before I could indulge. Such is life.

So the first band to open was The Absence, I believe, from California. They were... not bad. As soon as he said they were American I thought, "oh great, bring on the thrash." However, the music was decent and the singing not bad. They also all sported impressively long hair and wicked beards. Except the drummer, he looked like he might be a member of Our Lady Peace in his spare time, hah! Given my usual leary outlook on American metal bands, I was considerably not horrified by them.

Belphegor was another classic example of how to ruin a great drummer by turning his work into NOISE. Mindless smashing siunds were all I heard. Like I expected from the first band, these guys brought on the thrash. It did a great job of reving up the crowd and all those moshers seemed to really like it, but I've been well known for not having any taste for thrash. Other points of note include... well... ok, listen, to all you singers out there... if you can sing with a growl, sweet, but if you can't talk with it - don't. We don't care, I promise. This guy was trying to growl while he spoke and he honestly sounded like Kermit the Frog if he had gone hardcore. I could only laugh at him. It was ridiculous. The guitar player (I think) was really creepy looking and the singer brought out what I might've thought was a BDSM mask if I hadn't been at a metal concert, which was just kind of strange. Whatever you're into I guess. Really, I wasn't impressed with them at all. Also, I found them to be just a bit too loud. Yes, I realize I was at a metal concert, but it was just... harsh, and not in a good way.

Sami Hinkka (bass) and Petri Lindroos (vocals and guitar) of Ensiferum

Next on the list was Ensiferum. I was actually more stoked to see Ensiferum than I was to see Amon Amarth because I'm a bigger fan of folk metal than death metal. This happened to be another episode of "can that scrawny little guy really growl?"

Markus Toivonen (guitar) in the front and Emmi Silvennoinen (keyboards) of Ensiferum

And he could, and he was wicked. I wasn't familiar with anything they played except the intro, which is from Victory Songs, but I truly enjoyed all the music. The bass player was playing on a 7-string bass, which was incredible, and they threw in a metal Stairway to Heaven intro to one of their songs that was pretty cool. I really like the keyboarding in Ensiferum so I was sad that their touring pianist seemed to be turned down a bit and most of the time I couldn't hear her. The music was still great but I could've used some more of her. I imagine there won't be any complaints if they keep her in as a full time keyboardist for the band because, when I could hear her, she was very good. Unfortunately, they didn't play for very long. For headlining with Amon Amarth, I really think they could've done with a longer set that around 30 minutes. They could've eliminated Belphegor entirely and just had Ensiferum play through there too - that would've been ideal to me.

The visible parts of Ensiferum

So lastly was Amon Amarth. I haven't listened to them much but for a straight-up viking/death metal band, they're pretty sweet. I liked With Oden on Our Side so I bought Twilight of the Thunder God at the show, and I've since been enjoying it.
They opened with TotTG, which was sweet. Others that I caught, were Free Will Sacrifice, Guardians of Asgaard (so heavy and so awesome), Where is Your God?, Valhall Awaits Me (the only song of theirs I really know offhand, and really enjoyed), Hermod's Ride to Hel (another one I vaguely recognised, which was also amazing live), and Cry of the Black Birds (unbelievable). They introduced a couple older ones to me, like Death in Fire, which was wicked and heavy, and I have to say, the mosh pit took up pretty much the entire floor of the Warehouse and looked pretty brutal.

As for the band, I didn't see the drummer pretty much at all, but I could hear him and that was enough, he was great. The bass player was on a 5-string, playing low and heavy, the guitar was intense, and the singer was amazing. He's really smiley and makes the crowd feel like the band really appreciates being able to play for us. As for the music, for me not recognizing most of it, and it being heavy death metal, moshing music but without the thrash, I loved it. It made me want to bang my head and growl, which not a lot of music does. They had some nice looking synchronized head-banging and the band toasted their horns (literally) of ale (beer?) to the crowd in the oldschool viking manner.

Ted Lundström and Johan Hegg of Amon Amarth

Amon Amarth raising their horns to toast

This was their second time in Calgary, first time headlining, and I left the show with a good feeling just of having sincerely enjoyed myself in the presence of a band I don't really know very well. I really hope they come back again once I get a bit more familiar with them. I enjoyed the show a lot and I'd recommend them to anyone who likes that heavy viking/death metal.

Drinking the toast

Year: October 2008
Opening bands: The Absence, Belphegor, Ensiferum
Who I went with: Michael Widmer, Graham Widmer*, Gianna Romano*
Location: Calgary - The Warehouse

* Sorry about the shit pictures - The Warehouse is terrible for getting good shots for some reason.

Amon Amarth, head banging

General Reviews - Turisas

So Dragonforce is coming to town. I found this out when I was picking up tickets to the In Flames and Amon Amarth/Ensiferum shows and I was thinking, "haha, sweet, I bet they're terrible live - I wonder how much tickets cost." I asked the girl and she said the whole shebang was around $45 total (she was lying, I looked online and saw they were $35 a few days ago). And for someone who paid $35 to see In Flames, a sweet band, why would I pay that much to see a band who is good for amusement value at best and is probably terrible live? Yea, wasn't planning on going.

However, a few days ago I thought I'd look and see who's opening, just incase they're sweet. It's this band called Turisas that I'd never heard of before, so I went to look on youtube to have a listen. Well, if you know Turisas, you will know that the first song I came across would be Rasputin. So I hit it and listen. Then I think, "hey, I know that tune.... oh man! OH MAN! YES! FUCKING YES!" It was a metal cover of Rasputin by Boney M, which is a sweet disco song made even SWEETER by being metal. I came very close to soiling myself with excitement.

So I go to the next song, which was the official video made of fan clips for the song Battle Metal, which I guess is their big thing. The song was awesome in a way that claims fame to wicked music, killer vocals, and just a hint of cheese.

So of course I went straight to Play and bought The Varagian Way (limited Paganfest tour edition). It's more or less a story album about a viking journey, from what I gathered (Varangian being a term for viking).

I popped it onto my computer and started copying it and I thought... this first song (To Holmgard and Beyond) is unbelievable! The intro music draws you right in and I love Mathias "Warlord" Nygård's vocals. You can tell the thick Finnish accent without it limiting his voice, but actually makes it seem more suitable for the music. And the music - it's just awesome. The whole collaboration of the actually band members' instruments with the symphonic stuff that Warlord provided for the background just makes the song. Also, Warlord growls just enough to change up the vocals but without being annoying. I straight up love it.

The next song (A Portage to the Unknown) starts out with an accordion intro that has kind of a piratey-viking feel to it that you don't get in much metal unless you venture into the realms of Finntroll and Korpiklaani. The slowed down vocals are really nice so you can actually hear what Warlord is saying. The collaboration of multiple singers into the chorus gives it more of an epic feel too. I particularly like when one of them busts out the "give me all you 'ave..."

I wasn't sure at first if I liked Cursed Be Iron or not. I find the clanking blacksmith noises to be cool but the initial singing has a bit more of a mainstream American feel to it. However, once he slows down with the accordion droning in the background it sounds good again. After you get past the intro shock, it actually sounds just heavy and not American. I also really like the part at the end with the whispering. I read that this song was inspired by a finnish epic poem called The Kavelava but I couldn't find it to compare. Lyrically this song is very interesting.

I actually didn't know Fields of Gold was a separate song at first because Cursed Be Iron flows into it so directly. It takes the feel of Cursed Be Iron and continues on with it, softening the harshess and allowing the song to be a bit more musical. It has a nice feel following Cursed Be Iron.

The Court of Jarisleif is another one with a bit of a Finntroll folky feel to it, just a happy accordion song that makes you want to dance around and party with King Jarisleif, like the song indicates. Jarisleif was actually a ruler in Rus (Yaroslav I the Wise), so this song is actually a very entertaining take on real history. The violinist really gets going in this song too, which I really like.

I LOVE the intro the Five Hundred and One. The piano has a really beautiful sound that reminds me of the title screen music for the Tristan and Isolde DVD and I love the music from that movie. The song is a bit heavier than I would've expected from such a pretty intro. It changes quite abruptly but becomes a really intense song, going up and down in intensity while maintaining flow.

The Dnieper Rapids really does feel like an raging river as it starts. Warlord's little introductory growl is a nice touch leading into the false sense of calm that comes before the vocals pick up again. This one picks up and makes you feel on edge, putting you in the place of raging rapids. The chorus singing is pretty awesome as well.

The Miklagard Overture is very blatantly an epic song. It is the end to the journey of The Varangian Way and ends it in a dramatic fashion. You even hear him near the beginning saying "to Holmgard and beyond" again, but softer. The backing music just adds the oomph that gets you into the great conclusion of the CD. It stirs you up and lets you out gently while you still want more, and is really a fantastic conclusion to the album. However, lucky me, my copy of TVW had copies of Battle Metal and Rasputin at the end of the CD, so there is fun still to be had once the adventure that is this CD is finished.

For the band themselves, I did some research and I really respect them. Warlord says that he's not writing about dragons and cheesy crap like that, their music has meaning and substance and they believe in it. I really respect that (how'd they end up being the opening band for Dragonforce? Haha!)

As well, just from fans alone, they seem like really nice, friendly guys. They are shockingly young but have done unbelievably well for themselves considering. Their ages range from 18 (Netta Skog, the accordion player) to 27 (the violinist, Olli Vänskä). Their warpaint and viking/barbarian outfits are pretty awesome and their live shows, from what I've seen on the bonus disk, are incredible. They've already made a fair name for themselves in Europe, playing festivals and the like.

What I find is incredible is that, for the style of viking/folk metal, it's not really been heard much in Canada yet. I mean, Finntroll is the biggest and original folk band and they just came to Canada last month for the first time. Helloween, who is a power metal band who've been around since at least the 90s, just came to Calgary for their first time too! These unique bands don't usually get to Canada for YEARS, and Turisas is already big enough to be opening for Dragonforce, and coming to Canada after they've been around for not even 3 years. That's insane!

As a violinist, I really appreciate the fact that these guys have, along with vocals, guitar, bass, and drums, an actual violinist and accordion player IN the band, not just in the studio. It's nice to know that Netta and Olli are respected as actual metal musicians, not just studio music. I really like that. And Warlord is just a genius in general. He writes most of the lyrics, as well as does the piano (now that their pianist quit) and symphonic backing music in studio.

So in summary, I have been listening to Turisas since... approximately October 3rd, and I think they are bloody brilliant. Warlord's vocals are everything I've ever hoped to find in a viking metal band, they have incredible musicians, including those guys who make the extra folky music included in their songs, and they put together one hell of an epic adventure on their second CD. So before, when I was saying that I wouldn't be going to Dragonforce... yea, I'll be going, but not to see them. I want to hear some Battle Metal and rock out to Turisas!

Concert Reviews - Gamma Ray/Helloween

Ah, Helloween. Helloween is one of the first metal bands I got into after Iron Maiden, along with Blind Guardian and Iced Earth. You can imagine my elation upon discovering their imminent concert at the Mac Hall Ballroom with Gamma Ray.

Gamma ray is, for lack of a better description, old Helloween. They were formed by Helloween's first singer (Uli Kusch also played for them before joining Helloween) and Kai Hanson sings for them to this day. So seeing Gamma Ray with Helloween is like seeing a band that sounds just like old Helloween playing with Helloween. Translation: pretty cool.

I've heard a song or two of Gamma Ray's here and there but otherwise I haven't paid much attention to them, being a bigger fan of new Helloween over the old stuff. So, being unfamiliar with most of Gamma Ray's songs, I was quite pleasantly surprised.

Kai Hanson from Gamma Ray, formerly of Helloween

The music was good, Kai Hanson sounds just like he used to and is really quite enjoyable to watch onstage, and, to my true enjoyment, they did a great rendition of Ride the Sky off Helloween's first CD, Walls of Jericho, which Kai Hanson sang on.

They played some pretty good songs, a newer one called Empress that was about being bitten by a vampire, or a princess, or perhaps both, and they got the crowd going pretty good to Heavy Metal Universe. Gamma Ray is also the first "opening" band I've ever seen to come back for an encore, though I suppose technically they were touring together, not so much as an opening. But to my elation, they played Send Me A Sign, which is pretty much the only Gamma Ray song I know, and I'm rather fond of it.

Gamma Ray, Calgary 2008

Helloween was, ah, well, what can you say about Helloween? I really didn't know what to expect from Helloween. There were a lot of songs I was dying to hear but I didn't know what I was going to get because this was their first time in Calgary, and I would say that for a first time concert, a good selection of old favorites in with a couple newer ones is probably the way to go. That's pretty much what we got.

Andi Deris of Helloween

Andi Deris was phenomenal to watch. He's not quite as pretty in real life as photoshoots would lead you to believe but his voice is still unreal. He's also quite funny to watch, giving us lessons in German profanity and the like. He was also really good at getting the crowd all hyped up.

Michael Weikath of Helloween

Michael Weikath was an interesting sight to see. His visage is, like in most of his pictures, not unlike an old potato that's sprouted a quaff of fuzzy hair. He's a great player but has a bit of a cocky thing going on and tends to flick his wrist in a rather affeminate way, which I admit bothered me after I noticed it.

Sascha Gerstner of Helloween

Sascha Gerstner, I actually saw walk by me when I was buying a shirt but didn't recognise him as the newest and youngest member of the band. He was, along with Andi Deris, the one I enjoyed watching the most. He was far better looking than anyone else for one. Also, his style was just overall great. He's great to watch, he looks like he's having fun and not trying to impress anyone, he's just having a good time. And the music is great. I didn't know they had a second guitarist but I was pleased with the result for sure!

Markus Grosskopf of Helloween

Markus Grosskopf adds another member to the strangely misshapen old men of Helloween, however, his bass playing was catchy and enjoyable, as you can only hope from a bass player. Without him, it wouldn't have been Helloween right?

Dani Löble of Helloween, during a drum solo

Lastly is Dani Löble. If anyone has heard me talk about the drummer that has been with Helloween since Keeper of the Seven Keys: The Legacy, you'd have heard a glowing report. In his own words, he is a "symbiosis" of Helloween's two former drummers and I couldn't agree more. He takes the styles that both of the others had and uses the parts that work from each to make it his own. He actually did a drum solo in the middle of the show that rather blindsided me with amazement. He to this day remains one of my favorite drummers to listen to. It's nice to see the drumming in a band stand out to me.

Musically, they did have a pretty good selection in the manner I had expected - old favorites with a few well-known (singles) new ones thrown in. They had a nice creepy-ish intro, just as I expected, and opened up with Andi Deris belting out Kai Hanson's old tune, Halloween! After a brilliant rendition of Halloween, they also played such old favorites as Sole Survivor, Mr. Torture, If I Could Fly, Eagle Fly Free, Dr. Stein, and a couple others I couldn't place. They did play two songs off Gambling With the Devil, which were As Long As I Fall (one of the songs I wanted to hear) and Paint a New World, which I didn't care much about hearing, but was still really good.

In regards to the song selection, I really can't complain. Hearing Andi Deris sing those old songs of Kai Hanson's really was a treat. I absolutely love Deris's voice and I was really stoked to hear it in those old songs. I mean, I would've loved to hear songs like Time of the Oath, The Departed (known to many as my all-time favorite song ever), and Mrs. God (my theme song). Mrs. God was the only one I was truly disappointed not to hear. I didn't expect to hear the other two but I had hoped that they'd play at least one song off KotSK: Legacy and I knew if they did, it'd be that one. I mean, it's only their second oldest CD, you'd think they might've done it. But alas, no such luck for me. Not that I'm complaining, they've got a lot of great music and you can't expect to hear everything you want in one concert. Looks like I'll just have to go see them again, yes?

The encore was a particularly good treat. They did two, for starters. The first was kind of a mashup of Master of the Rings songs, including Where the Rain Grows into a very crowd-involved long version of The Perfect Gentleman, which was pretty killer. Then of course, they came back WITH Gamma Ray for the second encore to play Future World and I Want Out (old Kai Hanson songs from early Helloween), which was unbelievable.

Helloween and Gamma Ray, united, playing the second encore of Future World and I Want Out

So what can I say? I thought this show was bloody brilliant and I hope to see them again and maybe I'll get to hear a couple more of those songs I missed out on last night. Gamma Ray is exactly what you need to warm you up for Helloween and overall I just thought it was great. Just... you know... try not to stand behind a big fat guy whose farts smell like he's shitting his pants. I really advise against that. Way to almost ruin a great concert for me buddy.

So my advice to Helloween fans is to go see them. The live experience will not disappoint.

Helloween: Andi, Sascha, Markus, Michael, and Dani in the back

Year: October 2008
Opening bands: Gamma Ray
Who I went with: Michael Widmer, Mike Wiseman, Andrea Wiseman, Frank Coetzer, Jaco Coetzer
Location: Calgary - Mac Hall Ballroom

Concert Reviews - Finntroll

Ah, Finntroll. One of those bands that you think, "they'll never come here, so hopefully if I go to Sweden (or some other European country) one day I'll be able to catch a show." Imagine my delight when I heard they were coming our way!

I've never been to The Warehouse before, and I imagine, of the three main venues in Calgary, that it is by far the smallest place to go see a show, which is appropriate for Finntroll since I imagine they aren't particularly well known in these parts.

Opening for the touring bands was local pirate metal band, Verbal Deception. I had borrowed one of their CDs and was, needless to say, not particularly impressed, so I was curious but not particularly excited to see them. What a pleasant surprise for me! The music was enjoyable, the singing quiet and unoffensive, and the keyboarding... interesting. During the parts where the harpsicord didn't sound like a small creature being tortured, it added the pirate-y flavor to the songs. The sound, I believe, wasn't set up optimally for them, but they were enjoyable to watch and fun to listen to.

The actual opening band was called Warbringer. As someone who detests thrash metal, I don't have much to say about them. The singer was annoying, and the kick was ruined by the incessant banging on cymbals, etc. That aside, the music wasn't too bad. I think I slept through the first two songs because it was annoying me and I was tired. The set seemed to last 3 days and I was forgetting why I came to the concert in the first place.

So finally Finntroll came out. My first thought was... umm what? Who is that scrawny guy? Where's the big fat scary dude from the Trollhammaren video? Que? Well, if I hadn't known better already, this tiny little man (Vreth), youngest of the group and newest as of 2006 (and the newest album's vocalist), might have been the singer all along. He had a horrendous (in an awesome way) voice and sang all the old songs just as well as I might have expected from the behemoth who used to sing for them.

A foggy shot of the singer, Vreth, and his amazing hair.

Interestingly, I noted that the drummer seemed to be very intent on his work. Unlike most drummers, who thrash around and bang their heads, this round, bald man played brilliant kick and amazing drums whilst evidently not moving his body at all. There was a rare and occasional turn of the head slightly to the left, but I was simply blown away by the fact that a drummer, playing like he was, could not move himself at all. I was unaware that this could be done.

The music was lively and fun and as enjoyable as always to listen to. I was particularly pleased, being rather infamiliar with Finntroll's actual songs (sans En Maktig Har and Trollhammaren), that I actually recognised a few songs, like Jaktens Tid and several more whose names I didn't know offhand. Swedish does that you know. The fact that the music, with everyone playing, was clear made it more enjoyable than the din that preceeded it.

Another foggy shot of stage.

So for Finntroll's first appearance in Calgary, I was very impressed with their show. You truly have to respect a band that, even though they're just playing in a small bar, doesn't fail to give the show their everything. I would say that if you're into the whole folk metal bit, take a chance to see Finntroll if they're in your area because you never know when a band like that will be back.

Year: September 2008
Opening bands: Verbal Deception, Warbringer
Who I went with: Michael Widmer, Graham Widmer*, Gianna Romano*
Location: Calgary - The Warehouse

Concert Reviews - Iron Maiden Calgary/Edmonton

Before I start anything, I must say that if you've seen my other reviews, this will be different. Other concerts were concerts. Iron Maiden was more than just a show to me, it was a dream and an experience. That being said...

I saw Iron Maiden in Calgary and Edmonton this week on the Somewhere Back in Time tour for the promotion of their live video of Live After Death. When trying to describe it, the first thoughts that come to my head are hhgahboralawfulyiocfvstvba

and then I start foaming at the mouth and gyrating a bit. Once the spell passes, I'm able to look back on it a bit more clearly.

Firstly, Lauren Harris, Steve Harris's daughter (the bassist from Iron Maiden), was the opening band. Her set was shockingly short at 30 minutes. My initial thought was, "this is cool." Then I thought that something seemed wrong. I felt like I wasn't listening to music. She could sing, and her musicians could more or less (for old dudes, way older than her) play their instruments, but it just didn't sound like music. She is gorgeous though.

Then came Iron Maiden. As someone who has loved Iron Maiden as long as I can recall loving music, this was a big deal. I hadn't really realized what I was doing, even when Churchill's speech started and the music for Aces High came out. It was only when I saw Bruce Dickinson step onstage that I realized where I was and what I was doing. I screamed instantly and almost fainted, collapsing a bit into my date.

I consider, and as far as I know my date concurs, that even if you don't listen to Iron Maiden, or if their music isn't really your thing, you will enjoy their concert. For me, I stood in shock, in a half-twitching/half-rocking out state, gaping blankly at the stage in disbelief. It took all of Aces High and 2 Minutes to Midnight for me to even regain proper function of myself. But then they played Revelations and I knew I would be able to die happy after hearing them.

I'm really happy to say these concerts were from the Somewhere Back in Time tour. It's like seeing them back in the day, sans Bruce with long hair. The Rock in Rio pants were exciting to see but it was all songs you would've heard if you had seen Maiden playing after their first 10 years of music, and that is an real treat, as they have so many CDs now that you'd be hard-pressed to hear all you wanted to hear in one show. The set was almost directly off their new best of, minus a few songs. Amongst those heard (along with the above listed) were The Trooper (featuring Bruce in Eddie's jacket waving the union jack flags in the traditional manner), Wasted Years (featuring a commentary by Bruce about how you shouldn't have any regrets, and as a band how they regret nothing), Number of the Beast (with Satan peering over the corner of the stage), Heaven Can Wait, Run to the Hills, Can I Play With Madness, Powerslave (featuring Bruce in a fancy mask), and an amazing rendition of Iron Maiden (which is SO much better with Bruce singing).

Highlights for me included Bruce's intro to The Rime of the Ancient Mariner: talking about how the original story is about having respect for God's creations, or in their version, how the song tells you what not to do when a bird shits on you. He made a rather cute/funny comment about how the Saddledome was the last remaining building of its kind (meaning its shape) and he was "concerned" about it being safe, as it was the only remaining one (leading us to jokingly think that the Saddledome is actually an endangered species). It was also an amazing song live... the backdrop was incredibly cool and Bruce wore some sort of fancy robe that seemed very fitting for the song.

Some more highlights included Nicko's birthday during the Calgary show, so Bruce and the crowd got up and sang happy birthday to the drummer. Edmonton highlights involved Bruce telling us that on that night they were supposed to be getting an award but they couldn't be there to accept it so they gave live feed from the concert with the raging crowd screaming for Maiden.

Another big moment for me was in Calgary, when Bruce went to start talking (he's amazing for talking to the crowd, incidentally, making jokes and just generally being interesting/amusing to listen to) and he got so blown away by the screaming that he just stopped talking and looked around with this massive grin on his face - for me, that is something I will remember for the rest of my life.

So the show ended with Iron Maiden (the song) but the encore was really intense. They played Moonchild, a song I NEVER expected to hear live, The Clairvoyant, and to my intense pleasure/joy/ecstasy, Hallowed Be Thy Name was the final song.

The best part about this show, is the expectant Eddie sighting. During Iron Maiden (the song), they actually play through the song once, and then a Powerslave Eddie face on the backdrop cracks open and the mummified Eddie comes out and they play through the song again while mummy Eddie waves his arms around and shakes the snakes in his mouth at the crowd. During the encore (The Clairvoyant), the Somewhere in Time Eddie came out (I can only assume a very talented man in a VERY large outfit) and walked around the stage, shooting people with his gun and playing some of the band members' instruments. Seeing Eddie was just something you HAVE to see if you are any sort of Maiden fan. Seeing two Eddie's is beyond comprehension.

So to summarize, even if you don't really like Iron Maiden... no... even if you don't like them, even if you've never heard of them... go to this concert. They are by far the best live band I have ever seen and more than likely ever will be. They have everything you could want in a concert, a cool stage, great performers (Adrien and Dave soloing and Janick's guitar tosses, as well as the classic Steve Harris style), the music and sound are fantastic no matter where you are in the building (I was in the stands and on the floor), they play as good if not better than it has ever been, Bruce's voice is an experience to blow you away, and generally, you get everything you could ever want out of a concert from them.

Seriously... go see Iron Maiden. Follow them from city to city. You will not be disappointed.

Year: June 2008
Opening bands: Lauren Harris
Who I went with: Ronnie Pendleton, Michael Widmer, Kelton Earl
Location: Calgary (Saddledome), Edmonton (Rexall Place)

Ps - As a last note, I want to give fair warning, not just to little girls like myself, but to pretty much anyone who goes to an Iron Maiden concert. Building up to this show, I had promised myself that I would be front and center on the floor in Edmonton. I got their plenty early and I was front and center with one guy in front of me. There were a good number of people around me that I had been talking to: Ronnie and Kelton were with me, two guys in their 40s-50s (an army guy and his friend) behind me, a biggish guy and his friend to my left along with his short fat wife and her shorter and fatter friend, a scrawny guy in front of me, his scrawny friend beside them, a cool girl from Grande Prairie (Alana) and her stalky friend Nathan (who were incidentally aquainted with the scrawny guys). We were all chatting before the concert and basically, Alana and Nathan were like Ronnie and I, a stalky guy protecting a little girl. However, it didn't turn out so well. After Lauren Harris finished, basically, we were unable to move. We were boxed in uncomfortably, and not so much from behind but from the sides. The more we all thought it couldn't get worse, the worse it got, until I was literally getting crushed to death. Before Maiden even came out on stage (under 30 minutes), I had to give up my front and center place for fear of dying because I was getting crushed. Everyone around us was really cool and the security people were very nice. I was choked that I didn't make it to the first song even, but I was able to linger on the sidelines long enough to see Bruce up close and right below him, which made it entirely worthwhile.

If I recall correctly, the army guy's friend was the next to bail, about 2 songs in, him or the two fat girls. Kelton got out sometime in there too. Then Alana got sent out after about 3 songs, and Ronnie himself bailed after 4 songs because he had someone's elbow in his neck and he was seeing spots.

So I want to give you fair warning - if you want to be front and center for an Iron Maiden concert, be prepared, it is likely to hurt and/or be very dangerous. If you can hold it, good, but be careful.

Concert Reviews - Nightwish (Calgary)

This was originally supposed to be a dual review for the Edmonton/Calgary shows back-to-back but due to time constraints, long weekends, and me being a fucking moron, Edmonton was a no-go.

This was the Passion for North America Tour part II (I'm guessing the concert we saw in October was part I).

The opening band was this strange thing called Sonic Syndicate. They seemed part metal, part punk, and part alternative. The sound was good but it had a bit of the annoying quality that hardcore punk has. They were quite strange to watch too as the girl was being really harcore and it looked like while she was playing she was getting repeatedly punched in the back of the head. They had two vocalists, the stranger of the two looked more like he was giving himself whiplash than headbanging, but overall they sounded pretty good and if you're into that sort of thing, which I am not particularly, then you'd probably like them.

Nightwish started out with opening up with a Hans Zimmer tune from Gladiator and let me tell you, combining Tuomas Holopainen and Hans Zimmer is so good it should probably be illegal. They started out with Bye Bye Beautiful, and played from that CD, The Poet and the Pendulum, Amaranth, Sahara, Whoever Brings the Night, The Islander, to my intense pleasure Last of the Wilds, and to my even greater pleasure, 7 Days to the Wolves.

Anette and Marco playing together with Jukka in the background.

They also brought out some older ones, including Dark Chest of Wonders, Nemo, The Siren, I Wish I Had An Angel, Dead to the World, and one song off either Oceanborn or Wishmaster that I didn't know the name of.

Emppu goofing off any making people smile.

I want to start by telling you how much I love everyone in this band. Anette and Marco talk to the crowd, joke, make fun of themselves, and generally are a feel-good band that not only play good music but make you happy to be around them. Even though the sound quality beside the speakers was shit, you still go crazy because you're so excited and pumped full of adrenaline. Emppu was the one I could see clearest since he was for the most part right in front of us and he doesn't talk onstage but he goofs around while he's playing and interacts with the crowd, doing silly things to make your already enormous grin even bigger. Marco does it too, grabbing Emppu's boob and bugging him while he's playing.

Tuomas playing at the beginning before losing his shirt.

I didn't see Tuomas as well as I would've liked because he's pretty stationary behind keyboards on the other side of the room, but his music speaks for itself. Anette's singing is good in her own way, which is still nothing compared to Tarja but is good and she's a bit of a goof herself, making you unable to really dislike her because she's fun to watch.

Near the end she announced the last song and they actually were... booed on stage? The crowd "turned against them" with unhappiness at this announcement so she jokingly turned over to Marco, who said that they were just lying to make the crowd scream for more. So after they left everyone screamed and demanded their return, so they came back and played 7 Days to the Wolves (which made me SO happy because they didn't play it last time and I was so very let down) and another, ending off with I Wish I Had an Angel, keeping true to the set list they had in Ontario, beginning and ending the same.

This was an intensely good show. I'm sad that I missed the Edmonton but twice is still good for me. I would recommend seeing this band to anyone who has ever heard their music. You may not like Anette as much as Tarja, but I would say that you should go anyways, the music is great and the band is fun. It's a great atmosphere so why not?

Year: 2008
Who I went with: Michael Widmer with guest appearance by Justin Dillman
Opening bands: Sonic Syndicate
Location: MacEwan Hall Ballroom, Calgary

The full band near the end of the show.

Concert Reviews - Opeth/Dream Theater

This was for the Systematic Chaos and potentially Watershed albums for Dream Theater and Opeth respectively, though technically Dream Theater was the main event.

Let's start out with the opening bands. Three started first, and if you would've just gone to the concert for Opeth, you would've hated them. I found their musical style to be good but the singer sounded like Geddy Lee from Rush. He had an awkward and kind of lame stage presence, though he was a pretty good player. The vocals were good, he could sing, but it was a questionable sound to go with the music.

Between the Burried and Me offended my ears so badly with their first song that I had to leave. The singer and one of the guitarists looked younger than me and seemed like they'd do better in a skateboard park than on stage - young, skinny, short to practically no hair - they just looked weird in a metal band. The singer had a death metal sound and horrendous stage presence and I wanted to throw things at him. However, as long as I wasn't looking at them and their drummer refrained from going thrash metal, they had a decent sound. It was nothing special and I wouldn't pay for their music, but it was tolerable.

Mike Åkerfeldt and Opeth

Opeth was next on the venue. Take note that I have been quoted to like Opeth, but I couldn't name more than two songs by them. Opeth is a band I have liked to listen to, but not one I have pursued. Well... Mike Åkerfeldt is amazing to see on stage. He has a beautiful voice when he sings and a terrific sound when he growls. He can do pretty much anything, but I also loved his stage presence. He talks to the crowd, jokes with them, and introduces some of the songs he's going to play; overall he just makes a great show of it. Everyone accompanying him was great and if I wasn't in danger of being entirely destroyed by a mosh pit, I would've liked to be closer to the stage.

Lastly is Dream Theater. DT is another band that I can't say I'm particularly familiar with. I have listened to a few songs here and there and I own Awake and Systematic Chaos (the new CD). I was, not so much disappointed but unimpressed with their selection for the first song - a mediocre tune and in my opinion, the worst song off their new album, that might as well be a Metallica song. What was even more disappointing was that it was the ONLY one they played from Systematic Chaos. I bought the CD in the store and loved it, it's a great selection of mysterious concepts and good music (long songs) and being the tour for the CD I was hoping to hear more of it and I was let down.

Jordan Rudess playing with a clip of his hands on screen overhead.

Jordan Rudess is an unreal keyboardist. He was on a spinning platform and you can hardly follow his fingers with your eyes when he plays with one or both hands. For me, he was the highlight of the show; that and their rendition of the Mario songs with an accompanying video.

James LaBrie has a voice you either love or hate. Well, I love it when he sounds like himself but I hate it when he sounds EXACTLY like James Hetfield (as in the first song). My feet hurt so I retired to the back of the venue after Opeth but I found that for the show, it wouldn't have made a huge difference if he had been there or not. Every song was an extended version of its original form, which if you knew the original, was probably pretty cool, but for me I found it dragging. I'm not talking 5 minutes for a song here, I'm talking 20. I have a pretty good attention span for a good metal show but when I'm hearing unfamiliar music and the song goes on for almost half an hour, I get bored. Even the songs I did know (they played a set from Awake) seemed to drone on. The band seemed more intent on showing off than they did on pleasing the crowd. Don't get me wrong, the music was good, but I would've been happier if they had played some newer songs, played some shorter songs, and at least had some crowd interaction between songs so it wasn't all just one song blurring into the next. They've got great stamina and they can play and they sound good, but in the end, a ten minute solo of anything gets boring when it comes from a progressive metal band.

If you know Dream Theater well and you like their music, go to this show and you'll love it. However, if you're not too familiar with them, then I suggest skipping this one unless you're a big fan of Opeth.

Year: 2008
Who I went with: Michael Widmer, Kelton Earl, Brenden (Kelton's friend), Graham Widmer*, Gianna Romano*
Opening bands: Three, Between the Burried and Me
Location: MacEwan Hall, Calgary

Opeth opening for Dream Theater

Concert Reviews - Sonata Arctica

If you're not familiar with Sonata Arctica, go listen to Reckoning Night and Unia right now. I only started listening to Sonata Arctica in the last year and they quickly moved up to become one of my all-time favorite power metal bands.

I was pleased to find that I was able to stand on a set of stairs at this venue for the show which gave me an ample visual field to watch the entire show. Tony Kakko is a cute little man who was dressed in a manner that reminded me of my brother when he's snowboarding. They all looked and sounded fantastic and I am ever impressed by Henrik Klingenburg's ability to play the keytar and actually make it cool instead of undeniably lame. Tony Kakko has a voice that could make a bear purr like a kitten and while sticking mostly to songs off their newer albums, they didn't fail to give us some old live favorites like Fullmoon, The Cage, and Victoria's Secret (dedicated, as always, to those wearing underwear).

For an encore, Tony Kakko split up the crowd and had everyone making different drum noises and then used his "drums" to play a tune and started singing We Will Rock You by Queen. This tiny little Finnish man puts on an undeniably great show and the musicians are enthusiastic and play to the crowd and for the crowd.

If you are ANY sort of power metal fan, even if you haven't listened to them that much, go see them. Follow them around. You will not be sorry.

Year: 2008
Who I went with: Michael Widmer
Opening bands: no idea
Location: The Starlite Room, Edmonton

Ton Kakko belting out another song.

Concert Reviews - Nightwish (Toronto)

I will always be disappointed that I never got to see Nightwish while Tarja Turunen was singing for them.

I saw them in Ontario while they were on tour for their new album, Dark Passion Play with the new singer, Anette Olzon.

Paradise Lost was the opening band - not one I'm familiar with, but they were good for an opening. I had a few friends who were there just for the opening and they left happy after the show.

Let me start now by saying that the music was fantastic. Marco's got quite a weird voice but he can sing and he does it well live. They are all great showmen and they make you happy to be there. Tuomas was wearing... oddly... what appeared to be a dirty wife beater, which seemed a bit inappropriate considering I find him to be a musical genius, but hey, as I said, if you're a rockstar, you wear whatever you want onstage.

I think that, in the end, the show would have been better with Tarja. I loved her opratic vocals and she was a dark performer and I liked her stage presence in their videos and DVDs. However, Anette performed the DPP songs beautifully, and if you like the new stuff, I think you'd love the concert. She did a good job of the old songs as well considering she hasn't been with the band all that long and I think as she grows with them and improves, she'll do even better. However, I still feel that they would have been better with the original singer performing them.

I think that Anette was a decent choice for the band. She is definitely different but I think it's in a good way. If you like the new CD, you'll like the concert, but if you're a hardcore Tarja fan and don't like the new music you might decide to skip this one. I'm a fan of both and I'll be seeing them again on their western Canada dates.

Year: 2007
Who I went with: Michael Widmer
Opening bands: Paradise Lost
Location: The Docks, Toronto

Concert Reviews - Guns N' Roses

This concert was not for any release tour, but more likely that Axl Rose has run out of money for Chinese Democracy and needed some cash.

The main thrill of this concert was to see if anyone showed up. The strippers while the stadium was filling was interesting, and the band after unremarkable.

Sebastian Bach (you'd know him from Skid Row) was the real opening band and for him doing his thing, he can belt out a song. I had never listened to Skid Row (except for Youth Gone Wild) and he played it and a few others that I picked up and enjoy to this day. I Remember You and 18 and Life were very well done and I was, the entire time, blown away by his beautiful golden hair.

The next came the excitement of seeing if Axl Rose would actually show up. He did, to our immense relief and excitement. The next part was to see if he could still sing or if he was just a washed up drunkard as he is so well known to be.

Well, he may look more like a barrel than a 12-year-old girl and those corn rows look ridiculous, but I could not deny that he sounded better than I have EVER heard him sound on a studio album, DVD, or live album. He was sober, and sang everything I wanted to hear. Bach even came out and sang My Michelle, which was an interesting take and very good.

He had three guitarists with him: his original replacement for Slash (who has always been great) and a second, and then a third, younger guy. They all dressed somewhat like red and black leprechauns and could play GNR songs just as well as any other. One of them played a guitar-solo version of Don't Cry that was fantastic, and the young one proved to the crowd that he was not just there to look emo.

My only real beef with this concert was that none of Axl's mics seemed to work, and for his best-ever singing, I was disappointed that I couldn't hear him half the time.

We're all still wondering if Chinese Democracy will ever come out, but he gave us some samplers and, while perhaps not worth the entire wait, I'm convinced that the CD will be worth checking out. If you've liked GNR when they were in their prime, I'd check them out if you see them around... they're still better than Velvet Revolver ever was.

Year: 2006
Who I went with: Ronnie Pendleton
Opening bands: Skid Row, another one I can't recall, and strippers
Location: Saddledome, Calgary

Concert Reviews - System of a Down

This was on the tour for Hypnotize in the summer of 2006.

I don't have a lot to say about this. The band performs live just as well as they perform in the studio. Serj Tankian is an amazing singer and in 2006 his hair was a sight to behold. However, next to the other singer, Daron Malakian, I found he didn't do as much as I suspected. He did do a lovely acoustic intro to one of my favorite slower songs of theirs (might've been Lonely Day but it was a few years ago so I don't really remember) and this happened with one or two other songs too. The other singer has a wail that is unique and great to hear live, and they put on a fantastic show.

My disappointments with them were that they played every song off Mezmerize but not near as many as Hypnotize. Being the album they were on tour for, I was hoping for more of that. Not that hearing the entire Mezmerize album was a bad thing, I had just hoped for MORE of Hypnotize. My other complaint was that they didn't do an encore. Seriously... who doesn't do an encore? Your fans are screaming for more and you're just like, nah I don't feel like it? That's lame...

That aside, if these guys ever come back from their hiatus (have they already? If they have, I've not heard...) then go and see them and you'll be happy with the performance. Just don't wait around for them to give you any special extras after they leave stage.

Year: 2006
Who I went with: Francois Coetzer
Opening bands: can't recall
Location: Rexall Place (main venue), Edmonton

Concert Reviews - Judas Priest

If you plan on going to see Judas Priest in concert anytime soon, prepare to see a lot of 50-year-old bikers and 60-year-old women in black leather corsets; likely all that's holding their old withered bodies in place.

That being said, I give credit to this band. Now that they canned Ripper Owens and have good old gay as always Rob Halford back, well, lets just say that Judas Priest will always be better with Halford.

The show was on the tour for Angel of Retribution, which for a new album from an old band and the first album with their good singer back is not half bad.

For starters, the guys in this band are old. They could probably retire the spandex and just wear jeans at this point, but whatever makes you feel like a rockstar, right? Rob Halford displayed a fantastic assortment of leather jackets and something that appeared to be a stylish Victorian robe (I think my jacket-change count was around 19 at the end of the concert). They had lifts on the stage so Halford could move around and disappear and reappear in all sorts of places.

Halford didn't seem too energetic at first, almost like he had an injury (broke his hip a while back?), or maybe it's just age talking. Don't be fooled though, that man can wail as good as he ever could. He did bring out the bike for one song, which had a rather lovely nostalgic feel to it. The new songs have a lot of old feel to them and the performance was fantastic. There was a great blend of Angel of Retribution along with a great opening with The Hellion/Electric Eye and many more of their old classics that you couldn't go see Priest without hearing and feel good at the end.

If you love this classic metal, then you won't be disappointed in this concert.

Year: 2005
Who I went with: Ronnie Pendleton
Opening bands: Anthrax
Location: Rexall Place (main venue), Edmonton

Concert Reviews - Alice Cooper

I agree with a lot of people in saying that old rockers should find something else to do with their time, but there are exceptions to every rule. I give this one to Alice Cooper because he is (was?) still putting out albums when I saw him.

This tour was for The Eyes of Alice Cooper and I must say, for an old guy he can still put on a great show. I was pleased to hear some of the newer and more humerous songs from The Eyes of Alice Cooper, but some of the old classics like No More Mr. Nice Guy. He can sing just as well as he ever could and he is an unbelievable performer. He may not do as much magic as he did in the old days but he brings out all the props, even having his daughter dancing on stage, and in a more memorable moment, throwing her around and to my disbelief, realizing she had been switched at some point with a doll that resembled her without my knowing. Even his snake came out (recovering from swallowing a heat lamp a while prior).

I would say as long as Alice Cooper is putting out music, you won't regret spending the money to go see his act.

Year: 2003 or 2004
Who I went with: Nicolas Kui, Heather Raffin, Kelsy Polnik
Opening bands: Supagroup (I think that was their name)
Location: Telus Convention Center, Calgary