Sunday Sunday Sunday

I renewed my lease today. Hard to believe i'm already coming up on 12 months in the bay area. It was wonderfully appropriate that my boy James was working the leasing office when i went in today, because he was the one who set me up last fall (he showed me the apartment, ran all of my paperwork, etc). Even better, he'd started working here right before i moved in, and i was his first new lease. And even *he* said that he feels like the past year has really blown by.

But on the other hand...last summer feels like it was a lifetime ago. And in a way, it really was, with so much that happened so quickly. If you were to take a snapshot of mid-September, 2007, and deliver it to Past-Neilam three months prior, he would have taken one look and said "No fucking way. Never happen. Who the bloody hell are you, anyway?" Poor bastard had no idea what was coming.

But before i delve too deeply into the past (i'll save the 1-year retrospective for later), how about a new topic.

...

I logged into Ticketwanker at exactly 10am today to snag my ticket for In Flames & All That Remains in November - yeah! \m/ And i went ahead and sucked up the inconvenience fees for the Bullet For My Valentine show as well; i was hoping to save a ton of money by driving up to SF to buy directly from the venue, but my last attempt was foiled because i didn't know the Warfield was closed for renovations. And now their box office apparantly isn't open on weekends (suk).

Anyway, Ticketbastard has OH SO GENEROUSLY been "giving" me a "free" iTunes download with each ticket. I don't use iTunes nor the iTunes store (fuck DRM), so i've been giving away the download codes to friends. So if you're reading this and would like a free iTunes download, drop me an email. First-come first-served; i have two up for grabs now and more to come, i'm sure.

I know TM's assholery is a well-known rant, but here's a data point anyway: The face value of my In Flames ticket was $22. The fees added another $13.25 (60%). And no, it's NOT going to help when Live Nation breaks off next year; i'm afraid they'll only make things worse. Like when Microsoft "saved" us from IBM back in the 80s.

...

I repaired my ReplayTV yesterday! It died about a year ago; i packed it up and brought it to Cali with me - too apathetic to debug it, but unwilling to dispose of it. Finally yesterday i decided to have a look; turned out to be a hard drive failure which was really bloody easy to fix. The hardest part, actually, was building up enough motivation to dig out my desktop PC and set it up. This required reorganizing my desk area, messing with a rat's nest of cables, and clearing up enough space for the behemoth 21" CRT which i haven't gotten around to replacing yet.





The rest was cake. I didn't even bother buying a new drive - with 4 hard drives in my PC (aka archive box), it wasn't hard to free up the smallest one (120 GB - remember the days when that was a lot of space? Man.). I downloaded a clean factory image for the Replay and used RTVPatch to image the drive. Open up the Replay case, pop out the dead drive, and mount the fresh one:



Then just reinitialize, and voila! If i'd known it was this easy, i would have hacked the thing years ago - back when i watched enough tv to have need for more storage space. Or at least before the Olympics. Ah, well; better now than never. And it was nice to see that i still know my way around the inside of an ATX case; i even reorg'd my hard drive cluster (cleaner layout; less tangle with the ribbon cable).

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Finally, i went out to buy a shredder this afternoon but (even after having done some research) couldn't decide how much shredder i wanted. A smaller model which would take up less space and be more portable? Or the grunt-worthy monster which can pulverize cds, credit cards, and floppy disks with its mighty jaws! Hmm, suddenly it doesn't seem like so hard a choice. But at the time i was torn, so i gave up and went to Kohls instead and - to my surprise - FOUND PANTS THAT FIT ME! But more on that later; right now it's time for bed.

"I saw three angles...of that i'm sure"

While pulling up videos on youtube to feed my James Blunt obsession, i came across this hilarious parody from his appearance on Sesame Street:




This triggered memories of other SS parody songs from my childhood. Since i didn't really start listening to music until high school, i had no idea at the time that they were parodies. A few favorites that come to mind:

Billy Idol - Rebel L ("The little rebel L, he cried 'Luh, luh, luh!")




Madonna - Cereal Girl




And maybe the best one of all - even when i finally heard the original, i *still* thought the Beatles were singing about the letter B:




Ok, now it's your turn - what are your favorite Sesame Street parodies? Bonus points if you can find them on youtube.

James Blunt - 8/27/2008 - The Fillmore - San Francisco

James Blunt is such a wonderful & talented songerwriter, singer, and performer.

I have to admit, i wasn't a huge fan when he first broke a few years ago. I quickly grew tired of hearing "You're Beautiful" on the radio every five minutes (actually, that's still my least favorite song of his, but seeing it played live made me like it a little more). I unfortunately wrote him off based on the one song (yeah i know, i hate that & i know i shouldn't do it).

But at the end of last summer, something happened which sent me searching for some mellow, heartfelt tunes that might express what i was going through. In other words, i was looking for whiney boy music. And i got it in my head that James could provide something along those lines.

Well he did give me that (one tune in particular expressed EXACTLY, almost word-for-word what i was thinking & feeling). But he also showed me so much more. Some of his songs are sad, yes, but his lyrics are also insightful, well-written, a little weird at times, and just *good*.

I fell in love with his first album,"Back To Bedlam"; i played it over and over in the car and at home. And as fortune would have it, his new album "All The Lost Souls" was released right at that time. In fact, it hit the stores ON MY BIRTHDAY - how awesome is that?

In the year that has passed between then and now, my musical journey (as always) has meandered quite a bit, leading me through various realms of music. I found myself coming back to James often and liking his songs even more as time went on.

...

Needless to say, i was very excited about seeing him play live. I'd missed his previous run through town, and didn't get tickets for his current tour with Sheryl Crow (i was iffy on the bill & venue, and it sold out while i was trying to decide). So when i found out that he'd added a headlining one-off in San Francisco, i logged in and bought my ticket the minute they went on sale.

This was my first visit to the Fillmore, so i allowed a ridiculous buffer to allow for traffic and parking. It turned out to be easy enough to find the place and park, so i ended up through the doors a good 45 minutes early. After wandering for a few minutes (the Fillmore is a great venue, btw; wonderful mid-size theater (larger than Slim's, smaller than the Aragon in Chicago), walls covered with photos of bands who have played there over the years) i finally perched at the back of the hall (a dark corner next to the sound booth) and resigned myself to wait.

After a few minutes some guy approached me (older than me; i'd guess 40s) and said in a friendly voice & Scottish accent "Best seat in the house, eh?" I cautiously engaged in some smalltalk; i had my guard up at first because i wasn't sure what his deal was, but then i found out that he was one of the security guys. I think he just wanted someone to talk to until the show started, just like i did. So that was cool. We talked a little about music; he's a metal fan too, although of the old school (Maiden, Priest, Motorhead, Testament, etc). And from working security he'd met a lot of bands as well (the original lineup of Anthrax, for example). He also told me about some of his travels, and about his tattoos; he has a full bodysuit in progress, inked by numerous artists from places he's been.

So that was a fun random encounter; his name is Allister (or maybe Hollister; i couldn't hear too clearly in the crowded theater). Maybe i'll see him again when i go back to the Fillmore in a few weeks to see Nightwish.

...

Tift Merritt opened up the evening with a good set. I wasn't familiar with her music, aside from a few songs on her myspace page. I think i could really enjoy her stuff if i'm in the right mood. She's clearly a talented artist, and i have an immense amount of respect for her as a performer. Especially her singing voice! Struggling with my own singing efforts has raised my appreciation for musicians who can actually sing with clarity and control, especially with little or no accompanyment. She played her set by herself - just her voice and her acoustic guitar or piano.

Next up was my boy! The house lights went down, his band members slipped onto the stage one by one (all styling in jackets & ties) and started up the first song. A few seconds later James himself burst onto the stage, struck a few rock star poses with his guitar, then settled into the song. I actually didn't recognize the opener; i don't know if it's new or if my memory just sucks.



The only other song i didn't recognize was this wonderful piano-driven mystery tune called "Cause I Love You". It seems to be part of his usual live set but nobody knows anything about it (i'm hoping it'll be on his next album - maybe maybe?"). It was a great audience-participation number, as the band broke into an interim jam and James led us in singing along (after he jumped off the stage and high-five'd & hugged his way along the front of the audience). Fun! Here's someone's bootleg i found on youtube:




So, most of the shows i attend are metal, which typically have 3 volumes: Loud, Very Loud, and Even Louder. Which i love and wouldn't trade for anything (of course, i wouldn't trade my ear plugs for anything either). But i also really enjoyed that James & co's set spanned a wide range of intensity. At one end of the spectrum was the full-band driven rocking out; his band members play quite well, and they really look like they're having fun up there which always makes the performance feel good.




The other extreme was James at his piano, performing a few songs by himself. "Goodbye My Lover" was particularly amazing (and not just because it's "my" song).




Pretty much a perfect set from James & the boys; with only two albums so far, they were able to include most of his recorded material and thus play all of the songs i was hoping to hear. Also fun were the live embellishments - a jam session thrown into a song, some varied guitar solos, a handful of singalongs. James did mention that this was their first headlining one-off of the tour, which i'm guessing allowed more freedom as far as the set goes (maybe a few extra songs, and a kickass encore). And i'd expect there was a higher energy level as well, since everyone in the house was there to see *him*, as opposed to a mix of fans of Sheryl Crow and whomever else was on the bill. I can't imagine my first James Blunt concert being any better than this one <3







...

Once the show was over, i found my Scottish friend and said goodbye before heading out. It really was nice to have some company before the show; otherwise it would have been just like The Birthday Massacre last fall - standing around by myself for an hour (suk). On my way out the door i found that they were handing out posters made specifically for this show - bonus! It's nice to have a memento from the night (in addition to my ticket stub, of course). Some venues have promo posters on the walls, but i usually forget to gank one, or they're all gone by the end of the night.

As usual, i drove home with the radio off, replaying the highlights of the evening in my mind. I also upheld my new tradition of stopping by In-N-Out on the way home for some much-needed food; good times.

...

James Blunt is now a candidate to be promoted to white-tag status in my music collection. For those who don't know what the bloody hell that means, it's an elite title reserved for a select few artists who have had a significant impact on me. I have a lot of love for a lot of bands, but the white tag represents something extra-special beyond even the top tier. There are only eight such artists in my music collection (with two more in the running). Stay tuned for more details (if you care).

Sleepwalking

I finished reading "The Algebraist" a few days ago, but haven't made it to the library yet to pick up something new. Last night, desperation drove me to pull "A Tale Of Two Cities" from my bookshelf (we read it in 11th grade English class; i saved my copy). After the first page i realized that i was too tired and distracted to be able to focus on Dickins, so i gave up; set the book on my nightstand, and turned on NPR to let the BBC News lull me to sleep instead.

Overslept this morning; finally dragged myself out of bed around 9:30 (been watching the Olympics every night; my body isn't used to staying up so consistently late anymore) and started my morning routine. When i logged in to check my email and facebook, i noticed "A Tale Of Two Cities" sitting on my coffee table. The book which i know i left on my nightstand is now in the living room, and i have no memory of moving it.

I vaguely remember other instances of sleepwalking over the years - waking up and finding my pillow in the hallway, for example, or other objects moved.

One time in particular (when i was living in Urbana) i was having an intense dream in which i was being chased through a forest by something big & scary. I realized that i couldn't outrun it, so i finally decided to turn and face the creature. I crouched behind a tree, hoping to take it by surprise. Right as it approached, i woke up...crouched behind the chair in my living room, soaked in sweat, heart pounding, gasping for breath. It took me several minutes to realize what was going on as the eerily-lit woods faded and my dark living room materialized.

On a related note, this seems to be happening more and more of late: I'll half-wake up in the morning, realize that i need to get going, fall asleep again, and then dream my attempts to get out of bed. My physical body's inability to move is translated into the dream where i'll struggle to move (and fail). It'll feel like i'm trying to swim through molasses, or suffocating under an invisible force. Not very pleasant; usually i'll give up on trying to move and finally wake up a few minutes later. But occasionally i'll be able to wrench myself awake - into a nice bit of sleep paralysis :-/

...

I've watched more tv in a week and a half than i have in the past year combined. And since my ReplayTV is dead, i have to actually sit here and *watch* live (which i haven't done at all in a good 4-5 years).

But i really have been enjoying the Olympics. All of the events have been fun to watch (or at least the ones that NBC is airing), but gymnastics have been my favorite summer game for a long time - ever since Barcelona in 1992 when i first discovered the sport (and developed a bit of a crush on Kim Zmeskal, heh). Even in the complicated world of start values, age controversy, etc, the strength, agility, and pure skill of these young athletes is just spectacular.

...

As a final note, i realized this afternoon that i don't know what day it is today. I didn't bother checking, as it doesn't really matter right now, and i'm getting an odd bit of satisfiction out of not knowing.

A few great films, and some other stuff

I watched "10 Things I Hate About You" again on Saturday afternoon, and found myself liking the film even *more* than i already did. For one thing, i somehow forgot or failed to realize that it's set and filmed in Seattle (my favorite city in the US). I guess it's been a long time since i've watched 10 Things all the way through, because i was amazed at how many scenes i recognized from having seen the places with my own eyes. The opening sequence with the city skyline and Mt. Rainier in the background - i've taken that classic photo myself. The paintball scene, i believe, was at Gasworks Park. Taking a boat out onto Lake Union - done that. And the best of all - the troll under the bridge (with the VW bug under his giant stone hand); Shawn & Becky took me there when i was in town last summer. Awesome.

Then Saturday night i went over to hang with some friends, and we ended up watching Batman Begins (i'm itching to see the second one but haven't made it out yet). Man. I hadn't seen it in a few years (rented it with Laurie & Shannon a few summers ago), and the impact of this viewing was just as intense as the first time around. Fucking amazing film in so many ways.

Today was Nefaur's bbq, which was good; met/caught up with various people and ate way too much food - as it should be.

So it seems that this weekend had its highlights, despite how bad Friday night was, and the mindset it placed me into. As an update on that, i eventually did manage to pack away those photo albums (along with many other key items). And in a real box this time (not just shoved into a cabinet); labeled it "Shards Of Neilam's Heart" and stowed it away.

This morning i secured my ticket to see James Blunt perform in San Francisco in August (only 2 days before the 29th, which is a delicious coincidence). Good thing i logged in the minute tickets went on sale; looks like the date sold out pretty quickly. So now i have 5 shows (and counting) to look forward to in the next two months:

7/25/2008 - Stone Temple Pilots
9/27/2008 - James Blunt
9/12/2008 - Nightwish
9/21/2008 - Children of Bodom
9/25/2008 - Bullet For My Valentine

(Latest up-to-date concert calendar can always be found on my facebook profile; let me know if you're interested in any of the shows & want to come with).

You know, i really enjoy having James Blunt in my otherwise metal-dominated concert list. It's kindof like when people find Avril Lavigne on my cd shelf. Anyway, unlike James, most of my metal shows don't sell out right away, so i haven't picked up tickets for Nightwish, Bodom, or Bullet yet. I'm thinking about making a trip up to the city to hit the box offices directly. This would save me $30-40 of handling fees, which would more than pay for gas or Caltrain, and give me the satisfaction of keeping my money away from Ticketwanker.

So in review: Yay for good films, social gatherings, and concerts. Boo for falling off the wagon and regressing emotionally back to late-2007. Last week was a bust; i'm looking to make this week at least a little better.

Oh, and one last thing - Dr. Horrible will be online for another 2 hours, so anybody who hasn't already seen Joss Whedon's bloody brilliant web musical should head over to drhorrible.com straight away.

Come Clarity

Most of my life has been shrouded in the feeling that no matter how hard i work, how much progress i make, i'm still failing to find what i want; unable to get to where i need to be. But a few recent developments and the past couple of weekends have made me realize that i'm getting there - i'm just a number of years behind schedule.

...

My experience at Michigan State University was awesome in that it was an escape from the prison that was my parents' house. I was finally able to breathe; to take a look at myself and the world around me. But i did not make the most out of my undergrad years, partly because i didn't know what to go after, but also because i just wasn't ready.

After i graduated and moved to Champaign-Urbana, i (eventually) started doing some of the things that i should have done when i was in college. I became active with a student group. I discovered my passion for dance, and continued to explore music. I slowly made a lot of great friends (mostly students). I connected with the University of Illinois' campus and grew to feel at home there. Don't get me wrong, i'll always bleed green and white; MSU is *mine* and i absolutely loved living in East Lansing. But C-U was just different somehow. I think i took better advantage of living in a college town (and appreciated it more) the second time around.

This timeframe was also when i finally experienced my first serious relationship. Falling in love was the best thing that ever happened to me; it was everything i'd wanted and so much more. With other things going so well, being with her made my whole life shine! Unfortunately, things ended rather badly. The breakup hurt me more deeply than anything else ever has, leaving me with a set of wounds which still haven't really healed (maybe they never will).

But i digress.

So living in C-U was almost like a second chance at undergrad. Obviously it wasn't a "do-over" by any means, but i did catch up on a few things that i'd missed before. I was able to focus on myself as a person and start making improvements. I started up an effort to eat better and exercise more. I cut down on wasted time and instead sought out "useful stuff" to do. And above all else, i'm so pleased to have connected with *people* - made so many awesome friends - and become more confident, outgoing, and just *better* with social situations. A world of difference compared to the Neilam from his own undergrad years.

Sideber: I have to thank the UIUC Swing Society because my involvement with the organization is what led to a lot of the above. Even now, i'm amazed at the way i went from being a fledgling dancer to a regular in the scene, and then to TAing lessons and teaching (!) classes. Social dancing brought out a whole new side of me and became a huge source of positive energy. And it's a good feeling to have a place where you truly belong.

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Once my time in Champaign-Urbana came to an end, i moved out here to Cali and started on some of the things i should have done when i first got out of college. Make some new friends, try out new activities, fill nights and weekends with fun stuff. The transition, while difficult, ended up being a great step for me. It was almost as though i really was a freshout - new job, new town, a whole new set of opportunities.

I've been meeting a lot of great people out here (huge thanks to Facebook for facilitating the connections). I've continued working on myself, slowly fixing things that i don't like. I quit watching tv entirely (except for streaming episodes of Lost and Heroes online) and reallocated a lot of that time to activities that i find to be more meaningful. Metal concerts. Rock climbing. Hiking (there are mountains everywhere!). Reading more. Refocusing my healthy lifestyle goals. Checking into the local lindy scene (actually i've been delinquent for the past few months, but i'll make it back at some point). And i started up an exciting personal project which i think is going well so far.

The developments on the social front have been immensely encouraging. I can hardly believe how quickly things have snowballed. It really is about a starting point; once you catch a break - if you have the right attitude - recursion takes over.

I am improving. It took me several years to settle into C-U; to start building a life for myself and make the place my home. This time around it was more like 7-8 months (different scale, i suppose, but similar developments). Maybe when i move to Seattle in 2011 (abstract plan), the transition will be even faster still.

...

So maybe i've just had a late start on life. And maybe that's ok. Right now (most) things are going great. I mean, i am missing the one thing that i want more than anything else, and i've run out of ideas on how to find it. Sometimes this missing piece seems to overshadow the rest of the puzzle. But the rest does seem to be coming together (albeit slowly, but late > never, right?). And who knows; maybe one day i'll catch a break.

Arch Enemy - Tyranny & Bloodshed Tour

Arch Enemy with Dark Tranquillity, Divine Heresy, Firewind
5/29/2008 - Slim's - San Francisco, CA



It's rare for a bill to to be 100% for me; usually i'm at a show for one or two of the bands, and end up yawning through the opening acts. But in the week leading up to the Tyranny & Bloodshed tour, i found myself getting excited for all four bands on the bill. I love Arch Enemy. I love Dark Tranquillity, and had been waiting forever for my chance to see them live. Divine Heresy is the new band of Dino Cazares, former guitarist from Fear Factory (one of my favorites from the old days); anything that involves Dino has my interest by default. Firewind is a band i hadn't heard of before, but a trip to their myspace page revealed that they're pretty awesome!

I arrived at Slim's way early, walked past the long line of kids and got in the shorter line for will call. While waiting, i noticed a tall, dreadlocked gentleman walk out of the club and head towards one of the tour busses. I wondered if he was in one of the bands or (more likely) part of the road crew. Just a random moment. Once i had my ticket in hand, i went back to the end of the big line to wait for doors to open (which happened late, as usual).

After getting inside i stepped into the head to retrieve my camera, and then went to check out the merch booths. I've been griping about overpriced merch recently, so i was pleased to find reasonably priced shirts and cds. A couple of Arch Enemy shirts caught my eye, but i decided to hold of for the time being. I then headed over to the other merch booth where i found...DINO CAZARES himself, selling stuff and meeting-and-greeting. Holy crap! I shook his hand, told him that i loved his work in Fear Factory & was really looking forward to his set. His bass player, Joe, was there as well; both really nice guys. They signed my cd and took a photo with me - awesome!


...

Firewind started their set while i was meeting Dino & Joe, so i slipped into the crowd near stage right as soon as i was done. They sound pretty awesome live & i immediately felt it. I'm not quite sure how to describe them; new-school power metal, maybe, with elements of thrash, and a down-to-earth feel (i.e. not cheesy). Warm & upbeat tunes, clean vocals, and stunning guitarwork. Oh, and they're from Greece. I'm thinking about getting a map of Europe and sticking pins in the home countries of all of my metal bands. There would be lots of pins in Sweden, obviously, but also Norway, Finland, the Netherlands, Germany, Portugal, England, Italy, now Greece, and more.

There was a rather tall dude standing near me who was also grooving to the band's first song; we exchanged grins & guy-head-nods. I recognized the intro to Firewind's second tune and yelled in response. My tall friend said "Hey, do you want to get in front of me?", indicating an open space. "You don't mind?" "No dude, go ahead!" "Thanks, man!" Just a small act, but it was one of those moments in life that make you appreciate the simple courtesy of others, and makes you want to do the same thing yourself.

From my new vantage point i saw that Gus G (the band's founder & awesome axeman) was perched right there at stage right. Watching him play was just awesome; he's quite skilled technically, but i also really admire his showmanship. It's clear that he's having a blast up there; grooving, shredding, a big smile on his face the whole time.



I was pleasantly surprised that i recognized so many of the songs they played (yay for the internet), including "Head Up High" and "Mercenary Men". But the real highlight was when they busted out "The Fire and the Fury", which is a kick-ASS instrumental track way back from 2003. All of the elements of a great instrumental, including a surprise - the keyboard player strapped on a guitar for some passages, and went back to the keys for a back-and-forth with Gus.



Love these guys. The only problem is that i love songs from at least 3 of their albums, so i'm not sure where to start. Maybe i'll hit up Century Media mailorder and splurge.

Firewind wrapped up their set to a huge reception from the crowd, getting the evening off to a great start. Best opening band i've seen in a long time.



...

Sidebar: While reading up on the band today, i realized something - i MET Gus G once! I just didn't know who he was at the time. He was filling in as Arch Enemy's touring guitarist in 2005 (while Chris Amott was temporarily away); i saw them play at Ozzfest that summer & met the band after their set. Check it out!

With Angela and Daniel:


Sharlee on the left, and who's that on the right? Yep, it's totally Gus G! Same thumbs-up sign and everything!

...

Next up, Divine Heresy. They exploded into their set with all of the aggression and heavy riffing that i'd expect from a Dino project. He plays an 8-string guitar, by the way. Solid set overall, but i didn't really dig the vocals (or vocalist). Reminiscent of a hardcore style, which i'm not really a fan of. And i don't have the whole story, but basically Dino had to fire their original vocalist early on this tour after an altercation on stage. So they have this other guy filling in for the rest of the tour. I mean he's going full force and doing his job, but i personally don't respond well to commands like "I WANNA SEE A BIG FAWKING MOSH PIT! C'MON, DON'T BE A PUSSY!" Whatever, man; don't tell me what to do. He even called for a Wall of Death, but only like 4 people participated - haha, weak.

So in terms of songs, Divine Heresy was my least favorite band of the evening, but it was still cool to see Dino up on stage again; he's a monster with that guitar of his. Joe (bass) is a solid player as well, and Tim (drums) is pretty intense. Really; these guys have a tight sound overall; i'd like them a lot more if they'd switch up the style of their vocals.





...

Dark Tranquillity took the stage next; one of my favorites from Sweden - the stronghold for melodic death metal (In Flames, Arch Enemy, Opeth...the list goes on). As soon as they launched into "Terminus", i knew we were in for a great set. I know i've been saying this a lot, but i mean it every time - these guys sound awesome live. Perfect blend of guitars & keyboard, heavy rhythms, lovely melodies, and Mikael's smooth growling vocals tying everything together.



Point of trivia - Anders Friden (vocalist of In Flames) was the original vocalist for Dark Tranquillity; he was on their first album, "Skydancer". After Anders left the band, Mikael Stanne switched from guitar to take over vocals. And ironically, Mikael recorded the vocals for In Flames' first album, "Lunar Strain", as a session musician because In Flames didn't have a vocalist at the time. There are other ties between the bands as well; it's like an extended metal family <3



Oh, by the way, the tall guy with the dreadlocks i saw outside before the show? Turned out to be Martin Henriksson - one of Dark Tranquillity's guitar players.



So of course a couple of guys had brought a Swedish flag to show some love. They were all the way up front & held it up near the beginning of the set. Mikael seemed to be pleasantly surprised; he got this huge smile on his face and spread his arms out as if to say "Awww, you guys!" They handed the flag up to him and he held it up & hugged it before handing it back. I'm sure people bring Swedish flags to a lot of their shows, but he really looked like the gesture had made his day.



The band played several songs off of their latest album, Fiction, of course, including "The Lesser Faith", "Focus Shift", and "Misery's Crown". But they didn't neglect the old, playing "Final Resistance" and "The Treason Wall" from Damage Done, "My Negation" from Character, and even going all the way back to Gallery for "Punish My Heaven". Great set, although it felt too short (maybe 40 minutes?). I would have liked a few more songs, especially from Character; hopefully i'll get to see them on a headlining tour at some point.




...

Taking a break between sets, i stopped by the merch booth again. I've gotten rather picky about shirts, but i really liked one of the Dark Tranquillity tour shirts, and decided that if they stocked a size Small, i'd be willing to fork over the $25. They did, and i did. Yay! It's not as "small" as it could be, but with so much writing on the back (it lists out all of the tour stops including city, date, and venue), i can understand why they needed the extra real estate.

I also considered picking up an Arch Enemy shirt, but most of the designs didn't quite do it for me. I did like the full-sleeve "Tyranny" shirt, as well as the classic tee with the simple logo on the front and "PURE FUCKING METAL" in huge letters on the back. I was both attracted to and cautious of a shirt that brandishes the F-word, but ultimately decided that the shirt isn't going anywhere and i'd spent enough money for one night.

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Arch Enemy. After what felt like forever, the intro music started up, the band members slipped onto the dark stage one by one, and then EXPLODED into their visual and sonic assult. Oh man, this is what i live for! I thought they were amazing the last time i saw them live, and they've managed to not only live up to the memory, but exceed it. InTENSE rhythm section, amazing dueling guitarwork, and Angela's ungodly vocals and powerful allure & stage presence.



Ok, look. It's not just because she's hot. There's just something about this woman that is hard to put into words. Her vocals alone are awesome - powerful deep-throated growls, with a few screams in the mix. Add to that her aggressive grace; the way she throws herself fully into her performance. She radiates confidence and strength, balanced by a down-to-earth sentiment and a great sense of humor (some of her remarks between songs were hilarious). Oh, and her lovely accent certainly doesn't hurt (the band is Swedish, but Angela herself is from Germany) :-)



It was pretty awesome to see the Amott brothers (Chris and Mike) reunited (since Chris was away the last time i saw them play). Really awesome guitar players, both of them. Sharlee (love his name, by the way) was his rock-solid self on bass. And Daniel just *rips* up the drums. He played a hot solo spot during one of the interim segments; i really enjoyed.




Great set overall, representing all of the Angela-era albums. "Nemesis", "My Apocalypse", "Taking Back My Soul" (all from Doomsday Machine), several from the new album (which i hadn't picked up yet). A few from Anthems of Rebellion, including "Dead Eyes See No Future" which was incredible live. And from the awesome album "Wages of Sin" they rocked "Enemy Within", and "Ravenous" - the latter of which compelled me to charge forward and dive into the pit before i even knew what was happening.



The pit was of the mass-shoving variety - not my favorite, but not too bad. I got in my share of thrashing, then shifted over a little so i could focus on the band without getting kicked in the ribs. I'm weird; i usually can't get fired up for a show without being up front, surrounded by action. But recently i've found myself paying closer attention to the musicians as they play, especially the fretwork of the guitarists. Which is hard to do when you're getting shoved around and have to keep your guard up to protect your flanks. *shrug*

Oh yeah, and there were a couple of crazy girls down in the pit! It can get pretty intense, even out in the crush zone; at one point i ended up with a handful of one girl's hair loose in my hand and then all tangled in my camera strap. (Benefit #5 of my Jasmine-braid: Prevents hair from getting ripped out at concerts.)

Towards the end of the set, Angela announced "This next song is for all of the brokenhearted here tonight!" Me: "YEEAAAHHHH!" Angela: "Because 'You...Will Live...Again!'" *Awesome* new tune. Next she said that they were down to their last song of the night..."But maybe, just *maybe*...if you guys are really fucking loud, we'll come back and play some more." Yeah, the usual pre-planned encore, but it's all good. They wrapped up the set, we were really fucking loud, and they came back to play the anthem "We Will Rise". Naturally (it being an anthem and all) we all screamed out the chorus together, which was a bloody great feeling.



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The show over, i headed out and got on the road home. I have to say, Slim's has become one of my favorite concert venues. Great little place, relatively painless parking situation (sorry, Chicago, i love you but parking on your streets is brutal), easy access to the freeway. And a non-Ticketmaster box office (handling fee for this show was $3). Rock.

I spent the drive home, as usual, with the radio off, replaying the highlights of the show in my mind, and contemplating how much i enjoy living only 45 minutes (plus traffic) away from the city. As intensely as i miss Champaign sometimes, i most likely would have missed this amazing tour if i were still living there (the 3-4 hour trip to Chicago precluded driving up on a random weeknight). Hell, that's why i hadn't seen Dark Tranquillity before, and had to miss so many other shows. I'm pleased that i've been able to catch so many of my bands on tour in the past 8 months.

Driving home, physically exhausted, mentally satisfied...a rare moment of contentment.