"And I Would, Could You?" - BLACKDIAMONDSKYE tour at the Charter One Pavillion, Chicago on 9.16.10

Usually, if a concert falls during a weekday while the school year is going on, I have to count myself out. It's just too much of a pain to run home from work, get into the city, and then inevitably get home way too late to go and have to teach again the next day. However, when I heard about the BLACKDIAMONDSKYE tour, I had to reconsider. It's rare that every band on the tour is either a band that I want to see (Deftones) or really want to see (Mastodon and Alice in Chains). It's also rare that every band on a tour is touring on an album that was either on my best of the year list (2009- Crack the Skye and Black Gives Way to Blue) or will be (2010- Diamond Eyes). The show was taking place at the Charter One Pavillion, which is one of my favorite spots to catch a show in Chicago (seriously, the skyline hugs the stage, and there are literally no bad angles in the whole place), which was another selling point. When I noticed that Ticketbastard was dropping their services fees for tickets purchased in June, it was the final straw. Three killer bands touring on killer records for $45? Sign this guy up.

The show started promptly at seven with Mastodon taking the stage. I was introduced to Mastodon back in 2005 or 2006 by my guitar teacher at ISU. Josh basically told me, "You WILL listen to Mastodon, and you WILL like it." Thankfully, the band's music is so skull crushingly awesome, it didn't take long before I was geeking out big time on the foursome straight out of Atlanta. Mastodon is a pretty unique band. They write songs that are long, complex, jump time signatures, and involve all sorts of random influences (banjo rolls, chickin' pickin', etc.). Their albums are about topics such as Moby Dick (the absolute metal masterpiece that is Leviathan), or a paralyzed teenager who learns how to travel time through his mind and goes back to meet Rasputin (my Album of the Year for 2009- Crack the Skye). Needless to say, there are some, ahem, alternative plants that go into the creation of their albums.

I was really excited to see Mastodon, and they sounded really good, but honestly, I was a little disappointed by their live show. I don't know if it was because they were still playing during the daylight, but there just wasn't the same vibe that I was anticipating. The band members, with the exception of bassist/vocalist Troy Sanders, didn't really move around much. This isn't surprising, as their are a lot of complex guitar parts in their songs, but it really didn't help the show. They played for about 45 minutes, which honestly felt like longer, because their songs do kind of blend together (which is awesome on an album, but not so great live). They also didn't play my favorite song, "Blood and Thunder." That was a big let down. I'd probably still catch Mastodon again if they were playing a club and headlining, as I think they'd probably be better in the dark with a full lighting rig and a longer set (like when they played Crack the Skye in its entirety). I was happy to see them live finally, but they didn't blow me away like I was anticipating.

Setlist:
-Naked Burn
-Divinations
-Crystal Skull
-Colony of Birchmen
-Megaladon
-Sleeping Giant
-Circle of Cysquatch
-Aqua Dementia
-Iron Tusk
-March of the Fire Ants

Next up was Deftones. Going into the show, I wasn't a huge fan of them, besides a few songs I had heard on the radio ("My Own Summer (Shove It)" and "Change (In the House of Flies)"). I had, however, picked up their latest album, Diamond Eyes, and immediately thought it was an excellent record. My excitement to see them had grown pretty quickly in the weeks leading up to the show, as I continued to listen to the record.

Deftones certainly did not disappoint. It was apparent as soon as they came on stage that they were there to deliver, and they did. Vocalist Chino Moreno, was all over the stage, jumping up and down, off a platform, and even into the crowd at one point. Guitarist Stephen Carpenter was throwing down on seven and eight string guitars. This was the first time I had heard an eight string guitar live, and it was crushing at concert volume. Bassist Sergio Vega also was really active on stage. Overall, they were really good live. I can't say that I liked every song (I'm not a huge fan of some of the older stuff), but it was a very entertaining set, and I would see them again without a doubt.

Highlights of Deftones:

-"Diamond Eyes" was a great opening song

-"You've Seen the Butcher" is quickly becoming one of my favorite songs. Something about it just screams sex... and the eight string riffing sounds perfect.

-"Sextape" is a great song, and the disco ball was a nice touch

-The lighting rig was really cool, and worked well, but was a touch too bright. A few points it was literally blinding, and would cause my vision to "green out" after the lights went off.
-The lead singer from Rise Against came out for part of "The Passenger." That was an unexpected surprise.

-Stephen Carpenter has some killer guitars. I especially liked seeing the Louis Vuitton and the pink/purple/white ESP Horizons

Setlist:

-Diamond Eyes
-Rocket Skates
-Around the Fur
-Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)
-My Own Summer (Shove It)
-Prince
-You've Seen the Butcher
-Sextape
-Passenger
-Change (In The House of Flies)
-Nosebleed
-Engine No. 9
-7 Words

Headlining the BLACKDIAMONDSKYE tour was the recently reformed Alice in Chains. I've liked Alice for a long time, and I was excited when they got back together a few years ago. William DuVall, while not quite Layne Staley, does a hell of a job. As far as the Seattle bands of the early 90s, Alice in Chains has always been my favorite, as I felt like they were the most "metal" of the grunge bunch. I also consider the Dirt album a metal masterpiece.

It took a good chunk of time to clear Deftone's gear off of the stage and get Alice in Chain's stage set up. This normally wouldn't have been an issue, but it was getting surprisingly cold out on the lakefront. After what felt like (and may have been pretty close to) 45 minutes, the introductory music started, and as soon as it was finished, the opening chords of "Them Bones" kicked right in. It was apparent from early on that Alice was going to be worth the wait. The stage was set up with a pretty elaborate system of lights and screens that really gave the show a psychedelic overtone. There were microphones all over the stage, which allowed both DuVall and guitarist Jerry Cantrell to move around throughout the show while still laying down vocals. Speaking of Cantrell, his playing and vocals were flawless throughout. The whole band just seemed like they were having fun during the entire show. They played a largely greatest hits set, but there was enough of the new album that it felt like a proper representation on a tour. The new material fit in perfectly, Black Gives Way to Blue really is a great album.

Highlights of Alice in Chains:

-The stage was really well done, especially considering it took less than an hour to set up.

-The sound was excellent, with the exception of DuVall's microphone not being on for the first verse of "Again."

-The guitar tones were slamming. Whoever the tech is, he did a great job micing up.

-The setlist throughout was excellent. Great mixture of old and new.

-The encore of "Man in the Box" and "Would" was killer.

Setlist:

-Them Bones

-Dam That River (live from this show)

-Rain When I Die

-Again

-Check My Brain

-Your Decision

-No Excuses

-Down in a Hole

-Acid Bubble

-We Die Young

-Lesson Learned

-Angry Chair

-Rooster

-Man in the Box

-Would?

Overall, the BLACKDIAMONDSKYE tour was well worth the cost, even though Mastodon left a little more to be desired.

*None of the pictures in this post are mine. They are from the show I attended, but I found them on the internet.

Concert Review: Scale the Summit/DTP/Cynic/BtBaM @ The House of Blues 1/24/10

This was a tour that I was excited about as soon as I heard about it, but for the first time, it was for the opening bands, not the headliner. I've been a Devin Townsend fan for about five years now, but had never been able to make it to a show when he was in Chicago with either The Devin Townsend Band or Strapping Young Lad. In those five years, Townsend had become one of my favorite musicians. I've gotten into Cynic and Scale the Summit fairly recently, but both were touring on really good albums and both had some serious potential to put on a great show, so I was really excited to see them too. Between the Buried and Me wasn't really on my radar, so I figured if they were good, it was just a bonus. If not, I had no complaints about dropping $27 ($15 plus Ticketbastard fees.... yes, I'm serious) just to see StS, DTP, and Cynic at the House of Blues.

We got to the House of Blues about 4:30, doors opened at 5:00, and we were inside by about 5:10. I saw Black Label Society in 2005 at the Chicago House of Blues, but I had forgotten how small it was. With as small as the floor is at the HoB, we decided just to stand back in the corner of the main floor. That way we weren't near the moshpits (I can't stand moshing... what's the point?) nor right next to the PA, as I was just getting over some ear ringing and didn't want to have that happen again. After making two quick trips to the bar (including the soon to be traditional shot of Jagermeister), we were ready for the show to begin. The House of Blues has a no camera policy, so no photos from this one.

Scale the Summit began promptly at 5:30. They're an instrumental band from Austin, Texas. They played for a half an hour, and were great. All the members in the band (two guitars, bass, and drums) are pros on their instruments. I don't remember the songs that they played (I listen to their albums while I'm working, so I'm not conscious of song titles), but I was impressed. They do some really intricate harmonies, and both guitarists are very capable of soloing. They didn't have a ton of stage presence, but that is to be expected considering the style of music.

Up next was The Devin Townsend Project. Under normal circumstances, Devin Townsend could have easily headlined this show. However, with his two years out of the touring business, he wanted to get back into it slowly. Devin is a goof, and I'm not sure that the people in the audience who weren't familiar with him were quite ready for it. He started off his set by saying that the audience was in for "30 straight minutes of pure, unadulterated nerdcore," before going into to a heavied up version of Disruptr (from another show). After that, the band went into Supercrush! with Devin handling the verses, and singing it flawlessly (studio cut). He did this because Anneke Van Giersbergen, who sang on the album, didn't go on tour. One of the things that Devin likes to do is make fun of the crowd (and the stereotypical metalhead), and it was at this point that he pointed out that "there were 10 men to every man" in the crowd and that the next song was dedicated to the "Ladies.... all six of you out there." This was Kingdom (studio cut), which had myself and Bruno looking in amazement at each other on how good the drums sounded. It was easily the most brutal drum sound I've ever heard live. They cut right the mix and were loud, but crystal clear. The guy on the mixing board was AWESOME! Next was Truth (live in '99), which got me chuckling with some of the faces Devin was making during it and also got the hair on my arms to stand up when the "Hallelujahs" kicked in midway through. He played part of OM and finished his thirty minutes with By Your Command (studio cut), which was pretty cool. I thought that The Devin Townsend Project would be great, and they certainly did not disappoint.

Next up was Cynic. Cynic's music is a really hard to explain, and they're even harder to explain live. Their music is really technical and they have two vocalists: one who sings into a kind of vocal processor and another who does death metal style vocals. It's a really strange combination that's very unique. I don't remember the setlist, as the lighting, the music itself, and the atmospheric quotes floating through the PA really just mellowed me out for their set, even when it was heavy. Cynic is the kind of band that I'd imagine would be great to see with one's mind "expanded," if one was into that kind of thing. I do remember being asked by the band to do some yoga midway through their set. The sound was absolutely killer during Cynic as well (either this tour brought along a hell of a sound man or the HoB employs a great one). Everything was crystal clear throughout. I was really blown away by how good they were live, and I would love to see them again. Because even the studio cuts don't really show how they are live, here are two live clips from other shows on the tour: Evolutionary Sleeper and Nunc Fleuns/The Space For This

During Cynic's set, there were some people who wanted them to go heavy the whole time, including one person who kept screaming, "Slayer!" I thought it was strange until Cynic finished, when I saw most of the older part of the crowd leave the front area, and a bunch of younger kids fill it up quickly. This younger group was obviously going to be more rowdy. That, combined with the thought of getting back to Union Station for the 8:40 train (the next train didn't leave Chicago until 11:40) had us thinking that we may skip early if we didn't like Between the Buried and Me. All it took was three minutes of BtBaM and we were out the door. I don't really want to waste the space writing about them, as I want the memory to be Cynic headlining the show. It's the first show that I've been to where there was almost two different demographics there to see the opening bands and the headliner. It was a strange combination. After the awesome sets by DTP and Cynic, BtBaM was not going to cut it for me.

Overall, it was a really good show that highlighted some of the bands on the periphery of the metal world. I'm glad that shows like this still happen. Hopefully The Devin Townsend Project and Cynic will come back in the near future as headliners, so we, the audience can get a full length set from both of these great bands.