The Concert Thread

Saw Yngwie Malmsteen last night in Houston at the Proof Rooftop Lounge in downtown. Been 30 years since I last saw him live on the Odyssey tour. That means this is the 30th anniversary of his best selling cd (to my knowledge) and as far as I know he has done nothing to promote this. Thanks to his bitch wife, he won't work with Joe Lynn Turner again. What idiots. Last night the presence of a lead singer was sorely missed. The five or six instrumentals he played in the middle of the set in a row without announcing the name of any of them really brought the crowd vibe down.



https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/yngwie-j-malmsteen/2018/proof-rooftop-lounge-houston-tx-2beb60ba.html
 
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terrell39 said:
Saw Yngwie Malmsteen last night in Houston at the Proof Rooftop Lounge in downtown. Been 30 years since I last saw him live on the Odyssey tour. That means this is the 30th anniversary of his best selling cd (to my knowledge) and as far as I know he has done nothing to promote this. Thanks to his bitch wife, he won't work with Joe Lynn Turner again. What idiots. Last night the presence of a lead singer was sorely missed. The five or six instrumentals he played in the middle of the set in a row without announcing the name of any of them really brought the crowd vibe down.

He started earlier than we though he would so this setlist shows just what I saw:

https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/yngwie-j-malmsteen/2018/proof-rooftop-lounge-houston-tx-2beb60ba.html
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From a guitar playing perspective what's Malmsteen like right now?
 
I find him a bit sloppier now than he was back in the 80s. For example, here he is live on the Odyssey tour (with Joe Lynn Turner) in 1988 in Russia. Compare how Yngwie plays the solo back then to how he played it on the newer Houston footage a few posts ago:

 
CriedWhenBrucieLeft said:
I have no idea what Malmsteen was like live in his heydey in which to compare this to to be honest.
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I saw him on the Seventh Sign tour in '94 and he played his ass off even though he was sloppy drunk. He kept trying to drag his wife at the time (Amberdawn?) onto the stage to kiss her in between songs and she kept pushing him away. He also went on a drunken rant about "real music" punctuated by playing random scales on his guitar, because he was pissed about the rise of grunge.

Since his playing was still great, I didn't even mind that he was drunk -- it was like I got the best of both worlds. LOL.
 
Indeed. Poor choices all over. But that hardly makes him unique.

I'd say he's still brilliant. His vibrato has got more musicality to it than most stuff. Sadly, most will only see the speed. It's not the speed that makes him special, it's that perfect bend and vibrato and the end of a run. No other player can compete with that. None.

But yes, he's gotten sloppier. And it's all a downward spiral of poor decisions, business wise. Where does the money come from? His records aren't available in Europe any more, and he hasn't done a major tour in years. There's no way he could support the bill of a good singer, so there you have it. Or rather, his wife thinks he's better off doing it all himself. A damn shame.
 
Maturin said:
I'd say he's still brilliant. His vibrato has got more musicality to it than most stuff. Sadly, most will only see the speed. It's not the speed that makes him special, it's that perfect bend and vibrato and the end of a run. No other player can compete with that. None.
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His work is utterly gorgeous, once you learn to listen to it properly. It's like learning to enjoy scotch, it takes effort.
 
This is long overdue, but the weekend of Armored Saint was absolutely incredible!

First night in Chicago the whole family and some friends went to the venue, ate at their rooftop restaurant at a table next to John, Gonzo, Jeff, and Phil, then went downstairs for the show. Armored Saint always puts on a killer set, but the added mystique, rarity, and rawness of hearing all of Symbol of Salvation was simply otherworldly. These guys slayed every single song. Sure, John Bush is aging and his voice shows some signs of that (mostly dropping some octaves here and there or singing a harmony while the backing guys covered the super high stuff), but he still sounds absolutely incredible. There's not many guys that can sing with his power and still retain a tune for this long.

Here's some photos and vids from night one: https://www.instagram.com/p/BliWZMRgZ-Y/?taken-by=brettknickerbocker

Second night in Milwaukee began with four different brewery stops, so of course it was going to be amazing. The venue was called Shank Hall, named after a joke in Spinal Tap and literally had a mini stonehenge hanging behind the bands. This was a much small venue, much less crowded, but the guys still put on one hell of a show. We were in the second row of people this time and it was just stellar. I can't get over the awesomeness of this band or the incredible quality of Symbol of Salvation. Getting right up close gave me a newfound appreciation for Joey Vera's bass playing: his playing is tight, soulful, and full of fills that never detract from the song. Guy is a powerhouse. Easily my favorite bassist in metal.

Night two pics and vids: https://www.instagram.com/p/BllDjqigEvv/?taken-by=brettknickerbocker

I also saw Foo Fighters at Wrigley Field and they kicked serious ass. The light show was outstanding, Dave Grohl was on fire (vocally and performance-wise), and they played damn near 3 hours. I wish they had done a little less jamming in the middle, but it gave Dave a chance to play drums so it was cool. Definitely a magical concert.
 
I noticed Alice in Chains will be playing in Phoenix when I'm in AZ so I went ahead and got tickets. :) Also on the schedule:

Deep Purple/Judas Priest - 8/22
Alestorm/Gloryhammer - 9/21
Ghost - 11/1
 
At the weekend I went to Bloodstock festival. The headliners were Judas Priest, Gojira and Nightwish - all of whom were excellent. I also saw Alestorm (great fun!), Evergrey, Orden Ogan, Monument (Junior Maiden!), At the Gates, Doro, Orphaned Land, Alien Weaponry, Devildriver, Kamelot, Onslaught, Mr. Big, Arkona and Luke Appleton.

I might go to Kamelot's show in London in October as I enjoyed them a lot, but mainly because Cellar Darling are supporting. Otherwise the current schedule is:

31/10 Devilskin, London
10/11 Within Temptation, Manchester
08/12 Nightwish, London
16/12 Kreator/Dimmu Borgir/Hatebreed, London

I am also hoping to make at least one of Cellar Darling's UK shows in March and Avantasia's London show in April, but I can't make any concrete plans until I know where I will be living. Damn short term contracts.
 
Unfortunately, a smol schedule for me at the moment:

7/11/18 - Slayer and co @ Birmingham
7/2/19 - Behemoth, also @ Birmingham

My last concert was Maiden themselves at Birmingham (which funnily enough was also on the 7th). I nearly bought George Ezra tickets today but didn't, and I'm gonna pounce on Alice in Chains if they finally announce a Brum date. Rammstein and SOAD are on the hit-list too.
 
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