The Concert Thread

35th anniversary Maiden play Houston on No Prayer For the Dying tour;
Anthrax opened on Persistence of Time tour;
Last show I saw with Bruce and Joey for years;
Janick brought excitement to the band on stage (even Dave was jumping around!);
Maiden played several songs from side 4 of Live After Death!
Enjoyed the songs from NPFTD live better than the studio versions

 
Yesterday I went to see Smith/Kotzen at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire in London. Great gig, superb musicianship, and the unexpected surprise of Bruce singing Wasted Years with them.

Next one: Manic Street Preachers at the Royal Albert Hall as part of the Teenage Cancer Trust charity concerts curated by The Cure’s Robert Smith. I can’t wait to see them again!
 
Saw Opeth w/ Katatonia and Ghost over the last month. Both great shows for different reasons, felt like a good way to kick off this years concerts
@MrK and I saw Opeth a few weeks ago for the first time in six years, and they were as great as I remember. Killer set, too, even if I could’ve lived without the overplayed encore.

Katatonia bored me to tears, though. I don’t think their vocalist fits with the heaviness of their music at all.
 
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@MrK and I saw Opeth a few weeks ago for the first time in six years, and they were as great as I remember. Killer set, too, even if I could’ve lived without the overplayed encore.

Katatonia bored me to tears, though. I don’t think their vocalist fits with the heaviness of their music at all.
Agreedn on both accounts! I'd rather hear Bleak, or Harlequin Forest instead of the encore. I found the set felt too short but I suspect that was because their songs are so long that it feels short to only have 11 songs.

Some songs Katatonia worked, but the majority of their set I'd agree with your statement.
 
The gig was great. They are one of those bands that sound even better live than on the albums. They sound much heavier live. The sound in the venue was good. Maybe a bit heavy on the low end, but maybe that's just me prefering brighter sounding gigs. All four performed great. Bruno is taking no prisoners with his drumming. Hitting hard and grooving hard. Loved his performance. Julia was incredible. She is doing some fast bass fills in the songs. You blink and you miss them. I don't remember when did I hear Adrian play so well and see him so relaxed. At the end of Running, he really went for that solo. And then there is Richie. I remember seeing him with the Winery Dogs. He went for a solo back then that left us speechless. Yesterday he did that the whole fucking night. The only time I think I saw somebody play so much impossible guitar solos in one night is when I saw Guthrie with Aristocrats. Incredible. And he is using pick again for 75% of the show.

Personal highlights: Wraith, Running, Hate and Love, White Noise, Scars, Outlaw and You Can't Save Me. Of course, Wasted Years is always great. Guitar performances on Hate and Love were brilliant.

Now with no Maiden activity next year, give me a Smith/Kotzen and Bruce solo double tour.
 
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Agreedn on both accounts! I'd rather hear Bleak, or Harlequin Forest instead of the encore. I found the set felt too short but I suspect that was because their songs are so long that it feels short to only have 11 songs.
Drapery Falls and Bleak are about equal to me, but I’m just so sick of Deliverance. If they’re gonna overplay a song, I’d rather it be Ghost of Perdition. Blackwater Park is the song I really want to hear again, though.

Also, they played Harlequin Forest in 2020 and it was the apex of the set for me. Incredible song.

Regarding set length, I remember seeing the In Flames + Opeth co-headlining tour a decade or so ago. In Flames played 15 songs while Opeth played eight. Bullshit, I say!

Now with no Maiden activity next year, give me a Smith/Kotzen and Bruce solo double tour.
Bruce’s solo show was the concert highlight for me last year, and it would be even better if Adrian was playing with him (and if he did Chemical Wedding in its entirety).
 
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