[eleven59]

Going into this, I was already a fan of everything In Flames has released, the bits of Children of Bodom I've heard, and a couple of songs by Megadeth. Out of Job for a Cowboy and High On Fire (who I checked out after buying the tickets), I thought High On Fire was really cool, but was thoroughly unimpressed by Job for a Cowboy (and not just because of their stupid name).

I had to work until 5:30 so when I got there, it was most of the way through High On Fire's set already. The last few songs we heard, though, were pretty cool, as far as we could hear. The problem was, the sound was terrible. Really muddy, bassy, kick and snare were way too loud, toms sounded dead, and the room is really echo-y as is. They put on a great show, though, and that weird 10 (I think? Yes?) string guitar he plays was interesting, though I couldn't really hear what it brings to his tone, sounded kind of like a regular 6-string, though that could be mostly the bad sound, mentioned earlier.

Job for a Cowboy was better than I expected. They put on a really good show, though the music still didn't impress me. Overall, their stage presence was...decent? The singer's gestures (of which he had about 3 that he used repeatedly) were kind of amateurish I thought, and overally they seemed like they would have fit the bill at my band's first show (As Blood Runs Black, Veil of Maya, etc.) in the really small venue much better. The whole thing was kind of cool, but they didn't seem ready for a stage that big yet. Still, since my expectations were really low, I was somewhat impressed. Sound continued to be dominated by kick and snare, with a muddy wash for the rest, though vocals were clear.

During Job for a Cowboy I started figuring out what kind of crowd we had there. It was about equal parts metal heads, and emo kids who think their metal heads because they listen to Job for a Cowboy and Children of Bodom and can pig squeal kind of. This resulted in a really brutal pit directly in front of us, and a really incredibly lame "hardcore dance" pit directly behind us, with about a 1-person thick line separating the two. I really wanted the brutal pit to spill over and take out the emos, but it didn't happen. The best way I can describe it is, y'know when there's a bunch of people dancing, and everyone spreads out so people can jump in the middle one at a time and dance, and there's usually a couple guys who can breakdance? Yeah, like that, but with more flailing and looking really stupid. These kids don't care about the music, they just want to be seen. They're just there to show people how "cool" they are.

Children of Bodom put on an excellent show, and had slightly better sound than the previous bands. Guitars were audible, for example. I really enjoyed their set, and wish I had half the ability their keyboardist has. Both guitarists tones were terrible, but worked ok in the full mix. Both were playing their usual signature models.

In Flames put on an excellent show, with definitely the best lighting of the night. A lot of new songs, which were decent (I haven't heard the new album yet). They also played "Graveland" which was cool. The mix was pretty bad, though. The drums and bass sounded great, as did the vocals, but the guitars were pretty buried in the mix most of the time, and their tone wasn't great. Well, their clean tone was excellent actually, it was their distorted tone that was a little thin sounding, but I figure that's got to be at least partially the terrible mix. The one guitarist totally blew the solo on "Come Clarity". Like, almost EVH bad, but not quite. The crowd sucked, as London crowds always do. There's always a few people there that have no interest in any of the bands, that just came out to a "metal" or "rock" concert to hurt people in a mosh pit. Way too much pushing/shoving and way too much ignoring the stage. They even moshed during "Come Clarity"...I mean, c'mon, it's a freaking ballad...

Interesting to note, however, is that the audience was at least 25% female. Yeah, there's a huge female metal fanbase here, and it's growing. The only thing I like about being in a metal band in this town.

On to Megadeth. I said we'd stick around for the first few songs to see how they were and to see if we wanted to stick around longer. Well, their opening was kind of cool, until Dave came out. The curtain drops and it's just Dave and the drummer. I actually feared that he was doing the show without Broderick and the bassist for a moment His tone was terrible. Peircing, squeely, fizzy crap. Even Broderick's tone wasn't great in that place. The drums sounded great (and looked ridiculous), and the bassist sounded great (and looked ridiculous with his high-strung bass and 80s stage moves). Even the vocals were almost inaudible in the wash of noise that was the rest of the mix. The whole thing was very clearly staged carefully, with everyone moving back when someone stepped up for a solo. It looked like a really expensive, really polished, really well-rehearsed cover band imitating videos they saw of 80s thrash bands. Broderick's LACS Ibanez looked stunning even from the very back of the room. We made it through one song...I think. Not sure if it was still going or if they blended into the second song. Then we walked out. I just couldn't take it. If the mix was better, I might have lasted longer. If they had seemed more natural on stage, I might have lasted longer. If they hadn't seemed so dated and out of place after all the other bands, I might have lasted longer.

Also, to the douchebag who screamed "play some metal!" at In Flames and then groped my girlfriend, you can die in the worst possible way. I fucking hate people, especially people who think a mosh pit means you can do whatever the hell you want and get away with it. Asshole.

[Edroz]

Originally Posted by eleven59

and the bassist sounded great (and looked ridiculous with his high-strung bass and 80s stage moves).

well, he did used to play with White Lion...

Originally Posted by eleven59

The whole thing was very clearly staged carefully, with everyone moving back when someone stepped up for a solo. It looked like a really expensive, really polished, really well-rehearsed cover band imitating videos they saw of 80s thrash bands.

i guess this is where you and i differ. that's exactly what i wanna see at a "show". there's nothing more boring to me than a bunch of dudes randomly putzing around on a stage like they don't know where they are .

and come on, like them or not, you can hardly call Megadeth an "80's thrash band imitator"

[eleven59]

Originally Posted by Edroz

well, he did used to play with White Lion...

That makes sense

i guess this is where you and i differ. that's exactly what i wanna see at a "show". there's nothing more boring to me than a bunch of dudes randomly putzing around on a stage like they don't know where they are .

Yeah, I get what you're saying, it's just that none of them looked like they really wanted to be there, and everything looked kind of half-assed like they all knew how dorky they looked. I'm all for some organized movement on stage, but this just looked really forced with no natural flow.

and come on, like them or not, you can hardly call Megadeth an "80's thrash band imitator"

I dunno...Dave's clearly not an 80s thrash band imitator, as he is an 80s thrash band. But the rest of them? They're hired guns, and it's pretty obvious.

[st2012]

I fucking hate those scene kids and I push them into real mosh pits every chance I get...

[Baphomet_Reich]

Originally Posted by st2012

I fucking hate those scene kids and I push them into real mosh pits every chance I get...

Hate them as well, with a burning passion. They take the fun out of moshing, with their windmills and damn Chuck Norris spin kicks. Sounds like a fairly decent show besides the audio.

[eleven59]

Yeah, there were these emo girls in front of us right before and during Children of Bodom, who were really really bitchy, and were like "I'm not here for In Flames, I'm here for fucking Bodom" and gave the stink eye to anyone who accidentally bumped into them. They looked really pissed off during the whole set that followed, as they were stuck right on the edge of a pretty brutal mosh pit, as if they were personally offended that people were bumping into them and ruining the show for them. Man did I want to shove them into the pit and watch them get trampled

[neon_black88]

Emo pits and emos are 90 percent of the reason I won't go to a show like that. People annoy me enough alreaddy, being in a crowded room full with the kind of people I hate most, doing the things I hate the most just drives me insane. Everywhere I look theres someone for me to hate based on physical appearance. But the thing is I don't judge people based on their appearance unless they're emos or similair. I seriously just cannot... CANNOT stand emos. I just cant. Just like I can't watch any emo/hardcore band for more than 10 seconds without cracking the shits especially when im drunk which at a show I will be. Yes im a bitter person.

If theres emo's at soilwork im going to be pissed.

[st2012]

I know, kids like that really can ruin a good show. It fucking sucks cause I'm a fan of Children of Bodom and Between the Buried and Me but I wont go to any of their shows for that very reason.

[Baphomet_Reich]

Originally Posted by st2012

I know, kids like that really can ruin a good show. It fucking sucks cause I'm a fan of Children of Bodom and Between the Buried and Me but I wont go to any of their shows for that very reason.

Ive seen BTBAM live twice and I didnt really see that many scene or emo kids at the shows. Either way dont let those bastards ruin an amazing show for you.

[budda]

pity about the sound, man.

at least your show was good :P