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Mystery - Wednesday, 23.10.2019 - Bensheim, Rex Musiktheater

 

WOW, WOW and WOW!!!!!! What a f***in' unforgettable evening!

The Rex is a fantastic, very small club in a village near Frankfurt, Germany. Took me half an hour to get there and I found the parking situation more than comfortable. Thirty seconds to walk to the entrance. I love German club shows.

The venue was half-full, which means that there were not more, than 250 people in attendance. So since one, could fairly walk around to find a spot, I easily ended up in the second row, right in front of Michel St-Pere. Cool to watch him play that close. He has a great repertoire of proggy sounds and his feeling amazes me more and more. What a great guitarist and what a great guy he really is!...

OVERLOOKED!!

 

So tonight, I finally had a chance to witness one of the finest French-Canadian prog celebrations around. Merci beaucoup, Mystery! So much fun to be there! The show had a playing time of 3 hours and 04 minutes (exactly) - Non-stop!!!!!! No joking here! It was all about pure fun on stage - and - thankfully, there was a very helpful Wednesday crowd, that lit a spark from the very beginning.

Top sound (can't remember when I last heard and felt such brutal bass pedals!), Top setlist, Top vocals and flute from Jean, Top playing from all involved, Great audience, Great mood, Great after-show party!!!!!!

 

Me and the MYSTERONS :haz: (check out the Sylvain horns)

yPNn264.jpg

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Elton John last Thursday night in Toronto. I had never seen him live before and definitely did not want to miss what was most likely the last chance. A fantastic show! Just hit after hit for 2 hours and 45 minutes. I love that the core of his original band is still with him after all of these years.
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Elton John last Thursday night in Toronto. I had never seen him live before and definitely did not want to miss what was most likely the last chance. A fantastic show! Just hit after hit for 2 hours and 45 minutes. I love that the core of his original band is still with him after all of these years.

 

That's a decent length! What did he end on?

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49020880193_303d55ed8c_z.jpg

 

Dead & Co at Madison Square Garden - Nov 1, 2019. Oh the floor about 50 feet from the stage.

 

Casual Dead fan but their shows are great. John Mayer!

Edited by custom55
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Ghost, with guest Nothing More

Reno Events Center

Reno, NV, 2019

 

Ghost is a band I'd seen at the tiny Knitting Factory, prior to them exploding in popularity. That show was fantastic, full of energy that was magnified by the size of the venue. I was excited to see what Ghost would bring to a larger arena, and to hear some of the newer songs...

 

The night started off strangely, with the venue opening later than scheduled which meant waiting in a long line that snaked the full 360 degrees around the exterior of the arena. We originally got in line, but then figured it would be better to just go get a gelato and come back when the line had shortened. The pistachio at the El Dorado was excellent.

 

It was fun bring the Lad to the show, as he's never been to a real concert and he had little experience being around a horde of tattooed, body-pierced adults dressed head-to-toe in full black. We've a;ways joked about the Goth lifestyle, and now he got to see a bit of it up close. A Ghost concert tradition is for women to dress as evil nuns, and we were hoping to get a photo of the Lad with one of those, but that didn't work out. He was able to pose with a Ghost über-fan dressed as Cardinal Copia in crimson robes and cap, so that was fun. As for the show itself...

 

Opening act Nothing More isn't our cup of tea. I like heavy rock, but I find bands that take themselves too seriously cringe-worthy, and Nothing More fit that bill. Life in modern America isn't perfect, but for me it certainly doesn't merit the emotional cocktail of hyper-sensitivity, self-pity and misanthropy that permeates the lyrics and vocal stylings of bands like Nothing More. So the Lad and I spent the bulk of the opening act's set rolling our eyes and chuckling to ourselves. They band did pull of something I'd never seen before: A three man bass solo. Not three guys all playing bass separately. Three guys on ONE bass guitar. The lead singer use drumsticks to band on the strings while the bass and guitar players used piano tapping for the notes. A very Spinal Tap moment. :D Thankfully, the set was mercifully short.

 

We had floor tickets, and I was wondering if we'd be battling crowd all night. I don't think the Lad was quite up to that, but luckily (for us, not for the band) the show was only about half sold. So there was plenty of room to wander around and visibility wasn't an issue. Ghost took what seemed like forever to get set up and ready to play. There were several eruptions of cheering during the wait, but toward the end folks started to get impatient, causing shouts of "Come on!" and such. There was a less than positive tension building...but then the first strains of Ring Around the Rosie started, the curtain raised, and...

 

Ghost launched into a rousing version of Rats, the single from Prequelle, and the all was right and good. As Cardinal Copia, Ghost's Tobias Forge did a great job getting everyone into the show from the outset. He's a great entertainer, and love to banter with the crowd. Maybe a bit too much. There's a fine balance between keeping the crowd engaged with "Are you with us, Reno?!?" and badgering the crowd for applause. While the performance was great with a fantastic setlist and stellar performances by the Ghouls, Forge's nearly constant demands for applause and singing along (to songs many simply did not know) started to wear thin. By the end there was an underlying animosity, which showed itself in Forge letting us know sarcastically that we were "...an AWFULly good crowd."

 

That aside, fans of the band, and fans of live music in general, weren't left disappointed. A Ghost concert is a full experience, with awesome lighting, use of smoke, flame and incense to set a mood of collective ritual. It's musical escapism at its best.

 

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Setlist info: https://en.wikipedia...d_Death_setlist

 

Looking at this and seeing the number of shows they've played and will continue to play, a little weariness and impatience setting in on Tobias Forge is understandable. I don't know if any other frontman works harder at entertaining a crowd, and imagine it's hard when the crowd doesn't respond in kind.

 

There are two songs in that set I have never heard of. What were the songs he was trying to get people to sing along to that they didn't respond to? The band only has four albums and it's not like they have enough big hits to bring in a large casual audience. No excuse for people to not know the material that has been released so far. It's not like they have this huge discography fans need to work through.

I don't know if it was one of the new songs, off Prequelle, or one of the songs off the debut, like Satan Prayer. Either way, the majority of us didn't know the words.

 

As far as people not knowing the material, Ghost isn't exactly getting heavy radio play.

 

Which makes them doing arenas an odd choice. Mid sized venues that fit three or four thousand I think is their ceiling even with the spike in popularity over the last couple years. Filling arenas in north America is not something I felt like they could sustain for a full tour. I think Tobias and the record company had bigger hopes for them with the new album and aimed a little too high with some of the venues booked. I think they should stick to the same kind of theater venues that somebody like Alice Cooper does. That's seems to be the right spot for Ghost.

Agreed.

I saw them at Hershey arena whcih isn't a big arena but it is a professional hockey arena and the place was very full.

 

Nothing More was horrible but Ghost was good as always.

 

Still the best show I saw him on was at the Hippodrome here in Baltimore which is a theater\opera house and the acoustics are really good and the place has an old church type feel to it which fit's his stage show perfectly.

Edited by thesweetscience
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I have been a Tool fan since Undertow but last night was my first time seeing them live in concert and they did not disappoint. The show was perfect. The sound, the set list, the lights and video, all of it, perfect.

 

I have been floating ever since.

 

Thanks for that. Shame you never saw them on the Lateralus tour, that was a great time, I've had my fill. Glad they're still not disappointing anyway...so no complaints with the set list even?

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I have been a Tool fan since Undertow but last night was my first time seeing them live in concert and they did not disappoint. The show was perfect. The sound, the set list, the lights and video, all of it, perfect.

 

I have been floating ever since.

 

Thanks for that. Shame you never saw them on the Lateralus tour, that was a great time, I've had my fill. Glad they're still not disappointing anyway...so no complaints with the set list even?

Nah. I mean there are always more songs they could play but I enjoyed everything they did play.

 

They sounded so tight as well. Danny, Adam and Justin were just on it. Everything sounded clean.

 

And Maynard was Maynard.

 

I hope I get to see them again.

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I have been a Tool fan since Undertow but last night was my first time seeing them live in concert and they did not disappoint. The show was perfect. The sound, the set list, the lights and video, all of it, perfect.

 

I have been floating ever since.

 

Thanks for that. Shame you never saw them on the Lateralus tour, that was a great time, I've had my fill. Glad they're still not disappointing anyway...so no complaints with the set list even?

Nah. I mean there are always more songs they could play but I enjoyed everything they did play.

 

They sounded so tight as well. Danny, Adam and Justin were just on it. Everything sounded clean.

 

And Maynard was Maynard.

 

I hope I get to see them again.

 

I hope Custom had a good one, he was really hyped for it.

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I have been a Tool fan since Undertow but last night was my first time seeing them live in concert and they did not disappoint. The show was perfect. The sound, the set list, the lights and video, all of it, perfect.

 

I have been floating ever since.

 

Thanks for that. Shame you never saw them on the Lateralus tour, that was a great time, I've had my fill. Glad they're still not disappointing anyway...so no complaints with the set list even?

Nah. I mean there are always more songs they could play but I enjoyed everything they did play.

 

They sounded so tight as well. Danny, Adam and Justin were just on it. Everything sounded clean.

 

And Maynard was Maynard.

 

I hope I get to see them again.

 

I hope Custom had a good one, he was really hyped for it.

 

Loved their show. Very impressed with the sound quality even at the high volume.

I had great seats on Adams side: seat 5 rows off the floor and maybe 20 rows from the stage.

 

For sure, my favorite concert of 2019.

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Elton John last Thursday night in Toronto. I had never seen him live before and definitely did not want to miss what was most likely the last chance. A fantastic show! Just hit after hit for 2 hours and 45 minutes. I love that the core of his original band is still with him after all of these years.

 

That's a decent length! What did he end on?

 

Sorry haven't been on this thread for a while - opened with Bennie and the Jets and closed with Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

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Elton John last Thursday night in Toronto. I had never seen him live before and definitely did not want to miss what was most likely the last chance. A fantastic show! Just hit after hit for 2 hours and 45 minutes. I love that the core of his original band is still with him after all of these years.

 

I saw him in Milwaukee on October 19th- first time for me seeing him also, and it was fantastic.

 

Steevo- the last song was Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. Absolutely unforgettable!

 

I was impressed with the length of the show, and with his energy, and of course his gratitude. He gave copious thanks to his fans at least two or three times during the show, and you can tell he’s emotional about this tour being his last (though I believe this last tour is roundabout eighteen months long).

 

There were two songs that I didn’t know by title (though they were familiar melodies- I just can’t name them), so please forgive me...but those exceptions aside, this was the set he played, in exact running order:

 

Bennie and the Jets

All the Girls Love Alice

I Guess That’s Why They Call it the Blues

Border Song

Tiny Dancer

??

Indian Sunset

Rocket Man

Take Me to the Pilot

Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word

Someone Saved My Life Tonight

Levon—> long jam (about 10 minutes)

Candle in the Wind

Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding

??

Daniel

Believe

Sad Songs Say So Much

(band intros)

Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me

The Bitch is Back

I’m Still Standing

Crocodile Rock

Saturday Night’s All Right for Fighting

 

Encore:

Your Song

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

 

And yes, the fact that he’s had the same lead guitarist since 1972, and Nigel on the drums since 1969...a core band indeed. It’s a five or six piece band, and they are simply incredible!

 

This is a write-up of the show I attended, from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/music/2019/10/20/elton-john-outshines-his-legend-sensational-last-milwaukee-concert-fiserv-forum/4012905002/

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The lLumineers. Second time seeing them and just as amazing a show. Crowd was totally into it and the band did a terrific job keeping things fun. The stage setup bringing a catwalk to the midpoint of the floor and having a piano and drum setup that went up and down as needed was great at bringing the show closer to the people in the back. As an added bonus the show had ''happy hour' pricing on drinks from 6 to 7:30 ($7) which the bartender said they've never had at the venue before as far as he knew. They're playing here again tonight so if you're in Toronto and can afford it, I highly recommend going. Tickets for the shows here are among the highest priced. The Ottawa show is cheaper and from what I saw so were the US shows.
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Trey Anastacio Band at Radio City, Oct 2, 2021.

 

Danced my ass off. Great show. I'd say 50% wore masks and you had to be vaccinated to attend. Going for a Covid test tomorrow.

 

 

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Edited by custom55
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I implore you, if you know Kansas songs and like them, and they're playing in your area soon, go see them. Spectacular show last night. Marietta, OH. They all rocked their ASS off. Of the 3 concerts I've seen in my life, I'm inclined to say this one is the best but that may be because I'm coming off the high of seeing KANSAS. Between this show and the Styx one, I'm not entirely sure which one was better, they were both phenomenal. Who cares if theres no Steve Walsh, or no Kerry Livgren, or no Robby Steinhardt (RIP), these guys are all masterful musicians (as was the original 6 of course). Best you'll find. Unfortunate that I never got to see them with Zak before he left back in April, but oh well, I'm not complaining about anything. I'm so glad they played songs from The Absence Of Presence too. That was the 1 thing I wanted that I hoped for, and they came through.

 

The Venue was nice, it was a smaller place. When we booked seats most of the lower level ones were sold but we were able to get the end seats on the very left aisle about 7 rows back. It was nice, but we couldn't see Tom Brislin at all. The usher said we couldn't move up rows, but we could move up to the mezzanine in the upper section. So we did. Boy was that a good decision. Because it's a smaller venue, even up high about 6 rows back we were pretty close to the stage. We could see everything, and we were able to feel the music much better up there. Would go to that venue again, and will DEFINITELY see Kansas again.

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Bob Dylan. NYC November 21, 2021.

 

Never miss a Sunday show

 

Not a huge Dylan fan but the last two tours ( 2019 and 2021 ) have been fantastic. Bob is singing behind the piano and is supported by a rockin' band. I LOVED THE SHOW.

 

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Edited by custom55
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I saw Genesis in Toronto last night. I really enjoyed the show. Yes Phil is ailing and has lost some of his vocal range, but it was FUN! The background singers filled in seamlessly. Nice mix of old and new songs. i would recommend going!
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I saw Genesis in Toronto last night. I really enjoyed the show. Yes Phil is ailing and has lost some of his vocal range, but it was FUN! The background singers filled in seamlessly. Nice mix of old and new songs. i would recommend going!

Agree. Nic was great on the drums and Banks and Rutherford still got it. Loved Domino. Had a great time. Audience was into it.

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I saw Baroness twice last weekend. Once in Cleveland on Saturday and again in Buffalo the next night.

 

The Cleveland show was a great intimate experience. I was about 3-4 feet from John Dyer Baizley through the set, which put me ahead of the main speakers so I was getting the sound directly from the band's amps which was pretty cool. The set went a bit over 2 hours and was based on the audience's votes, which apparently were pretty much the same in every city. Baizley joked that they put some oddball songs in themselves as they already went through the trouble of learning them. The band seemed really happy to be back and performing again and were electric for both shows. They played some really stellar versions of Jake Leg, Rays on Pinion, and Wanderlust The audience was kind of dead though. A good number of people left before the band came out for the Encore, which was a brutal version of The Gnashing.

 

The Buffalo show had a pretty similar setlist, but they swapped out 5 or so of the songs, including an blistering version of The Birthing. The rhythm section was incredibly tight. The band has really gotten comfortable in this current lineup. Gina absolutely tore it up too. While I miss Pete Adams, she adds something totally different to their sound. Her vocals really nicely contrast John's course yell. The audience was way more energized than in Cleveland. They were actively singling along and headbanging to a lot of songs and the band seemed quite appreciative. They also cracked up because the fans kept doing the Bills' "Let's go Buffalo" chants between songs. This venue also doubled as a bar, so that definitely contributed to the audience's mood.

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Now I know why Joe Bonamassa has so many guitars. He doesn't play them, he assaults them!. Or so I thought after seeing him play at Hard Rock Live last Sunday. I didn't recognize most of the tunes, but it was enjoyable all the same. A solid, two hour set.

 

For all you plank spankers,Joe trotted out a couple of Stratocasters, 3 Les Paul's (tobacco burst, red sunburst, and an ancient looking gold top), two Tele's (including an interesting blond one with an F-hole on the upper part of the body and a white pearloid pick guard), and an interesting 12 string electric with an intricately etched metal pick guard (Zematis?) The guitars were amped with multiple old Fender amplifiers.

 

One other interesting piece of equipment was a cabinet with a speaker that had a revolving baffle in front of it. Any ideas, players?

 

The visuals were enhanced by two large screens showing closeups of whomever was soloing at the time, which enabled a good view of Joe's string bending. A bit of a wonder how those guitars stay in tune. Most of the fretboards showed a good bit of wear, particularly on the Strats.

 

Aside from Joe and his playing, most of the cheers were reserved for keyboard player Reese Wynans, who kept things simple with Hammond organ, Nord Stage 2, and an unknown model Roland keyboard. for electric piano and string effects.

 

All in all, an entertaining evening.

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TOOL

 

If you've never seen Tool, you're missing out.

 

Just back from Tool at The Prudential Center, Newark NJ. I leave concerts early to avoid the exit crowds/traffic. :codger:

Edited by custom55
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TOOL

 

If you've never seen Tool, you're missing out.

 

Just back from Tool at The Prudential Center, Newark NJ. I leave concerts early to avoid the exit crowds/traffic. :codger:

I just saw them last night in Buffalo. Fantastic show. Even the cheap seats are great because the band's light show is spectacular.

 

I stuck it out to the end. Marynard let people film the final song and absolutely roasted someone up front for being unable to turn off their flashlight. I parked about 1/3 mile from arena and was able to sneak right out after the show.

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