Union 5-3992

Let's see, I ended up leaving my dorms a little late for the show (usually like getting there an hour or two before the doors open) and there were about a hundred people ahead of me. It was general admittance so I pretty much gave up on getting front row. So once I finally made my way in, I went for a piss and entered the ballroom. To my surprise hardly anyone was in there. The people ahead of me all went to the bar instead. I walked up to the stage and wiggled into one of the last gaps in the crowd barrier. I was directly in front of Steven's mellotron. Before the show there was about 30 minutes of some Bass Communion song playing to a picture of the moon, often showing different distorted faces. It was pretty meh. The effects on the moon kept skipping. All of a sudden a cloud moved across the moon, then halfway across it skips and does it again. Since this doesn't really count as an opening, I won't leave it in my final verdict. After about 30 minutes of the moon screen and Bass Communion, the band finally came on right at 8:00. They started off with three songs from the new album. Luminol, Drive Home, and The Pin Drop. These versions were phenomenal. They sounded even better in a live setting. His touring guitarist, Guthrie Govan reinvented the solos Steven had originally written him into something more improvisational and entertaining. Luminol was very fun, Drive Home was a little dull until Guthrie started playing and with The Pin Drop, there was a problem with the sound. Either with the actual sound system or my ears, I couldn't tell. It was either so loud my ears (I have some hearing problems, probably should have brought ear plugs) couldn't interpret the sound or the sound system created some long annoying whine. Fast forward a little, he played a few songs, the guy next to me broke down and cried when he played Deform to Form a Star. Whenever Steven played his mellotron, he had a laptop blocking his face so I couldn't see him. Yet every now and then the left eye of his face appeared and it looked like he was staring me in the eye whenever he moved. Steven overall was a bit chatty during the show. He joked about how the last song was about a dysfunctional relationship and how the next one is about... you guessed it, a dysfunctional relationship. He told the audience about how the songs on his latest album were about ghost stories and how the last song he played (The Watchmaker) was about a man who killed his wife of 50 years and how his next song (Index) was more f*cked up. Only he did through a somewhat annoying deep voice created by his mic. During those two songs, he had this curtain over the stage so we could get a great view of the graphic images on them. According to some other reviews they disgusted the audience, but since I was so close to the stage, I could see through the curtain and missed all the fun. I was a bit overwhelmed by Harmony Korine & Raider II. I really got into them. They are great live songs. There was a lot of energy in the crowd and it was fun to watch Steven dance around like a maniac conducting his band. When he was playing a complex part of Raider II on guitar (He switched instruments a lot, He played bass, mellotron, acoustic, etc.), Guthrie stood there and mocked him because he knew he was better. It was a bit fun to see them f**k with each other on stage. I made a bit of a connection with Marco Minnemann because I was paying more attention to him than anyone else during some songs. He saw me react to some of his fills and he smiled whenever I air drummed. He threw his sticks in my direction after the show and I was inches away from catching them. The arena was really small too. Only about 400 people could fit in there. Everything was fantastic. There were no major slip ups, the songs were executed flawlessly, and though there was trouble early in the show, the sound was very good. I will rank this probably among the very best of the few shows I've seen.

I think being around a few hundred people sporting Opeth Shirts and having my face melted off by Raider II helped a little

I saw Steven Wilson on Sunday and he awakened something inside of me. The heaviness of some of his music pushed through something inside me. I've been listening to Dream Theater, Opeth, Tool, among other progressive metal bands and I just can't get enough. I looked at Opeth and thought, "Hey, why not. I should try it again". I listened to The Leper Affinity and something clicked. I used to dislike the death growls. I just couldn't listen to the music beyond that. But now I have no problem with it. The music, the clean vocals, everything is just so damn awesome that I don't care anymore. I've listened to Watershed, Heritage, & Blackwater Park since yesterday. All great so far.

Well shit. I had the opportunity to see Opeth and didn't take it. But I did see Steven Wilson last night and that was probably the greatest show I've ever seen.

Woah, I forgot I even made this thread

Steven Wilson in about 3 hours. I can't wait

I met a really cool guy today http://i35.tinypic.com/30nklkx.jpg

Between 12:30-1:30 I think. I don't know for sure. Check their facebook.

how did u get the meet and greet? He's showing up at a record store before the show In Buffalo? Where?? The Record Theatre on Main Street on Sunday

how did u get the meet and greet? He's showing up at a record store before the show

Sweet, I'll be seeing him on Sunday with a meet & greet before the show

It feels a little fillerish. It feels like The Devil You Know 2

I'll be seeing Steven Wilson on Sunday.

You guys really do bitch and moan about the littlest things.

Now that RUSH is in, the Hall is completely legit! I see them bending to pressure from fans. The fact that DEEP PURPLE of all bands is not in after all these years is evidence that the hall is worthless.

Why do you care? The R&R Hall of Fame is mostly bullshit anyways. It doesn't make Maiden better to be a member. It doesn't mean anything.

Sadly I didn't. This entire week looks like it will be rubbish. On the bright side, I get to see Steven Wilson on Sunday, but that's about it.

It's more than excellent, it's the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything.

First Shitty Bill, and now Philadelphia. :( RIP

http://teamcoco.com/video/simpsons-serious-jibber-jabber Conan O'Brien talks with other Simpsons alumni. Looks interesting.

Yeah thanks and stuff. Been rather uneventful. Ate a pop-tart at midnight. Been doing homework all day.

Oh Union, liking it and sending me the link to the study? Somebody has mastered the art of subtlety. http://i.imgur.com/zrIYC.gif

I saw Bob Dylan a week ago. He wasn't very impressive. His voice was completely shot (that's what you get for touring for 25 years straight) and sounded like he should start a death metal album. His band was quite good, especially his guitar player. They played only about 2-3 hits in their near 20 song set. It was mostly new stuff that I wasn't familiar with. He also seemed rather grumpy on stage, then again he was playing for a bunch of college students (4500 people got in free, I took advantage of it). Overall it was worth seeing, but of the few shows I've seen, it is the worst.

Also it's 4 minutes of a 3 hour set. Are you really suggesting that you not see them because it may annoy you for 4 minutes?