Swanöholic

Well...I can now die a happy man. That show was ****ing amazing!

The first band to open with 3 or 4 songs was this band called Yakuza from Chicago, not bad, not very melodic, and it was kind of hard to get a good impression of the music being that it was so loud it was almost just a wall of noise. I felt kind of bad for them as the full crowd wasn't close to arriving, and some *******s I guess were heckling them. I don't think they got the best impression during their first time to Portland...but ah well, no one was there to see them anyway.

Next up, Lacuna Coil! Ya know...I'd only ever heard one song by them, I liked it, and I liked reviews and descriptions of their music, but wow, I had no idea. These guys totally rocked the place! It was obviously that quite a few people in the audience were there for Lacuna Coil. They got an awesome reception and it was great to see Portland going nuts for this band. The only problem here was their set was WAY too short. I think they only got to play 4 songs, which is too bad, especially for some people in the audience 'cause obviously this is the first time they'd seen Lacuna Coil live and probably won't get the opportunity to do so again for awhile.

Now...on to the reason that everyone was there...Opeth!!! It took about twenty minutes to clear the stage and get it ready for them, the crowd was getting a bit restless, ocassionally chanting, "Opeth, Opeth, Opeth." Then, finally, they came...the audience went crazy (myself included). I can't remember the exact setlist, or the specific names of the songs (despite the fact that I love Opeth and own every album, I only know the actual names to about 3 songs). However, their second song they announced they were gonna play something for the 'old school' Opeth fans, at this, my best friend and I went crazy...(old school Opeth is the best!). And they played Advent from Morningrise and totally rocked it! They also played Credence and Demon of the Fall from the My Arms, Your Hearse album, which also kicked ass. Godhead's Lament from 'Still Life' as well as Deliverance and ended it with A Fair Judgement, both off of 'Deliverance'. Wow, maybe I know more songs than I thought. The crowd went nuts after the last song and got Opeth to come out for an encore. I forget what song exactly the played for the encore tune. But Mikael looked genuinely touched by the energy, appreciation, and love for the band being given by the audience, as well as the other members. I don't think they'll forget Portland, and one of the highlights of the night is that Mikael announced that they'd again be touring soon for the 'Damnation' album, and that they'd be bringing Porcupine Tree with them...Hell yeah!

So, that's pretty much it...an amazing ****ing night!

Ergyu

I was there too! It totally kicked major ass. His howls in demon of the fall sent shivers down my spine. Pretty awesome show, I can't wait till they come back for the damnation shows!

edclem

I'm so looking forward to this show when they come through Minneapolis. I almost drove down to Chicago to catch them on the first leg of the tour, but didn't.

only 20 more days...

Goat3001

I saw the same show in Hammerstein a while back. And yes, Lacuna Coil and Opeth were simply amazing. Thats the only way to put it.

Hannibal

This band is incredible!!!!! I just discovered them recently, got hooked on Deliverence and so far have gotten 3 more albums. Looks like I'll be seeing them when they come through Milwaukee!

Goat3001

You HAVE to get Morningrise, their best album IMO.

inVectiVe

I own 'em all and have always favored Still Life. But then again, I'm a poser fan who's never even seen them live.

jmanin2

SWEET!!!! I'm gonna see them when they come down here.

SCSIMan

What are your guy's thoughts on the new album Damnation? Just picked it up and it's quite possibly the most beautiful CD I've heard in awhile. Really sad though. I had no idea that it was going to be a total 'soft' album.

Anyway, you people that went to the show are lucky people indeed.

Ergyu

I think it's a great album as well. I already knew it was gonna be totally mellow, so that didn't bother me. I was kind of surprised at the length of the songs, but it's great nonetheless.

Supposedly they will be coming back around on a damnation tour as well. They didn't play any of the tracks at this show, so I assume they won't at any.

Goat3001

I think its excellent. I like the fact that they decided to go all acoustic on this album because I always thought their softer stuff was better than their heavy stuff.