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It was the BEST U.S. show I have seen since 1986!
Check out the set list and Armadillo Road Report under the Community Section!
Up now for your reading enjoymentI would agree that it was an awesome show, not sure I’d say it was the best since 1986 though. A few observations:
I’m no sound engineer, but the sound where I was (up by the stage with Dee just to my right) was a TOTAL FAIL. I’ve never been to a show with worse sound quality, no exaggeration. For myself and everyone around me we thought Dee’s mic was turned off for a good part of the show. JJ’s guitar was all we could hear. On the one hand it was kind of cool to hear one part so clearly but on the other hand we missed a lot. I talked to two people that were 10 ft back from the stage, one said it was in balance the other had the same problem. How does this happen? Was that part of the venue just a weird pocket where the mix/balance was 99% out of whack? I’ve heard that sometimes being up next to the stage the sound can be a little off.
Holy crap the show was long. More of a festival than a concert. Standing for the show from 6pm to 2am = very tired feet. I wasn’t jumping as high as I would have had I realized TS was going to be on so late.
While the audience was good it wasn’t anywhere near as intense as when I last saw TS at the Starland a few years back. This crowd had energy but was more casual, you could have worked your way up close to the stage (as my friends did) when Extreme finished their set(last band before TS). I would have expected a full on lock down shoulder to shoulder with us hardcores at least 15 people deep from the stage at that point. People got pumped when they started but I would have liked to see more heads banging. I’m guessing that is just the Vegas dynamic
I saw Mark walking into the hotel/casino before the show. I walked up and asked if he was Mark (just to be safe). He wasn’t very pleasant, claimed he wasn’t Mark. I’m 99.9% sure it was Mark. Whatever, maybe he was in a rush, not in the mood to deal with a fan. I won’t hold it against him. He put on a great show – far more important than making small talk with me!
While I know they will be releasing a 3D DVD of probably part of the show, I’m hoping there’s some way to actually get to hear/see the full show at some point – I’m assuming they won’t have all of Dee’s banter or every song played on the dvd?
I got up to the stage for their whole set, a high 5 from Dee and managed to catch two of JJs picks (one for me and one for friend) at the end, so I am one happy SMF.Thanks Erik for the thoughts. First, the worst place for sound is always in the front. Twisted has some particulars about monitors, and the front row is going to give you a bad sound experience. I won’t go into the monitor specifics, but what you hear as Dee’s mic cutting out is Dee cutting out of that particular monitor, based upon where he is on stage. Back by the sound board, for example, it’s a whole difference experience. What you don’t get at the sound board, however, is the intensity of the front row. (I always prefer the front)
I’ve seen a lot of U.S. crowds–including the Starland show you’re referring to. Some crowds are insanely crazy, some are dead as doornails. What I liked about the Vegas crowd–and it reminded me of the 1986 show–the crowd was engaged front to back, all the way to the balconies. They participated from the start and gave the energy back to the band. They were not as physical as the Starland crowds sometimes can get.
For the record, I found that Canadian shows and mid-west shows had the best “personal space”, Florida, Jersey and NYC had the worst.I’ve been in those crowds many times–and a little personal space is actually kinda nice. NYC/Jersey shows can get really…physically obnoxious. It doesn’t make for the best of shows just because the fans are crushing towards the front like the Japanese subway at rush hour. As for heads banging–the only place I really see that is Europe and South America–who make U.S. shows look like kindergarden. I think the Starland Show will be full of emotion and energy–there will be a huge number of fans and family members in attendance. I expect it to be a very intense show as well. (and the opening acts will be far more energetic)
As for Mark, I can tell you that these guys put it all out there on stage. When they come offstage, they are physically and emotionally spent. Here’s a tip: when approaching any band member (of any band), try opening with “thanks for a great show tonight” instead of “hey…aren’t you so-and-so?” The most embarrassing thing I see is when fans approached a band member, but call them by the wrong name, didn’t know the songs/albums or which band they are talking to, etc. And virtually very artist I have ever met bristled when a fan opened with “Aren’t you…” Just my two cents. Or it wasn’t actually Mark. I did see a big dude walking around who kinda did look like him.
Like our good friend Terry, I have been down front for most shows. Not just Twisted shows either. Growing up in Maine, all of the big concerts at Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland were all general admission back in the 80’s while almost every other city in America did reserved seating. The intensity was unbelievable when you have 5,000 people crammed on a general admission floor the size of a hockey rink. It was shoulder to shoulder at every show. I would lose 5 or 6 pounds at every show just from sweating so much. I was down front center stage on the barricade for virtually every rock show that came to town in those days. I was there so often that the security guys down front knew me. (That paid dividends a few times by the way!) That’s the kind of intensity I envision at the European and South American shows when I watch some of the videos of those shows. The US shows simply don’t have that level of passion and intensity anymore. Maybe we’re just lazy these days in America and can’t be bothered to fight our way up front. I don’t know. Either way, I actually enjoy a little personal space in my older age but I do admit that it still feels weird to be able to actually move around down front after all the shows I remember from my youth.
With all of that said, my take on the Vegas show is more in line with Terry’s. While the crowd may have been more respectful of everyone’s personal space, they definitely were showing their enthusiasm and appreciation for the band. I’ve been to a lot of the US shows over the past 10 years and (other than the NY/NJ area shows) the crowd does seem to take a bit to get warmed up. I find that “You Can’t Stop Rock and Roll” typically lights the spark and then the crowd really ignites when “We’re Not Gonna Take It” is played. Then the energy continues after that. But Saturday night, the crowd responded the minute the lights went down. They even sang along during “Under the Blade”! The whole song! I’ve never heard that from a US crowd. I caught the look of pleasant surprise on Dee’s face during the first chorus of “UTB” when the crowd was so loud. The look on his face clearly said “Holy shit! This is cool!” (I was down front just to the left of center stage.) I won’t say that it’s the most intense crowd I’ve seen in recent years as the Starland crowd probably would take that title. (The crowd in Waukesha, WI at the State Fair show back in 05, I think it was, is a very close second.) But I will say that they were definitely the loudest crowd that I’ve heard in a long time.
As for the sound, Terry is also correct. Down front is the absolute worst sound in the building. Period. It’s a trade off to be with the SMF’s down front and feel that intensity. There’s a reason why the soundboard is further back in the venue. That’s where you’re always going to get the best sound. Now I will say that the sound down front at this show was especially bad. That is mainly because of 2 things. The design of the stage had the main speakers a bit further out. That means that we were actually to the side and behind the main speakers when standing down front. That’s clearly not ideal for the best sound. The other reason is that this was an extremely large stage. On the plus side, it made for a spectacular visual and provided the bands much more space to move around on. On the bad side for those of us down front, this also means that the main speakers are even further away than normal. So take the fact that you were behind the speakers and they were further away than is normal in a club like the Starland, you’ve got pretty much worst case scenario for sound quality. We were basically hearing only the monitors and amps down front. You were standing right in front of Jay Jay’s amps so that’s why he was the only one your heard clearly. I was standing further back for Great White and Skid Row before beginning to work my way forward during Extreme’s set. I can tell you that I was blown away at how good the sound system was. It sounded fantastic once you got 40′ to 50′ out in front of the stage. I dare say that it’s one of the best sounding shows I’ve been to in a long time. Moral of the story, if you want great sound, stand further back. If you want the intensity and true SMF experience, then get down front. Both have their merits but I’m personally going down front every time when I can.
With all of that being said, it was an amazing show! Hearing “I Am, I’m Me” for the first time in years was awesome! I was crushed when I found out “Tear It Loose” was originally on the set list but got dropped at the last minute. I have no complaints about the performance or the actual show, though. The performance was fantastic! The video of AJ’s solo being blended into “Burn In Hell” was AMAZING! It was the perfect tribute! I can’t even imagine how they could have done it better. I do hope they put the entire show on the DVD when it comes out so everyone can see it.
Thanks as always for another awesome road report Terry and once again, thanks for the vest and outstanding artwork! You are the best!
Armadillo and Howdy – Thanks for the background info on the sound issues etc. I had a vague understanding of it, but your explanations are very helpful. Good sound quality vs being up front is a brutal choice! That said, I’ll be up front every time. I’ll say this too, I heard every note JJ played very clearly, and I’m not sure I heard a mistake the whole night, pretty impressive.
All in all it was an awesome time and an intense memorable show. I’d agree too that the set list was pure awesome.
As for the personal space thing it’s a trade off too, it adds to the intensity but it can be a pain to be squished for several hours, trying to stay out of the middle of fights.
Thanks to the band for putting on such a fun show!
Erik
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