After two long years of being out of town or screwed over ticket-wise whenever Opeth came around, I finally got the chance to see them at Nokia Theater last night in NYC. I must say that from the bottom of my blackened soul it was worth the wait.
My first live experience with Opeth was at Gigantour, 2006, when I realized that I would much rather see Opeth play a nice, long set than sit through yet ANOTHER mammoth hour and a half of Lamb of God. Since the majority of Opeth’s tracks are seven plus minutes, Opeth as an opener gets you about five songs, including an abridged version of Mikael Akerfeldt’s hilarious and urbane stage banter. Last night I got my wish, with a long and well-chosen set list that opened with Heir Apparent, moved into Grand Conjuration, surprised with Serenity Painted Death, and finally ended with a crowd favorite, Demon of the Fall. A pristine encore of Drapery Falls (my personal favorite) rounded out the evening.
Thirty dollars well spent, my friends . . .
An Opeth show is a rich brew of seriousness, humor and traditional metal jubilation. The music is so eloquent at times and, well, important, while a the same time so very listenable and satisfying in a primal metal sense, that it’s hard for even the most jaded fan not to be impressed. One would think that any band might have a hard time translating multiple influences into a live metal show, but Opeth does so effortlessly. This is, in a very real sense, what makes an Opeth concert more of an event than a mere performance, and is probably the reason why Opeth continually draws a capacity crowd.
As always, I spent a certain amount of time watching the audience. The first half of the show, I found myself smashed against the stage with the young rabble. I eventually dragged my aged self to the convenient second level (that Nokia Theater is a well-designed venue) with the chin-scratchers and the musicians, all listening very intently as if to the description of a homework assignment. I smiled inwardly as I heard things like, “Did you hear that passage into the Diminished 7th? Frigging amazing man!” I love that stuff.
I was not surprised at the HUGE reception for Fredrik Åkesson. I was one of the many who exclaimed “Holy shit, who is that guy?!!” when I saw him with Arch Enemy at Gigantour in 2006. The man has indeed claimed his rightful place in the victory circle. Real, uncompromising talent always wins out in the end.
As far as Martin Mendez, Martin Axenrot and Per Wiberg are concerned, you could have bounced a quarter off that foundation. Precise is too weak a word to describe it. Razor-sharp, perhaps? Thunderous? And Mikael? We do so love that pioneering mixture of death metal growl and clear, plaintive vocals, as well as the austere (and not over-played) slow leads dropped in precisely the right places – all delivered with gothic aplomb. Plus, NO ONE delivers better stage banter than Mr. Åkerfeldt.
All in all, THE best show of the year so far. Let’s see if anyone can top it. I have my doubts.
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