Edguy
at the Elysee Montmartre: a blinding concert!
I just came back home, I'm half blind, but bygones we're gonna try a concert-review while my ears are trying to have some rest!
Nothing of real importance before the concert, I'm too tired to
tell anything anyway, except maybe "the pushing" (push?) when we really began
to enter: rarely saw so little respect in a metalheads crowd! …There were lot
of young persons: maybe they didn't know about "what is done and isn't done
among metalheads"… But well not so important, I didn't absolutely want to be
in the first row for this concert: I was at the second and it is far enough
for me for a concert of Edguy! (hey I'm still not so tall after all, but I also
still need to have a good view to really appreciate a concert: I like seeing
musicians "in the eyes", in order to see how they react to our cheers!)
Oh yes one funny detail: I was absolutely certain that this concert was on the
22nd, not 21st (…probably because of the Angra concert, that should have been
on April, 22nd, but was finaly cancelled!): thanks to the person who contacted
me this morning on the internet to ask if I was coming "this afternoon", otherwise
I would most probably have forgotten to go to this concert!
Ok, let's go to the point now: NOCTURNAL
RITES:
Third time I see this band opening for another, third time that I think they're
definitely good, I really have to think of getting some quite reliable information
about their discography, and I really long to see them as headliners! (opening
once in a while is ok… but they too must be fed up with being nothing but opening
acts!) Still, I have to say I preferred the beginning of the concert, I don't
really konw why, maybe less interesting songs, their "pretend-we-show-you-how-much(fun-we-have-while-it's-obvious-we-prepared-everything-before"
that quite began to be boring, anything else… don't really know, but I definitely
preferred the beginning! But well, all in all it was very very good, I love
them would it be only because they always look like having much much fun on
stage, all of them, and this is always pleasant to see! The audience seemed
to have much fun too: good participation, at least in the first rows (I don't
have eyes in my back, eh!). To sum up: good set from a good band.
Break, nothing most interesting, once again I'm too tired to tell
the few funny details, so let's go to BRAINSTORM:
Second time I see them, but first time I see their whole set: I had missed most
of their set when they opened for Grave Digger last year or two years ago (thanks
to our beloved Parisian subway!). And as excellent as ever! The audience gets
into it quite quickly, and cheers them far more than "politely only". I love
them, really: simple, not exceptional but great, they directly go to the essential,
no need of orchestral sampler everywhere, and it' s good! The band also "goes
into it"… so much that the singer breaks his trousers, around his knee… he also
made us admire how he was sweating, by "draining" his tshirt several times…
and indeed it was quite wet! And he spoke a very good French, it' s quite rare
to hear musicians speak our language, so, for once, it was most pleasant! Hum
so… I loved it, the groupie in front of me didn't like it so much: hey, they
aren't a band of beautiful posers who give her a pick when she's looking at
them opening her arms and with a sad "I have nothing… wouldn't you have one
for me?"-face, well ok there's the singer and his GREAT charisma… but he doesn't
have any pick, eh! But no big deal there were other people in the crowd to support
the band… and they did! There was some problem with a microphone around the
drums that quite destructed our ears at the end of the concert, but they managed
it like professionals, without any stress, within 3mns it was solved, it' s
also through these little details that you realise you're facing a good band.
To sum up: Excellent concert from an excellent band, no doubt they'll improve
and reach the next step some day soon, once again I have to think of getting
some serious information about their discography, and I hope I will have an
occasion to see a concert where they'll be headliners some day soon!
Break, nothing much important to tell once again, drink little
water to get some strength, and here we go to EDGUY:
The concert began very very well, and I was still into my Brainstorm-good-mood:
perfect. But after a while… maybe from the drums solo? or a little before… I
began to "get out of the concert", think about something else and such (oh and
the solo was over a sampler of the music of Star Wars! couldn't help thinking
of Yoshiki and his solos over some classical music!)… I don't really know why,
maybe the lights had already begun to quite strike/hurt my eyes, I began to
feel like themselves were far less moving and such (heat? tired?), my back began
to seriously hurt (don't forget I'm some kind of porcelain doll, eh!)… and finally
my sight began t become all blurry: bad sign… as I wasn't into it anymore anyway,
I thought it would probably be better to leave my place to some people who still
were "into it": I left during the last song before the "encore". I have to say
the audience seemed to have felt the same way: definitely into it, reacting
massively, quickly and such at the beginning of the concert, but far far "passive"
at the end of the concert… used too much strength for opening bands? Still,
don't get me wrong, Edguy was very well supported even at the end of the show,
I only mean that… far less than at the beginning of the concert: the attitude
of the band and of the audience at the beginning of the concert made me hope
a very good (maybe even excellent) concert, but both got softer with time, and
it ended as a simply good concert, nothing more… And Tobbias Sammet seemed to
have problems with his voice, which didn't help of course: he didn't sing -bad-,
I mean not especially out tune or such, but when you compare to what he can
usualy sing… let's say he had better days! (often used the same notes/"tonalities"
[correct?], never really tried to "hold" a note for long, and so on…). At the
very beginning of the concert, he asked the roadies to lower the volume of his
microphone… when I saw him do that I thought it was weird, but after a while
I understood! his voice was tired after so many dates?
This review may look rather negative, still, really, I want to say that I did have a good time, especially at the beginning of the concert! But… I had this "not into it anymore"-problem, and also had some problem with the lights, that were far too… "intense", you couldn't even see the skin of musicians, only MOST SHINY lights + lots of stroboscopes at the end of the concert… and my eyes have never been friends with stroboscopes… I therefore ended on the side of the venue, trying to recover an acceptable sight, but even 20mns after the end of the concert I could barely see! (= I either saw some "lightenings", or everything was covered by some milky "filter"!). It made me so tired, and even began to hurt a little, that I didn't even want to try to give an eye to the merchandising, while I always do: I ran to buy a cola, tried to drink it in front of the venue waiting for the bands… but finaly gave up: went to the subway, not really taking the time to say bye to people as I could barely see them, and drank my cola nicely sat in the subway back home… when I was arriving, meaning about 30mns after I entered the subway, I was feeling a little better: I decided to take the time to write a review while giving some rest to my ears, time for them to stop whistling! I now I pray that it was only Mr Lights who felt quite inspired this night, and we won't have to suffer these awful filters too often, or I won't be able to go to the front as often as before! And, of course, it "helps" giving some negative style to this review while, really, I had a good time… not "great", even less "excellent", but at least "good"! It had been a long time we hadn't had a heavy-metal concert in Paris after all!
Anyway and to sum up: good concert from a band that could have done far better… it would be time for them to go up that step to reach this "next level" they have been facing for years! Up to me, they still miss very very little things that I can't really describe… and it seems none of them was in his best shape, it probably didn't help…
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