Ed’s Review:

When Mark first posted a note on Facebook regarding this show back in the fall, I have to admit I nearly shat myself while simultaneously letting out a massive spew of deranged and uncontrollable laughter into the calm air in front of me. Was this really true? Could all of these amazing musicians really be teaming up for one of the most rocking prog tours ever to grace the highways of our broken and depressed nation? Indeed… and after confirming with various other online metal sources that this tour was really happening, I made the decision that only a really sexy case of the swine flu (or some other poxy microbacterial agent) was the only possible thing that could derail me from witnessing this amazing night of rock in Chicago, and fortunately I was fit as a fiddle come showtime.

We warmed up early at Rock Bottom microbrewery (which is now becoming a ritual before most HOB shows, since it’s only two blocks away)… I started off with a martini and then moved on to a few glasses of their delicious 10% abv Russian Imperial Stout. We cleared out around 5pm to catch Scale the Summit, but in typical House of Blues fashion (and the Metro does this also) Scale the Summit were forced to begin playing right as the doors opened, and the line of kids was still all the way around the damn block. We were at the end of the line, so by the time we got in the door Scale the Summit only had about three songs left in their short half hour set. Fortunately we were able to catch “Dunes” which sounded amazing, as did “The Great Plains” – a fantastic song in which the glorious dueling guitars of Chris Letchford and Travis Levrier cut through the club in perfect synchronicity. STS is a great band, and they sounded great this evening.

I don’t know if anything could have prepared me for what was coming up next.

Devin Townsend has not performed live in almost three years, and the busiest man in metal is currently smack in the middle of recording and releasing not one but FOUR new studio albums (the latest being #2, Addicted featuring the extremely talented Anneke Van Giersbergen on vocals, formerly of Dutch metal-turned-gazer arena outfit The Gathering), so one could only wonder what this live performance was about to consist of. Sure enough, Devin stormed on stage and blasted into his set armed with a clean, stripped down 4-piece rock band and sounded more intense than I’ve ever heard in the past. Perhaps his new found sobriety has actually strengthened his focus and notoriously powerful stage presence (Metallica could learn a thing or two from Devin these days) or perhaps his mind-blowing vocal range and excellent songs are just that great to begin with, but this was one of the most striking performances I’ve seen from anyone in years, let alone Devin himself. “Supercrush!” sounded great, as did “Kingdom“… his vocals soaring over the huge guitar tones and spot-on drumming that brought about a whirlwind of crushing epic space metal clarity, almost as if a parallel universe were temporarily created inside the club. I found myself simply busting into random spurts of laughter and amazement throughout this set, which hasn’t really happened since seeing Slayer or Helmet back when I was a wee lad in diapers. Thank you Devin for the best live performance of the evening, and one that will most likely be placed in my favorites for a long, long time to come.

Cynic took the stage and sounded good, although vocalist/guitarist Paul Masvidal appeared a bit tired and the songs seemed to be performed at a slightly slower tempo than on the recordings, which was interesting but didn’t exactly serve the songs very well. The set consisted almost entirely of Traced In Air material, and it was very nice to hear “King of Those Who Know” which they did not play during their last visit on tour with Meshuggah a year ago. They also performed a brand new song which sounded great and had some very spaced-out, delayed-guitar licks with lots of interesting melodic vocals from Masvidal as well. Overall Cynic played a tight set, but I thought last year’s performance opening for Meshuggah was far more dynamic.

Between The Buried and Me finally came on last, and considering about 85% of the all ages crowd showed up to see this band, we decided to head for the bar in the very back of HOB and watch a few songs from there in order to avoid the amped up and hormonal adolescent crowd. Of course, this overly-talented band sounded and performed at the top of their game, busting out plenty of material from their newest opus The Great Misdirect and sending almost the entire HOB floor into a huge moshing frenzy. However, my mind was already charred from the opening acts… and I still couldn’t help but think about how much Devin Townsend simply blew everyone else off the stage.

Ed’s Rating:

King says: “With this much PROG in the air, there’s a decent chance I could resurrect Melissa by night’s end!”

Mark’s Review:

People will tell you that becoming a new parent is one of the best things ever.  They say it will make you a better person and strengthen the bonds you’ve made with your spouse.  For the most part this is true, but what they don’t tell you is that for the first year, you’re trapped in the house, worrying about money and craving sleep.  You also try to be there more for your significant other, because now more than ever, you’re a team and you need that emotional support.  But, I’m still learning on how to do this “Dad” thing, so when I learned of this tour, I gleefully left my wife and our 3-month old daughter for a late night of beer drinking and progressive metal at the House of Blues.

You’ve heard me rave about Scale the Summit before, but seeing them play live was absolutely awesome.  They only played five songs, and we missed the first two because we were standing in line waiting to get inside the House of Blues (succumbing to their completely asinine policy of starting the show exactly when the doors are opened).  Luckily, we pushed our way past some girls and teenagers and were planted center-stage when they fired up one of my faves from Carving Desert Canyons: Dunes.  The song is huge, with harmony guitar tapping weaving it’s way through the final minutes, and the band nailed ever nuance effortlessly.  Flanked by scrolling LED amplifier-marquees, their performance of City in the Sky made me realize how much I sucked playing an instrument at their age… and how much I still suck now.  I liked them so much, I bought one of their t-shirts after the show, which is something I haven’t done in at least 10 years.

The man of the night was Devin Townsend.  I’ve seen him lead Strapping Young Lad a few times, but I’ve been anticipating seeing him play his solo material for years.  Once this show was announced, I made sure my calendar was cleared, because there was no way I was missing it.  The last time I saw Devin at the first Sounds of the Underground tour, he was “under the influence” and apathetic as he signed my ticket stub at a meet-and-greet.  Now, he’s freshly bald, clean and sober, and seemingly more focused and driven than ever.  Showing how powerful modern music technology can be in the hands of someone with a real dangerous knowledge of it, he used a MacBook Pro to trigger the chorus effects and keyboard accents and made his band of four members sound like ten.  His voice soared and slayed during Kingdom, and his rendition of Supercrush! made me forget the Anneke Van Giersbergen vocals featured on the album version.  The set ended with Ziltoid’s By Your Command, which completely crushed the audience full of Devin geeks and new converts who stood wanting more from the Canadian metal genius.  A note to Devin: I could’ve dealt with at least 2 more hours, 30 minutes was way too short.

Cynic was solid, but after witnessing the grandness of DTB, they seemed like a letdown.  Although still amazing, the band seemed to be on cruise control and lacked the same intensity they displayed last February when they opened for Meshuggah.  Sticking mostly to Traced in Air material wasn’t a bad thing, because King of Those Who Know was the highlight of their set, but I kept holding out for a rendition of Uroboric Forms that unfortunately never came.  They also debuted a new song Wheels Within Wheels which displayed a heavy Porcupine Tree influence, while remaining distinctly Cynic.  One thing is true, I’d like to subscribe to Paul Masvidal’s newsletter on leading a balanced life, because that guy really seems to get it.  I’ve seen them twice in about a year at House of Blues, and am beginning to feel that they deserve a headlining show at a venue like the Park West that caters to their fans and their sound.

After all this, Between the Buried and Me was an afterthought.  I like these guys, but I really can’t get into their “cramming as many complex and irrational musical themes together into one song” style of songwriting.  I want to get into them, but it’s hard when they keep interrupting awesome metal riffs with polka interludes.  We stayed for a couple of songs, then left to see the end of the Vikings-Saints NFC title game.  We had perfect timing, we saw Favre throw the interception, the final field goal in overtime, and an over-served, 50-year old man fall down the stairs.  The truly amazing thing is that my bill for parking ($33 for 7 hours) and one, 24oz Miller Lite at the House of Blues ($10+ $1 tip) was more than the cost of the ticket ($20 with fees) and my Scale the Summit t-shirt ($15)!  There I go… worrying about money like a true old man.

Mark’s Rating:

King says: “I was going to make it to this show, but was too busy cutting some tracks for the new Usurper!”

Well, it seems that I just can’t get enough of sold out shows lately. Yet another 3+ hours of standing butts-to-nuts with sweaty metal dudes who have absolutely no concept of the term “personal space”. Oh well, it’s Mastodon… I’ve done it before, and chances are, I’ll do it again next time around.

Surprisingly, the band have continued to stick it out at The Metro (capacity 1,100) these past few tour cycles, rather than graduate to the larger (capacity 1,300) House of Blues (and by now, you should know that if/when Mastodon do graduate to the HoB, someone else will be ghostwriting my review).

Intronaut opened this evening’s performance with a solid set of (their unique brand of) progressive sludge. I’m a fan of these guys, and was happy to finally get a chance to watch bassist Joe Lester work his magic in person. Based on the few youtube clips of I’d seen of the band, I wasn’t really expecting much in the vocal department, but they actually turned it out. The duel-vocal approach served the songs well (as did the massive knob tweaks that happened midway through the first song… come on Metro, sound check should take care of that shit). Intronaut’s setlist was very heavy on Prehistoricisms, and though I would’ve loved to hear something off Null, their brief showing did a great job satisfying my Introneeds. One thing in particular that impressed me, was the general attitude the band conveyed while onstage. No bitching at the sound guy, no heckling the crowd… just honest sincerity. A rare thing indeed.

Kylesa was up next, and though I’d listened to Time Will Fuse Its Worth a few times, I wasn’t entirely familiar with their catalog. So, it’s safe to say, I (more specifically, my ears) was not prepared for the sonic onslaught that followed for the next 45+ minutes. Kylesa are heavy as hell. Two drummers, 3 full stacks, and guitars tuned down to “who-the-fuck-knows-how-low” (and yes… for all you horn-dogs out there… a hot chick with a guitar). Good, good stuff here. Vocals could use a bit of finesse, but it’s easy to look beyond the vocals when a song like Hollow Severer is ripping your face off. I’m definitely going to have to check out their new one soon.

As previously discussed, Mastodon have come a long way these past few years (certainly since I first saw them play a Remission-heavy set in front of about 50 people at the sorely missed Fireside Bowl), and this evening’s ridiculously ambitious set showcased what the band has been up to since. I (as it seemed most of the crowd) was unaware going in, that Mastodon was planning to perform Crack the Skye in its entirety. A pleasant surprise, as the band pulled out another 10 songs from their back catalog afterwards (though it made a long night even longer… hey… I’m old and my feet hurt). In addition, Mastodon took a page from the “Neurosis Book of Live Performance” by incorporating video and synths into their set. Both of which worked very well and made an enjoyable set even more so (I probably don’t need to mention the playing was spot-on). And guess what? They closed with Hearts Alive. Yep… it ruled. Don’t be jealous. Oh wait… maybe you should be.

Justin’s Rating:

King says: “Back in my day, we didn’t need no stinkin’ video screens to entertain a crowd. Just fog machines, gothic sets, upside down crosses, skeletons, fake blood, a cape and some hairspray.”

Chris’ Review:

My previous experiences seeing Mastodon live had me looking forward to another opportunity to enjoy them at this venue, one of Chicago’s best for its size, usually considered a treat for seeing a ‘big’ band. This long night almost didn’t live up to my high expectations, but Mastodon saved it in the end. Gosh, those guys are good.

Arriving early to see Intronaut allowed us to enjoy their proficient execution of a familiar style of [progressive sludge] (thanks, Justin), but with an aggressive edge to set it apart from the mediocre masses of this genre.

Intronaut’s just-right set was followed by some technical difficulties which was then followed by Kylesa’s set. By this time the main floor of Metro was filling in but still comfortable. Kylesa’s almost straight-ahead style and two-drummer attack provided a great contrast to Mastodon, however, the effect was diminished as Kylesa’s set stretched out a bit longer than necessary.

Even more unnecessary was the interminable set change to Mastodon. As soon as Kylesa finished, the main floor packed in as the rest of this sold-out crowd arrived for the headliner. Don’t accuse me of being old and crabby for saying this, because I’ve been saying it since I was young and crabby: long set changes are a disservice to everyone (except maybe the bar). Why are we punished for actually wanting to see all the bands on the bill? I could show up a couple hours after the show starts and hear the headliner with fresh ears, but as a music lover, a chance to see an evening of well organized, thoughtfully packaged live acts is a main reason I pay the ticket price and truck my ass downtown for a show. On a weeknight, mind you. Alright, that did sound pretty old. While I’m on the old-man rant, another problem at a sold out Metro show is the time spent standing in a butts-to-nuts stress position if you want to be out from under the balconies, where the sound is usually better.

Finally, with the opening notes of Oblivion, Mastodon started their highly anticipated performance. One’s opinion of the main set would probably depend mostly on one’s opinion of Crack the Skye because that’s what they played, from beginning to end. While I like Crack the Skye overall, I think its songs do wander a little bit without hooks, which gave this live show quite a prog-rock feel; enjoyed more intellectually than viscerally. About 3/4 into the set, I had the idea that if this were Mastodon’s debut, this crowd would have lost interest much earlier. The band delivered an almost technically perfect performance as usual (to my ears a couple vocal parts of the new material weren’t quite pulled off live), but the material set the energy level of the set at a fairly subdued feel. As noted in my rant above, my personal discomfort may have had as much cause for this as the music.

After Crack the Skye was completed, Mastodon took a short break and their ‘second set’ which featured material from Blood Mountain and Leviathan (and “March of the Fire Ants“) rocked more confidently. While I may be criticizing Mastodon for taking an indulgent turn with their material, I think the epic closer, “Hearts Alive,” and the fact that I’ve looked forward to hearing it each time I’ve had the chance to see them, tells me Mastodon has earned the devotion this crowd showed.

Chris’ Rating:

King says: “Nice band, but seriously, these guys suck at concept albums. King is not impressed. And why am I not on Letterman?”

Have A Look:

Mastodon – Live at the Metro 4/30/09

Mark’s Review:

I couldn’t believe the amount of total and utter douchebags that are attracted to Meshuggah! I figured that the crowd on a Sunday night would be filled with prog-metal nerds discussing time signatures, diminished-note arrangements and internet message boards. Instead, the House of Blues was packed with young ass-clowns sucking down beers and pushing to get into a pit that was non-existent (how can you mosh to something in 7/9???). Also… when did girls get into prog-metal??? Did I miss this memo? And I’m not talking about your typical plus-sized she-man with black leggings and an Andromeda t-shirt… I’m talking about regular, hot girls that look like they just got off of work at Hollister. Where were these chicks in 1994 when I was pinned between two sweaty, fat guys in jean jackets headbanging their hair in my face during Corrosion of Conformity? Well, I guess Obama promised change, and here it is. It’s obviously a different time now than it was 15 years ago, which is about the last time Cynic toured the US.

Cynic took the stage after young, tech-metallers The Faceless got things underway. The swell of anticipation covered the crowd as the droning tones and meditative notes of Nunc Fluens began to amplify. By the time Sean Reinhert pounded out the opening fills in A Space for This, you could tell that Cynic was not fucking around, they were making up for lost time. Paul Masvidal and Co. blasted their way through a setlist that perfectly blending songs from 1993’s debut Focus, and 2008’s masterpiece Traced in Air. His vocoder-vocals and headstock-less guitar were dead-on, and he wasted no time with stage banter, letting a pre-recorded “transcendental Yogi” do most of the guiding. Their sound was loud, controlled and confident, and they benefited from by far the best house mix of the night. Highlights were definitely Uroboric Forms and Veil of Maya, which exploded from the monitors and showed off Reinhert’s unbelievable chops. I’ve been listening to Traced in Air pretty much non-stop since it came out, so ending the night with Integral Birth was amazing. Unfortunately, Cynic left the stage to the taunts of the previously-mentioned douchebags, who were happy their “gay” set had come to a close. I mean, sure, Masvidal is a little effeminate, but c’mon, would you yell that at Halford??

I was there to see Cynic because, for me, they were the main course. But I like Meshuggah, and figured it would be like eating a ridiculous dessert after a steak dinner… unnecessary but very enjoyable. I loved obZen and listen to Nothing and Chaosphere pretty often, so I really was anxious to see how they would perform these impossible songs live. Opening with Pravus, Meshuggah quickly took control over the crowd, but there was something missing… VOLUME! Meshuggah does not use cabinets, they pipe everything through the monitors in order to obtain an ultra-clean sound. This is great, but coupled with the tuning on their baritone guitars, led to volume levels that were so low, I could hardly hear anything. Once they began Bleed, I think the sound guys pumped things up a bit, but the fact that I was having conversations with out yelling, was a problem. Now, I was downstairs at the House of Blues, and Justin said the sound was much better upstairs, but it was still a letdown. You see, I think Meshuggah’s power is the fact that their rapidly changing rhythms and swirling riffs seem to engulf you and become this evolving storm that traps the listener. When I listen to an album, there’s so much chaos you lose track of what is up and what is down, all while Jens Kidman is screaming at you. Without the volume to fully crush the audience, I felt a lot of that effect was lost.

Mark’s Rating:

King says: “That guy from Cynic uses a vocoder?? Hmmm, I guess that’s ok…”

Justin’s Review:

Here’s the thing… with the exception of the sound there, the House of Blues fucking sucks. For a venue that is held in such high regard by the general public, H.O.B. is a shitty place to try and see a metal show. Especially one that’s sold out. The layout there is terrible, and unless you feel like being crammed into the main floor or manage to be in the front row of any other section of the venue, you’re shit-outta-luck.

It’s a rare thing to walk into a venue 15 minutes before the show even starts and have absolutely no place to move or see. Such was the case this evening. As Mark already made clear, Meshuggah seems to have some sort of magical allure that brings nü-metallers out of hibernation, ready to get their drink and mosh on. I simply don’t get it. Is it because their guitars go to 8? Is it the token bald singer?? What the fuck??? I haven’t seen that many stereotypical dipshit metalheads in one place since the last time I saw Slayer. The d-bags were out in full effect, and that certainly didn’t help my attitude or my sight-lines.

The Faceless opened the evening with an impressive array of instrumental finger-banging. Considering half these dudes were probably pooping their diapers when …And Justice for All came out, they certainly know their phrygian scales and shit like that. They lost a little muster once their singer came out, and overall, the hyper-tech-death shtick wore thin after the first 15 minutes, but overall not bad.

By the time Cynic were about to take the stage, the crowd was really starting to get out of control. I swear, you’d think we were at a Justin Timberlake concert surrounded by 14-year-old girls or something, because everyone seemed to want to push their way onto the main floor (it just so happened that we were standing in the middle of the entrance to said floor, so that didn’t help). Apparently, Paul Masvidal & Co. really ARE a prog-snob’s wet dream. In fact, by the time we made it to the upstairs balcony, I think I caught a glimpse of Mark with his hand down his pants. Of course, he might’ve just been adjusting himself, because Cynic put on a boner-inducing show. Rather than reiterate Mark’s synopsis, let me just sum it up by saying, if you have the chance to see these guys live… do so. Cynic rival Neurosis in terms of being both an extremely tight AND incredibly dynamic live band. Drummer Sean Reinhert in particular was a real treat to watch (or in my case… listen to. I’d like to point out that, even though we made it upstairs, we still couldn’t see shit. The only thing we had a better view of was one of the various tv monitors H.O.B. utilizes to run a multi-camera feed of the show).

After the unusually long changeover, Meshuggah hit the stage, tuned down and ready to destroy. Unfortunately for them, the only eardrums bursting this evening were from people getting punched in the head down below. As Mark points out, Meshuggah were left sounding a little flat… especially when compared to Cynic. That being said, there were still plenty of things to enjoy:

• Watching them pull off Bleed live… very impressive.
• Meshuggah has perfected what I deem the “full-body-bang”… sort of like head-banging, but with your waist rather than your neck (I attribute this to very very heavy guitars).
• Meshuggah’s lighting guy. This dude knows his shit. In fact, i wouldn’t be surprised if they had the lighting cues triggered from Tomas Haake’s kick pedal.
• The homage to Tool’s set design. No matter what you think of Tool’s music, it’s difficult to deny how awesome their visual aesthetic is. Meshuggah agrees.
• My cohorts in the balcony attempting to head-bang in time with New Millennium Cyanide Christ. Hilarious and disturbing… sort of like watching Elaine dance.
• Straws Pulled at Random… that song fucking RULES.

Despite an evening worth of solid sets, I’m still going to think twice before venturing out to H.O.B. any time soon (damn you Opeth & Enslaved). I spent $100+ dollars for (2) tickets, parking and (2) drinks… all to basically watch the show on tv all night. Add this to the fact that they don’t allow cameras, and charge $5 for coat check (per coat). LAME.

Justin’s Rating:

King says: “Progressive Metal… good, Corporate Venue… bad!”