Quarta-feira 14 Mai 2008, 13h:07

Tue 13 May – Progressive Nation 2008

This show was fantastic, in a word.

3: I missed 3 because I showed up 30 minutes after the time listed on the tickets (6:30) thinking that's when things would get started but when I walked in they were setting up for BTBAM already. I didn't really mind, not much of a 3 fan myself.

BTBAM: Let me start off by saying I was in the balcony and I don't know if it remains true everywhere, but the mixing for BTBAM wasn't great - no low end and I could hardly hear the vocals (not that I would understand them anyway). Other than that, it was fantastic. Their set was simply Ants of the Sky followed by the last minute of Viridian and then White Walls. Every band member performed amazingly and I was extremely impressed at how well they pulled it off.

Opeth: Opeth had a much better sound and much better lights than BTBAM (but nowhere near DT). Forgive me if this is wrong but I think their set was Master's Apprentice, Baying of the Hounds, In My Time of Need, Wreath, Heir Apparent and The Drapery Falls. It was a great setlist, though I kind of wish there was more Watershed. The sound was pretty good, Mikael was definitely mixed well above the other members - I had a hard time hearing the keyboards at all with the exception of those moments like the beginning of Heir Apparent. Mikael talked to the crowd between every song and was funny as hell. I really love that about Opeth, he joked about playing In My Time of Need so he could get laid in Chicago for the first time. Also I would like to thank the three kids in the seats a few rows ahead of me for moshing and headbaning in the seats the whole time, it was hilarious. They were moshing… in seats… lol…

Dream Theater: Obviously DT blew the whole fucking show away. They started with an even more intense rendition of that song at the end of 2001: A Space Odyssey, followed by a rough but perfect transition into Presence of Enemies part 1. After that was Beyond This Life which was perfect. During the first two songs I think James's mic fucked up, it sounded like he had inhaled some helium for the first few minutes until he changed mics. After that was Misunderstood, which of course was also awesome. Next was Forsaken accompanied by the music video. I never much liked the track or the video, but the way they performed it made it amazing. Next was Erotomania (I think), and guess what, it was awesome. Erotomania went directly into Voices. After Voices came As I Am which rocked, then Ministry of Lost Souls. After that big bag of epic was the intermission and Dark Nintendo Night. They came back with a freakish medley starting with Metropolis Part 1 up until the solo that sounds like Sonic the Hedgehog where John and Jordan traded amazing solos on the guitar vs. the continuum and the shredder thingy. They came out of that few minutes of epic soloing into Learning to Live. I can't for the life of me remember if that was the only other song in the medley or not… The sound for DT was killer, almost perfect even in the balcony. The lights blew me away too, they had at least 16 Martins (the robot lights) perfectly choreographed to every moment of the whole set.

Overall, the show was awesome and I doubt I will ever get to see three of my most favorite bands at the same time ever again - unless the PN tour keeps happening of course.