Music What was the last concert you went to?

[Spiner202]

What an adventure! Sounds amazing!

Alexander the Great is a song I have always wanted to hear live!

I believe this tour is the first time they've ever played it. Pretty wild to have a Maiden show with no Number of the Beast/Run to the Hills/Hallowed Be Thy Name, but definitely a worthwhile tradeoff!

 

[Fool's Requiem]

Was rewatching an anime called "K-On" about girls who join a Light Music Club and start a band. Got inspired to look for concerts to go to even if I had never heard of the band. Landed on a concert featuring am indie "rock" band from Austin called Night Cap. Their opener is a band from Chicago called Capital Soiree.

It's lite rock that has a decidedly indie sound. Reminds me of another indie band from Chicago called Tall Walker that I saw like 10 years ago at Tastes of Chicago. Feel like these bands all blend in with each other. Need to do something to differentiate themselves from the others.

 

[Spiner202]

My next show after Maiden was King Diamond, Overkill & Night Demon. I'll spare all the details because I got COVID at this show

Anyways, all 3 bands were fun, and I'd seen them all before, so I knew what I was in for.

Because I had COVID, I had to skip WASP/Armored Saint and I couldn't even find someone to take my free ticket. A few days after the Toronto show, the frontman for WASP showed that he's totally insane. I'll stay out of politics here, but this dude is nuts and it's a shame I couldn't go to the show while I was ignorant of his beliefs. If they come back, I definitely won't be going.

Now that I've recovered, I saw Exodus, Havok, Candy, and Dead Heat last night. Dead Heat was a fun crossover band. All of their riffs hit harder live, and they're a good band, but their songs aren't particularly memorable.

Candy totally sucks. They were the odd band out. The other 3 all played thrash, and Candy was a deathcore (?) band that randomly had industrial and grindcore moments? I'm not even sure if I'm describing them correctly, but very much not my thing.

Havok rules. Their frontman also has terrible political beliefs, but at least he wasn't doing anything embarrassing on stage. I really like the new EP they released, so it was nice to hear both new songs. They mentioned that their bass player was not with them for a few shows, so their tour manager stepped in to play bass - this is the second band I've heard the same story for (Orden Ogan being the other). I have no idea how every random person associated with a tour is good enough at any instrument to step in, but it's always impressive. Today I revisited their debut and was surprised at how great it was - I normally listen to their other 4 records.

Exodus just destroyed everything. For various reasons, I hadn't seen them since 2011, and I've never seen them with Zetro singing. The setlist was actually pretty unusual IMO and I loved it. I did not expect 3 songs from Fabulous Disaster, and they skipped some of the essential Bonded by Blood stuff in favour of a couple of slightly deeper cuts (to be fair, there are no deep cuts on that album because it is 9 perfect songs in a row). I've been jamming Exodus all day because they just have more riffs and better riffs than everyone else. I'm pretty sure that was one of the largest and craziest pits I've ever seen at a show. Despite the band's age and drug history, they were in great shape. They have tons of energy, and you can tell these guys just live for thrash. Even after beating cancer, Tom Hunting was a madman on drums. Strongly recommended.

 

[Gloom-is-good]

I just dread the day I find one of my favorite artists is a POS or just really mis-aligned with my values, etc (looking at you Lost Prophets singer)

 

[Fool's Requiem]

I just dread the day I find one of my favorite artists is a POS or just really mis-aligned with my values, etc (looking at you Lost Prophets singer)

I think I'm in the clear with Green Day.

 

[Spiner202]

Last night I went to Decapitated/Incantation/Darkest Hour/Exmortus. It was my first time seeing each band except Exmortus, who I saw for the 7th time.

I was lucky to see Exmortus, because despite being in line just before doors, I only made it in with 2-3 minutes to spare. This is not the first time this has happened to me at this venue, but it's tough to guess how early I need to be there when I want to see the opener. Regardless, Exmortus ruled. They are one of the most technical bands in thrash and it's crazy how easy they make it look. It's too bad that there weren't more people in the door for their set, because they deserved it.

Darkest Hour is not really my type of music, but I was positively surprised by their performance. There were some really great extended guitar solos and simple lead parts. Would definitely not mind them as an opener on another tour I go to.

Incantation is a tricky one for me. I think they're responsible for much of what I dislike about death metal today. Last night, they took a really long time to set-up, and then they didn't even sound that good. There were definitely some good riffs during their set, but they don't really write songs and it just ended up being a noisy affair.

Decapitated was a worthy headliner. I'm late to their bandwagon, because I've basically never listened to them before this tour was announced, but they were playing Nihility in its entirety. I don't love the album but it really comes alive in a live setting. They were the only 1-guitar band, and I think that really helps make a band sound clearer. I was hoping to buy the album but they didn't have any CDs left (and the sign on their merch table said CDs were $35 )

 

[Spiner202]

2nd show of the year last night: Coroner, Deceased, and Korrosive.

Korrosive is a local thrash band. Apparently this was my 6th time seeing them, but I rarely remember their sets. Honestly, they had a lot of good riffs, and it's clear that they're influenced by many of my favourite bands, but it's like they write great 80s thrash riffs and then layer over top of them elements that I don't really love. Fun live, but I feel like they aren't necessarily for me.

This was my second time seeing Deceased. I last saw them in 2019 at a festival in Milwaukee. While I have owned a couple of their CDs for years, it wasn't until I saw them back then that I became a much bigger fan of theirs and acquired a few more albums. They crushed the stage last night - easily the best band. Their songs are long and surprisingly complex for a band that's just about zombies and horror. King Fowley is as charismatic on stage as he is on their records.

Also, major credit to Deceased for having the greatest merch game of any band I've seen. They had all 8 of their studio albums on CD, plus a couple of other releases. They had 6 of their studio albums on vinyl. Multiple shirts in both t-shirt and long-sleeve form. And most importantly, the prices were reasonable. CDs were only $15 each. That's a rare price to see nowadays in Canada in a store, let alone a concerts. I grabbed a long-sleeve and 3 CDs. I kind of regret not getting two more, but I'm still super stoked to hear these ones.

Coroner was the headliner. People love this band, myself included. But I saw them in Germany in 2012 and realized very quickly that the band does not understand why people love them. They primarily play stuff from their 5th album, which is the only album of theirs that is very bad. Some of the songs were ok live, but as soon as they played the old stuff, people were way more into it. This set was actually quite a bit better than when I saw them last - this time they had 4 songs (+ a cover) from the first 3 albums, compared to last time where they only played 1 song from the second record. I compared the setlists side-by-side, and it's pretty incredible how they've barely changed what they play over the last 13 years, especially considering they should know by now that people aren't into that stuff. Anyways, it was fun to see them in North America (they said they hadn't been here in 35 years), but I'm not sure I'd go if they came again unless it was a really good lineup.

 

[Spiner202]

Yesterday I saw the Meshuggah/Cannibal Corpse/Carcass tour.

Carcass had the clearest sound of the night. I like some of their stuff but am not a huge fan, so it was a good warmup, but nothing mind-blowing. This was my second time seeing them, though admittedly, I thought they were better the last time I saw them.

Cannibal Corpse was up next. The sound quality was pretty muffled for them (though to be fair, there's so much going on in their music that I wasn't overly surprised). They were enjoyable, but you pretty much know what to expect with them, and that's what they delivered. This was my 7th Cannibal Corpse show - also not the best time I've seen them, but no complaints.

I am not really a Meshuggah fan, but I'd never seen them before. To be honest, the entire setlist sounded identical to me. I'm sure someone could say the same thing about Cannibal Corpse if they'd never heard them before, but that's what I felt. That one particular sound didn't grip me too much, so I'm not sure I will start listening to them. I wouldn't have any problem seeing them play at a festival, but you'd need a pretty good lineup (like last night) to get me to a Meshuggah show again.

 

[Spiner202]

We are entering one of the two times of years where there are a lot of shows! Last night I went to the Vortex of Violence tour.

Summoning the Lich opened the show. I'd never heard of them, but they described themselves as a fantasy death metal band. The thing I thought was most interesting is that their singer took a ton of influence from Travis Ryan from Cattle Decapitation - he was doing those weird clean vocals that are all over Cattle Decap's music now. He was pretty funny in between songs too. I'm not sure I'd listen to them outside of a live setting, but they were a good way to warm up.

Skeletal Remains played next. I posted in here last year about how they took forever to set-up and still didn't sound good last time I saw them. They did start a little bit late last night, but they were also only a 3-piece because their frontman wasn't here, so they played instrumental. They didn't mention if he was sick or had a family emergency or something, but in my experience, this usually means they couldn't get over the border. Amazingly, they were more entertaining this time than last time, and their drummer seemed to really enjoy the spotlight of being at the front of the stage and getting to speak between songs.

Allegaeon played third. I guess this was a co-headliner, which I didn't really understand at the time. I've never listened to them before, but they have some of the most insane guitar playing. Some of their songs have clean vocals, and I find this is something bands usually do after they get a few albums in and fans don't like it, but I thought the songs with clean vocals were the best ones because they were more memorable. I didn't really need their set to be as long as it was, but they were fun.

And then the reason why I was there: Warbringer. It's funny how this tour was 3 death metal bands and then a thrash metal headliner. Warbringer proved what I have always known: thrash metal is more extreme than death metal. This set was insane - tons of stage-diving and moshing. John Kevill is an insane frontman. He's got so much energy and was trying to bring back the glory days of thrash shows. Even the songs from their newer albums that I don't love were much better live. This was my 6th time seeing them and probably the best by a wide margin. They definitely could have played a little bit longer, but this is one of the better shows I've seen in a while.

 

[The Eye in the Sky!]

Went to my first concert of the year Friday. Worked out perfectly, I went to Red Sox opening day at Fenway for a 2pm game, and the concert was a 20 minute walk from the stadium. Doors opened at 6:30, so I enjoyed the game and abnormally warm weather, then walked through Boston to the club.

Prog metal show. Saw Arch Echo, VOLA, and Intervals.

I've seen Arch Echo before, very technical instrumental band. Lead guitarist is incredible, the keyboardist reminds me of Dream Theater. They were pretty great, if not a little "wanky" on their instruments. Great energy.

VOLA was the reason I went, they played 45 minutes and I was in glory. I've been obsessed with them. I've had their 4 albums on repeat. The crowd was less into them, because it's a prog show and the headliner along with Arch Echo are very technical, fast paced, virtuoso style musicians/guitarists. VOLA is very composed, almost chill at times, but they were incredibly solid. The singer plays guitar so there is nothing really technical in their music but man is it good. They had the crowd by the end, though. They flew over from Sweden and are not making much money on this tour, and they did not have any vinyl albums at the merch table like the other two which is unfortunate. I want to support them, I want them to headline a tour at some point over here. I bought a hat and a shirt, I rarely buy merch. I might join Bandcamp and buy their albums through there.

Intervals was good, but it was another fast instrumental prog band with some techno and electronica mixed in. It got the crowd going but didn't do much for me.

Still a really nice day. Red Sox won and I got to see the band I've been most hyped for.

 

[Spiner202]

A couple nights ago I saw Visions of Atlantis & Seraina Tella. A buddy who is not really a metal fan came with me. He wanted to try something different, and I think this ended up being a pretty good choice for a show because he enjoyed it a lot.

I'd never heard of Seraina Tella, but after some quick research, it turns out she played in Burning Witches, who I at least have heard of. Still, she was different from what I expected - it was just her doing guitar/vocals and a drummer. The music reminded me a lot of Halestorm. It was rock that ranged from heavier stuff to poppy stuff, but her voice was a great fit for both styles. She deserves a ton of credit because she was playing a style that likely didn't appeal to most of the audience and she was requesting a lot of audience participation, and yet she won over most people by the end. The only thing I didn't like about her set was that she leaned too heavily on backing tracks. The bass was piped in the entire time, but there were other times where another guitar and backing vocals were added. Backing tracks aren't necessarily out of the ordinary at shows, but it would have been better for her to have a bass player and even another guitarist, because she liked abandoning her post in front of the mic and holding the mic instead of playing guitar.

Last time I saw Visions of Atlantis was when they were opening for Delain. I only have one of their older albums at the moment, and they've largely abandoned that era of their career in favour of going the pirate direction. This set was significantly better than last time. They had a longer set length and more space on stage to work with. They were very theatrical, which I think is the result of having two singers on stage, rather than just one. It's amazing how I've heard their last couple albums maybe 3-4 times in total, but I felt like I recognized quite a few songs, and even the songs I didn't know were memorable by the second chorus. They burned through a ton of songs (19, I think?) and played for about an hour and 40 minutes, which I was happy with.

I ended up ordering the two most recent albums this morning, so their music will be getting a lot more spins soon! As is often the case, it was cheaper for me to get it shipped from Montreal than to buy the albums at the show.

 

[The Eye in the Sky!]

Visions of Atlantis keeping popping into my algorithm so I've heard some of their music. It's good, but nothing stands out. It feels very safe for what it is trying to do.

 

[Spiner202]

Visions of Atlantis keeping popping into my algorithm so I've heard some of their music. It's good, but nothing stands out. It feels very safe for what it is trying to do.

There are a lot of songs or bands that I find are pretty average until I hear them live and I suspect Visions of Atlantis would fit that mold too. For a European band, they seem to come over here a lot, so it might be worth a shot next time they come back.

 

[Spiner202]

A couple of years ago, I went to Montreal to see Metallica for their No Repeat Weekend. Thankfully, they are running this show in Toronto now so I don't have to travel. Night 1 was last night and Night 2 is tomorrow!

Suicidal Tendencies opened the show and I was really happy to see them. It's my goal to see every 80s thrash band I possibly can, and I'd never seen them before. Mike Muir runs around like crazy for someone who has been doing this for 40 years. The setlist was ok, but they did a great job with every song, even if there were others I wanted to hear (I always assumed they played Institutionalized and War Inside My Head at every show, but I guess not).

Pantera was next. I'm not a big Pantera fan, and they were on this tour last time, but I enjoyed them. I'm definitely more of a casual when it comes to these guys, but luckily they play a pretty standard and predictable setlist. There was some major sound issues in Montreal (it sounded like Zakk's guitar wasn't even plugged in), but they were significantly better last night.

Metallica did what they always do, and that is crush everything. Even though the Rogers Centre (Blue Jays stadium) is very similar to Olympic Stadium in Montreal, Metallica know how to make the sound work there. I always hear people complain about how bad concerts sound there and at stadiums in general, but Metallica had some of the best sound I've ever heard. The only complaint was that Kirk's rhythm guitars were way too quiet, but I didn't mind because it meant we could hear James perfectly and that man is probably the best rhythm guitarist alive. I was very happy to hear Holier Than Thou, Fight Fire With Fire, and The Day That Never Comes - not songs you get to hear at many shows. During Rob and Kirk's jam, they also played part of Suicide & Redemption, which I didn't expect.

Overall, it was a great night and I'm looking forward to doing it again tomorrow!

 

[Spiner202]

Round 2 was last night and it was probably a little bit better than night 1.

Ice Nine Kills opened up. Even though the crowd loved them, my diplomatic response is that I am not a fan.

Limp Bizkit played second. I wouldn't call myself a huge fan of theirs (I think I'm about 5-8 years too young to have really been the right age when they were a big deal), but I like the hits and they played everything I wanted to hear. Much to my surprise, the crowd was more into this band than anyone else on either night, possibly even including Metallica. It seemed like a lot of people were reliving their childhood during this set. Also, this didn't bother me, but they had no merch, which is a completely insane thing to do when you're on a stadium tour. A lot of these bands have a license to print money and I don't really understand why they wouldn't take it.

Metallica's set was probably better last night. Two of the first three songs being Whiplash and Ride The Lightning really got things set off right. I think I was much more comfortable overall during this set (less crowded, better sound/not as loud) that made it more enjoyable than the first night. Much like the first night, some of Kirk's guitars were pretty quiet, but I love hearing James play on his own. Much like two years ago, the highlight of the entire weekend was getting to hear Battery. They should never take that song out of their set.

 

[Spiner202]

Last night I went to Shred Fest 2025. It's basically a bunch of technical death metal bands playing together, so I was in for a lot of notes.

I didn't intend to get there in time for Fractal Universe, just because I knew it would be a long night and they were the only band I hadn't heard of. But I'm early for everything and so I saw about half of their set. Their cool thing was that the lead singer/guitarist also played some random saxophone solos during some of their songs.

Decrepit Birth was next, and, along with Fractal Universe, they were the only band I hadn't seen before. I actually bought one of their CDs years ago and was never super into it, but this style is always fun live. Their singer seemed like a complete madman. He seemed dissatisfied with the very limited pit during their set, and so he went down to the crowd to ramp it up. He mentioned the fact that he's 60 and was able to hang in there, so the rest of us should have been in the pit. I'm definitely going to revisit the album of theirs I have because I thought they were pretty good.

Origin played next. Saying that these guys play fast is honestly kind of insulting. These guys play at light-speed. I'm not a believer that "metal is noise", but this band absolutely does not help those allegations. While I don't want to accuse anyone of anything, I was watching their drummer and it did not seem like he was playing the kick drums as fast as they were being played. I'm not sure if there's an automated way to double up on kicks, but it just didn't look like what he was playing actually matched what I heard. I know he was using triggers, because every other band used the same kit and he used his own and all of the bass drums sounded perfect, but the whole thing was a bit odd. Anyways, I enjoyed the constant blasting, and ended up picking up one of their albums.

Atheist were fourth. They're the only band that is from the original wave of death metal, and while their songs were probably the hardest death metal songs to play when they came out in the early 90s, they were arguably the easiest out of any band last night. But technicality does not equal talent, and I enjoyed Atheist the most because they're the one band on the tour that I listen to regularly. In hindsight, their singer (who is the only original member) might have been inebriated or on some sort of substance, because he fell down at one point and was generally somewhat wobbly all night. Anyways, these guys rule and everyone should see them while you still can.

Obscura closed off the night. It seemed like quite a few people filtered out after Atheist's set, and I'm not sure if that's because they aren't Obscura fans or because the band was going on pretty late. I had a couple of their albums, but wouldn't say I'm a huge fan. Still, they won me over because, despite being very technical, the sound was clear and had tons of solos (which is my favourite thing about music). I bought a couple of their CDs (and have one more on the way), so I'll be at 4/7 on their discography. I didn't really appreciate that they have so many clean vocal parts in their songs because the frontman just growls those parts live. Honestly, the growls are better, and I presume they've abandoned the clean singing now that the whole band has quit except for him (again!).

All in all, a very fun night for a show that I wasn't even sure if I'd go to!

 

[The Eye in the Sky!]

Went to AC/DC at Gillette Stadium Sunday night with @Cole and it was a good time. Rained a bit. Every person we ran into said the same thing - "would be awesome if a storm came in during Thunderstruck" - that was the only disappointment of the night. The song is too fast for Angus to play anymore is my guess because they played it at a lesser speed and it sounded... not right in the beginning. Brian Johnson's voice couldn't punch through as much as I'd hoped, but he was animated and having fun. The opener The Pretty Reckless was pretty good, too. Lead singer had charisma on stage, she was really owning it.

I just got tickets to see VOLA and Alestorm in September. I always hate that the metal bands spend the summer doing the European festival season and put all their US dates in September every year. Makes it hard to plan and wait.

 

[Spiner202]

I just got tickets to see VOLA and Alestorm in September. I always hate that the metal bands spend the summer doing the European festival season and put all their US dates in September every year. Makes it hard to plan and wait.

Not sure if you're familiar with Gloryhammer or Glyph that are opening for Alestorm, but they're both really good (especially Gloryhammer)! I'm jealous you guys are getting that tour - I've never seen Glyph live before!

 

[Cole]

Went to AC/DC at Gillette Stadium Sunday night with @Cole and it was a good time. Rained a bit. Every person we ran into said the same thing - "would be awesome if a storm came in during Thunderstruck" - that was the only disappointment of the night. The song is too fast for Angus to play anymore is my guess because they played it at a lesser speed and it sounded... not right in the beginning. Brian Johnson's voice couldn't punch through as much as I'd hoped, but he was animated and having fun. The opener The Pretty Reckless was pretty good, too. Lead singer had charisma on stage, she was really owning it.

I just got tickets to see VOLA and Alestorm in September. I always hate that the metal bands spend the summer doing the European festival season and put all their US dates in September every year. Makes it hard to plan and wait.

the crowd didn't give the pretty reckless enough. but she was trying her ass off

otherwise I agree. but it was a really fun show, the rain added a lot of atmosphere

 

[Crystal]

The opener The Pretty Reckless was pretty good, too. Lead singer had charisma on stage, she was really owning it.

I LOVE The Pretty Reckless, great band, glad to hear they were good live

 

[Spiner202]

I went to the Arch Enemy/Fit For An Autopsy/Baest/Thrown Into Exile tour last night.

I'm not the biggest fan of any of these bands, but I went with my family. I thought Arch Enemy was the best band by a wide margin. Even though I've only ever heard a few of their albums, I knew about half of the songs in the set, and it was pretty good. I will probably check out their new album.

 

[Spiner202]

Last night I saw Devin Townsend and Tesseract. I don't really listen to either band, but my brother had an extra ticket.

Tesseract was cool. I don't listen to djent but they seemed like they would be pretty good background music. I realize that sounds like an insult, but I mean it as a compliment. Some parts sounded like Meshuggah and other parts sounded like if you took the edge off of Evergrey.

Devin Townsend was just a lot of fun to watch. That man is having the time of his life up there. His discography is pretty diverse, so there were a lot of different sounds last night. Some better than others, but none of it that I'm likely to listen to afterwards. Still, given that he won't be touring for awhile after this, I'm glad I went to this.

 

[The Eye in the Sky!]

I was wondering how Townsend is live. I like some of his music but others are so off the wall. I've been on a huge prog metal kick this year and everyone keeps pointing to Townsend but I can't fully get into his stuff. I love the Powernerd album but the rest is really hit and miss. I'm glad he was as entertaining as people have said.

Tesseract is a band that everyone recommends as well because I prefer the cleaner vocal metal sound - since I love VOLA, Haken, Riverside, Nospun - they are always recommended but nothing sticks. It sounds very generically prog. I can't explain it. All I can think of is if Three Doors Down decided to dabble in prog.

 

[Spiner202]

I was wondering how Townsend is live. I like some of his music but others are so off the wall. I've been on a huge prog metal kick this year and everyone keeps pointing to Townsend but I can't fully get into his stuff. I love the Powernerd album but the rest is really hit and miss. I'm glad he was as entertaining as people have said.

He has so many albums and even my brother, who is much more versed in his stuff, says that he doesn't like a lot of it but he thought the setlist was really good. I feel like he is better live than on the studio because he distills the setlist down to the good stuff.

Tesseract is a band that everyone recommends as well because I prefer the cleaner vocal metal sound - since I love VOLA, Haken, Riverside, Nospun - they are always recommended but nothing sticks. It sounds very generically prog. I can't explain it. All I can think of is if Three Doors Down decided to dabble in prog.

The funny thing about prog is that I think a lot of it sounds generic and like prog. It's a genre where a lot of bands should sound different from one another based on the concept alone, but I find a lot of them blend together.

 

[Fool's Requiem]

Tomorrow, I'm going to a day long music festival hosted by the local alt-rock station in STL. 311, The Urge, Roadies, Finger Eleven, Suddenly, Sick Puppies, Alien Ant Farm, Post Sex Nachos, and Oxymorrons. I've skipped out on this festival in past years, so this is a first at this one. I'll try to take pictures and share them.

 

[Fool's Requiem]

Status update on Pointfest:

There are 4 stages. Two alternate to allow for most efficiency. The main stage doesn't start with Finger Eleven until 5pm. The final stage is on the other side of the complex playing smaller local bands. The poster didn't include all of the bands playing, but the schedule did.

I've so far, I've watched/listened to at least a little of thr following:

- Intruded - Scream-o type band. Not a fan of the stuff. Instrumentation was fine, but I'm not a fan of the singing style.
- Halcyon- Punk band lead by a lady whose voice doesn't fit the music she's attempting to sing. It's like a soprano singing bass.
- Tree One Four - Play on 314, St Louis' area code. I didnt realize it until the lead singer said their name out loud. They're kinda like a reggae band. Kind fun, but the lead singer needs to improve.
- A Portrait Life - Indie alt-rock. I don't know if the lead singers voice fits either.
- Oxymorons - Rap/metal band. They were fine, but their set was a little loud.
- Post Sex Nachos - Indie Alt-Rock - These guys are funky. Catchy music.
- Sick Puppies - Rock music. Listening to them right now. Pretty solid. Sounds kinda like a early 00s rock band.
- Alien Ant Farm - Man, these guys started weak. It was hard to hear the lead singer at first. They got the audio fixed, though. Was disappointed with their performance of "The Movies" which is like the only other song I've actually enjoyed from them. As the set progressed, I felt they got better. As expected, the finished with "Smooth Criminal". While he was unable to reach the high notes and screams, I felt they did fine. Hearing them perform the song makes me wonder why they didnt keep making songs that sound like that. I don't mean covers of popular songs, but fun and funky music like how they performed Smooth Criminal.

That's it for now. Ludo is next, though I might have time to check out the other stage as Ludo doesn't start til 4:20. Then its the main stage with Finger Eleven, Toadies, The Urge, and then 311.

Based on the brief rehearsal, it sounds like I'll like The Urge.

 

[Fool's Requiem]

Ludo is another local STL band with higher production values and a solid singer.

They sound a lot like a bigger name band, but I can't put my finger on it.

Also, I almost missed them, but I caught the end of the show for Michael Blakey & The Bandits of Time. I heard solid sounding music coming up to the stage then I saw the trombone and was instantly happy. They sounded kinda like Reel Big Fish, and that is a good thing to sound like. They seemed like they were having fun. I bought a t-shirt and CD from them.

 

[Fool's Requiem]

Finger Eleven was pretty good. Surprised I knew of more songs from them besides Good Times.

Towards the end of Paralyzer,
(which was also their last song), they incorporated AC/DC's Thunderstruck into their performance. Pretty cool.

The Toadies sounds like something I'd hear in a biker bar...

Edit: Oh, hey, and song I recognize... I have indeed heard Possum Kingdom numerous times on alternate radio stations over the years. Can't say I ever liked it enough to search it out.

Edit 2: The Urge is a STL band, as well. They formed in the Webster Groves HS in the 80s. Webster Groves is a more upper middle class area.

Edit 3: One more band to go. The Urge was fine. I couldn't really understand what their lead singer was saying, though, lol. So much loud music today. Nick Hexum, lead singer of 311 made a guest singing appearance in one of The Urge's songs, which was pretty cool.