Blind Guardian Concert
Went to the Blind Guardian concert yesterday with Dan. It was decent (but then everything pales in comparison to a Gogol Bordello concert). When it was over with I had more complaints then awesome things to say.
First off, I hate The Palladium. They over crowd the small place and there is a major lack of seating available. Because of this, it is extremely hard to find a spot where you can actually see the stage. I did find I good spot eventually, but all that standing has left me feeling like crap today.
The two opening bands were mediocre. I liked the first one (Seven Kingdoms), but they weren't amazing enough to spend $15 on their 11 track CD. The other band (Holy Grail) I didn't like at all. Considering that the last time Blind Guardian came around they were with Leaves Eyes (who are awesome), the opening acts were a bit of a disappointment.
As for Blind Guardian, there was some disappointment as well. Not in their performance, because they were pretty damn good, but their choice of songs. For a tour to promote their latest CD, they hardly played anything off of it; only 3 songs, all but one being ones that I feel neutral about. I know they have a ton of songs and some that their bigger fans apparently must hear or else they may die, but no matter what band you are or how long you've been around, if you are touring because you released a new CD, you should actually sing a good portion of that album at your concerts.
* Sacred Worlds - Indifferent
* Welcome to Dying - Dislike
* Born in a Mourning Hall - Indifferent
* Nightfall - Love
* Fly - Like
* Time Stands Still (at the Iron Hill) - Like
* Lost in the Twilight Hall - Indifferent bordering on dislike
* Bright Eyes - Love
* Lord of the Rings - Indifferent
* A Voice in the Dark - Love
* Imaginations From the Other Side - Dislike
* Wheel of Time - Indifferent
* The Bard's Song (In the Forest) - Like
* Valhalla - Indifferent
* Majesty - Dislike
* Mirror Mirror - Love
My last complaint is a general one that seems to be an epidemic and that is the price of merchandise being sold. I don't know how $25 can be considered reasonable for a tour shirt. Yeah, there may be people who will still pay that, but I bet if you dropped the price to $15 (or even just to $20) you'd sell a shit ton more shirts and thus make more money. And don't get me started on $15 for CDs from bands most of the ppl there probably never heard of. The merch booth people at the Blind Guardian concert looked so bored because no one was really buying anything. I actually heard one of them commenting on the lack of sales. Yeah, that's cuz the stuff is too expensive. Besides, in a couple of months you could buy that same tour shirt off eBay for $10 or less.
Overall, I'd give the concert 3 1/2 stars. It was worth seeing, but I wasn't very impressed or happy with the setlist.
First off, I hate The Palladium. They over crowd the small place and there is a major lack of seating available. Because of this, it is extremely hard to find a spot where you can actually see the stage. I did find I good spot eventually, but all that standing has left me feeling like crap today.
The two opening bands were mediocre. I liked the first one (Seven Kingdoms), but they weren't amazing enough to spend $15 on their 11 track CD. The other band (Holy Grail) I didn't like at all. Considering that the last time Blind Guardian came around they were with Leaves Eyes (who are awesome), the opening acts were a bit of a disappointment.
As for Blind Guardian, there was some disappointment as well. Not in their performance, because they were pretty damn good, but their choice of songs. For a tour to promote their latest CD, they hardly played anything off of it; only 3 songs, all but one being ones that I feel neutral about. I know they have a ton of songs and some that their bigger fans apparently must hear or else they may die, but no matter what band you are or how long you've been around, if you are touring because you released a new CD, you should actually sing a good portion of that album at your concerts.
* Sacred Worlds - Indifferent
* Welcome to Dying - Dislike
* Born in a Mourning Hall - Indifferent
* Nightfall - Love
* Fly - Like
* Time Stands Still (at the Iron Hill) - Like
* Lost in the Twilight Hall - Indifferent bordering on dislike
* Bright Eyes - Love
* Lord of the Rings - Indifferent
* A Voice in the Dark - Love
* Imaginations From the Other Side - Dislike
* Wheel of Time - Indifferent
* The Bard's Song (In the Forest) - Like
* Valhalla - Indifferent
* Majesty - Dislike
* Mirror Mirror - Love
My last complaint is a general one that seems to be an epidemic and that is the price of merchandise being sold. I don't know how $25 can be considered reasonable for a tour shirt. Yeah, there may be people who will still pay that, but I bet if you dropped the price to $15 (or even just to $20) you'd sell a shit ton more shirts and thus make more money. And don't get me started on $15 for CDs from bands most of the ppl there probably never heard of. The merch booth people at the Blind Guardian concert looked so bored because no one was really buying anything. I actually heard one of them commenting on the lack of sales. Yeah, that's cuz the stuff is too expensive. Besides, in a couple of months you could buy that same tour shirt off eBay for $10 or less.
Overall, I'd give the concert 3 1/2 stars. It was worth seeing, but I wasn't very impressed or happy with the setlist.