Holy crap (concert recap)

[MalkavianX]

Last night I was allowed the pleasure of seeing Blind Guardian play live at Tremont music hall here in Charlotte. One of my all time favorite (THE favorite if i had to pick) bands ever.
Oh.
My.
Gosh. What a show. My neck and shoulders are still sore from keeping my arms up.

The thing that impresses me most about Guardian is that their singer Hansi actually has the chops to sing on stage more or less like he does in the studio. Also they actually balance their sound, unlike a lot of metal acts that just crank all the amps to 10. I was maybe 30 feet from the stage, and altho the music was loud, it wasn't painful (more than I can say for the last couple shows I saw there)

Now I'm not the most experienced concert-goer here, but I love Guardian's stage presence. Hansi is great at getting the audicence into the songs, singing choruses; through just about all the tunes (except the brand new ones, heh) you could always hear at least a faint roar of fans that were word -perfect on the lyrics.

Tremont is a tiny place too, and the show didn't sell out (Why, i have no idea. Another metal act just a few months ago had the place packed. It was on an odd night though, tuesday, so I imagine that knocked it out of a lot of people's plans) which is a little discouraging, not that I prefer a packed house, but if the show doesnt sell then it's all that much less likely they'll come back right?

Setlist, in case any of you are fans:

01. War of Wrath
02. Into the Storm
03. Nightfall
04. The Script for My Requiem
05. Fly
06. And the Story Ends
07. Valhalla
08. Time Stands Still (At the Iron Hill)
09. Punishment Divine
10. Skalds and Shadows
11. This Will Never End
12. And Then There Was Silence
---Encore---
14. Imaginations from the Other Side
15. The Bard's Song
16. Mirror Mirror