My God I felt like an old man last sunday, and the crowd that had assembled to take in Children of Bodom at the Sound Academy just seemed to underscore the point. With grey in my beard and the intro to
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century in my head, I lined up for this gamey 4-pack of metal.
Got "processed" (security seemed unusually thorough) and headed in about half an hour after doors opened. The place was half full with a few older heads hanging around the back and most of the youngsters pressed up near the front.
Magicked a drink and a great position near the front just in time for the first act, Threat Signal, hailing from Hamilton. Great start to the festivities as Threat Signal really brought it. They were fantastic - the second best sound of the night imho. They seemed to click with the crowd as well with some spirited crowd surfing and moshing up at the front. The singer (let's be real, screamer) seemed to cut through the heavy din of the drums with ease and the rhythm guitar was pretty good. They seemed to have an easy time of getting the crown into it as something in the air was ready to pop - ah the wonders of youth; its primal urgency.
The set wound down and some intermission music started. I couldn't believe my 4king ears as "Everyone's a Winner" - the cover from Bootsauce (where are they now?) went on the PA. Following that was a standard from David Lee Roth. And after this was the next act, Revocation.
I was not a big fan. Something about their sound paled in comparison to Threat Signal. They had a more funky sound with some rather intricate guitar work that seem to get lost in translation. The lead guy seemed to sense this and exhorted the crowd to greater efforts which never works (aka "The beatings will continue until morale improves" approach). Face it dude, your sound isn't going to make people want to mosh. A few songs later, the guy started rapping about demonesses with big bosoms and a quiet awkwardness engulfed the land. I took this opportunity to head to the restroom.
Intermission and got myself another drink. Settled in for a longer wait with some lounge music on the PA: The Imperial march from Star Wars, Rape Me (Nirvana) and Enter Sandman (Metallica).
The next band was a Swiss outfit called Eluveitie. They are a folk metal band and seemed to enjoy a lot of support judging by shirts on backs. The place had filled up now to capacity and I had lost my prime position - all the same in a standing room only event where sight lines are at a premium. I found another angle and checked out the band which seemed to have 6 or more people on the stage. Two of the band were ladies which was nice to see and reflected a proportion of women in the crown sporting their gear. The instruments were very folksy - a hurdy-gurdy, a violin and some kind of pipe.
The music was expectedly folk rock and the lyrics weren't anything comprehensible (later research reveals they were singing in Gaulish rather than Hobbit which was my initial guess) - I found it difficult to get up for the band. I even saw one guy enter the mosh pit with a pizza slice. Eluveitie played for about 45 mins and finally we were ready for COB.
I'm new to Children of Bodom. At first listen, they sounded like a normal metal band with less pronounced rhythm guitar and a synthesizer (of all things) over top the sound. But the more I listen, the more I like. The tempo is very fast and the lead guitar is very very skillicious.
The synthesizer setup is a little different - the keyboard is angled so that the audience can actually see the keys - and Jaane (the keyboardist) can stand and play without having to bend his wrists. Smart design.
The band took the stage and Alexi "Wildchild" Laiho took the mic and started rapping with the crowd. Quite personable, the audience responded positively and with the briefest of introductions, COB launched into their set.
Setlist courtesy of setlist.fm:
By this time, I was buried about two-thirds of the way back and the sound was different from back there. However, the sightlines were much better and I got a chance to take in the setup.
My one complaint was with Jaane. It's odd watching Alexi, Roope, and the rest of the band flailing away on a devilishly fast pace while the keyboardist sips on a glass of water. This kind of incongruity is not atypical of COB - their sound is a little different. Their composition is a little different. They are their own genre.
Tracks flew by and I realized another element that seemed absent was crowd participation. Crowd response wasn't a problem - the audience was into it. But gone were the old anthemic elements where the crowd would pick up the refrain, sing or chant or yell. Perhaps those aspects of the music concert experience are no longer appealing to this generation?
Still I found myself in thrall with Alexei's guitar playing. Damn, he plays fast. I think his style of play almost forces the use of a rather thin guitar tone. Anything more textured would get lost with the speed.
Nearing the end, with a slight pause after 50 minutes of heads down killer tracks, COB took a little pause. A slight intermission. And this is where Janne the keyboardist who seemed to be in a different space than his bandmates offered up a little something out of the ordinary - the Welcome March from Salieri!! I wonder how many kids knew the tune - probably more than I expect. Still I guess that's the way they roll in europe - Roope and Alexei have a clip on youtube playing some Vivaldi so they certainly know the Masters.
The encore started off with a little teaser of Jump (Van Halen) followed by two songs and done.
I'm currently getting into the Are You Dead Yet? album from 2005. Some catchy tracks. May post an album review later.
