Archive for the ‘In Flames’ Category
Who’s on tour in Toronto November 2008
Are you mourning the end of Halloween and the beginning of snowfall and the frigid Canadian winter? Fear not, November has a great lineup of show! You’ll be so busy getting your groove on and beating up preteens in the moshpit that you’ll forget that you’ll forget all about how miserable the coming months are going to be.
November 5
Polysics
Horseshoe/ 19+ / $11.50
The Japanese are famous for a few things: anime, technology, weird porn, and noise. Polysics was formed after a high school student decided to divert his interests from soccer to Devo. I think Polysics is a little more accessible than some of the other Japanoise bands out there. For the price of a movie ticket, you can’t lose – go go go!
November 7
Glass Candy
Wrongbar/ 19+ / $15.00
I’ve got to give a shoutout to shermstixx for introducing me to Glass Candy waaaay before they became as popular as they are now. Glass Candy as the innocence of Freezepop, Ladytron’s ubiquity, and the classiness of Nico. They also remind me of Fan Death (or vice versa). If you’re into electropop/nu rave/dance punk, this is a show you can’t miss.
In Flames
Sound Academy/ All Ages / $35.00
My days of thoroughly enjoying death metal are long behind me but for those of you still fightin’ the man (or whatever), I recommend checking this out. A Sense of Purpose received mixed reviews but with In Flames’ everchanging sound, that was to be expected.
In Flames – Eraser
In Flames – Abnegation
November 12
Girl Talk
Kool Haus/ 19+ / $21.50
I was decidedly a Girl Talk hater until Feed the Animals came out. Who but Girl Talk can put the Carpenters and Nine Inch Nails and Janet Jackson and Metallica on one track and make it seem it so natural? I have class that night so please, go to the show so I can live vicariously through you.
Girl Talk – No Pause
Girl Talk – Hands in the Air
November 13
Boris
Lee’s/ 19+ / $15.00
And they’re back! I went to the show in July on a whim and wow, let me tell you, Boris does not fuck around (pardon my French). You are guaranteed a rockin’ good time. But, word to the wise: if you feel like you can’t breathe and start seeing purple spots, go outside for some fresh air and water because you WILL pass out – Lee’s Palace is not that big.
Eagles of Death Metal
Mod Club/ 19+ / $24.00
I think Rolling Stone had it right with this comment: “There are more important rock groups than Eagles of Death Metal, but are any of them this much fun?” The answer is, of course, no. Heart On is a decent album, not as good Death by Sexy but still worth your $12.
Eagles of Death Metal – Cheap Thrills
Iron and Wine
Phoenix/ 19+ / $25.00
Your favourite indie folk star will soon be in town to wow you with his critically acclaimed 2007 album The Shepherd’s Dog. I’m actually not a fan of folk music at all so that’s all I have to say about that.
Iron and Wine – Flightless Bird, American Mouth
Jack’s Mannequin
Opera House/ All Ages / $25.00
Jack’s Mannequin is touring in support of their recently released album The Glass Passenger which I thought successfully dodged the “sophomore slump” threat. Read a full review here.
Jack’s Mannequin – The Resolution
November 20
M83
Opera House/ 19+ / $15.00
In 2005, after electronic French duos became too trendy and mainstream, Nicolas Fromageau decided to leave M83, leaving Anthony Gonzalez as the sole member. No, I’m just kidding, that probably wasn’t the reason. Saturdays=Youth contains some of their (his?) best songs to date so buy your tickets for this show, it will probably sell out.
November 27, 28
Broken Social Scene
Sound Academy/ All Ages / $25.00
I love BSS because whenever a Montrealer brags about all the awesome bands that are based in Montreal, I can bring up Broken Social Scene to still ultimately lose the argument but it’s still a pretty strong point.
The 2008 Gigantour Experience
As many of you know by now, probably from me blabbering on and on about it over the past couple of posts, that the event happened last Wednesday at Arrow Hall in Toronto and I would like to share with you my unique Gigantour experience. First of all, the venue was like a football field sized aircraft hanger. It was so big and dark that I lost my friend Roman as soon as we got there and I never found two buddies that I was suppose to meet there. The place is said to have a capacity of over 8,000 and frankly I’m really glad that the show didn’t get sold-out (I’ll explain why later).
Roman and I arrived at the show two hours late just in time for Children of Bodom to start. I made my way into the pit and slowly pushed my way into the front. I was at front and center for the rest of Children of Bodom and the first half of In Flames. If you ever played rugby before or know rugby terminology, the whole crowd at the front of the concert was in a continuous ruck. There were people pushing you in every direction and I was getting the living hell squeezed out of me. While there, I got elbowed in the eye, was disconnected from my shoe three times, and got kicked in the head several times by crowd surfers.
By the time In Flames came on, I was so tired and thirsty from all the pushing and shoving (yes there were pushing and shoving during the SET-UP!) that I decided it was best if I went to get a drink and take a break so I can come back for Megadeth all refreshed. Little did I know that the crowd at the front was so dense that the only way out was to crowd surf to the front where you can walk around to the back. For a good 10 minutes, I was stuck at the front, not being able to breath or move until the mosh behind us slowly engulfed some of the crowds at the front.
After In Flames had their gig, a lot of the crowd left (most of whom were 13 year-olds) and I was able to get back in front for Megadeth. Once they began playing though, the crowd became quite dense again and there were mosh pits forming and conjoining everywhere. Megadeth put on a really good show and overall, the concert was mind-blowing. I was able to find Roman at the end of the show, only to learn that he lost his glasses but found someone else’s which were all bent and scratched. While walking back through the parking lot, we learned that some guys got the gas siphoned out of their car and that two people got carried out in stretchers. LOL.
In Flames’ A Sense Of Purpose Review and Gigantour 2008 Setlists
There have been a lot of mixed reactions to In Flames’ latest album, A Sense of Purpose. People either love it or hate it. The vocals have dramatically changed. It’s no longer growls and grunts, but singing. I find that the band has taken a turn for worse as it no longer holds the brutality and energy of the old classic In Flames records.
Although still melodic, the new guitar works and riffs don’t stand out as much and when heard, are easily forgotten. I find the experimental changes that the band has gone through have made their disk really progressive and metalcore-ish. Take a listen to The Chosen Pessimist. It’s so whiny and emo… I guess for a band formed in 1990, it’s just what some people call “natural progression”.
If this was a new band, I would have liked this CD much more. But for a band that was part of the Gothenburg metal scene and was a pioneer for the melodic death metal genre, I think there’s really no need for them to make such a change.
Buy This CD At: Insound, cdUniverse, Amazon
Anyways, here are the setlists for Gigantour 2008:
Megadeth:
01. Sleepwalker
02. Wake Up Dead
03. Take No Prisoners
04. Skin O’ My Teeth
05. Washington Is Next
06. Gears Of War
07. Kick The Chair
08. In My Darkest Hour
09. Hangar 18
10. Ashes In Your Mouth
11. Burnt Ice
12. Trust
13. Tornado Of Souls
14. Symphony Of Destruction
15. Peace Sells
16. Holy Wars
Children of Bodom:
01. Six Pounder
02. Living Dead Beat
03. In Your Face
04. Hate Me!
05. Hellhounds On My Trail
06. Angels Don’t Kill
07. Blooddrunk
08. Downfall
Sorry to disappoint, CoB fans…
In Flames:
01. Quiet Place
02. The Mirror’s Truth
03. Scorn
04. Take This Life
05. Bullet Ride
06. Graveland
07. Move Through Me
08. Cloud Connected
09. Leeches
10. Come Clarity
11. Sober And Irrelevant
12. My Sweet Shadow
Job For A Cowboy:
01. Coalescing
02. Embedded
03. Entities
04. Reduced
05. Entomb
06. Altered
07. Knee Deep
High On Fire:
01. Rumors of War
02. Turk
03. Death Is This Communion
04. Waste of Tiamat
05. Devolution
This was the setlist for the Denver show but I doubt it will change. I believe High On Fire will be opening.
