Opeth @ Thebarton Theatre,Adelaide (04/09/08)

Tue 9th Sep, 2008 in Gig Reviews

CHECK OUT ALL THE PHOTOS HERE

The latest Opeth show in Adelaide was long-awaited by many fans, even those who had seen the band many times over. An early show, the first band, Virgin Black kicked off at eight. We were running late and got to Thebbie just as the main act kicked off, but by punters’ accounts the support act played a great set, and were one of the best bands that could have played with the Swedes.

I am not much of an Opeth fan myself, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I’d heard some of their old material, but none of their new stuff. However, even not being into their music so much, I was pleasantly surprised: that typical Swedish melodic death metal was fully in evidence, and the band pulled off a long set that was intense, polished, and varied.

Although the tickets were fairly expensive (I heard one girl complain about paying more than $100 for hers), Thebarton Theatre was more than half full. A full 1300 punters turned out for this gig, and being pretty well mid-week, it says a lot for Opeth fans and their support of this band.

Their support wasn’t mute support either. At one stage through the early parts of the band’s set, when the light show really kicked in— with underwater and green jelly kaleidoscopic effects —you could see a mosh of nodding and banging heads from the front of the pit right to the back of the stalls, as well as all around the balconies.

There is one thing about the combination of an incredibly professional band, a good venue and a highly competent sound dude, and that is that the sound and the mix were absolutely lush. The venue’s sound system was able to handle the higher ends of the melody and the lower growls exceptionally well. It was so good that there was absolutely no distraction from the venue and one could immerse oneself completely in the richness of the audio-visual balance created throughout the venue.

Opeth were so happy to be back in Adelaide, playing to an enthusiastic crowd. Vocalist Mikael Ã…kerfeldt, being an amiable and subdued sort of dude, evidently with an incredible and dry sense of humour, at one point started quizzing the crowd on KISS trivia — being a huge KISS fan himself. So, the punters were asked for the real names of each of the band members in turn: Paul Stanely, Peter Criss, Ace Frehley. This was all very well; and then we came to Gene Simmons. Someone yelled out Gene’s real name, and Ã…kerfeldt laughed.
– œNo, no, that’s only hearsay,’ he said. – œHis real name is Complete Knobhead!’

Opeth’s set featured a swathe of classics, as well as newer material. They played tracks from Still Life, Deliverance, Damnation, and of course Watershed, amongst others. We went from 2008 right back to the late – œ80s, and everywhere in between. We had lighter-lit melodies, some really Swedish death metal with bangers nearly falling off the balconies in their excitement, and so much more.

At one point, we were all informed that one member of the crew was having his birthday on Thursday. It was their Norwegian sound dude. We were all invited to turn around — and every single face in the venue turned towards the mixing desk — and told to yell – œfuckk you!’ at him for his birthday. Approximately thirteen hundred voices roared out the usually offensive sentiment, much to his enjoyment and applause, and no doubt to the amusement of Opeth as well.

Unlike many bands, Opeth are not one to hang around off-stage, between the set and the encore, for so long that the punters start to get restless. Stomps, yells, whistles and cajoles from the crowd, with an extended chant of – œOne More Song!’ brought the band out much more quickly than I’d expected. It was great, actually: they managed to play more encores than many bands do play, and I suspect it was a combination of an early (and prompt) start, and not too much waiting around after the end of the set.

It was an absolutely huge night. Despite the cold, the crowd were keen and enthusiastic — many were very drunk and excited — and the gatherings and discussion outside the venue after the show reflected this.

Just as we were about to leave, one of my mates yelled out to me:
– œI’ve seen Opeth four times now, and this was the best yet!!’

CHECK OUT ALL THE PHOTOS HERE