Happy Super Late Night, Sweet Baby,
I am back from the Opeth concert. They played 2hrs 45minutes, a marathon show divided into two sets as described last night. They didn't even take a break between the sets, just two minutes with the stage lights down low as they walked offstage.......and then back on again. Their music is so complex and full of dynamics, and they are flawless players, on par with the best progressive bands.
The show, and band, were fantastic.
The venue was another story.
I had not been to The Belasco Theater before. It is another of Downtown L.A.'s old historic theaters, set adjacent to The Mayan Theater, where I saw my first Opeth show in 2011. Anyway, The Belasco has the Old Theater Look, very 1920s and classic, but it is comparatively small versus a place like The Orpheum (just a few blocks away) where I saw Opeth last year. So the sound, which is very loud, tends to bounce around and get muddy in places. The quiet parts - a feature in almost every Opeth song - stood out in crystal clarity, and the loud stuff was pretty good for the most part because it's so tightly played. But compared to the sound at last year's Orpheum show - which was flawless - it left something to be desired.
But the worst part about The Belasco is that it was An Absolute Sardine Can. It looked like they oversold it, and I can't imagine the fire marshall would've been too pleased had he inspected the joint. I got there at 8:15 (when the opening band "The Sword" were on) and I couldn't find a clear sight line on the balcony, which had no seats, only standing room at the railing overlooking the stage. It was jam packed.
So when Opeth came on, I tried the floor, which was far worse. Me being 5' 9", I could only see the heads and shoulders of the band members, and the sound was terrible down there because at the back of the floor where I was, there was a balcony overhang, which caused the sound to be compressed underneath it, and it was awful. So, I went back upstairs and by the third song I finally found a spot with a semi-clear view all the way to the left side by the staircase, and I stood there for the rest of the show.
It was a general admission show, and even though Opeth put on a great performance as always, I don't think I will do another general admission show, especially for a hard rock band with a lot of drunk fans. One thing that drives me absolutely crazy is the way people can't sit still (or stand still) and just watch the show. They have to run back and forth, up and down the stairs, to get beer after beer or whatever, like it's a freakin' baseball game. But the worst part is, and I think I mentioned this before, that everybody thinks he's a comedian at an Opeth show. Because Mikael is known for his stage banter, drunk fans think they are funny too, and they yell stuff back at him, and they sing loudly along to the songs........
Good Lordy Moses, SB.
That's why I love classical concerts so much. Nobody makes a peep until the music stops.
Still, it was an excellent show musicwise, and I would never miss an Opeth show for any reason because they are so good live.
Except.........well, let's just say I hope they don't play The Belasco again, or any general admission venue.
I hope your day was good. That was a beautiful photo you posted this morning, from Porcupine (Tree) State Park. Man, what an incredible expanse of trees! As far as the eye can see, turning color. If I remember correctly, you went there before a couple years ago. And so that's where you were last weekend, not in Mexico City but in Upper Michigan. :) Post more photos if you wanna.....
I liked your concert photo, too, from your professional FB page. You say you are obsessed with lens flares, and I've gotta say that I always have been too, lol. I am always looking for lighting "artifacts", and way back in the 90s, when I was shooting film at The Meadows and other earthquake related places, I was always trying to use the sun as a "special effect". In fact, I used to try to use my own eye as a reflector, haha. When I was shooting film with my Pentax ME Super, an SLR, I used to think, "hey, the Sun is reflecting through the viewfinder........what if my eye on the receiving end can reflect it back.....and cause an artifact of it's own"?
I had (and have) no idea if that is possible, but I do have a few photos from that time in which an iris-shaped artifact is visible in the photo, in which I was using the Sun to create special effects.
So keep doing it and see what you get!
Post more photos when you can.
See you in the morn (which is almost here already).
I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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