Went to Opeth/Katatonia last night, and it was amazing.
Katatonia was pretty great. I love that band. I missed a few songs, I think, but they played a good mix of stuff from Last Fair Deal Gone Down, Viva Emptiness, The Great Cold Distance, and Night is the new Day. I think the songs I saw were Criminals, Chrome, My Twin, July, The Longest Year, and Forsaker. I know I'm missing one or two, but I was really happy with that setlist. Chrome especially sounded amazing live. You really couldn't see Jonas' face ever, though. I felt like he was hiding from the crowd in his hair. That was kind of weird.
Opeth put on probably the best show of the 3 or 4 times I've seen them. I had to warn the people next to me who were hoping for some heavy songs off Ghost Reveries and stuff that the setlist would be only light songs. And, yeah, they didn't do any growling songs, but I think things got plenty heavy. Even those that really just came for some heavy songs left pretty happy from what I could tell. The crowd was really into it. There was absolutely no heckling or anything about the setlist. I personally loved the setlist.
The songs from Heritage really come more alive in a live setting, especially since they sound a bit heavier. There's more dynamics to it. And a lot of the things they added to the songs were pretty amazing. Axenrot did a really long drum solo in Porcelain Heart that everyone got into. Credence had an added section that was awesome. Throat of Winter was beyond amazing live. And they played A Fair Judgement! That's one of my favorite tracks. Closure was also pretty amazing, and I remember really liking the stuff the new keyboardist added to that and a few other songs. I feel like he could be a good addition to the band. He didn't really seem to get as "into" it as Per did, but the stuff he played and added was pretty good.
The light show was the best they've ever had, and the sound was pretty decent considering it was at The Rave.
Mike was still a great personality on stage, too. He joked with one guy wearing some 3D glasses for some reason "Hey you! Are we in 3D... right now?" He asked what room at the Ambassador Dahmer was in. He told us a lot about old bands, and talked about them. He also said he was in a hurry because it was his daughter's birthday and he had to call her. And lastly he taught us all a funny word in swedish... that Ketchup means.... Ketchup. lol.
So, yeah, if you can go to this tour and you're a fan of Opeth's non-growling stuff, do yourself a favor and go.
