Concert Review: In Flames, Killswitch Engage, AILD

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

I've missed As I Lay Dying twice now, once because of them. So they get a negative review for that first concert. Once because of me. So I get a negative review for this concert. Neither one of us had flat tires, both of us did have certain "difficulties" involving our noses and a lot of what we'll both sheepishly call granulated sugar cane. Only, mine resulted from losing four out of my five senses -- smell being one of them -- drinking Blue Hawaiian and Blue Whale flavoured Mad Dog before the show, and they likely missed the event last year due to rock cocaine. We seem to be even!

Vitriola and I showed up just as In Flames was starting their set. (It should be noted that I did attempt to parallel park beforehand, so that was a half hour right there. It wasn't all due to secret boozing before the show.) I wasn't that perturbed at not getting there early: believe me, if a local act purchased fifteen minutes of air time at the Ogden Theatre, I wasn't going to be missing anything. Denver bands are terrible, Denver rock bands moreso. It's sunny three hundred days a year... what the fuck is there to be angry about? If I am starting a metal, nu-metal or emo band and I live in Denver I would have to ask myself: "Am I better than John Denver?" If not it's time to get back to practice. In a room, not a theatre. A sound-proof room.

I was in the pit for In Flames until my girlfriend got kicked in the head by a guy jumping over the rail. Afterwards, the bouncers for the Ogden got together on their Maytag dishwashers and talked about how hectic things would be when they had to start scalping Seattle Mariners World Series tickets. I was wearing a leather jacket while I was in there because I was an idiot and this was the first concert I had been to in ten years where the weather was above 70 degrees. We made it out of the pit together not because we were able to see each other and travel to the same spot, but because Dayna was able to follow the sweaty slushfall generated from my internal 100 degree personal "body" system.

In Flames played a bunch of songs I liked, and then some that I didn't know, but still liked. REACTION: POSITIVE!!!

Killswitch Engage came on next, after allowing everyone in the place to go get some drinks. They claimed that they did have a flat tire. Maybe that's industry-speak for "our bassist was the meat in a groupie sandwich and didn't get off until five minutes ago because he has erectal dysfunction." Good for him, if so. Well, for the sandwich part, not so much the dysfunction.

I liked their set, though many of the songs were new. They are clearly a band of the Information Age, as they were requesting the crowd sing the lyrics to their songs, which were tracks on a CD that wasn't released until Tuesday (er, today). Maybe they just wanted to see how pirated their new release was. I'm not sure. They were also genuinely funny in parts -- I am thinking of one moment where the guitarist stated what their next song was going to be about (I forget exactly, so let me paraphrase):

Guitarist: Our next song is about our dear Lord Satan!! He --
Vocalist: No, it's not.
Guitarist: It's about demons and vikings and --
Vocalist: No.
Guitarist: Cauldrons?
Vocalist: No.

They did it better than I can remember, though the cauldron line was theirs. Ha heh ha. Great set, and I would totally go download songs of theirs off the net. I guess that's what it's all about.

Got home OK and didn't break any bones or have to parallel park in getting there. STATUS: RECOMMENDED!

[V at work]

As I Lay Dying is from San Diego, not Denver. That being said, everything else was on the money. Including the 34 minutes it took you to park.

[nessman]

In Flames is an acquired taste - but pretty good stuff. I d/l'ed a bunch of their stuff including a live concert broadcast from somewhere in a non-English speaking European country.

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

NESS!!!

[nessman]

NESS!!!