Someone asked me after the concert: How the fuck can you express in words what we just saw?. I can only try but seriously, unless you've already been to an Opeth concert there's not a chance that you'll understand the feeling. This was the second time I'd have the privilege of watching an Opeth concert and I've been looking forward to it since the day it was announced, a few months ago.
I arrived early, about one hour before it was supposed to start since the last time I arrived late at that venue I had to watch Paradise Lost from the back and there was no way I'd miss Mr. Akerfeldt's show this time, so after camping at a nice spot a couple of meters away from the stage I waited with a couple of friends of mine (hail Makis, you finally made it; and hail Mitsos, glad a true Opeth fan watched the show, har har Orph) for the band to come out.
At exactly 20:30 the lights went down and a crowd in complete frenzy gave Opeth a warm, screaming welcome. Ghost of Perdition was the opener and naturally all Hell broke loose along with a big mosh pit. Once again I'll point out the surreal of a mosh pit under big glass disco balls. You see Club 22 is also a regular dance club, I don't think I'll ever get used to the decoration, it's my third time there and I still think it's funny. I have to give credit though on the quality of the sound and for the first time there was enough air-conditioning to breathe, even at front rows.
After the first song from the masterpiece Ghost Reveries was over, Mikael showed that besides an amazing multitalented artist he's also a great standup comedian. Seriously, I don't remember laughing so much between songs, ever, everyone was enjoying it too much, at least 15' of the show were dedicated to his various comments and the crowd playing along. Some of the most memorable moments were about his visit the previous night at Thessaloniki. Last night we played at Thessaloniki. *clapping and cheers* We told them we'd play in Athens next; they booed and yelled that you are cunts *awkward silence and puzzled looks*. We came here to drink beers, play metal and... fuck some of you. I don't know why people always ask me to throw our picks. I can't play without my pick and our sound technicians are pissed off when we throw them around. I guess I could play like this *wiggles fingers* but fuck that, I'm not giving my pick, IT'S MINE!. Our next album will be rap *BOOOOH* Ok, I hate rap but it's still gonna be like that, I just want to wear all these golden chains around my neck. Truly brilliant comments that had us cracking up every time.
Back to the setlist though, White Cluster from Still Life (1999) and The Amen Corner from My Arms, Your Hearse (1998) followed to return to the present with The Baying of the Hounds. Seriously, do I even need to comment on the performance of a band such as this? They are a crown jewel in the world of music. I call them the Pink Floyd of Metal; those who call it a sacrilege have obviously never been to an Opeth concert, the feeling is unbelievable. Closure from Damnation (2003) and Under The Weeping Moon from Orchid (1995) were next. Mikael did a little comment on the later saying Our next song is from our first album, we sounded really fucked up back then and I don't know if you can make any sense out of it. If you want to listen to something coherent, go listen to Soilwork. Of course nothing was fucked up and he only demonstrated that this band kicked ass even at its very beginning.
The intro of The Grand Conjuration was enough to get me back into frenzy and The Drapery Falls from Blackwater Park (2001) didn't help either.
A short break for the band before the encore to get some rest and to enjoy all the cheers from the fans became a bit longer with the help of our favorite standup metal comedian who played some riffs from various songs and we were supposed to scream back the band's name. At Guns 'n' Roses' Welcome To The Jungle he said Nope, that's not them, they actually stole it from me!. I just loved his Holy Diver intro, they should definitely do some classic covers. With grunts. Please. I know I'm a sick freak so on to the last song of the show.
Deliverance from... Deliverance (2002) just killed me; it took a few minutes after its end for my brain to start wobbling inside my skull.
Their performance can be rounded down to a single word. Mesmerizing. The sound was very good, much better than the last two times I've been there. Mikael is an amazing guy and a fucking great metal-head who knows how to deliver one hell of a show. These were definitely two of the best hours of my life.
