Jon Oliva’s Pain at 13 (2010)

13 (Tilburg, Netherlands)

Jon Oliva’s Pain

This was a very special evening indeed. JON OLIVA'S PAIN DVD shoot at the mighty […]

By Erika Walberg

• October 15, 2010

This was a very special evening indeed. JON OLIVA'S PAIN DVD shoot at the mighty 013 venue in Tilburg, a moment I've been waiting for since it was first announced. An evening that was going to be special in all ways! 013 really is a great venue for recording a live DVD, no doubt about that. The lights were amazing and the effects with the smoke coming out of the piano were awesome, but also that the stage actually allows the band to move even if Jon's grand piano takes a lot of space. So far so good! Prior to the concert there were a V.I.P event where parts of the soundcheck was opened to the fans and some close up's were shot of the members. It was clear immediately that Jon was going to have issues with his voice this night. He was making a few excuses and couched a little before continuing with the songs. A brief try on "When The Crowds Are Gone" and he decided to sing it in a low key for the soundcheck to not ruin his voice completely for the show. God Damn, that man possesses an ability to sing low with a force that will make the major part of he Opera society green with envy. But of course we all were wondering if Jon was going to make it during the show.

What I think is very unfortunate with this whole recording is the choice of the set. JON OLIVA'S PAIN has released four amazing albums up to this day and to only have the two last ones represented in the set feels really odd. Sure, "everyone" just wants to hear the SAVATAGE classics and yes, that's one of the biggest reasons people are coming out to see Jon Oliva play. Don't get me wrong, I really love the SAVATAGE stuff too but just for this night I was really hoping for some of the JON OLIVA'S PAIN songs never played before.

But the set-up was great, the band sounded amazing straight through. Jason Gaines and Jerry Outlaw are mighty fine musicians both of them and they did a great job. I especially liked the connection between Jerry and Matt LaPorte, they're extremely synched and to see them duel in "Ghost In The Ruins" was amazing. The way they switched around between each other and how they communicated before the hand over's. Amazing to see really and this will absolutely be one of the highlights of the DVD. Of course Tom McDyne and Kevin Rothney were missed and it felt really strange to not have them there on stage, especially Kevin since he's been there for all the shows I've seen. But the band did great and everything sounded as amazing as it always does. Apart from Jon's voice that is. For the major part of the show it worked fin, sure it could be heard it was strained but ABSOLUTELY not as bad as some of the youtube clips showed.

The little more raw songs as "Sirens" and "Warriors" sounded great. I still hold JON OLIVA'S PAIN material as the highlight of the show. "Death Rides A Black Horse" and super-heavy "The Evil Within" worked perfect too. Amazing "Firefly" together with SAVATAGE-classic "Tonight He Grins Again" was a few that sounded a bit forced.

Looking at the whole picture, the set will be perfect for a DVD, the response from the crowd for "Believe" and "Gutter Ballet" was spine-chilling and I really hope the film crew manages to catch it, even if they just manages to capture half it still will be amazing. It was great to see an almost sold out 013 supporting JON OLIVA'S PAIN, this is what they deserve. The downside with a venue that bi was that the intimacy is lost, the immediate connection with the crowd, the direct stories and debauchery that is standard with Jon. I missed that and I think it's a bit unfortunate because it's such a big part of the band. So, on one hand this show will be the best on film with the huge light rig and all of that, on the other hand the personality and feeling of being a part of the show was missed. But there's no doubt the show will make a great DVD, something to watch over and over again.

JON OLIVA'S PAIN setlist"