I'm going to see DragonForce... again.

[Marcus]

Two months in a row. First go in August at The Chance, and now in Times Square.

This time, I'm bringing ear-plugs. I'm stoked!

[Daywalker]

I'm not too big on "Sword Metal", but the guitar work on that album is revolutionary. Have fun!

[Chase_The_Bass]

I love DragonForce, its a wonderful break from all the screaming that has been in metal lately. Wonderful guitarists, i saw them at Ozzfest less then a month ago.

[Tbirdbassist]

A couple of my friends are planning on going to that one. I'm not sure if I'll be going because I can only take the "Street Fighter - meets - Guardian Heroes" music for so long before I want to rip my ears off. I'm sure it will be a good show.

[Marcus]

Originally Posted by SMASH

Yeah, earplugs are a must at any gig. Worst that can happen is that they stay in your pockets.

I got freebies to their sold-out show here last night.

I enjoyed openers Horse The Band a lot, and was pleasantly surprised by 2nd band All That Remains. While I was eager to see them, Drgonforce playing what amounts to the same song over and over got old fast for me. Poor staging with lots of smoke and backlighting making it so you couldn't see them or more importantly their fingers very well. The onstage antics between songs were repeated too often and not usually funny even the first time, and singer drove me nuts with his antics while the guitar solos were going as he was very distracting and the solos are the only thing remarkable about this band in the first place. I wish he'd done like LaBrie of Dream Theater and gotten off the stage and let the musicians do their thing when he's not needed.

I'm glad I saw it, but we left before the encores.

I understand what you mean entirely - the side-antics between tunes gets a little tiresome, and you're right, during solos, I'd rather have the singer vanish but ah well.

Did they play "Body Breakdown" by any chance? It's the tune with the small slap bass and keyboard exchange. It's one of my favorite songs... which they omitted from the setlist the last time around.

Was the show still obnoxiously loud even with earplugs?

[Marcus]

Originally Posted by SMASH

No "Body Breakdown" during the main set. Wasn't that loud - normal concert volumes. I used my Entymotic earplugs so I could hear the guitars clearly though even then I've heard better guitar sounds in this venue. Walked out with zero hearing fatigue. Enytmotics rule - cheap price, clear balanced sound, no hearing fatigue like foamies can still leave you with.

I'm in the audience for 50-100 gigs per year, then there's all the rehearsals and gigs onstage ... couldn't live without 'em. I'm always amazed when I look around at a show and see people without plugs, so just in case I always bring extras for friends in case they forgot theirs. Clubs usually sell or give them for free if you ask, while rented venues don't always have 'em available but usually security staff will.

I gotta give the band credit for keeping the energy up. The venue was unusually hot - so hot it got difficult to breathe, people were thoroughly soaked by just standing there. The drummer couldn't carry the double-kicks entirely through some songs, but maybe due to the heat. It was a sunny day here, but I've never felt uncomfortable in this venue before so maybe the heat was turned "on" instead of the air conditioning.

They've surely played in much hotter and more humid climates (although then there's likely air conditioning inside?), but even the band remarked on the heat and you could tell they were having a hard time of it at times - one guitarist had his strap keep sliding off his shoulder he was so soaked - so full marks to them for not quitting or standing still.

I'll have to check up with my local audiologist to try a set of the earplugs you suggested. I've been meaning to do that for quite some time now.

For some reason, I do not think "Body Breakdown" is in their setlist at all, which is somewhat disappointing to me... ah well, we'll see what happens on the 29th (I think it's the 29th... I have a bad memory though ^_^;

[embrynat2000]

You know,

I thought those guys were okay, maybe a little over the top with the guitar solos, but okay until I met them briefly backstage at Ozzfest.
What a bunch of arrogant pricks!

[Marcus]

Originally Posted by embrynat2000

You know,

I thought those guys were okay, maybe a little over the top with the guitar solos, but okay until I met them briefly backstage at Ozzfest.
What a bunch of arrogant pricks!

I had the exact opposite experience. I met Herman and Sam after a show at the Chance theater and they stopped to talk to any and everyone. Heck, I took a video recording of a friend of mine (guitarist) talking to Herman on his phone. They were super-friendly and went out of their way to please their fans.

Circumstances always dictate behavior though, so who knows what happened during their stop at your Ozzfest date.

[embrynat2000]

Originally Posted by Marcus Alan

I had the exact opposite experience. I met Herman and Sam after a show at the Chance theater and they stopped to talk to any and everyone. Heck, I took a video recording of a friend of mine (guitarist) talking to Herman on his phone. They were super-friendly and went out of their way to please their fans.

Circumstances always dictate behavior though, so who knows what happened during their stop at your Ozzfest date.

Maybe they were having a bad day, it was the fist day of the tour. I just said "nice set" to them and got nothing but scowls in reply. Maybe they all had such bad tinnitus all they could here was "eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!" and they thought I was an alien coming to steal their licks.

[lemur821]

Originally Posted by SMASH

I enjoyed openers Horse The Band a lot, and was pleasantly surprised by 2nd band All That Remains.

Dragon Force and Horse the Band together? Sounds head-explodingly good.