Rockefeller 07.12.2007

Everyone!

Check out S.T.G, Mantrick and Kill devil hills on youtube from yesterdays show.
[url]http://youtube.com/watch?v=k-ARed9Ac[/url]

This was my 16'th MP show and they are still amazing. Kenneth, acording to me did a hell of a good job yesterday. keeping up with Benth and Snah cant me easy.
Enjoy psychonauts...

Good thing that some of you seem to aggree, although it is indeed sad that one of the greatest livebands on earth appears on the verge of losing their renowned quality..

They need to get something done with their sound, it totally ruins their shows. Where are the vocals in all the porridge if sound? You have to look at their facial expressions to decipher what they're singing! I don't recall if it has always been like this? Wasn't it better a few years ago? As far as i remember, the earlier tours (in oslo and other places in norway) has had much clearer and more distinct sound. I think it was quite muddy last year too however.

I don't know if the sound-issue would solve everything, though. The setlist still consist of a lot of, imho, boring songs and fillers. I mean - i always like the new songs and the new albums, for about six months or so, then i put them away. But i keep returning to the older albums. It has been like this since trust us, or maybe cake/panero, as i've played them a bit too. Love cult was some kind of a mistake and BH/BC really isn't very good either.

But I totally agree with what was being sad about, although they kept releasing mediocre albums, they still rocked live in those years!!

So. If you want to jam it out, thats great, but please let the audience hear what you're doing. If you wanna rock it, thats probably fine, but please play rocking songs, not f***** neverland.. Sorry guys, but I'm just kinda disappointed that my favourite band seems to be losing it..

Allright, enough whining, lets hope things improve, and I'll be there in spring, hopefully experiencing a totally different show!

Cheers,

Good thing that some of you seem to aggree, although it is indeed sad that one of the greatest livebands on earth appears on the verge of losing their renowned quality..

They need to get something done with their sound, it totally ruins their shows. Where are the vocals in all the porridge if sound? You have to look at their facial expressions to decipher what they're singing! I don't recall if it has always been like this? Wasn't it better a few years ago? As far as i remember, the earlier tours (in oslo and other places in norway) has had much clearer and more distinct sound. I think it was quite muddy last year too however.

I don't know if the sound-issue would solve everything, though. The setlist still consist of a lot of, imho, boring songs and fillers. I mean - i always like the new songs and the new albums, for about six months or so, then i put them away. But i keep returning to the older albums. It has been like this since trust us, or maybe cake/panero, as i've played them a bit too. Love cult was some kind of a mistake and BH/BC really isn't very good either.

But I totally agree with what was being sad about, although they kept releasing mediocre albums, they still rocked live in those years!!

So. If you want to jam it out, thats great, but please let the audience hear what you're doing. If you wanna rock it, thats probably fine, but please play rocking songs, not f***** neverland.. Sorry guys, but I'm just kinda disappointed that my favourite band seems to be losing it..

Allright, enough whining, lets hope things improve, and I'll be there in spring, hopefully experiencing a totally different show!

Cheers,

Heard them far worse back in 95-96, when it comes to understanding the words they are singing. The sound was not that bad, you could even get the words on the new songs, on most parts anyway.

my brother just in with the original setlist:

-no evil
-neverland
-Lucy`s moment
-S.t.g
-> v.s
-sepentine
-> santcho
-sail on
-you lose
-up/down
-k.d.h
-> sparX
-> p.naut
-> into the sun

-------------------
-mantrick
-hyena
-you lied
-b. to c.

Is this: [url]http://youtube.com/watch?v=gOjB898r4nc[/url] a part of the new song "lucy's moment" or is it something else???

theOtherOtherNils Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Is this: [url]http://youtube.com/watch?v=gOjB898r4nc[/url] a
> part of the new song "lucy's moment" or is it
> something else???

That was the middle jam of Sancho Says.

More or less complete Mantrick here:

[url]http://youtube.com/watch?v=J7AN9kO69wE[/url]

Regarding the sound: During the first three songs I was standing on the left side, pretty close to the stage, and the sound did indeed suck. However, it seemed to improve during that looong new thingie, Lucy's Moment. And when I moved to the back of the venue, I'd say the sound was mostly crystal clear and not even too loud except perhaps during the most noisy parts.

Speaking of which, for once I didn't find most of those parts all that interesting - apart from that, for me the gig was a very pleasant experience. I'm one of those who actually dig every single song on BH/BC, so to me there were no fillers except Neverland and maybe Upstairs/Downstairs, which didn't give me so much this time.

So, my two cents: Killer setlist and killer performance, and a lot better than the Rockefeller gig one and a half years ago. Kenneth impressed me a lot - his style is obviously very different from Geb's, but man, what an awesome change in the rhythm section.

Also kind of nice to see Snah as a bit more of a frontman, even taking over the vocals on Psychonaut! I liked the new arrangement of Serpentine, seemed like it made it easier for Snah to sing it (writing the melodies on the guitar sometimes make his songs a hell to sing, you know).

Initially, I was a little disappointed to see there were no keys onstage, but hey, if I want to hear weirdo jams, Interstellar Overdrive style, I can go listen to those '99 recordings or something. (Hmm, but I guess I don't really feel like it, haha.) As the show went on, I really didn't miss that aspect. Snahs' solos weren't quite up there all the time, but some moments were absolutely stellar imho.

Into The Sun and Mantrick Muffin Stomp: woohoo! Lucy's Moment: I think the bad sound ruined the beginning for me, but the uptempo parts with Snah singing were great. Funny song structure, I'm looking forward to hearing the studio version.

Uhm, and what else? I need to attend more gigs next year!

Btw, did anyone notice Kenneth's ridiculously huge hihat? Haha, just thinking about it makes me laugh.

yeah the hihat was potent!

Lenny Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Everyone!
>
> Check out S.T.G, Mantrick and Kill devil hills on
> youtube from yesterdays show.
> [url]http://youtube.com/watch?v=k-ARed9Ac[/url]
>
> This was my 16'th MP show and they are still
> amazing. Kenneth, acording to me did a hell of a
> good job yesterday. keeping up with Benth and Snah
> cant me easy.
> Enjoy psychonauts...


looks and sounds like a great gig to me. i haven't seen these new shows, but i still do roll my eyes over some comments. it's 2007, guys. what's this rant about this nostalgia thing and the band getting worse!? can't imagine really. and the setlists are fine. kill devil hills a filler??? erm.... what???

after 15 years it's mostly not the musicican getting worse, but the fan's memories and perceptions start to diverge from reality. but heck, i'm sure there were some nutheads in knebworth '79 stating that led zeppelin played waaaaaay better in '68. and really meant it.

Good point about memories and perceptions vs. reality, but I'd rather have seen, say, Aerosmith live in 1975 than in 1994 if you catch my drift. I mean, having a blast at a gig isn't all about the musicianship of the band. If you can't relate to the material being performed it really doesn't matter if the band can play it backwards standing on their head, right?

I think this whole discussion reflects on the ever present fact that MP plays what they wanna play, and have always done just that. And from this viewpoint, it's rather safe to state that they can't please everyone at the same time. Psivert says that "Love cult was some kind of a mistake and BH/BC really isn't very good either". And with this statement in mind, it's no wonder that he thought of this setlist as rather boring. I on the other hand would have loved this set, since i simply love BH/BC (IALC isn't exactly my favorite album, but i would never call it a mistake - too many wonderful songs on there). But that's me. Bottom line is that as long as MP continues to be as versatile as they are and have been, this discussion will never fade away. There will always be ppl crying for the next Golden Core, or Let Them Eat Cake for that matter. Personally, i wouldn't have it any other way. Better to be amazed and dissapointed from time to time, instead of getting the same safe "dish" every time.

As far as "loosing it"goes, i think the sound issue fogs up the perception of listeners out there. Turn those knobs, and fix the sound problem, and you'll probably find a band more potent and inventive then ever before. That's my bet atleast

Good points about reality and perception. As I stated, it might be a bit of nostalgia involved on my part. I am, however, very open for the idea that we should love the band for what it is (just like our wives..) and accept the bad shows as well as the mindblowing ones. And I don't think I ever mentiond KDH as a filler? But imo there are quite some fillers on BHBC, though.. )
Well, so this concert wasn't the best, but it wasn't the best either. Half of it was good, and half ot was kinda dull. Thats the way it went, and I'll keep returning to those shows for years to come, unless something really bad happens to me (or them!).

Have a good one!

Kristoffer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Btw, did anyone notice Kenneth's ridiculously huge
> hihat? Haha, just thinking about it makes me
> laugh.


All Kenneths cymbals are in fact Sabian Legacy series ride cymbals. The hi-hats are two 21" heavy rides. Insane!

Kristoffer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Good point about memories and perceptions vs.
> reality, but I'd rather have seen, say, Aerosmith
> live in 1975 than in 1994 if you catch my drift.
> I mean, having a blast at a gig isn't all about
> the musicianship of the band. If you can't relate
> to the material being performed it really doesn't
> matter if the band can play it backwards standing
> on their head, right?

Regarding Aerosmith, erm, yes, I totally catch it.

And yes, for me too the setlist is probably more crucial for my enjoyment as the actual playing of the band, since a mediocre MP show (if there ever was one) is still great. I could do without Neverland, Go to California, Song for a Bro', Black to Comm and Vortex Surfer (this one only because of overexposure, it's MP's very own Stairway to Heaven or Smoke on the Water...) and enjoy myself wonderfully with Feedtime, The Golden Core, Hyena and Kill Devil Hills, even if the band wouldn't be in an over the top form. A very personal perception, too.

I just felt that some people put the band down because of their last few albums and tours by considering these weaker than their previous stuff. So I mentioned that diversion from reality thing. But obviously we're all good here.

The Golden Blissard Demon Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> As far as "loosing it"goes, i think the sound
> issue fogs up the perception of listeners out
> there. Turn those knobs, and fix the sound
> problem, and you'll probably find a band more
> potent and inventive then ever before. That's my
> bet atleast


Maybe our boys finally became deaf after 17 years maximum r'n'b...

psivert Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
< And I don't think I ever
> mentiond KDH as a filler?

actually you did.

They could have done a full concert of "fillers" and it would have been a great live experience. Hey, it's MP. The best band in the world (imho). So why shouldn't they play Neverland or You Lied? Perhaps there are some people who are not really hardcore fans like us. They perhaps only know some of the popular songs. And if you were there, you would have seen, that these songs do work at a concert (and, btw, I think everyone in the whole Rockefeller had sung: You Liiiiied, now I can never trust that feeling....) So you also could complain about Black to comm or Vortex Surfer, or earlier: Oh my god, they're going to play The Golden Core again, or: Shit, another Chien...
And the sound: OK, it was loud, f***ing loud, loud as hell, but it wasn't that bad the whole time: even during the quiet parts, the talking crowd didn't disturb tooooo much, because the music was loud enough that you also could feel it.
At a concert, there are some places, you can nearly never hear some good sound quality, but therefore, you can see your idols standing face to face in front of you. More or less, you have to decide, where to stand. That's not working everywhere, I know, but I would say that it was very ok at Rockefeller. Some ear protection surely is necessery, i think.
And isn't it great, to see MP back on stage such motivated and with so much fun on what they're doing? I would love to see such diversity and happieness from many other bands...
Imo, it was a great concert, that was worth travelling 1500 km for (I'm still a bit tired...). MP reminded me on some past gigs, they played with Geb, with many jamming and a psychonautic feeling. We only can hope, that they play as much as possible the next year. They are back again!