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Kamelot Concert Review
Kamelot: The band I've been so eager to see for the past couple of years. So before the show, I was quite nervous to see them perform, for I felt like watching them play is like going to see royalty. No, I'm not kidding, I'm actually being serious. Anyways...the two people who went with me were my cousin Katie and her boyfriend Maverick, who were very new to power metal, or metal in general. So, I felt like it would be a good experience for them to see Kamelot wih me. Great band, great crowd, and an awesome venue to host us.
We got there around 8pm and got in by 9. Since we were on will-call, Katie, Mav, and I got in pretty quickly, thankfully. I was really hoping to see them close-up. But before getting my spot in front, I had to buy a Kamelot tshirt, so I went to the stands and bought a "The Black Halo" North America tour shirt. After that, the show finally began.
The first band was, surprisingly, Epica. I had thought there was going to be another band playing before them because the flyer said "Kamelot, Epica, and "special guests" but there was no other band to be seen. Fortunately, this made me more excited to see Kamelot. Now for Epica, I've never been a fan of theirs. But, I've only listened to about 3 songs by them so I was willing to give them a chance with their performance, and I must say, they weren't too bad. I actually enjoyed myself watching them play, and Simone is beautiful! I don't know any of the song titles, so excuse me for my lack of detail regarding this performance. When they played the Death cover, I was really surprised and it was quite interesting. But I think the best part of the performance was the last song, and again, sorry for the lack of song titles. It was an excellent song too, and I was impressed with them.
After a 15 minute break, the show continued, and finally...KAMELOT WAS UP! They began with the song "When the Lights are Down" which was the perfect song to begin the performance with a bang. The crowd was so into it, singing every verse of the song. Khan looked amazed when he watched us sing the chorus. I must say, everything that Kamelot was doing was pure perfection, and I must say, they are definitely a LIVE BAND. If you're not into them, seeing them live would still impress you. Being able to listen to Roy Khan's vocals to it's entirity while right in front of him is an experience that shouldn't be missed, and watching Thomas Youngblood on the axe is a sight to see. They played plenty of their classic songs, such as "Center of the Universe," "Farewell(which was an amazing performance)," and many more. Oliver Palotai, Kamelot's keyboardist, gave us a beautifully done keyboard solo that left us speechless. I'm really glad Kamelot finally put him as a more permanent, mentioned member. There was a segment in which Roy Khan introduced every member and the last member he introduced was CASEY FUCKING GRILLO, in which he followed it with an amazing drum solo. Goddamn, he is good on that set. Kamelot finished with the songs "Karma" and "March of Mephisto" where Youngblood did the growling. It was the perfect finish. They played 3 songs which I wasn't a big fan of: "Edge of Paradise" from the Epica album, "Karma" from the Karma album, and "March of Mephisto" from The Black Halo album. But seeing those songs played lived changed my thoughts on them. It was just pure genius. My favorite track was probably "The Haunting(Somewhere in Time)" in which Simone came out to sing with Roy. Each and every song was played with so much energy and the crowd never stopped. Roy said that it was the first time they played here in San Francisco, and then followed by saying they're coming back. I'm coming to see them for sure again. One of the greatest shows I've ever been to.
There was also several songs I really would have loved to see. Many of them came from the Karma album which has many excellent tracks. Those from that album I wanted to see were "Wings of Despair," "The Spell," "Don't you Cry," "Temples of Gold," and basically the rest after that...so yea, I really wanted to see the Karma set played but of course this is for The Black Halo. I would have also liked to see "The Fourth Legacy," "Nights of Arabia," and "Until Kingdom Come" from The Fourth Legacy. "Lost and Damned" "III Ways to Epica" and "Descent of the Archangel" from Epica.
Although that's a lot to miss, all the songs they played were excellent tracks. This show is going to LA soon, I believe so whoever is around there, go to see them. You won't be disappointed. And for the two new-to-metal people who came with me. They absolutely loved the show. Goes to show you what kind of bands Epica and Kamelot are. |
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