The Sigil of Slateman: Concerts: 2024

home | concerts | 2024

King Diamond / Overkill: 28th October, 2024 - The Fillmore Silver Spring, Silver Spring, MD

Having seen a show a week earlier, I began to realize I'm not quite as young as I once was. Tonight's show was equally as exhausting, but far-more fun, seeing a pair of '80s stalwarts decades later.

The drive up took a while, as did the return journey, but after my pre-game routine, I headed to the venue with my plan in place. Got a drink, witness Overkill, hit the head and move up for King. My favorite bartender wasn't present, so I chatted it up with a fellow older-timer and got a good spot for the Blitz/D.D. affront. Verni was absent for some shows on this tour so I was particularly surprised, and pleased, to see him present tonight. The setlist was short, far-too brief, with half being classic and half being new.

To address the latter, the show's opener was underwhelming, but the trio of other new songs were far-more entertaining. Though I was only familiar with parts, The Surgeon was killer. As for the classics, it was a well-rounded selection and all sounded fantastic: with veterans, mid-range musicians (guitarists) and newbies (drummer) all delivering. The small pit was welcome and despite my ankle issues and unrelenting age, I dove in for a few rounds. For old time's sake!

Setlist

Scorched
Rotten To The Core
Bring Me The Night
Hello From The Gutter
The Surgeon
Ironbound
Elimination
Fuck You!

A restroom break and a refill later, I followed a young fan to get pretty close before the band took the stage. The setlist was pretty solid, with a trio of new songs and only one from the post-The Eye era. Once again to comment on the new material, they were generally quite bad: with one I'd heard, and dismissed prompty, and a pair of generic-sounding 21st-century songs. Let's face it: this new record has a scant likelihood of even being listenable.

However, no one goes to see King Diamond in 2024 to witness his rebirth. Nay, the glory of those first five records was on display, featuring a pair of songs from each, with Abigail instead getting three and Conspiracy just one. On the drive up, I listened to "Them" deeming it my favorite KD album, partially due to its influence on my metal upbringings.

King sounded great, and while his schtick may seem cheesy, it's authentic and sincere and the entire show was pretty kick-ass. Many of the band's interludes were from his catalogue of instrumentals, a nice touch.

The stage itself, the performances and the whole night was great. The camaraderie in the crowd was wonderful, though a constant reminder that so few of us are young. There was a lot of bouncing and a small group of us leaned heavily into the sing-along portion of the night. It wasn't a particularly-mosh-driven set, though. This is hardly a slant. It'd been 19 years since I saw King solo (and 22 for Overkill!) and they sounded spectacular. So glad I went.

Setlist

Arrival
Halloween
Voodoo
Spider Lilly
Sleepless Nights
Welcome Home
The Invisible Guests
The Candle
Masquerade Of Madness
Eye Of The Witch
Burn
Electro Therapy
E: Abigail

Opeth: 20th October, 2024 - Warner Theater, Washington D.C.

I purchased a ticket to see Opeth after seeing the setlist for their 30th-anniversary tour. I was excited by the promise of early-days songs before realizing that this tour would be in support of some new album. Now, The Last Will And Testament was pushed back, but still, this was not quite the show I had hoped for.

The sun sets earlier this time of year and thus, it was dark by the time I arrived in DC this evening. After a proper pre-game ritual, I entered just on time. Playing the first of two new songs, I was impressed by the subsequent trio of songs appearing on MAYH, Still Life and Ghost Reveries. Now, the lack of first-album material is an abject disappointment, but as a whole, the show was enjoyable. 3 of the following 6 songs were newer material, but the band sounded spectacular and Mikael's light banter was enjoyed by most at the all-too-fancy-for-death-metal-vocals theater.

The two Ghost songs were great, despite me not loving that record and even Sorceress was enjoyable. It was Deliverance that cemented the evening as fantastic (well, along with Demon) as the lengthy track sounded remarkable. This was my fourth time seeing them and the first in just under 19 years - which was an absolutely-terrible show. This was fun and I'm glad I went. Not much else to comment on, really.

Setlist

§1
The Leper Affinity
The Grand Conjuration
Demon Of The Fall
Eternal Rains Will Come
In My Time Of Need
Face Of Melinda
Heir Apparent
§3
Ghost Of Perdition
E: Sorceress
E: Deliverance

Manchester Orchestra: 7th September, 2024 - The Fillmore Silver Spring, Silver Spring, MD

Took the family to see this on a whim: tickets were cheap and after Aerosmith canceled their tour, it was a little payback for Erin missing their farewell to live shows. We moved up swiftly, though unlike metal concerts, people aren't so eager to move around. After ruffling some feathers, things loosened up a bit, particularly as the evening proceeded. While this tour was in celebration of Cope's 10th anniversary, it's not an album my wife or I was really familiar.

The show was a mix and I didn't love it all. But the kids liked it and Erin enjoyed the evening. First-set closer The Silence and the flurry of encores were all a delight, however, and the show ended on an exceedingly-high note. It was a special night, going to a show as a family. The band wasn't Aiden's favorite, but he had fun. Kairi truly loved it.

Setlist

Top Notch
Choose You
Girl Harbor
The Mansion
The Ocean
Every Stone
All That I Really Wanted (Acoustic)
Trees
Indentions
See It Again
Cope
After the Scripture
The Silence
E: The Maze
E: The Gold
E: Bed Head
E: Shake It Out

Cake: 2nd August, 2024 - The Wolf Trap, Vienna, VA

Erin's birthday gifts this year were tickets to see Cake and Aerosmith on their farewell tour. As we left this show, thrilled and excited, we got the news that the latter band canceled all their touring plans and retired, effective immediately. Good thing the first half of her birthday gift was so good!

Our first venture to The Wolf Trap was pleasing. We arrived and had some cold concoctions in the car before entering the outdoor venue this balmy Friday evening. I quite liked the feeling of the place, it reminded me of a wooden cottage in New England from the '70s. Our seats were about as bad as you could get, but it was all rather intimate and better than sitting outside with the chance of being rained upon. After grabbing a bite and some frosty drinks, we sat down to a full, two-set, no-opening-act show. Erin was big into this band in the late '90s and early '00s and she knew every...single...song. It was pretty fantastic.

The second set began with them giving away a tree...yes, a tree...and the tone throughout the evening was lighthearted and jovial. The band appeared to have fun, the crowd was into it - you can't really ask for much more. I'm familiar with most of the band's catalogue, and while it's not fully my cup of tea, it's rock and they closed with my favorite song. Certainly a fun evening and I think Erin really enjoyed herself.

Setlist
Set 1:

Sad Songs and Waltzes
Opera Singer
Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps
Frank Sinatra
Sheep Go To Heaven
Rock 'n' Roll Lifestyle
Walk On By
Meanwhile, Rick James...
Sick Of You

Set 2:

Love You Madly
Stickshifts And Safetybelts
Long Time
Ruby Sees All
Haze Of Love
Never There
E: Short Skirt/Long Jacket
E: I Will Survive
E: The Distance

Wayfarer / Sonja: 12th May, 2024 - Atlas Brew Works, Washington, DC

I feel like I was hoping to go to another show this evening but that tickets were sold out. Then, I saw Wayfarer, a band whose record landed in my best records of 2023 was playing in DC. I wrote an old friend, Tim, whom Erin worked with in Sweden and he happened to have an extra ticket!

I drove in, had some beverages and met up with him. We recapped things, having not seen each other since At The Gates in 2022 and watched the openers. Sonja was a fantastic, female-led band who closed her set with Deja Vu by Iron Maiden. That was a deep cut that took me a minute to figure out.

Wayfarer was fantastic and I just wish I had listened to their prior album more beforehand. The new record is great and the select songs from A Romance With Violence were spectacular. The venue was literally just a brewery, so it was an exceedingly-tiny place. But it was packed and the night was fun. What a great evening.

Setlist

The Thousand Tombs Of Western Promise
The Cattle Thief
To Enter My House Justified
The Crimson Rider (Gallows Frontier, Act I)
1934 (Tape)
Black Plumes Over God's Country
The Iron Horse (Gallows Frontier, Act II)
False Constellation
E: Animal Crown

Brit Floyd: 10th March, 2024 - Warner Theater, Washington, DC

Kairi mentioned while listening to a live rendition of Comfortably Numb, "Ah, I'd kill to have heard this song live!" While I had been on the fence about getting tickets to Brit Floyd, a band I'd seen nine years prior, this was the sign to get tickets.

They were reasonably cheap and we got fantastic seats, just a few rows back. Unfortunately, since this type of band draws an older crowd, it didn't hold quite as much oomph as a teenage girl should have during her first show. Translation: everyone was old and sitting and boring.

Fortunately, the band was none of these things and they sounded phenomenal! As this was a tour supporting the 30th anniversary of The Division Bell (geez), the first set was heavy on that material. Not my favorite, but Kairi quite liked it! They closed with Dogs, so I was satisfied utterly before the setbreak even began. And these guys sound great. They look great. It's a top-notch cover band who display all the bells and whistles to give you as authentic an experience as you can imagine. Simply top notch.

Set two, however, had all the greatest songs. Shine On was an incredible way to start the set, a few from Dark Side, the hits from The Wall - you know what you're getting here. However, Kairi's one wish-list song was Great Gig and she was so stoked to see this live. Her favorite and my favorite in one night? So good. If we had one extra choice, it would've been Any Colour You Like, but we did not leave unsatisfied.

The night was fantastic. It was cold out, we had a 45-minute drive home and we got up the next day for school. But it was entirely worth it and I think it's a day she'll remember.

Setlist:
Set 1:

Astronomy Domine
Learning To Fly
High Hopes
Take It Back
Coming Back To Life
Sorrow
Keep Talking
Dogs

Set 2:

Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts I-V)
Time
Breathe (Reprise)
The Great Gig In the Sky
Wish You Were Here
One Of These Days
Hey You
Another Brick In The Wall, Part 2
Us And Them
Money
Comfortably Numb
E: Run Like Hell