I arrived right at 7, when doors opened. As I walked up the stairs to the second floor of the club where the Magic Stick was located, I passed a familiar face walking down the staircase. I turned back around, and sure enough, it was Paul himself, walking out the door carrying a backpack. I wish I had stopped him or said something at the time, but I admittedly was stunned to see him walking around the area so soon. Anyway, I moved up to the Magic Stick and over to the merch table. This is where Disappointment #1 of the night occurred: they had the shirt I wanted, but without the tour dates on the back. Apparently they are awaiting the next shipment of the version with dates. So I left this show without a shirt. They said I would be able to order it later, though, so I'll get it eventually, it's just an annoying hassle. After surveying the rest of the merch and finding nothing else of interest, I moved to the stage and took a seat right next to one of the guitars on the stage. After waiting about an hour or so, the first band came on, geared up and started to play.
Dysrhythmia - Just like the last time I saw Cynic, an instrumental band opened the show. In January, it was Scale The Summit, who thoroughly impressed me. This time, it was this trio from Queens. Unfortunately, I enjoyed Scale The Summit a bit more. Dysrhythmia certainly has the chops to make good music; there were a lot of cool guitar bits I enjoyed, and the six-string bass stood out in some spots, especially a solo part in the first song and a neat tapping part on the last one. However, they don't seem to have the songwriting to put it all together yet. I found myself drifting in and out of interest on most of their songs. Instrumental bands are usually a hit or miss with me. While not terrible and wielding some talent, Dysrhythmia was mostly a miss. I don't have a setlist, but they played 7 songs and by 8:30, they were off the stage. 5/10
Intronaut - After a quick turnaround, this band from Los Angeles stepped up. I hadn't really listened to them at all before the show; I only heard of this band previously because they supported Mastodon on their first leg of their Crack The Skye tour. Well, I will most certainly be listening to them more often after this show. They were great, at times very reminiscent of the aforementioned Mastodon, but not quite on that level. They mix some great, sludgy riffs with a little bit of jazz thrown in here and there. The drummer was an absolute beast, and definitely stood out on some of the songs. It was difficult to hear both guitars at some point, but that's probably because one of them was right in front of me. I could hear both vocal parts provided by the guitarists just fine though. There were some nice parts in the bass too. The set itself started slow but gained momentum as it went on, capping off with the crushing Australopithecus and the finale, New Port, in which the second guitarist spent the intro and outro of the song on a second set of drums playing in tandem with the drummer as the other members exited the stage. It was very fun to watch and an exciting way to finish off a solid support set. I would gladly see them again, maybe not headlining, but certainly in support. Other than those last two songs, I do not have a setlist, but they played 6 songs total. 7.5/10
Cynic - First of all, let me say that Cynic had probably the trippiest stage setup I've seen, complete with two circle projectors and smoke machines. Once the set started, it got even better, with plenty of lasers and lights accompanying the smoke and projectors. Now, for the set itself. I was concerned when soundcheck did not go very smoothly; Paul's mic was getting no sound, so the man himself had to come out and look at it himself, at which point they fixed it. The guitars weren't really checked at all, just plugged in momentarily to see if they got any feedback, and that was that. Despite that ominous beginning, I was pretty pumped when the band crept out onto the stage to start Veil of Maya.
Unfortunately, my concerns about the sound were well-founded, as problems were evident from the intro. Paul's mic and vocoder were definitely too quiet, and when Tymon came in with the screams, they were overpowering. The guitars were also low in the mix, which made the softer parts of Veil of Maya hard to hear, making me a sad panda. The solo came through nice and clear, but other than that, it was a rocky start. Celestial Voyage didn't go much better, and I feared that they would keep going without stopping to correct the problem. Fortunately, after they finished the song, Paul ran off stage, and Sean said they were having "technical difficulties." Paul came back with another guitar cable, hooked it up, and at last, they were in business. They went right into The Eagle Nature, and from that point on, Focus was incredible. The vocoder finally came in clearly, the screams were solid and not overpowering, and I could finally hear Paul's guitar. The highlights of the album for me were played back-to-back: Uroboric Forms, the showcase of how heavy Cynic can be when they want to and one of my favorite solos on the album, and the beautiful and luscious instrumental Textures. All the sound problems they had on the first two songs were a distant memory by the time they finished How Could I.
"Well...that was Focus. Wasn't that quick?" Paul asked us as they brought out an acoustic guitar. At this point, the rest of the band took a seat as Paul performed Integral. After the death metal assault of Focus, the song was a very welcome contrast, and a bridge from the first half of the show to the second half. Not to mention that the song itself was absolutely gorgeous, but something one wouldn't expect from Cynic. After that was finished, Paul brought his regular guitar out and they started Nunc Fluens, which led directly into The Space For This, and at that point they started to go through the Traced In Air part of their catalog. Just like at the BTBAM show, their Traced In Air material slayed and woke up the crowd, which was kind of on and off during the Focus portion of the show. After four straight songs from Traced, they broke off into Wheels Within Wheels, the only new song from their EP, another good change of pace from their heavier album stuff. After this, Paul invited us onto the stage to do some yoga. We all looked at each other, wondering if he was serious.
"Just kidding," Paul finally said, smiling, "but seriously, if any of you want to come on stage and rock out with us, feel free. This is a song based on yoga, called Adam's Murmur." And with that, they went into one of my favorite songs on Traced and played it flawlessly. One kid even took up Paul's offer, came on stage and started headbanging right next to Tymon. It was quite funny. After that, Paul introduced a song that most of Cynic's lineup recorded after the release of Focus under the name Portal, a song called Cosmos. One of the highlights of the night, it was a very simple but surreal song that sounded a little like something Cynic would do, but a bit more atmospheric than anything they recorded on Focus. It was incredibly cool. Following this, the band closed with the Traced In Air version of Integral Birth, another highlight on that album for me. It was pretty unique to hear two versions of one song performed in the same set, and both versions were executed beautifully, with Paul playing his solo right in front of me, close enough where I could give him a pat on the back. It was a wonderful end to a great performance. After the show, Paul and Sean shook hands with everyone who remained as they bid farewell. They took a couple songs to click, but once they did, Cynic put on a hell of a live show, and definitely a unique and fulfilling experience. 9/10
Setlist:
Veil of Maya Celestial Voyage The Eagle Nature Sentiment I'm but a Wave to... Uroboric Forms Textures How Could I Integral Nunc Fluens The Space For This Evolutionary Sleeper The Unknown Guest Wheels Within Wheels Adam's Murmur Cosmos Integral Birth
The set is lacking King of Those Who Know and Nunc Stans, two songs which were included on previous sets on the tour. While not getting those songs was disappointing, it did not at all detract from the performance and my enjoyment of the show. Cynic is a one-of-a-kind band, and I will treasure their shows every time they come here.
everything was sloppy, like the bands were just thrown togther. Both bands shared a bassist and drummer. Bassist was excellent. Drummer sucked. Singer for both bands sucked. Traci Gunns was really good. The bright spot was Jon Corobi. His band was pretty good. And his voice is better than anything vince neil has done recently
drinkwine732Posts: 20,418destroyer of motherfuckers
Who the fuck has a show starting at 9:30? I was getting into the car at 8:45 feeling like I was just on my way out to get Funyns or something, not go out for a show. The drive was shitty, foggy, and San Francisco-y. I got in the venue, chatted a bit with a guy I knew there, and then went inside to see the first opening band, Man Among Wolves.
The first thing that ran through my mind when I saw these dudes setting up was "grindcore 3 piece." I was right. Immediately, I realized that live grind is not for me. It's tough for me to get into my groove as a concert goer when songs are only about 1 minute long, often times less. With that said though, these guys were alright. The lead vocalist mentioned that it was his first show with the band, and I thought he did pretty well. He also cracked some jokes about his age and how tough it is to be up there. I thought the whole band were enjoyable, even though grindcore isn't for me. If I were a fan of the music, I'd love these guys in a live setting.
For some reason, the two guys that make up Population Reduction remind me a whole lot of Swashbuckle. Now, before you recoil in fear at the mention of Swashbuckle, I must say these guys really pulled it off. They were funny, interesting and in general cool guys on stage. Their music wasn't my thing, a lot like Man Among Wolves. They had a few headbangin' moments though, and their tunes seemed a lot more focused than other grindcore that I've heard. All in all, a fun band live that doesn't take themselves too seriously, and a good break from metal bands that do so.
The Funerot guys continued the trend of playing fairly short songs, leaving me to be somewhat disappointed when songs would end so abruptly. I feel like some of the songs they were playing had so much more in them, but I digress. I thought this four piece from Washington really tore the place up. There were some shredding solos, and some really heavy riffs being thrown around throughout their set. They talked only a little to the crowd, introducing themselves and whatnot, and played their brand of thrash to the San Francisco crowd. I don't really think the crowd quite "got them," though, because I looked around to see some blank faces.
Boy, it took foreeeeever for Impaled to set up. Just when I thought they were done, they'd bring out some lights and two sirens to complete the stage setup. With that said though, I thought Impaled were fantastic in a live setting. It was apparent immediately at the beginning of their set that the crowd was there for them. A pit opened up in seconds, making the already filled venue even more cramped. One thing I was totally struck by was the lack of Death After Life material in the set. I personally consider that to be one of the better death metal albums of the decade, and was really sad to see it ignored in the set. Sound in the venue was somewhat lackluster, but I think that might have been due to me being crammed against the stage. All throughout though, metal was enjoyed, people headbanged, and Impaled destroyed. They only had about a forty-five minute set, which left the whole crowd wanting more. In fact, most people (including myself) stayed, thinking there was going to be an encore. Alas, there was none. Nevertheless, Impaled put on a fantastic show, and one that I will gladly see again if the opportunity presents itself.
Man Among Wolves: 6.5/10 Population Reduction: 7/10 Funerot: 7.5/10 Impaled: 8.5/10
Comments
zombies at my neighbors
42nd ego
in the empyrean
shoe shine for neptune
and the game of life
maybe another old song
I arrived right at 7, when doors opened. As I walked up the stairs to the second floor of the club where the Magic Stick was located, I passed a familiar face walking down the staircase. I turned back around, and sure enough, it was Paul himself, walking out the door carrying a backpack. I wish I had stopped him or said something at the time, but I admittedly was stunned to see him walking around the area so soon. Anyway, I moved up to the Magic Stick and over to the merch table. This is where Disappointment #1 of the night occurred: they had the shirt I wanted, but without the tour dates on the back. Apparently they are awaiting the next shipment of the version with dates. So I left this show without a shirt. They said I would be able to order it later, though, so I'll get it eventually, it's just an annoying hassle. After surveying the rest of the merch and finding nothing else of interest, I moved to the stage and took a seat right next to one of the guitars on the stage. After waiting about an hour or so, the first band came on, geared up and started to play.
Dysrhythmia - Just like the last time I saw Cynic, an instrumental band opened the show. In January, it was Scale The Summit, who thoroughly impressed me. This time, it was this trio from Queens. Unfortunately, I enjoyed Scale The Summit a bit more. Dysrhythmia certainly has the chops to make good music; there were a lot of cool guitar bits I enjoyed, and the six-string bass stood out in some spots, especially a solo part in the first song and a neat tapping part on the last one. However, they don't seem to have the songwriting to put it all together yet. I found myself drifting in and out of interest on most of their songs. Instrumental bands are usually a hit or miss with me. While not terrible and wielding some talent, Dysrhythmia was mostly a miss. I don't have a setlist, but they played 7 songs and by 8:30, they were off the stage. 5/10
Intronaut - After a quick turnaround, this band from Los Angeles stepped up. I hadn't really listened to them at all before the show; I only heard of this band previously because they supported Mastodon on their first leg of their Crack The Skye tour. Well, I will most certainly be listening to them more often after this show. They were great, at times very reminiscent of the aforementioned Mastodon, but not quite on that level. They mix some great, sludgy riffs with a little bit of jazz thrown in here and there. The drummer was an absolute beast, and definitely stood out on some of the songs. It was difficult to hear both guitars at some point, but that's probably because one of them was right in front of me. I could hear both vocal parts provided by the guitarists just fine though. There were some nice parts in the bass too. The set itself started slow but gained momentum as it went on, capping off with the crushing Australopithecus and the finale, New Port, in which the second guitarist spent the intro and outro of the song on a second set of drums playing in tandem with the drummer as the other members exited the stage. It was very fun to watch and an exciting way to finish off a solid support set. I would gladly see them again, maybe not headlining, but certainly in support. Other than those last two songs, I do not have a setlist, but they played 6 songs total. 7.5/10
Cynic - First of all, let me say that Cynic had probably the trippiest stage setup I've seen, complete with two circle projectors and smoke machines. Once the set started, it got even better, with plenty of lasers and lights accompanying the smoke and projectors. Now, for the set itself. I was concerned when soundcheck did not go very smoothly; Paul's mic was getting no sound, so the man himself had to come out and look at it himself, at which point they fixed it. The guitars weren't really checked at all, just plugged in momentarily to see if they got any feedback, and that was that. Despite that ominous beginning, I was pretty pumped when the band crept out onto the stage to start Veil of Maya.
Unfortunately, my concerns about the sound were well-founded, as problems were evident from the intro. Paul's mic and vocoder were definitely too quiet, and when Tymon came in with the screams, they were overpowering. The guitars were also low in the mix, which made the softer parts of Veil of Maya hard to hear, making me a sad panda. The solo came through nice and clear, but other than that, it was a rocky start. Celestial Voyage didn't go much better, and I feared that they would keep going without stopping to correct the problem. Fortunately, after they finished the song, Paul ran off stage, and Sean said they were having "technical difficulties." Paul came back with another guitar cable, hooked it up, and at last, they were in business. They went right into The Eagle Nature, and from that point on, Focus was incredible. The vocoder finally came in clearly, the screams were solid and not overpowering, and I could finally hear Paul's guitar. The highlights of the album for me were played back-to-back: Uroboric Forms, the showcase of how heavy Cynic can be when they want to and one of my favorite solos on the album, and the beautiful and luscious instrumental Textures. All the sound problems they had on the first two songs were a distant memory by the time they finished How Could I.
"Well...that was Focus. Wasn't that quick?" Paul asked us as they brought out an acoustic guitar. At this point, the rest of the band took a seat as Paul performed Integral. After the death metal assault of Focus, the song was a very welcome contrast, and a bridge from the first half of the show to the second half. Not to mention that the song itself was absolutely gorgeous, but something one wouldn't expect from Cynic. After that was finished, Paul brought his regular guitar out and they started Nunc Fluens, which led directly into The Space For This, and at that point they started to go through the Traced In Air part of their catalog. Just like at the BTBAM show, their Traced In Air material slayed and woke up the crowd, which was kind of on and off during the Focus portion of the show. After four straight songs from Traced, they broke off into Wheels Within Wheels, the only new song from their EP, another good change of pace from their heavier album stuff. After this, Paul invited us onto the stage to do some yoga. We all looked at each other, wondering if he was serious.
"Just kidding," Paul finally said, smiling, "but seriously, if any of you want to come on stage and rock out with us, feel free. This is a song based on yoga, called Adam's Murmur." And with that, they went into one of my favorite songs on Traced and played it flawlessly. One kid even took up Paul's offer, came on stage and started headbanging right next to Tymon. It was quite funny. After that, Paul introduced a song that most of Cynic's lineup recorded after the release of Focus under the name Portal, a song called Cosmos. One of the highlights of the night, it was a very simple but surreal song that sounded a little like something Cynic would do, but a bit more atmospheric than anything they recorded on Focus. It was incredibly cool. Following this, the band closed with the Traced In Air version of Integral Birth, another highlight on that album for me. It was pretty unique to hear two versions of one song performed in the same set, and both versions were executed beautifully, with Paul playing his solo right in front of me, close enough where I could give him a pat on the back. It was a wonderful end to a great performance. After the show, Paul and Sean shook hands with everyone who remained as they bid farewell. They took a couple songs to click, but once they did, Cynic put on a hell of a live show, and definitely a unique and fulfilling experience. 9/10
Setlist:
Veil of Maya
Celestial Voyage
The Eagle Nature
Sentiment
I'm but a Wave to...
Uroboric Forms
Textures
How Could I
Integral
Nunc Fluens
The Space For This
Evolutionary Sleeper
The Unknown Guest
Wheels Within Wheels
Adam's Murmur
Cosmos
Integral Birth
The set is lacking King of Those Who Know and Nunc Stans, two songs which were included on previous sets on the tour. While not getting those songs was disappointing, it did not at all detract from the performance and my enjoyment of the show. Cynic is a one-of-a-kind band, and I will treasure their shows every time they come here.
everything was sloppy, like the bands were just thrown togther. Both bands shared a bassist and drummer. Bassist was excellent. Drummer sucked. Singer for both bands sucked. Traci Gunns was really good. The bright spot was Jon Corobi. His band was pretty good. And his voice is better than anything vince neil has done recently
The first thing that ran through my mind when I saw these dudes setting up was "grindcore 3 piece." I was right. Immediately, I realized that live grind is not for me. It's tough for me to get into my groove as a concert goer when songs are only about 1 minute long, often times less. With that said though, these guys were alright. The lead vocalist mentioned that it was his first show with the band, and I thought he did pretty well. He also cracked some jokes about his age and how tough it is to be up there. I thought the whole band were enjoyable, even though grindcore isn't for me. If I were a fan of the music, I'd love these guys in a live setting.
For some reason, the two guys that make up Population Reduction remind me a whole lot of Swashbuckle. Now, before you recoil in fear at the mention of Swashbuckle, I must say these guys really pulled it off. They were funny, interesting and in general cool guys on stage. Their music wasn't my thing, a lot like Man Among Wolves. They had a few headbangin' moments though, and their tunes seemed a lot more focused than other grindcore that I've heard. All in all, a fun band live that doesn't take themselves too seriously, and a good break from metal bands that do so.
The Funerot guys continued the trend of playing fairly short songs, leaving me to be somewhat disappointed when songs would end so abruptly. I feel like some of the songs they were playing had so much more in them, but I digress. I thought this four piece from Washington really tore the place up. There were some shredding solos, and some really heavy riffs being thrown around throughout their set. They talked only a little to the crowd, introducing themselves and whatnot, and played their brand of thrash to the San Francisco crowd. I don't really think the crowd quite "got them," though, because I looked around to see some blank faces.
Boy, it took foreeeeever for Impaled to set up. Just when I thought they were done, they'd bring out some lights and two sirens to complete the stage setup. With that said though, I thought Impaled were fantastic in a live setting. It was apparent immediately at the beginning of their set that the crowd was there for them. A pit opened up in seconds, making the already filled venue even more cramped. One thing I was totally struck by was the lack of Death After Life material in the set. I personally consider that to be one of the better death metal albums of the decade, and was really sad to see it ignored in the set. Sound in the venue was somewhat lackluster, but I think that might have been due to me being crammed against the stage. All throughout though, metal was enjoyed, people headbanged, and Impaled destroyed. They only had about a forty-five minute set, which left the whole crowd wanting more. In fact, most people (including myself) stayed, thinking there was going to be an encore. Alas, there was none. Nevertheless, Impaled put on a fantastic show, and one that I will gladly see again if the opportunity presents itself.
Man Among Wolves: 6.5/10
Population Reduction: 7/10
Funerot: 7.5/10
Impaled: 8.5/10
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