Opeth was set to hit the stage at Shibuya O-EAST at 7 p.m. Doors opened at 6 p.m., and there was no opening band. Rain had been falling hard all day and didn’t let up before, or after, the show. I arrived at 6 to find that they were letting people in based on a number printed on the ticket. It turns out I was number 189. I don’t know if this is the case at all small venues in Japan, but it is good to know. If you aren’t in the first 50 numbers, who grab up the best spots, you may as well show up 10 minutes before the show so you don’t have to stand and wait for an hour.

Most people in the audience had an umbrella with them throughout the show, myself included. Afterwards I thought I should have opened my umbrella when Mikael mentioned “Watershed,” but maybe the mostly non-English speaking audience wouldn’t have made the connection.

O-EAST is a fantastic venue. The stage is large for the size of the place, and everyone in the audience is within about 40 feet of the stage. The sound was incredible. I think this was the best quality sound I have ever experienced at a concert. Maybe my earplugs were just in perfectly, or something, but the music was crystal clear. There wasn’t the normal distortion of music bouncing around like there usually is at indoor shows. I wasn’t even standing near the mixing board; nor was I dead center. Even so, the mix from my position in the crowd was perfect; every instrument, and the vocals, sounded just right.

Even though I saw Opeth on this same tour back in the states this past summer, the set list was extremely different on this evening in Tokyo. Only two songs were the same. “Windowpane” was probably the last song in the world I was expecting them to begin with. “Burden,” kicking off the encore, was also a shock. Personally, I’d rather hear “Demon of the Fall” and “Baying of the Hounds” instead, but surprises are good too.

Setlist:
Windowpane
Ghost of Perdition
The Lotus Eater
White Cluster
The Leper Affinity
Reverie/Harlequin Forest
April Ethereal
Hex Omega
Burden
Rudolf Schenker impersonation
Guitar Solo
Deliverance

I have a pretty decent video of “The Leper Affinity” coming here soon.

Posted on November 17th, 2009 under Japan • Tags: metal, opeth. • RSS 2.0 feed • Both comments and pings are currently closed