I write really long reviews with stuff people may not care about but some may want to read because when I read them, I like to read every detail but I understand if you don't want to so I'll just split it up into sections:
Background stuff/tidbits:
So I didn't think I would actually make it to this show since it was 12 hours away and everything but I got off work, my dad got off the day after to help with driving, and I had no tests or anything important due the next day at school so I just skipped. I calculated the costs and it was only gonna be like $160, including gas and the ticket price so it wasn't too bad in all honesty. I was in shock the weeks and days leading up to the show...it was so weird that I even was able to go and I never thought Alcest would even ever play live so it was kind of surreal.
Anyways, we left at about 11:30 PM on Friday night and I drove for about 5 hours through Kentucky. I burned like 12 cd's of non-metal stuff so my dad woulnd't go insane. Haha. I went to sleep and my dad drove the rest of the way. I woke up and we were in Ohio. We walked around Cleveland, went to little Italy (I found these cookies I haven't seen in like 5 years and they're my favorite cookies ever so I bought $15 worth...haha), the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the old Arcade, I ate bison, and the city was cool.
Actual Review:
We got to the venue around 6:00 PM just to be safe because I never know how many people are gonna be at a show...I saw Isis in Orlando and figured a few would show up but it was sold out. I thought there was gonna be a bunch of people at the Enslaved show a few years back but I was the 1st person there. The same case happened here and we were the 1st ones there. I was worried they might be stuck in France because of the Iceland volcano but my dad wanted to go to the bathroom so we went into the Loading door when the venue wasn't even open (even though I said that's probably not a good idea) and was relieved when I saw Niege on stage doing sound check. We chilled outside until about 8:00 and they finally opened the doors. There was probably like 11 people inside so I was kinda worried there would be a low turnout. But the venue was pretty cool and Velnias came on first:
Velnias:
They are a Blackened Folk/Doom band according to Metal Archives, but they were just alright to me. They were all facing each other like in a circle on stage. It was weird...none of them were facing the crowd. The music wasn't bad but I couldn't get into the vocals. At the end of the last song the whole band got on the floor of the stage and the singer screamed some lyrics with no mic at the top of his lungs. Of course, my dad thought this was the most bizarre and hilarious thing he'd ever seen.
5/10
Trans-Atlas:
This was a local band from Cleveland. They consisted of a guitarist and a drummer. The drummer looked like he was about 20 and the guitarist, with a bandit mask on, looked pretty young too. I can't even explain their music. It was just really weird and avant-garde and not in a good way. The guitar parts were very basic and the vocals were all over the place. The drummer's bass drum kept moving so the club owner brought a cinder block and put it in front of it so it would stop. Of course, my dad also thought this was a Spinal Tap-esque moment and thought it was hilarious. One of the cymbals was falling off during their set and the drummer either got pissed or just did this for effect but he just pushed the cymbal and bass drum over after their last song. As soon as this happened, his mom (yes, his mom) stands up and says "JESUS CHRIST BENJAMIN THAT'S NOT YOUR DRUM SET!" and she runs back to the stage to yell at him. Pretty funny if I do say so myself. I saw him apologizing to the owner later on. Getting lectured by your own mom during a concert was probably pretty embarrassing.
1/10
Broccoli Samurai:
Another local band...they were like techno/drum and bass but it was really boring. They had a keyboardist/sample guy, a bassist, and a drummer. It was kinda trancy and not bad but it all sounded like background music or the kind of music you hear after a band's set ends and they just play random stock music over the PA. Ehh.
6/10
Alcest:
Finally the moment I'd been waiting for. I got to the front of the stage and looked behind me and there was probably about 60-70 people there now. It wasn't a huge crowd but it wasn't embarressing. I started talking to this guy and can't remember where he was from but he said he drove 5 hours and I told him I drove 12 and we just generally talked metal until Alcest started. They opened with Printemps Emeraude and everything sounded great. Zero was on the 2nd guitar and he played most of the lead or main parts...his guitar was perfectly audible and I'm glad because he played some of my favorite little bits...some of my favorite parts of Alcest songs are just 3 seconds or certain little riffs and he played most of them...not Niege...and this was good because Niege's guitar could have been louder. His clean voice was almost as good as it was on album and you could hear him over the drums, which was a relief. Souvenirs D'un Autre Monde was great but the only thing that sucked is you couldn't hear one of my favorite parts (the riff at 4:29-4:58 ) because Niege was playing it...minor disappointment since that's one of my favorite parts. This is why I'm glad Zero played most of these. The bass didn't overpower everything but again, some small bass parts are my favorite so I'm glad it was at the right level...when I saw Wolves in the Throne Room, the bass and bass drum overpowered the guitar riffs so I'm glad this didn't happen here. One surprise and highlight was when Niege and Zero both sat down in chairs to sing Sur L'Ocean Couleur De Fer. This wasn't played in Europe (not that I know of) and it sounded great live. The mic kept falling below Niege's mouth so he stopped in the middle of the song, fixed it, and said "once more" or "one more time" and started over. That was pretty funny. Some other highlights were Percees De Lumiere and Elevation. Percees is probably my favorite song on the new album besides Escailles De Lune Part II and while his shrieks aren't exactly like they are on album (to be expected), they are pretty damn good for a live setting. I smiled as soon as he let his first streak come out of his mouth. I'm sure my dad didn't like it but it was amazing and the sort of dead crowd really got into them during this song since it had more energy. I'm glad they ended with Elevation because I thought they had to end their set with an older song from the Le Secret EP and it was a perfect ending. Overall, it was worth the 12 hour drive. My only complaints are: the low turnout, the energy of the crowd (they were kinda just standing there and staring so it was kinda lame), Niege's guitar sometimes, feedback during buildups, and they didn't play certain songs and the set wasn't longer (but the setlist was pretty damn amazing...just a minor complaint) but they were amazing and I got chills multiple times and felt the emotion Niege puts into his music.
Setlist:
Printemps Emeraude
Les Iris Play Video
Solar Song Play Video
Écailles de Lune (Part I)
Sur l'Ocean Couleur du Fer
Souvenirs d'un Autre Monde
Percées de Lumière
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Élévation
9/10
The fog machine kinda ruined most of the pictures but here's some decent ones:
I bought a shirt for my friend since I already have one, plus I already bought Escailles De Lune and Souveniers earlier. I went to go meet Niege and get my picture taken with him since I drove 12 hours...I just wanted to tell him and maybe he would appreciate it. I overheard a guy talking to him saying he drove 5 hours so I guess it was a common theme for people to show their support from long distances at this show. I was the last person in line to meet him and he looked like he was rushing but I just shook his hand and said thanks for the great show and told him I drove 12 hours from Georgia. He said "Georgias?" in a thick French accent. I then tried to explain it was close to Florida and halfway across the US and he said "OH OKAY!" but was probably just agreeing so I would shut up. I asked if they were coming back and he said yes and he said "I sorry but..." and looked like he needed to go backstage but I just asked for a picture really quick and he said sure.
We got a hotel in Columbus and drove back the next day. Overall, it was a successful trip. I got to "bond" with my dad, see a cool city, and see one of my favorite bands of all time on their first US tour ever. Awesome weekend.
