&tI was really pumped up to see Sonata last night at Peabody's in Cleveland. I saw them once before, in Toronto on their first North American tour in April 2005. I didn't know their music at the time, and that show was what made me a fan. In a way, this was a little like seeing them for the first time because I didn't know the songs last time.
I was pleasantly surprised to see Gravity open the show. They were the local opener when I saw Kamelot last year, and they were even better this time than last year. Great bombastic instrumental prog-metal. I recommend these guys.
The touring opener, The Agonist, was less impressive. They're just another extreme metal band, but with a female aggro vocalist. A girl near me in the crowd referred to her as a "razor-eating bitch." They were OK, but nothing special. I was particularly unimpressed by the guitars, as they sounded like a flock of mosquitoes. I couldn't make out one note of the leads played by the guitarist directly in front of me. No big loss, though.
Sonata were on their game. Tony's pipes were in top form, hitting all the high notes. The new guitarist, Elias, blew me away. I was sad to see Jani go, but Elias is at least as much a showman and his chops are better than Jani's. I was particularly happy to see him playing through a Mesa amp rig that sounded very similar to mine. My only real complaint about the show is the sound, as it was hard to hear Henrik's synth parts at times. The energy was good, and Tony looked like he was having a blast. The setlist was no surprise, as they've been playing the same selections at every show. The choices were good, but not perfect. I would have preferred some different song choices from the new album, Unia, especially. 'In Black and White" isn't nearly as good an opener as "Misplaced" was on the Reckoning Night tour, and I just don't care much for "Paid in Full.; I would have loved to hear "The Harvest" and/or "Out in the Fields," which is actually the bonus track on Unia. (I wonder what it means when the bonus track is my favorite?) Sonata will return early next year. Only West Coast dates have been announced thus far, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed for some eastern dates.
Photos at Flickr.
SA setlist:
1. In Black and White
2. Paid in Full
3. Victoria's Secret
4. Broken
5. 8th Commandment
6. Tallulah
7. Fullmoon
8. Caleb
9. Black Sheep
10. It Won't Fade
11. Gravenimage
12. San Sebastian
--encore--
13. My Land
14. Don't Say a Word
15. The Cage/Vodka sing-along