|
March 23, 2003 - Agora Theatre - Cleveland, OH, US Concert review by Brock (brock[at]case dot edu) Siva - Zwan : Concert Reviews I showed up to the Agora with my friend. We waited around as the venue filled up, and the opener played some cutesy string-filled children's-type music (IIRC), which really just made the crowd anxious. I mean, it was nice, but lacked the raw power everyone awaited. It seemed like forever before the band came out. When they started, they broke right into Mary Star of the Sea (no Jesus I intro), which IMHO would have made an awesome opener to the album (sadly, the brilliant title track got buried 2/3 through the disc in the dead zone). They didn't drag MSotS out too long. They continued a very solid tracklist after that. I expected almost all album cuts, since it was only released 2 months prior, but they slipped in the Beatles cover for variety (wasn't quite as energetic as their own songs). Honestly, Lyric, and Desire, 3 of their standout tracks in terms of writing, were put in back-to-back. "Yeah!", which I normally don't like, was performed well, and actually sounded better than the album. Heck, all of the songs sounded better than the CD, because the instruments and mixing were done perfectly: you could even hear Pajo and Sweeny's guitars with fantastic clarity. And, Billy's voice was right on key, and lacked almost all of the whiney sound that can sometimes overtake his live performances (at least from the many SP recordings I've heard). I swear Zwan didn't miss a note either. They changed the pace completely with Jesus, I / GGSTWoF, building slowly from the soft album track to a clap-along chant. Heartsong upped the tempo a bit, but then they lowered the lights for the solemn acoustic Of a Broken Heart (very beautiful). We moved around the theater during GGSTWoF, from left to right on the mezzanine (lowest balcony), then up to the the upper balcony for a better view. It wasn't easy to convince myself to go further from the band, but we were able to grab great spot on the ledge, overlooking the stage from ~30 degrees. Lighting was mostly bright and colorful, BTW, as you'd expect for Zwan. They played Endless Summer like the title implies, and it seemed like a solid choice for closing. However, the crowd hadn't gotten enough, so we cheered full volume for 5 minutes until we got an encore track (A New Poetry). The band smiled and left stage. It took 10 more minutes of cheering and whisling and clapping to earn the second encore. Settle Down was studio-perfect (like all the others!). I hadn't heard Spilled Milk previously, so its grungey harshness surprised me. Very SP-ish, and uncharacteristically heavy for Zwan. It was a great way for the crowd to use up the last of its energy, though... soaking up the feedback. I grabbed a sweatshirt on our way out and we smiled all the way home. Notes: For reference, this review was typed 3.5 years after the fact, so a few specifics might be off (I do have a decent memory though). I've been to the Agora for a number of shows; Zwan sounded every bit as great live as say, Dream Theater with their super-expensive setup (DT was more technical and thundering, as to be expected). For a somewhat similar show, check out the 2003.04.24 performance at the Roseland Theater in Portland. It's a month later and a different track order, but similar quality. Available as of writing on archive.org. Note2: If anyone has a recording of the Cleveland show, PLEASE email me! I'd love to have a copy! |
Mary Star of the Sea - Song List - Photographs - Tour Dates - Bulletin Board - Concert Reviews
 | Page Hits Since 12/25/02 Web site design, layout, and graphics © 1995-2003 Aaron Grant Got a question or have information about the Zwan? E-mail us blamo.org's privacy policy. |  |