Live Review: The Mars Volta (4/4/2008) House Of Blues, Myrtle Beach, SC
Ever since The Mars Volta show originally scheduled in Atlanta last weekend got canceled, I had been pretty bummed. The Mars Volta are very high on my list of favourite bands and I had only seen them once before at Bonnaroo 2005. So when I learned late last week that tickets were still available for the Myrtle Beach show, some of the crew and I decided to at the last minute to go. A very wise decision.
We arrived at the venue a little over an hour before the doors opened and already there was a large crowd. The House Of Blues had a VIP line to get in the venue before everyone else, and you had to purchase $15 worth of stuff from their store to get let into it. I had never seen anything quite like that before. Then upon entering the venue when doors opened, the security searches were about as comprehensive as I have ever seen. They used metal detectors and we had to empty our pockets into containers. I felt like I was at the airport. I got inside and quickly staked down a spot a few bodies from the front of the stage.
The Mars Volta would come on a few minutes later than scheduled and play for slightly over 2 hours and 45 minutes. It was everything I had hoped it would be. Thomas Pridgen is an absolute beast on drums. At certain points, Omar would be acting as conductor through jamming sections and it almost appeared like he was pissed at his band every once in a while. Maybe that’s just the way he does it. I thought Cedric really shined, hitting everything flawlessly. He was throwing what I thought were guitar picks at Omar’s brother playfully throughout the show. Also, I don’t believe his hair is real. The setlist seemed to be a bit smaller than other setlists I had seen, but rather than getting to hear a ton of songs, I got to experience a ton of jamming, and I think I prefer that from this band anyways. Here is the set as best as I can determine, but there was a bunch of in-between parts I did not recognize at all:
Roulette Dares
Viscera Eyes
Wax Simulacra
Goliath
Ouroborous
Tetragrammaton
Agadez
Cygnus
Aberinkula
Drunkship
The venue itself had some of the best sound I’ve ever heard. About half way through the show I left my spot up front to hit the bar and I would just walk from one place to another and everywhere sounded great. The way the building was shaped was also very neat, as there were inclines in the floors so that you could see the stage from just about anywhere. Despite the fact I’m not the biggest fan of tight security, it seemed to be a necessary evil in such a professional arena. Especially considering the crowd, which was the one part of the experience I did not enjoy. Near the beginning of the show, a whole bunch of meatheads pushed their way to the front, and the crowd was full of examples why I would never want to live in Myrtle Beach. Cedric even had to yell at the crowd between songs because they were all talking through quiet parts and committing other various rude concert etiquette infractions.
But all in all it was a fabulous experience and I hope I get to catch them again sometime soon. Hopefully they’ll reschedule their Atlanta date.
- Posted by Davy Minor on April 10, 2008 at 2:53 pm
