In Flames at the Medley (Montréal)

Being fairly new to Montréal, and in need of some excitement, I decided to skim through upcoming music events on ticketpro.ca. With the intention of purchasing tickets for a Mobile concert (a local band making buzz around the city), I decided, in the end, to attend an In Flames concert instead. In Flames is a Swedish death metal band that is tagged by many as a faster and more aggressive Iron Maiden. Citing Maiden and Cannibal Corpse as influences, the band has been playing since the mid '90s. Unfortunately all the tickets to the show were sold out. The band is on a North American tour and has released a new CD called Come Clarity. Unfortunately, it fell below my radar and now that I couldn't get tickets I was pissed.

At 6:45pm, I decided to try and get a ticket off a scumbag scalper. As I arrived at the Medley in the freezing cold, I spotted one at the end of the line. I ended up paying double the cost price of $35.00.

At least the wait in line was short as it started moving soon after the purchase. In Flames had an insanely wild set of opening bands including Trivium, ZAO and Devil Driver (the latter being my favourite of the three). Having been to concerts such as Slipknot, Deftones and Static-X, this type of metal concert was new to me with a heavier and more aggressive crowd. With the style of music played (loud and distorted), The Medley, as a staging venue, was impressive as the acoustics were clear and crisp.

The In Flames concert was truly sold out. I believe the venue had more people then it could rightly hold. To put it precisely, it was ASS-packed giving all the head-bangers plenty of opportunity to swing an elbow to the face without been caught. Moving around the venue was a real bitch; you had to push your way to the washroom. Eventually I stopped by the bar on the second floor and pounded back a few beers and watched the bands play their music. The crowd mashed to their favourite songs. I really enjoyed Devil Driver's opening song "End of the Line" and their tribute to Pantera. The song "Walk" drove the crowd crazy.

With time drawing near for In Flames to take the stage, the crowd's enthusiasm rose. The increased excitement told you that In Flames were the band to see on this night. Problematically, the sound crew took their sweet ass time setting everything up leaving the fans annoyed and impatient. Some decided to leave angered by the wait, commenting about the band's move toward becoming mainstream sell outs. The comment rings true in a way as sales of the band's albums double with each new release.
In the end, the sound setup was well worth the wait. Once the last sound check was done a light tune began playing from the speakers. I found out later it was the fallout track from their latest CD release Come Clarity called, "Your Bedtime Story Is Scaring Everyone." I thought it was a great intro since this was the first In Flames North American tour since their main stage appearances in OZZFEST 2005. But the song was looped repeatedly making the crowd wait a second time for In Flames to hit the stage.

When the band finally appeared they opened with "Leeches" (off their latest CD) which got the crowd moving and mashing again. I really wanted to move into the middle myself but everyone filled it too quickly. I decided to stay upstairs and got a great view of the band's performance. The only thing that didn't excite me was the impression they gave on stage. It felt like I was watching the In Flames - Used & Abused... In Live We TrustDVD. The songs they played where almost in the same order and I was hoping to hear more songs from Come Clarity such as the fan favourite: "Crawl through Knives." They did play the popular songs, "Cloud Connected," "Friend," "Black & White," "Trigger" and "My Sweet Shadow," the latter off the 2004 album Soundtrack to Your Escape and the one they chose to finish the concert with.

To conclude, the concert was well worth the original $35.00 and I recommend to anyone who enjoys this type of music NOT to miss their next Canadian appearance. And if you end up buying tickets off a f#%& scalper as I did, I would only recommend paying that price for an In Flames concert only. Come Clarity has been in Canadian stores since February and I urge you to get this CD. It may not be a favourite among die-hard fans but for the mainstream this is the CD to purchase.

Favourite Fan Quotes
"My girlfriend has never seen you guys before tonight... she told me on the way home she felt like she just had a 24 hour orgasm."

"Godly chaotic riffs make you a very big inspiration to me, I don't learn your music but I love your theory, I will become better at this theory when my fingers adapt."

"Guys, Come Clarity is AMAZING! Ander's lyrics are deep and thought provoking as always and the dual guitar wizardry is always something to behold."

Related Links
In Flames - Official Site
In Flames - MySpace
In Flames - Pictures