Symphony X

This is my first concert, and I was amazed at everything from performance to community! I've been a fan of Iced Earth for about a year now, and I love every last one of their songs, meaning I had found a new favorite band over Megadeth and Slayer. So, as a guy who writes fiction and participates in written roleplays a lot, I found them as an excellent source of inspiration. You can guess my reaction when I found out that there was a concert playing in Columbus. I told my brother, we bought our tickets early, and got bus tickets (as I live in Mansfield he lives in Cleveland) and headed down there! Iced Earth had an excellent performance. I was iffy about Stu Block at first because I was used to Matt Barlow, but I listened Stu's performance in Into Eternity (his first band) and I was just amazed at his voice, so I knew he was an excellent substitution for Matt., especially with his version of Dante's Inferno and Watching Over Me. Symphony X is a different story. Michael Romeo on guitar while Russel Allen was screwing with him was pretty funny, even though Michael never lost concentration on his shredding. From this alone, I can tell you that Michael Romeo knows his music front and back, and learns it that way before he performs. I've only heard about Symphony X when my brother told me who they were and told me they were co-performing with my favorite band at the time. I said to him "I'll listen to them". My first heavy metal shirt is a Symphony X elbow-cutoff and my first album was 'Paradise Lost' by the same band, even though I have every song virtually memorized. I've never been this impressed by a band before, especially when I've listened to a lot of metal for years. For those of you reading, I was the guy who started screaming 'One more song!' and got the entire crowd to chant, and Russel to play three or four more songs, so thanks a lot for that! I head banged so hard my neck is still hurting!

When I saw Symphony X was playing with Powerglove and Blackguard, I was definitely down for the show, even though it was on a Sunday and Mothers day. Mom would want me to enjoy good metal. Now I ll be honest with you, I don't much dig US metal, I have a general aversion to bar rock and need epic WAAAAHHGHHH to survive. I have seen Blackguard four times now, and they have been amazing every time. Powerglove despite being a Novelty band are technically amazing, and Symphony X has a good sound for mainstream metal. Having Blackguard open is a double edged sword, their music and stage presence is far beyond that of what could be considered opening band quality. And it would be nice to see them closer to the headline, Still, there is no better band to get a less than stellar crowd motivated. Having just seen a near sold out Amon Amarth at the same venue, the mothers day crowd was probably just over 200 people. Still Paul Ablaze whipped the crowd into frenzy, and even got a small pit started. They gave us a few of their classics, plus several songs of their new album firefight . By the time it was Powerglove s turn, the audience was good and pumped. Powerglove s novelty metal theme is deceiving, these guys are technically amazing, and have some stellar musical talent. After passing out inflatable weapons to the audience, they treated us to over 40 minutes of video game inspired mayhem. While the 30 and over crowd enjoyed the nostalgia, the youngsters were rocking along beside them. These guys had broken down in Medford Oregon and taken a rental car to SF, using much of Blackguard s equipment to put on an epic show. They continued on where other larger bands would have cancelled. In a world of $200 tickets and lip-synching, the men of Powerglove are a dying breed of awesome. After their set, my crew and I went to get refills on our drinks where we found Blackguard hanging out and selling merch. A few cocktails later, we were all telling stories and having a blast. Something about a band that rather than going back to the air conditioned tour bus to snort diamonds and eat endangered species eggs, takes the time after the show to hang out with fans. Like, actually hang out, not in a pay me $15 bucks and I ll grudgingly sign your t-shirt way, but in a Hows the wife? Hows the kids? Lets do shots! kind of way. While We thought for a second about going in to catch Symphony X, Powerglove came in, and more fun was had. Fun, real musicians, without the pretentions of fame , not just musicians, but show people, who entertain both on and off the stage as well as create awesome music. Sadly, Symphony X was background music from the next room as we had an absolute blast with the opening bands. If I had to do it over, I would not have had it any other way. A night for the record books.

This show was amazing! Powerglove was great! Symphony X was amazing! But the whole reason I wanted to go to the show in the first place was because of Nevermore. They are one of my favorite bands, in my opinion they are at least 5 times better than Symphony X. Nevermore would have made it an absolutely unbelievable show, but at least Symphony x did Odyssey at the end. I will never forget that.

It is a nice club. I would go see another show there.

It had been a while since I had seen Symphony X live in concert, but as usual they did not disappoint. They were in fact fantastic!

Symphony X sounded great! Definitely check them out!

Great pit...still in pain...forward thinking music yet slightly reminds one of the retro-stormtroopers of fast metal...I'm always looking for something to change my perspective on music and they absolutely did...EPIC performance...see you at the next show

Great venue, great setlist, great opening acts, great sound, great show overall.

Great show with ana amazing band. Title says it all.

I think they did a stellar job. Concert was amazing. I wanted them to play forever. Would def want to see them again. Keep the heavy metal movement alive

I must say the first set was a little disappointing, with way more of their metal side than what, in my opinion, they're really good for. But they redeemed themselves when they came back after a short break to play "Odissey"!

SX didn't disappoint. Russell Allen was simply amazing -- I can't believe such a powerful voice can come out of a human being. Nevertheless, I was disappointed that they only played about 7 songs (excluding "The Odyssey"). I was expecting "Sea of Lies" or "Out of the Ashes" -- I mean $30 is a lot for a show and the last time I played the set was considerably longer. Please SX -- play more songs next time! All in all, I enjoyed it... Hope to see them again.

Symphony X put on an amazing show, I loved how they did their longest song (The odyssey) as the encore.

MICHEAL ROMEO AT THE TOP OF HIS GAME,SYMPHONY X WAS TOP NOTCH AND WAS ROCKING ALL THE WAY

Symphony X was absolutely amazing (as always!) They have true talent and the passion that so many bands are lacking these days, and I am so thankful I got to see them again live. Thank you so much for having them at your complex, and I hope you bring them back soon!!! :)

Symphony X has never disappointed me. Each show that I have been to has been an amazing experience. The band members have such great chemistry with each other, that is easily seen by the audience, which only furthers our enjoyment. There is absolutely nothing that I can complain about. Ah, yes: Why can they not come to this area more than once a year? I will always love this band and I can only hope that they continue to gain more loyal listeners.

This was my first time to the Troc and my first time seeing SymphonyX. I have enjoyed their music for years and have only see the occasional live clip on YouTube. They are probably one of the best live bands I've ever seen. Russell the lead singer sounded great and appeared to be in perfect form. The harmonies were perfect. Overall the sound was a bit bassy at this venue but not terrible. I can't believe SymphonyX is playing such a small venue. These guys should really be playing to a much larger audience. Great Job on your opening night of the NA tour. I would pick up different openers though. Stygian was the best of the 3. PowerGlove was a joke and Black Guard is not the same style of music. Can't wait to see you in the Fall.

Greatest band on the planet today! All 5 members excel at their roles.

THE GOODS The Best Go see now! They played The Odyessy

Wow. Amazing. These guys keep getting better and better. They played The End of Innocence and Dehumanized off their upcoming CD, Iconoclast to be released June 21. Dehumanized blew my away!

I am Greek and I came all the way from Greece to see them!!! Trocadero is nice Symphony X ROCKS!!!

Played all of Underworld plus one encore. Sounded great! 90 minute set.

I bought tickets for my Son and me, only to see Overkill. We don't care for Symphony X, but are huge Overkill fans. I own every album they ever put out and finally getting a chance to see them up close and personal at the Masquerade was one of the best experiences I have ever had going to a concert. I actually waved at Bobby Ellsworth before the show and he waved back, if only I had a pen and paper I'm sure I could have gotten his autograph. We had a great ride in to Atlanta, found a single parking spot on the street next to the building, got in line and were probably 10th or 15th in line, then got front row right in front of the stage. Doesn't get any better than that........Simply awesome show. The Masquerade and Overkill rocked it to the max.

The bands were great. However, the sound quality was horrible. Always has been bad sound at that venue.

Symphony X and Iced Earth were terrific! second time seeing Symphony X.

The show started off with warbringer. They were pretty good considering they are a bit unknown. Then iced earth took the stage. Personally i thought they were awful they played for to long and the vocals were bad as well. Finally symphony x took the stage. They played an amazing set and just completely blew me away. All in all I would recommend this show to diehard metal fans or anyone who enjoys being blown away by an amazing band.

Fantastic show, I'm glad to see two of the best metal bands together! Jon is brutal with his guitar, heavy as always, and Stu did very well live also. Symphony is getting better, better and better every album, I can't imagine what is coming next! Russel Allen vocals are excellent, very good interactions with the audience. An Michael Romeo... man, what the hell, he is absurd! Total control of the instrument, glad to see him live again. Keep rocking!

Iced Earth easily should have been the headliner for this tour, though I understand that they co-headlined and alternated shows. Symphony X sounded a bit off to me, but still put on a decent show!

OMG Iced and Shymphony X on the same night is absolute incredible.

I've never had more fun at a show. Iced earth are great showmen and symphony x is just all around amazing.

Really great show. The sound was perferct! The performance was amazing! My girlfriend love it too! Plus the theater is really nice too. I am so happy I went to this show.

Iced Earth was fantastic. I wish they had turned down the bass just a bit so you could hear the vocals, but I get that its metal...Iced Earth has such epic vocals, and that was lost during the show.

The new singer is awesome too, but John Schaffer is just amazing. Dante's Inferno live blew my mind.

It was awesome but the sound was kinda bad. All in all it was worth going.

SO AWESOME!! Must come back with the boyfriend again :)

Opener: Warbringer -- I wasn't picking up what they were putting down, but their drummer was really good. HL#1: Iced Earth -- played their best songs in the middle of the set, which was about a half-hour too long IMO. I know some folks will disagree, but I was there for SyX. HL#2: Symphony X -- My reason for paying to sit through two other bands. Good show, with some technical issues. The mix was really muddy, to the point where you could only hear MJR and Jason at times. Russel might as well not have been singing for a good portion; and Pinella & LePond could have sat out the whole time for the amount of love they got from the guy running the mixing board. There were times when you couldn't even tell what the song was. Bottom line: Sort of disappointed after so many other great shows from them.

Awesome show! First time I've ever seen Iced Earth live and it was worth every bit of my long drive. Hope to see more bands like this in KC

The show was unbelievable, the only downside is the venues beer cost, $6 a draw, absolutely sumb.

Best Band EVER! Cant wait to see them again.......

Iced Earth was great. The other groups were pretty bad.

This is definitely in my top 5 shows that I've ever attended, and that's saying something. No fluff, no waiting for opening bands to get off the stage. Warbringer showed their stuff, that they are here to stay and make a name for themselves in the thrash scene. Looking forward to more years and albums from these guys. Iced Earth and Symphony X showed what it means to be real musicians. These bands came out for over an hour and a half each and were nearly flawless in their deliveries. It proves that years and experience make you a better musician. It was a shame that the place wasn't sold out for a Tuesday evening.... that bands who suck get more press and love than bands who actually know how to write songs with pathos and structure. Anyway, these bands clearly give hope that the metal scene isn't completely devoid of those with real creativity and originality. Iced Earth ended their set with the 17 minute opus of Dante's Inferno... And it sounded just as clear as the studio- recorded version. Symphony X ran through most of their new album in epic proportions and came back out for some older material and some songs off of Paradise Lost. Every dollar spent on that 4 1/2 hours was worth it.

ICED EARTH was excellent, sounded great......new singer is a cross of Barlow and Ripper SYMPH X was also excellent......but I wasnt crazy about set-list.......I love the new album, but to much of it .....they really neglected older material that big fans like myself would like to have heard.

iced earth played a great show but did not play many of the older crowd favorites played several new tune off album that rocked

Powerglove was awesome, despite having to leave most of their gear in a broken down car on the way from their last event. Both bands were fantastic. Set was a bit short, but overall worth it.

I was very excited to see my favorite band in concert: Symphony X. The concert started amazingly with Black Guard. They played awesome, their rims were amazing although the lights showed very little of their faces. Pictures were almost impossible thanks to this. After this, Powerglove played. If they had played the Zelda song, it would have been absolutely perfect. I have nothing else to say. It was wonderous. However... when Symphony X, the so-long waited for came up... they did not played as well as usual, the lights were poor, the songs that they chose were not the best... actually they played very little of their best songs, and the singer was flirting most of the concert. I am ridiculously disappointed. Symphony X has been my favorite band, but their performance was extremely poor. I could barely even hear the singer. I hope they will improve soon because I have had very high hopes with them.

Blackguard opened. Their vocalist wasn't there because, as I found out after the show, he was attending a wedding. One of the guys from Powerglove filled in for the first part of the set and another guy from a local band called Cab Ride Home filled in for the last part. I had seen them before when they recently toured with Nevermore. Despite not being complete, they still put on a decent show. Powerglove played next. I hadn't seen them before but was somewhat familiar with their stuff from checking them out before the concert. They looked ridiculous on stage, but totally appropriate for their video game and cartoon inspired power metal. A very entertaining and fun show with a few antics like blow up swords and such. Symphony X came on last and they were every bit as good as I remember from their previous shows. Their set list was an excellent selection, missing only maybe one or two tracks I'd have liked to have seen, but couldn't because their set would have been too long. I was particularly happy to get to hear a couple songs off of their new album (The End of Innocence and Dehumanized). That they had The Odyssey as their encore was absolutely awesome. They were fantastic. Overall, a very good show and one of the best I've seen in the last couple of years. Definitely a shame for those who missed it.

both bands were excellent, 2nd best concert i have been to

This is my fourth time seeing Symphony X, third time at Jaxx, and they do no disappoint. Great stage presence with the smoke machine and extra stage lights, and they really took over that little club and made it rock. The entire band is in fantastic form and sounding as good as ever. I still say that Russell Allen is one of the best vocalists in metal, live or recorded. He seems to just keep getting better and funnier and have more presence as time has gone on. Michael Romeo is still a powerhouse on guitar, sweating away and playing impossibly complex arrangements like he's enjoying a rehearsal session in his living room. He's amazing. Michael Pinella on the keys is as good as ever, keeping pace with MR and holding his own. Jason Rullo is still a little powerhouse behind the skins, with seemingly endless endurance on those double bass pedals and chops like a butcher shop. The bassist is phenomenal (I don't know his name, I'm sorry) and definitely holds his own with the demanding bass work that being in Symphony X demands. Cannot wait for Iconoclast to come out in June. It was very unfortunate that the singer for Blackguard could not be at the show, but the vocalist/bassist from Powerglove and a local filled in admirably and gave me yet another band to check out from the world of metal. Great technical skill and some very heavy, driving music, definitely need to check them out some more. Powerglove...cannot say enough good things about this band. Boatloads of musical talent, a very specific genre of music that makes them unique, and absolutely hilarious band members with a penchant for all things nerdy and fun. A rare combination indeed. They put on one hell of a show complete with props, costumes, audience interaction, blatant use of humor, and incredible musical skill. I had all their CDs going into the show, and I'm even more a fan of them now than I was before. That's a rare thing. Absolutely need to check these guys out the next time(s) they roll through town.

Great show - 5 stars. Much tighter and more powerful than I was expecting. Allen's vocals came through clear as a bell. The encore was their 25minute song 'The Odyssey'.

Symphony X is great. Everyone who goes to see them knows they're great so. . there you go. I'd never heard of Blackguard or Powerglove before and after checking out youtube videos I went in with fairly low expectations. Blackguard is a COB-type party death metal band and they do a pretty good job performing. I enjoyed their live music much more than the recorded stuff I heard but that's not uncommon. What was uncommon were the dual (dueling) vocalists. The front-man for PGLUV sang the first 3 tunes and tore the place up. I had no idea he wasn't in the band until after Firefight was over and he announced who he was. He had to read some lyrics at some point during one song but I could hardly hold that against him. For a guy who really doesn't sing in his own band to come out and kill it is damned impressive. They brought on a local kid for the last two songs and he did OK. I enjoyed watching his face as some amount of panic set in when he realized he was lost, or forgot some words or something. He fought through it though and as im sure he didn't have much prep time he did a good enough job that the band didn't push him off of the very low stage. Powerglove, OTOH, was kind of disappointing after that. I like their concept, I think they're very skilled musicians and I thought they had great stage presence. BUT! I think they currently have such a narrow appeal that, even with all the touring they do, they're doomed to be a gimmick band. They are on the right track with the GWAR-light look and feel and with more crowd interaction and music with a more broad appeal (2 epic Final Fantasy Songs? Seriously?) I believe they'll begin to really break out. The dude should sing too. . . considering he can. Overall I left with a very positive feeling for the band, if not their current set list. They obviously love what they're doing and are paying the price for doing it. They said they were probably in the hole for 4-5 grand after all the vehicle breakdowns they've suffered on this relatively short tour and I felt for them. As I was driving away I saw the two main guys walking back from a gas station with bags of food, living the lavish rock n roll lifestyle. I'm as metal as they come and have been since about 1981 but right then I wanted to jump out of the car, give them hugs and tell them to keep fighting. I expect to enjoy them more the next time.

This show was great. The venue was extremely hot/humid. The band was great and sounded great.

good show and performance. I could tell there was sound check and the engineer took too long to dial it in. sound never was perfect. Band overcame with strong performance.,

The event was initially going to have Soilwork and Nevermore as well, but they both got dropped from the event a few weeks prior. Oh well. The event started an hour later than posted (to account for the dropped bands, I guess), so we decided to go get dinner instead of waiting in the long line. Unfortunately, the service was slow, so when we finally got to the event, Blackguard was halfway through their penultimate song. I would have liked to see more of them. Powerglove was, unsurprisingly, really good. They had the most energy of the three bands, had the best sound quality/mix, and even gave the audience weapons to fight with during "Metal Kombat". They stole the show. Symphony X was boring, and had an awful light show. I thought they were boring because I, personally, don't like their music. But more than that, the actual performance was bland as far as performances (especially HEADLINER performances... ) go. There was very little interaction with the audience, and only the vocalist moved around at all on stage (in contrast, Powerglove's drummer actually drummed STANDING UP half the time, and everyone was moving around and interacting with the audience). It kind of felt like Symphony X was there just to fulfill a contractual agreement, rather than actually have any fun. Powerglove was the best part of Symphony X's performance, actually, because they came onto the stage during one of the band's final songs to fight them with their aforementioned inflatable weapons. Powerglove obviously seemed like they loved what they were doing, and weren't there just to make some money and move on to the next event. Also, the only real "effects" that Symphony X had were an annoying fog machine that seemed to come on randomly and then strobe lights that induce headaches and seizures rather than create any sort of positive benefit to the band. Basically, every aspect of Symphony X's performance (aside from Powerglove's intervention) was either boring (their static performance) or excruciating to watch (the abysmal light show).

The opening bands in general were pretty good, Blackgaurd was great musically, tho I am not a big fan of the screaming/glass gargaling style of vocals and the female on the drums just plain got off, i was impressed :). Now Powerglove, hard to describe their show, musically it was pretty good, guitar work was excellent, the theatrics were fun and probably cool for the younger crowd, my son (17) he enjoyed it. Now for Symphony X, these guys are plain and simply INCREDIBLE. From Russel Allen's wide range of vocals, Michael Pinnella amazing keyboard skills, Jason Rullo technical drumming, Michael Lepond masterful bass playing to Michael Romeo's mind blowing guitar work. Just incredible musicianship from all members of the band. Got a sneak peak at a couple of new tunes (End of Innocence and Dehumanized) from the forthcoming CD Iconoclast, both of these tunes were very good, makes it harder now to wait for the CD to be released June 21. All I can say is too bad this was the last date, I did get to see them on their first night in Philly too, and i would go again if they had more dates to play....maybe a follow up tour after the CD is released?

Went to this concert for a different band. Not only am I am Symphony X fan now but also a PowerGlove fan. Who knew! I was extremely impressed with the way both bands listened to the crowd and interacted with them. I love these small venues where the show seems much more personal and you get to see a side of the band you wouldn't see in a bigger arena. Powerglove got the whole crowd to sing the theme song for Pokemon! That was too awesome!

Local band Inviolate was first in the line-up. Pretty good for a group added a week before the date. After Inviolate was Blackguard, they did an amazing show with TONS of energy. I would recommend them to anyone. Next was Powerglove, Nintendo-Core to max. I love this band! They came on stage in cosplay armor and threw candy and inflated swords to the audience while melting our faces with video game metal. At about 11:00 Symphony X took the stage and blew our minds with the best of their Paradise Lost album as well as a look at their new album to be released in June. Their set was wonderful and they had the whole crowd singing along and jumping from beginning to end. At the end of the set, at command of the audience, Symphony X came back on stage and performed their 25 minute song, 'Odessy'. Great show, great venue, will definitely see them again!!! :)

The opening bands were good for what they were, except for Inviolate, who were horrible. I'm not going to waste space talking about them. Symphony X were perfect. The setlist was highly energetic, Russell Allen was an engaging showman, and the band played like the professionals they are. I met Michael LePond after the show, and he was a sociable, humble, and friendly guy. I've been waiting to see Symphony X for nearly 10 years, and they completely lived up to my expectations. What more needs to be said?

The show was absolutely AMAZING! Truly one of the best bands ever with an amazing line up! That being said, it was a great disappointment to learn that Nevermore and Soilwork had dropped off the bill for this show. I do feel a bit cheated since they were two bands I was greatly looking forward to seeing. An email notifying ticketholders that they were no longer performing would have been greatly appreciated.

great show. the only disappointment was that nevermore and soilwork weren't at the show. I think since they dropped the show that two bands on the same level should have replaced them. other than that symphony x was amazing and flawless

Overall good show. Not a screamer metal fan, so Blackguard felt out of place for me. However symphony X and Powerglove were excellent. Only problem I had was that I heard the beer was $6 a pop, which turned me off from having anything to drink. I'll usually pay $3.50-4 each if I want a couple, but paying for a 12 pack to drink two is too pricey.

Powerful, energetic, and all around fantastic. There's no band in the metal genre that does what they do.

Amazing musicians and live performance. I like them as people too. So down to earth and humble :-) Good set list.

In case you don't know, Symphony X is a great progressive metal band. Maintaining a steady lineup since 1995, Sym X has produced some of the most melodic and technically astute metal music available anywhere. Each member is technically proficient to a degee not often seen in this genre. Michael Lepond on bass pursues his role with relish. Michael Pinnella provides top level keyboard contributions throughout. Jason Rullo on drums does an awesome job. Michael Romeo on guitar seems to be the mastermind of the band. In addition to his guitar virtuosity, Romeo along with Michael Pinella compose beautiful and moving orchestral touches that Sym X incorporates into thier music to raise the bar ever higher. Singer and frontman Russell Allen posseses one of the most unique and powerful voices in rock, yet relates to the audience in a down-to-earth way. They all seem like regular guys. That is, regular guys who happen to make up one of the greatest metal bands of our time. Here at my fifth Sym X show, I am still thrilled to hear the new stuff as well as the old favorites. While the live sound can't compare to the studio work, the boys do not miss a beat and the fans can't get enough. The virtuosity of the performers comes through in the quieter moments. When its time to rock, there are few bands that can drive harder than Sym X. So, If you like your metal with a major dose of technical proficiency, sprinkled liberally with top notch song writing, precise performance ethic and awesome displays of the power of heavy metal, try a dose of Symphony X. Thanks for listening.

Symphony X's performance was perfect! The Regency Ballroom's performance poor. Overbearing security, $7.50 coronas .. Ridiculous! But I digress, back to SYM X... What a set! The new material off of Iconoclast was fantastic and the encore of the entire Odyssey Suite was incredible, and perfectly executed! Long Live Symphony X.

Symphony X brought it Tuesday night at the House of Blues in West Hollywood, giving their right-brain-dominant fans all they could handle, and more. The band's brand of majestic metal really should be experienced in a much larger venue, i.e. the Wiltern Theater, at which the show was originally booked. I would much prefer to be blown away THERE, rather than have my face melted and eardrums exploded at HOB. Genres be damned. Symphony X should not be lumped in with the current crop of brutal, boom, doom, and gloom metal bands. As the band's name suggests, Symphony X music is actually MUSICAL, as graceful and sophisticated as it is powerful. Their most recent releases are among the finest ever produced, but the rich character and complexities of the music are obliterated at the deafening, unbalanced levels at which they play live. I could not have drawn up a set list that would have pleased me more. Michael Romeo was on fire, and Russell Allen demonstrated once again that he is the finest hard rock vocalist of his generation, and certainly among my Top Five, ever (and I'm 55 this year). The entire band was remarkably tight. And yet, by allowing the guy running the board at to "blast the barn," Symphony X is not likely to convince the skeptics and win many converts. At this point, Symphony X should not be looking to simply preach to choir when there are thousands of potential fans yet to be won. I have enthusiastically urged friends to listen to Symphony X (and "Paradise Lost" in particular. I would invite them by the dozens to see Symphony X in concert if I could be confident that the live sound problems had been dealt with. But I'm not willing to risk having friends walk out on the band again for this reason, as happened at this show and the two I saw on the last tour. We saw Joe Bonamassa at the Fox Theater in Tucson in February and the sound was impeccable. Joe has essentially the same setup--guitar, bass, drums, keys, and vocals--as Symphony X. He played loud AND clear, just like the time I saw him last year at the Orpheum Theater in Phoenix. We had seats in the fifth row at the Tucson show, and sat in the very last row of the balcony in Phoenix. Heard everything clearly both times. Symphony X is not alone in having crummy live sound. It's epidemic, even as the industry bemoans the fact that audiences for live music seem to be shrinking. But there is no reason why they should accept the situation. It can and must be fixed. The band invests too much of their hearts and souls in crafting and recording great music to have their "product" undermined on the road. For a band seeking to build its fan base, it's the difference between a little and a lot.

Great show as always. Such a tight band, sound was great, Hate standing, perfer sit down shows and front row seats.

Best Heavy Metal show ever!! Highly recommended if you are playing any instrument! These guys are so professionals and great musicians!!!

Despite being sick all day, Russell Allen came out and gave a great show. He is the best singer of any genre currently performing. Michael Romeo was his usual shredding self. Symphony X are the best collection of musicians on the planet. They played two songs from their newest CD Iconoclast, which will be released June 21st. They ended the show with The Odyssey, an epic 24 minute track that was just perfect and a song that they hadn't played live for eight years or so before this tour. They will be playing a full tour this fall in support of Iconoclast. You don't want to miss them then.

Venue sound was a little off, but the show was great. Powerglove is a great opener, and Symphony X playing Odyssey was surprising. Not a lot of older songs, but oh well.

The show was amazing and was perfect in every way a Symphony X show could be. The band's sound and ability was spot on. A Great and Amazing show!

Incredible set list, I just wish they played a little longer. This is one of the best shows I have ever seen. Russell Allen was a beast, and really got the crowd going.

I bought tickets to this concert originally because I am a Nevermore fan, and was looking forward to seeing Symphony X as well. They were not a main attraction for me. Then, Nevermore broke up, but I still had tickets for the show. I decided to go anyway, despite the sadness attached, and I am utterly convinced I made the right choice. Blackguard is such an original mix of cookie-monster metal and fantasy metal that I can't take them seriously and I always laugh myself deliriously happy, and they played their hearts out. Powerglove played hits from the video games of my youth, reborn with "Omni-shredding" guitar solos. They made me a believer; Pokemon, now with guitar solos, can be awesome! But Symphony X was the headliner for a damn good reason, and they stole the show. My first time seeing this amazing quintet, Russell Allen and Michael Romeo made me a Symphony X believer. I don't believe I've ever seen vocals that clear, concise, and powerful in a live show in years, and this is stacking up against veteran performers like Dream Theater, Queensrÿche, and Iron Maiden. Michael Romeo can EASILY go toe-to-toe with any guitarist out there; Yngwie Malmsteen, Steve Vai, Joe Stump, Jeff Loomis, you name it. I go to about 12 to 15 shows a year, and thus far in 2011, Symphony X has been number one.

One of my favorite bands, great performance! However, the sound system was so bad that I could not really hear anything. they played two new songs and I had a hard time identifying what the heck was going on music-wise. I could only really enjoy the old songs since I know them so well that out of the big noisy wall that hit us in the audience you could kinda put the pieces together. Band 5 stars sound 1 star

Symphony X was awesome while they were on stage. Set was a little short - I think 1 hour and 10 minutes or so. Would like to see a minimum of 1 1/2 hours.

All I can say is what a night! Symphony X with 3 fabulous warm up bands that came and kicked @$$!!! Skeletor opened up the night. Although they only had time for 5 tunes, they rocked the house! The lead singer had a vocal range for the ages and he alone just about brought the house down. Skeletor are a classic metal band in the vane of Manowar and Saxon but with a touch of thrash that is comparable even to Overkill. Great way to open the show. Next on the bill was Blackguard who I've heard of prior to the show and their reputation for great live shows was spot on. Although metal with the "hardcore or death" vocals, as I've heard the type called, is not really my cup of tea because to me unless I see them live I find it hard to really differentiate Lamb of God from Machine Head. However, since I'm a guitar player myself, I tend to ignore the vocals and concentrate solely on the music to tell one band to the next. Anyways back to the review. Blackguard put on a really good show, maybe the most energy displayed on the evening. I hear that they tour the clubs around Washington often and I highly recommend any fan of a good live gig to check these guys out. Next up was Powerglove, a four-piece metal band who play instrumental music popular in video games, that's right I said video games. Powerglove were very entertaining! They had the props of Gwar and were able to lead the crowd to join them in some chants. I look forward to one day seeing these guys again as well. Last but certainly not least is the headliner, Symphony X. I had high hopes for them since the last time I saw them was when I was stationed in England and saw them as the opening act for Stratovarious and in my opinion outperformed Stratovarious by a huge margin. Ever since that show, I've been looking forward to seeing them as a headliner and boy what I've been missing. Although they lacked a little bit of the energy of Blackguard they more than made up for it with their stage presence. They absolutely owned the stage. Especially at the end when they played their 25+ minute epic, Odyssey! I was pretty pessimistic to think the band would even play the song even though the crown on hand were chanting "Odyssey" like crazy when the band left the stage for a quick brake. But once they came back on and Michael Romeo started into the first few notes of the tune and the crowd let out a scream that literally shook the place, you knew the journey was on. It was a shame it had to end. It was definitely the show that I had hoped they would put on as a headliner and more...definitely go see them. Overall I'd give them a 4.5 out of 5 but rounded up beings that since I've been to over 100 shows and have seen 4 or 5 shows better than this one, I just can't give the show a full pledged 5, but great show nevertheless!

This was an amazing show! Anyone with complaints of going to shows and finding the performance lacking and not true to the talent shown in the studio would be refreshed by a Symphony X show. Russell Allen was in top form, as was the rest of the band. Michael Romeo is quite the spectacle and seeing this virtuoso play right in front of you is quite a treat. Fans of the Paradise Lost album would have been very satisified as this was definitely the most frequented album of the show. Definitely well worth the money and since the show was so damn good, I almost forgot Nevermore was supposed to be there!

I live 2.5-3.5 hours from any venue, so I always plan my shows according to the entire lineup. I bought my tickets when this tour was supposed to have included Nevermore and Soilwork, but neither band made an appearance. Though Symphony X was AMAZING, I never would have spent that kind of money on tickets, gas, food, and lodging to see one band. I would have appreciated an email from Ticketmaster alerting me to the lineup change and an opportunity to get my money back.

Definitely great performance. Not so much with the starting bands. Had a lot of fun!

Great show, great bands, the sound was awesome! Love the venue!

Fantastic show!!! The played a solid show, and everyone was engaging and expressive.

Great concert. Can't believe such an excellent band is playing small venues but they were very personable and accessible to the crowd. Grateful for our support and made me feel good about being their because they didn't have a superiority complex. They played ALL my favorites. Can't wait for the new CD and they