Stratovarious

The setlist was a great mix of old and new, and Timo's amazing pipes, once they got going, were extremely impressive. Their sound is harder and grittier live.

Let me preface my review by stating frankly that I attended this concert simply for the opportunity to see Pagan's Mind live. As a rule, I can generally do without power metal, and I typically eschew it unless it is blended with another genre (e.g., progressive metal, in particular, or folk metal a la Falconer or Wuthering Heights). Consequently, my review will be focused on PM's stellar performance--which was apparently the band's first visit to Massachusetts! From the moment Ronny Tegner's fingers hit the keyboard on "The Conception" to the final primal scream from Nils K. Rue on "Alien Kamikaze," PM made The Middle East its own. Every last person was on his or her feet, fists in the air, heads banging, lips singing along to the pulse-pounding set that PM offered its devoted fans. I had considered attending ProgPower USA X this year to see PM, amongst other acts, but now I am glad that I waited for this even more intimate venue. The chemistry between the band and the crowd was electric. Nils would frequently lean over the stage to touch the crowd, and Steinar ended up amongst his people for some of the final licks of the last number. Much of the set list was devoted to tracks featured on God's Equation, which is to be expected, given that the latest album is probably PM's best known album in the U.S. I had hoped to hear more numbers from either Celestial Entrance or Enigmatic: Mission, but I am cognizant of the fact that PM may have skewed its set toward more straightforward power metal pieces to fit in with In Harm's Way and Stratovarius (notice the correct spelling, Ticketmaster!). Perhaps PM assumed that many of the longer tracks from Celestial Entrance or Enigmatic: Mission might not have appealed to the crowd at The Middle East; however, that may have been a miscalculation, as the assembled fans seemed to love every last minute of the concert. If you have the opportunity to catch Pagan's Mind during the 2009 North American tour, do it. You won't regret it!

The sound balance was pretty good - you could hear the vocals quite well.