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Filter/Ours/Opiate for the Masses
| May 29th & June 2nd, 2008 @ 9:30 Club & Ramshead Live! |
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by Courtney Campbell & Michelle Lee
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t's been a few years, but Richard Patrick is back on the road under the moniker of Filter. The music and lyrics are the same as basically Richie is Filter, but those backing him on stage have changed. For those that have followed Richie's career as Filter, these changes are nothing new as members have come and gone through the years. With a brand new album out, Anthems for the Damned and a new outlook on life in general after rehab, Richie is out there doing what he does the best - perform on stage. The tour made a stop in Washington DC at the 9:30 Club on May 29th and in Baltimore at Ramshead Live! on June 2nd and even though the size of the crowd was lacking, those in attendance had a great time.
The support on this leg of the tour came from Opiate for the Masses and Ours. Opiate for the Masses is a band that isn't a stranger to line up changes either. Two out of the four are original founding members (frontman Ron Underwood and guitarist Jim Kaufman) while the rhythm section comes courtesy of the husband and wife team of Seven Antonopoulos and Anna K. Having seen this band quite a few times over the past years, I can honestly say this lineup is tighter than ever. With a new album due out this summer, this band is ready to conquer the world.
At the time that Opiate hit the stage, the crowd was sparse but that didn't stop the band from putting their all into their set. They kicked off the set with "21st Century Time Bomb" from their upcoming album Manifesto. Now if you listen to this song on their myspace, you could swear you were listening to the band Dope, who many say ripped off early Manson. It has that sound to it. Being at the show and hearing it live, I didn't notice that as much. Hard to say whether that was just because I was concentrating on other things at the time or just the difference between a studio recording and a live performance. Even if you were not into the sound of the band, you couldn't just stand there and not pay attention to them. Seven is one of the most entertaining drummers out there. Between the twirling of his sticks, banging himself upside of his head, tossing sticks back and forth with his tech and just how animated he is, you just had to be entertained!
Opiate for the Masses setlist:
21st Century Timebomb
Hold On
Dead Underground
Lie
Blackbook
Heaven
Burn You Down
Ours was up next and here is where the evening slowed down. Where Opiate got the crowd moving and energized as an opening band should, Ours as direct support did the opposite. Their music is more melodic and introspective. This band though is no stranger to being on a tour with bands that aren't in the same musical vein. They opened up for Marilyn Manson in late 2007. Now here is a band that hasn't had an album out for quite a few years and has basically been under the radar of most music fans and they didn't play their single that most people would have recognize. "Sometimes" was a big radio hit back in 2001. It's like when Marcy Playground played the inaugural Rolling Rock Town Fair and didn't play "Sex & Candy". If you liked what you heard during their set, the band was embarking on a headlining tour a few days later, so you can go see them again.
By the time Filter went on stage, the venues had filled in quite a bit. They were still nowhere near sell-out crowds like Filter used to draw but they were respectable crowds. The band kicked off their set with "Welcome to the Fold" from their 1999 release Title of Record. The set flowed as they went through songs from all of their albums and tracks from movie soundtracks, such as "Jurassitol" from The Crow: City of Angels and The Crow:Salvation, "One" the Harry Nilsson cover from The X-Files film soundtrack, and "(Can't You) Trip Like I Do" from the Spawn movie. Both nights the crowd seemed to thoroughly enjoy the set. Seeing Richie come out in a hoodie with the hood up definitely brought back memories from the shows on the tour for Title of Record. He used to do that and it frustrated me so much when I was trying to photograph him! Personally for me, while yes it was Richie up there performing his songs, it was more like Richie and a backing band. With his previous band members for tours on Title of Record and the short lived tour for Amalgamut, those on stage with him were more cohesive and performed as a unit; this rendition doesn't. If I were to close my eyes during the set I don't think I would have noticed a difference in the band but live music is as much a visual thing as it is an audio. Hopefully as the band tours this will change.
Filter setlist:
Welcome to the Fold
American Cliche
Soldiers of Misfortune
Dose
The Take
Where Do We Go From Here
Trip Like I Do
It's Gonna Kill Me
Jurassitol
Cancer
Captain Bligh
Skinny
Hey Man, Nice Shot
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I'm Not The Only One
Kill The Day
Take A Picture
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