Show Review & Photos – Game of Thrones: Live Concert Experience @ KeyArena

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Game of Thrones: Live Concert Experience @ KeyArena, 3/31/17
Show Review & Photos by John Rudolph

Game of Thrones: Live Concert Experience at KeyArena was a sensorial tour de force. The production bathed the audience in sights and sounds at a whole new level. The show’s composer, Ramin Djawadi, wrote the score for HBO’s worldwide sensation.

Game of Thrones is a medieval television show with larger than life characters, intense carnal passion, and massive battle scenes. The Live Concert Experience brought all of that to life with a huge expanse encompassing the entire arena with a full 80-piece orchestra on the King’s Landing stage, a Winterfell stage at the opposite end, and four smaller stages containing various solo musicians.

The runway between the King’s Landing stage and the Winterfell stage was where the dancers, the swordsmen, and the musicians travelled, replicating the events on the massive screens above.

Ramin Djawadi layered his musical performance with fantastic and mystical instruments, including the didgeridoo and the amazing Hammered Dulcimer. Peppered throughout, Djawadi played scenes from the epic drama accompanied by the orchestra. The singing and the artistry were wonderful!

At any given time, there were solo musicians on each side of the stage with an intense video above, and the crowd cheered the entire time.

One of the coolest parts was when the queen rode the dragon and attacked the Armada. Flames swirled around KeyArena and you could feel the heat coming off the enferno.

The big battle scenes were spectacular. The rich, deep sounds of the orchestra really brought Game of Thrones to life.


Game of Thrones: Live Concert Experience

Photos: Decibel Magazine Tour w/ Kreator & Obituary @ the Neptune

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Decibel Magazine Tour w/ Kreator, Obituary, Midnight & Horrendous @ the Neptune, 3/28
~John Rudolph

In its 6th year, the Decibel Magazine Tour prides itself as one of the premier thrash tetal tours. 2017 highlighted 4 super high energy bands, Kreator, Obituary, Midnight, and Horrendous, all dropping new albums. These 4 bands kicked in the doors of The Neptune, slammed the fans’ head against the stage, and left them begging for more. Based on my experience, you will want to get next year’s tickets early and stay for the mayhem.
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Obituary



Midnight

Photos: MSTRKRFT @ Neumos

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MSTRKRFT @ Neumos, 8/24/16
Photos by Jonathan Leung
Memory Lane Series, Part 5

Details: How jealous should you be that MSTRKFT’s Jesse F. Keeler is in the also awesome Death from Above 1979? So jealous. BTW, photos of Death from Above 1979’s show last year will be up here shortly. Anyway, that’s just one cool thing about the Toronto musician Keeler, who makes up half of MSTRKFT with fellow Canadian Al-P. MSTRKFT celebrated the tenth anniversary of album one, The Looks, in 2016, and do check out last year’s release OPERATOR.

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MSTRKRFT

Photos: Jackie Evancho @ the Triple Door

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I was fortunate to attend one of Jackie Evancho’s four headlining shows at the Triple Door last week. The Pittsburgh native sang a combination of pop and classical songs while accompanied by Peter Kiesewalter on piano. Best known as a finalist on America’s Got Talent at 10 years old, the now 16 year old had a mature stage presence and shared personal experiences between songs. Evancho, a platinum selling artist, will soon release her sixth full-length studio album, Two Hearts. The evening ended with a well-deserved standing ovation.


Jackie Evancho