Just Amazing
by Darth62969 on 5/19/14Masquerade - AtlantaRating: 5 out of 5ok for starters the opening act, WhiteQube was actually pretty good. He suited VNV Nation well and got the crowd going with alot of excitement like he an opening act is supposed to.
now there were few issues with the show itself. none so major that it would keep me from loving the show. the first is that both the opening act and VNV went on late. WhiteQube at 8:30 or so and VNV at 9:45. the doors opened at 7. the other issue was audio feedback. no not constant loud screeches of ear splitting feedback, though there were a few minor ones, but more of a constant wail coming from a mic or 2 during the latter part of VNV's set. this issue i believe was a little venue related and by no part VNV's part.
now for the part y'all were waiting for. VNV Nation put on the best show i have ever seen. few bands can fill a room with so much excitement and play to the fans as well as they did. Me being one that does not dance and does not really get into concerts much at all, i found myself "jumping when they wanted to see jumping" clapping when they wanted to see clapping and just outright enjoying the show. but i'm not the only one that got into it. i dragged a friend along for the ride. he is incredibly smart and incredibly socially impaired. i have never seen him dance, i have never seen him really enjoy music, and i guarantee that he has never been to a concert outside of maybe the symphony. i dragged him to this concert as a sort of mind game to see his reaction, and well i think he was enjoying it just about as much as i was. i have never seen him dance or smile listening to music. he did both. i think i will drag him back next time.
now back to VNV's show, the band has a sense of humor unlike some of the other bands i have seen. a few things they did was make a joke about piracy and the fact that "end of days" is actually "Further," and then they burst into short reference to Boys of Summer... Also my favorite part of the show. then at one point in the show at the start of the first encore they gave away a signed keyboard/synth from an old/early tour.
They played many of my favorites and quite a few from their new album, TransNational. Outside of the aforementioned feedback, all songs were well played and very enjoyable. they had a good mix of the new and old. they started with something from TransNational, then did one of their more popular songs. then about 3 songs in they cracked a joke about how some people come to their shows for only illusion then played it. they played more from TransNational (joked that the audience did not know the songs YET) then played more hits followed by one of their old old songs. more hits and more stuff from TransNational.
in all i was very impressed with the show and the band, the personalities and the energy. i would have to say that this was the best show i have ever seen. i have newfound respect for VNV and that hunch that this was a show that i did not want to miss was rightfully satisfied.