Live And In The Flesh
The Mars Volta - January 21, 2008
Only two weeks after catching The Dresden Dolls live at The Phoenix Concert Theatre, we were back in Toronto to experience The Mars Volta live in all their glory at the very same venue. I had only been lucky enough to see them live once before in Montréal three years earlier during their Frances the Mute Tour, which was phenomenal. Not having been out on the road for a full-blown headlining tour since, we knew we couldn't miss them this time around. The show had landed a week before they were due to drop their fourth studio album, The Bedlam in Goliath, so we were excited to be hearing some fresh new jams from the progressive rock trailblazers.
Having had some previous experience at the venue not long before, we made sure we got there good and early to help secure a spectacular view from the balcony. Since it was all first come first serve, the sooner we got our place in line, the quicker we could get ourselves up there, and if we were lucky, even grab a table for our drinks. The wait in the lineup was finally over and they were beginning to let us into the venue. It always seems like that much longer of a wait while in the middle of winter! We made our to the back of the venue to grab our drinks and headed upstairs to settle into one of the best views in the house. We knew that they normally have an elaborate backdrop that changes throughout the set, so it was nice to enjoy the view of the entire stage without any obstructions up on the balcony.
Not long after our first round of drinks, the opening music would seamlessly change over to A Fistful of Dollars, and we knew we were in business! The Mars Volta made their way onto the stage and the fans were pumped! Roulette Dares (The Haunt Of), a classic from their debut De-Loused in the Comatorium started everything off with a bang. The energy that Cedric and Omar brought to the stage right from the opening notes was simply electrifying. Experiencing Omar's guitar playing will forever change you, as his style and effortless flow is at a whole other level compared to most. It leaves you speechless. Not to mention the rest of their live band, consisting of about 7-8 members on stage at all times throughout the evening to take care of the various instruments. One of the more memorable members of the bunch being Ikey Owens on the keyboards, his intensity was just as spellbinding as Omar and Cedric up there.
Having missed them out on the road during the Red Hot Chili Peppers' Tour, I was happy to finally get my chance to see some of their Amputechture material live for the first time. They ended up throwing in half of that album in throughout the entire show which was amazing. From each song to the next, the jams seemed to be continuous. Omar knew how to perfectly intertwine each of the songs together to help guide you through their journey. Quite a few of the newer tracks from The Bedlam in Goliath were worked in throughout their interstellar trip as well; Wax Simulacra, Goliath, Conjugal Burns, and Agadez helped round out the first half of their set.
We were only lucky enough to be treated to one jam off of Frances the Mute, but it was incredible to say the least as it lasted nearly thirty minutes long! Cygnus… Vismund Cygnus is probably one of my most favourite tracks off of the album, so I was pretty excited they decided to throw that into the mix. The Mars Volta had recruited Thomas Pridgen, the young drummer prodigy for this latest tour. Pridgen was definitely living up to his reputation live! Watching him wailing away on his drum kit really helped turn the energy up by ten fold at least, not that Cedric or Omar even needed the help at all. Drunkship of Lanterns, the only other track from their debut album that was played that night would start to wind down their incredible thirteen song jam. Having heard half of their upcoming album, along with half of the album previous to it, and a few more older tracks thrown in for good measure, it's safe to say we were all blown away with how amazing these guys truly are live.