Fates Warning, Agent Steel Concert
Rating: 4 Skulls
Death's Review (5/31/06, The Knitting Factory, Hollywood, CA):
Dude, it's not every day you get to see Fates Warning live. They just don't play live that often. I caught wind of the fact that Fates Warning was going to be doing a couple of Southern California shows by seeing the listing on Moshking.com, a website dedicated to providing a comprehensive listing of - you guessed it - L.A.-area metal shows. Only one problem - I didn't have anybody to go to the show with, especially at the 11th hour (I hadn't planned ahead). So the night of the show or the day before the show, I called up my buddy who is a totally knowledgeable metalhead but who didn't know all that much about Fates Warning, and basically begged him to go with me. Being the cool motherfucker he is, it didn't take a lot of arm-twisting. Thanks dude.It had been since the 2003 tour with Dream Theater and Queensryche since I had last seen Fates Warning live. I personally am a huge John Arch-era fan, but of course those days are long gone. Still, I heard that guitarist Frank Aresti was back in the band, which made me hold out hope for an old-school track or two off of Awaken the Guardian. Anyway, my buddy and I went over the Knitting Factory early, bought our tickets, and then grabbed a leisurely dinner at the California Pizza Kitchen in the Kodak Theater complex (the place where the Oscars are held that is right next to the Mann's Chinese Theater which is right next to the Knitting Factory) before going over to the show just in time to catch openers Agent Steel. I think that I hadn't seen the "new" Agent Steel before (I know I hadn't seen the original incarnation, although I liked Skeptics Apocalypse and Unstoppable Force back in the day). I have to say, they were OK, but the singer sounded a bit sour on some notes, and he didn't help his cause when he started getting pissed and fighting with the hecklers in between songs who only wanted to hear old shit. Finally at the end of the set the band caved and played "Bleed for the Gods" and "Agents of Steel," and everyone started going nuts. The entire audience erupted into a giant circle pit, and back patches and denim vests were flying everywhere. Wow. Talk about giving the fans what they want. I just wish the singer hadn't been such a bitch about things to begin with. Sure, I'm being harsh - the band sounded OK and it was cool that Bernie and Co. are carrying on the name. But I was there to see Fates Warning anyway, just stopped in to give Agent Steel a chance, and got yelled at for wanting to hear the songs I know.
Soon it was time for Fates Warning. It was nice to see metal legends in the crowd like Brian Slagel and Bill Metoyer. Fates came on stage to the opening strains of "A Pleasant Shade of Grey," and busted out with a couple of "new" songs (meaning they come from the last studio album, Fates Warning X). Of course the first thing everyone noticed was that Ray Alder had cut his hair short! Only original guitarist Jim Matheos has long hair these days. Joey Vera is bald, and Frank Aresti's hair is only shoulder length. Oh well. Anyway, the band played a lot of new tunes early on like "One," "Another Perfect Day," and "Simple Human." These sounded fine but I wanted to hear older stuff. I started to really get into it though when they busted out with mid-era gems like "The Eleventh Hour" and "Nothing Left to Say." I screamed along with every word and remembered why I had come. "Through Different Eyes," "Point of View," and "Monument" were also very cool. But no old songs were played at all. Instead, when the band came back for an encore at approximately 1 a.m. and I was sure we were going to hear "Guardian" or "Prelude to Ruin," instead we got a cover song! Sure it was a cool cover - "She's a Woman, He's a Man," from the 1970's-era Scorpions, but c'mon! You don't play your own old stuff and instead do a cover! Take a cue from the fan's reaction to Agent Steel - give the people what they want guys! Bring back John Arch!
Anyway, as I walked out of the show realizing I'd probably never get to see those old favorites performed live ever again, not even the steady stream of compliments on my vintage Queensryche The Warning shirt could cheer me up. Sure, it was a great show, but I had my hopes up high and they were dashed. Later that weekend, I dug out the most recent Awaken the Guardian reissue put out by Metal Blade, I noticed there was a DVD packaged with it with a live show from that tour. I put it in the player, only to be greeted by a disclaimer telling me (1) that this was the only known footage of the Fates Warning lineup from that album; and (2) that the quality really, really sucked. I watched it anyway, figuring "how bad could it be"? That's when I realized I'd have to CRANK the volume on my TV to hear anything. I did, and was actually starting to enjoy myself through the hiss when my wife came into the room and asked me what the hell I was doing playing the TV that loud when the baby was trying to nap in the other room. I decided, fuck it. I really will never get to see the Awaken the Guardian songs performed live, will I? I shut off the TV and turned on the NBA Playoffs instead. I'm sure I'll pop the DVD back in the player some day, but now I really know that the John Arch-era is one reunion I may never get to see.
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