Nothing says spring in Portland more than a few cherry blossoms on the waterfront, and tours beginning to make their way through town. Lamb of God came through and played the Theater of the Clouds last night and it was a great way put a fire under us all here at OnStagePress. With three support acts including Sanguisugabogg, Fit for an Autopsy, and Kublai Khan opening, Lamb of God had to play a bit of a shorter set, but still managed to squeeze in a solid 15 tracks.
The set layout wasn’t super flashy. There were no pyrotechnics or overly complicated lighting arrays. The rear of the stage was lined with vertically oriented LED panels with four decorative columns sprinkled throughout. The entire set was relatively well lit, but the attention was certainly on the performance and not the production.
Just prior to kicking into “Into Oblivion”, vocalist Randy Blythe made a brief statement about how completely relevant the song was, saying “this song could have been written just yesterday”. Never one to shy away from political discourse, I had almost expected him to launch into a less than flattering review of the current political climate, but he made his statement through song instead. Set staples like “Ruin”, “Walk With Me in Hell”, and “Memento Mori” made the set list with the predictable closer “Redneck” tying a bow on the evening.
Leading into “Grace”, Guitarists Willie Adler and Mark Morton performed a brief guitar jam session. Drummer Art Cruz also took his turn in the spotlight with a blistering drum solo leading into “Desolation”. Throughout the evening, Randy ran circles around the stage as if conjuring a circle pit that could keep up with him. The Portland faithful surfed, moshed, and circle-pitted through the entire set. During the closing track, the circle pit consumed nearly everyone in the GA section.
There is still a couple dozen stops on the tour before they take it overseas. Make sure to get in early. Those openers won’t hurt your feelings.
