Review: Opeth at the Beaumont Club

Words a headbanger never hopes to hear: "Here's some Swedish folk music for you."

Mikael Åkerfeldt, the mastermind behind Opeth, intentionally baited an audience of almost 1,000 Thursday at the Beaumont Club.

Most members of the audience were in the mood for this. They heard something a lot like this instead. Åkerfeldt has abandoned death metal. The Opeth of 2011 sounds more like Tony Williams' Lifetime and King Crimson than Iron Maiden and Pantera. The new album Heritage is a refreshing blast of prog-rock and jazz fusion.

I love Opeth's new sound, but the band was subjected to jeers and heckling throughout its set. (The vibe was akin to the atmosphere captured on this fan footage from a show last month in Ohio. And to be fair, I'd be angry too if I'd unknowingly paid $30 for a bait-and-switch.) Frustrated denizens of the mosh pit resorted to slamming into one another during acoustic jams. Åkerfeldt seemed to feed off the negativity. A bit of a condescending fop, Åkerfeldt gave as good as he got.

It was possibly the weirdest show I've seen this year.


---
My friends at KDHX asked me to link to their Live at KDHX, Volume 9 premium for the stations' current fund drive. The compilation features There Stands the Glass favorites Ozomatli, Bettie Serveert and Ray Wylie Hubbard.

---
Teisha June Helgerson of Amelia has died. The band was featured at There Stands the Glass in 2008.

---
I wonder if Tom Petty thinks about Dwight Twilley these days. Twilley's new album came out this week.

---
Rdio is free-ish again. Here's my account if you care to follow me.

---
Kansas City Click: Sir Threadius Mongus perform Friday at La Esquina.

"Cry Cry Cry" is probably my favorite Bobby "Blue" Bland song. The legend is on the bill of Saturday's Rhythm & Ribs festival.

Laurie Anderson visits Helzberg Hall on Sunday.

Jazzbo appears every Monday at Jazz in midtown.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)