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HERE WE GO!!!!!!

LIGHTS DIM AND OPETH TAKES THE STAGE....SO I GRAB MY FRESH MICRO AND RUN DOWN INTO THE PIT....oh shit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

FIRST TRACK WHITE CLUSTER!!

THE PLACE WENT BERSERK...BY THIS TIME I HAVE THE KILLER BUZZ GOING AND IM STANDING THERE BANGIN HEAD IN FRONT OF PETER LINDGREN <OPETHS' LEAD GUITARIST>

<this mutherfucker is badassed!!!!!!!!>

THEN THE TRACK SLOWS DOWN

"THIS IS FORGIVENESS SO I KNOW....ONCE I REPENT I SEAL THE LID"

everyone IS SINGING LOUDLY...M. AKERFELDT KEPT LOOKIN AT PETER AND SMILING ALL BIG

THEN THEY BROKE INTO SOME ORCHID WITH "FOREST OF OCTOBER"....NEXT UP WAS The Drapery Falls" ....then it was "The Moor" from SL ...... Peter Lindgren was all over the fucking place...this guy is a phenomenal guitarist!

THEN THEY PLAYED "ADVENT" FROM MORNINGRISE lets see....then it was "The Funeral Portrait" from BP.....there was two others but I cant remember them...because this happened next: they broke OUT with "Demon of the Fall"!!!!!

the pit went sick and hell broke loose!!! the whole front was either thrashing or moshing around... fucking sweeeeeeeeeeet!!!

they left the stage and the place was screaming O-Peth!!!!! O-Peth!!!!! O-Peth!!!!!

they came back OUT and broke into "The Leper affinity"

Lights came up and Now I had to re-beer...and met this really cool guy from Milwaukee who goes every year to the big fest...he said he was in CO. visiting family and thought he would drop in on Opeth...he had already seen them with KingD <milwaukee metal fest>but also wanted to see Angel Dust because it was their first ever US show...we hit it off pretty good and went walking around....here comes the really good part!!!!

time again to re-beer....except this time when I looked down the bar....I see Mikael Åkerfeldt sitting by himself drinking a Heinie....he looks at me and smiles and waves...I almost knocked my fuckin beer glass over!!!!

so I went over <being the VERY OUTgoing person I am>...and put my hand on his shoulder and proceeded to tell the guy he is a genius and how Opeth is the best death metal EVER to hit the scene!!!...and he laughed and said he was happy I enjoy Opeth...his english is awesome and almost no hint of an accent

so I bought him his next Heiny and popped a squat at the bar with him...I asked him what he thought of the crowds reaction to Opeth...he said he was VERY surprised.... he said "I knew we had fans in the US but not like this!!" he said the other dates they played so far hadnt been as responsive as this one though...

he also told me everyone he had talked to that night told him that Opeth should have been the headliner....I agreed with him 100% and he said "NEXT TIME we will!"

it may be awhile before we see Opeth again...but he promises they WILL return now that theyve seen the reaction they can expect from us Amurikens <li'l bit of an accent there>

that shit made me happy and I let my big dumb grin show as much....about that time some guy walks up from behind and put his hand on my shoulder...I was thinking maybe it was guy or another friend from the list...NOPE!

It was Peter Lindgren....this dude is not only a KILLING guitarist but he is super super nice.... he talked to me for about 15 minutes about life in Sweden and life in Opeth...and his reaction to the fans here....he was loving it...he told me "when I look up and see all those people with their fists in the air wearing our tour shirts and singing along with Mikey <funny huh?..thats what he calls him> it just made me feel so good!!"

"So what else did they say?" asked the editor.
"Lets see.......he said that the core of Opeth comes fom his days with a band called Bloodbath-pure Swedish Black Metal. The alter-ego of Opeth is their love of 70s prog-rock bands...Like Floyd, Yes and Rush.
He said that their following in Sweden is growing every day and this has enabled them to now have 5 CDs....but he is most pleased that the US fans love them so much....they are getting bigger here every day and I know tons and tons of people going to this show with bibs and diapers on! hehehehe"

I got my covers signed by Peter and "Mikey"

anyway Peter said all the stress they had been feeling since the end of the first leg of the tour in Jersey dropped off his shoulders when all these fans screamed for OPETH!! <dont ya just love that??!!!...I DO!>