Katatonia/Cult of Luna 9/24/13
Katatonia rolled into Irving Plaza as part of their current tour with Density records own Cult of Luna, Tesseract of Century Media Records and Intronaut who has returned after their own headlining tour (one of which they stopped at St. Vitus bar in Brooklyn back in June with Scale the summit. The last time I saw Katatonia live was when they stopped at Irving Plaza with Devin Townsend a few months back. I went to the show sorely for Tesseract and Intronaut but Cult of Luna really surprised me. However, the SEVERE lack of lighting for ALL acts was unbearable. I believe in atmosphere and it showed during the show, but total darkness and high in shadows made this show a grueling challenge.
Intronaut opened up the show with only 4 songs. Sadly enough I could not see drummer Danny Walker as he was literally cloaked in darkness. The only light available were some lasers they used on the stage ground. Very annoying as Intronaut had more light when I first saw them at Roseland Ballroom with Meshuggah in the beginning of 2013.
Tesseract was the MAIN ATTRACTION for me. Their current album “Altered State” , playing songs such as “Proxy”, “Nocturne” (their first single released), and “Retrospect” Tallying the last 2 songs off their setlist were classics “Deception” and “Acceptance” The band was amazing considering their short set and the lighting was pretty good considering they focused more on solid colors and no fluorescence. As a photographer I enjoy shooting with lights that destroy shadow effects, their lead singer Ashe is very in tune with his vocals, thus creating occasions where the emotion can truly be captured. Lets just say “I did my best here” I was still severely satisfied with my results and managed to capture his essence live.
Cult of Luna used harsh and aggressive shadow effects which REALLY got on my nerves. Silhouettes and limited visibility destroyed many photos I considered worthy of keeping. Blues, purples and bright white dominated the stage. The sound, deafening to the T. Their fans were satisfied as I heard no complaints and excitement throughout the set. Katatonia was dead last and to no avail the venue emptied out. It was very disappointing to see that happen but their twelve song set satiated the fans who stayed. A photo of the set list can be seen below. Check out the rest of the photos and remaining tour dates in the flyer up top.
