 (C) 2018 All rights reserved by www.metalmasterkingdom.com Photo credit: Rob Botten (C) 2018 All rights reserved by www.metalmasterkingdom.com Photo credit: Rob Botten | Written by Alex Stojanovic Photography by Rob Botten (C) 2018 www.metalmasterkingdom.com @ The Opera House April 20, 2018 Toronto, ON, Canada Presented by Collective Concerts Click here for our interview with Billy Sheehan On April 20th, the Opera House hosted a show that featured a huge amount of talent and impeccable musicianship with Sons Of Apollo, the new supergroup featuring Mike Portnoy, Billy Sheehan, Derek Sherinian, Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal and Jeff Scott Soto. Fans of all the members' past and current projects, who have become Sons Of Apollo fans, packed the Opera House to witness this unique combination of legendary musicians, who have earned every accolade they've received throughout their careers, thanks to their individual virtuosic skills. The fans certainly got their money's worth. Venezuelan instrumental performer Felix Martin and his trio took the stage first to warm up the crowd. The trio is rounded out by Chilean bassist Javier Sepulvida and Spanish drummer Victor A. Carracedo. During the band introduction, Felix jokingly said that Victor didn't count as a Latino because "he's from Spain", which drew a big laugh in the crowd. Felix and his trio were super talented. One of the new songs played was a mix of progressive metal and Venezuelan folk music. My only criticism was that after three songs, it got a little hard to tell the other songs apart. The finger-tapping technique is amazing, but it can also be pretty limiting, and I felt that Felix overuses tapping. As a result, it was hard to differentiate the songs, but the new song they played stood out a bit more. Don't get me wrong, they are incredibly talented musicians, but by the last song, it started getting a little tedious. It was now time for Sons Of Apollo to hit the stage. With only one album under their belts, their debut album Psychotic Symphony was played in its entirety, along with a few cover songs by Dream Theater, Van Halen, Henry Mancini and Queen. The result was a fun-filled and entertaining almost-two-hour show. There's a lot of musicians out there that are incredibly virtuosic, but they take themselves too seriously and come across as pretty snobby sometimes. I won't name names though. It's always refreshing to see a band where all the members are virtuosos in their own right, but they don't take themselves seriously (although serious about their crafts) like Sons Of Apollo, and that was proven by the fact that they were having a lot of fun on stage playing together, as well as having plenty of laughs and cracking jokes. One of the elements that proved they are a fun band was that they played the Pink Panther theme by Henry Mancini. During one of the instrumental segments, Mike, Billy and Bumblefoot played an extended version of the That Metal Show theme song, because for those that don't know, the three of them are friends with Eddie Trunk, Don Jamieson and Jim Florentine, and Bumblefoot composed the theme song. The band faced a couple of technical issues with the P.A. going out twice. The first time was a little longer than expected, and it caused the band to stop playing until the issue was resolved, but they were able to continue playing during the second time it went out, because it didn't last as long as the first time. The band handled the situation really well and had a good laugh about it with the crowd. That just goes to show their level of professionalism. If all that wasn't enough to make this a fun and entertaining show, it was also Mike's birthday and they brought out a birthday cake on stage. |
As the encore began, Jeff went to the bar to have a shot for Mike's birthday, and made his way back to the stage through the crowd while the band played Van Halen's "And The Cradle Will Rock". As the night ended, Jeff introduced the band members in a short poetic style. Fans left the Opera House raving about what they just witnessed, and they can't wait to witness it again. I know I can't. If Sons Of Apollo is headed your way, buy a ticket and go out and see them. You won't be disappointed.
| SONS OF APOLLO Jeff Scott Soto - Vocals Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal - Guitars & vocals Billy Sheehan - Bass Mike Portnoy - Drums & vocals Derek Sherinian - Keyboards Label: Inside Out Music Website: www.sonsofapollo.com www.facebook.com/SonsOfApollo1 | FELIX MARTIN BAND Felix Martin - Guitars Javier Sepulvida - Bass Victor A. Carracedo - Drums Label: Prosthetic Records / Independent Website: www.felixmartin.net www.facebook.com/felixmartinmusic |
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