Arrival at the Red 7
It seems the Protomen are still on the rise. Granted, there were two shows going on at the Red 7, but the line to get in to the club, was all of the way up the hill to Red River, and wound around the corner.
Many of the people around me were there to see the Protomen, and I talked for a while with a guy standing next to me, from New Braunfels. He was long time fan, and was joined by a friend, a filmmaker making a documentary about the band, who had toured with them full-time, when they played at Game Over video games.
When I got inside, it seemed both inside and outside were packed. There was really no AC inside for our show, so I pitied the bands in makeup and costumes.
Amanda Lepre
Like the show at Emo's that I saw last year. Amanda Lepre returned as an opening act. I got the feeling this was a different band than I had seen previously. She has very good vocal and guitar chops, so her 45 minute set was enjoyable.
Urizen
I didn't enjoy this band, as much as the opener. It seemed they were more costume and gimics, than music. If there had been AC, perhaps I would have found their 45 minutes more tolerable.
The Protomen
This time around, the Protomen opened with a Queen song, Flash. After finishing, the lead singer promised more Queen interspersed throughout the set. For the most part, however, the set consisted of material from their first two albums, sticking to the Mega Man theme.
I estimate that they played about 90 minutes, and sounded fairly good despite the crappy PA, and sweltering conditions. I'm hoping that perhaps they will be able to graduate to better venues in the future, with their rising success. It would be nice to see them at least once, in a venue that didn't feel like a sauna.
Towards the end of the show, they mentioned that they would be returning to the studio to records, Act III, which was great news. They did a one song encore, Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody, which was very well received. Everyone in the crowd was singing along, a sign that the band had the audience in the palm of their hand.
I still highly recommend this band, particularly if you want to catch a group on their way up. I know that I have always enjoyed their shows.
Update
Someone did the honors, and posted the set list.
