Recap and Review: The Black Diamond Skye Tour

This past Tuesday my boyfriend and I went to The Black Diamond Skye Tour together. It was a lot of fun. I was feeling well before we got there so I was able to relax and enjoy myself much more than I could at Uproar. I'm sure the fact that the temperature was much lower helped. It was a really great day for a concert.

Mastodon was up first. I wasn't familiar with much of their music beforehand but I enjoyed their set. They used some TV screens that they played clips that appeared to be from B-movies that went along with their music. My boyfriend really seemed to like them so after they were done we went to the merch table and bought their album.

We ended up having to skip The Deftones set. They had a lot of very bright white strobe lights that faced out into the audience. Light is my main migraine trigger so I knew I needed to get away from them if I was going to feel well enough to enjoy the band I was there to see, Alice in Chains. I waited around until their first song was over to see if the lights would not be quite as intense. Unfortunately the lights kept flashing erratically so we had to walk out and sit at one of the picnic tables near where they sell food. I could still see the flashing over top of the wall that was blocking our view of the stage. I wish I could have stayed and watched them but I didn't want to get violently ill.

Alice in Chains were amazing. They also used quite a bit of lighting in their set but it was done much better and in a way that did not make it impossible for me to watch them. They used a lot of colored lights directed at the stage along with nifty video screens. They did occasionally shine white light into the audience but it was only a very few times and they did not flash. The lights would come on for a few seconds and then go off. For me at least this is better especially since where they used them made sense in relation to the music so I could brace myself a lot better. It was really nice to be able to enjoy a band's interesting use of lighting during a concert without being hurt by it. Besides the lights the music was absolutely amazing. I wouldn't hesitate for a second if I had a change to see them again. They put on an amazing show.