Concert Review: The Decibel Magazine Tour 2015 (Chicago 4/6/15)

Sometime in the past few weeks (my perspective on time is supremely disjointed right now), Mick and I headed down to Chicago's House of Blues for the 2015 iteration of the Decibel Magazine Tour.  This tour always has some serious band power, but seems to always hit Chicago on the Durfette's birthday, so this was my first year attending.  Thankfully, the bill was as great as I could have asked for: Vallenfyre, Pallbearer, Converge, and At the Gates.  For those keeping track at home, that's one stellar up and coming metal band, two of my personal bucket list bands, and one of the most important bands in metal history.  Needless to say, excitement and expectations were pretty high as Mick and I settled into our spots, ice cold Dale's Pale Ales in hand to prepare for some metal.

Bucket List Shows: The Bands I Need to See

I'm fortunate to live in Chicago, a city that has a staggering number of music venues across all shapes and sizes, including multiple joints that pull in a terrific number of metal bands.  Rare is the tour that misses Chicago, and even then, there's a 99% chance the band is playing Milwaukee, which is a short drive north.  Like I said, fortunate.  That said, occasionally there are shows I miss out on, for any number of reasons, and that makes me sad; I love seeing bands live, and I love seeing bands I love live even more.  In thinking about some of the gnarly concerts coming up, I started thinking about the bands I've missed over the years, and came up with my ten "Bucket List" bands, the bands I most want to see before I shuffle off this mortal coil (hopefully not anytime soon).  I stayed away from bands that have broken up (or Isis would have made the list) or older bands whose members aren't going to do it (same for Pink Floyd).  A few honorable mentions before we get this show on the road: Tool, Meshuggah, Lamb of God, Anathema, Sleep.  All would be amazing to see, but they don't quite crack the Top Ten.  So... here goes!