A Review of Sonata Arctica Concert, Feb. 3, 2008, in New Jersey

Around 3:45 p.m. on Feb. 3, 2008, I am dropped off in the Starland Ballroom parking lot in Sayreville, New Jersey. With the sun still up and it being several hours before the start of the show, I had yet to actually feel the cold set in on me.

I had purchased Starparking for the event (a wonderful thing for those of you that like to get in before anyone that just bought the regular tickets). Waiting on the steps with my brother the two of us just talked and waited in anticipation of the 6 o' clock concert. Although I didn't know the headlining band all that well I had heard good things about them (through my brother) and was excited to see them. I also had high hopes for one of the opening bands which shared a nickname of mine: Reaper.

Despite the wait that, inevitably, seems longer than it really is, getting inside I was surprised to see the room take almost ten minutes to fill up with a decent amount of people. I would highly recommend to any concert fan that they see one on Super bowl Sunday, believe me you won't be disappointed. There was no crowd surfing until the headlining band came on stage and even then it was not half as bad as crowd surfing I have been forced to endure in the past.

By far, out of all the concerts I've been to, I felt this was the most technologically challenged of them all. There were several instances of sound problems and equipment not working. But the bands that encountered these issues played on, showing a true professional quality to their performances despite some flaws.