Category: Beyond NYS

Friday night Acidic, Nonpoint and Hinder rocked Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel in Providence, RI, where staff member, Kate Drexel, was lucky enough to catch the show.

The murmurs of the crowd died down as the lights dimmed and the first band, Acidic emerged from the shadows. The lights shined upon them and they launched into their opening song, “Drive Thru”. They performed very high-energy songs, in which their lead singer, Mike Gossard, openly admitted that their songs are about girls, to which the crowd cheered very enthusiastically. Through the speedy setlist, they got to the song that got everybody singing along; The Beatles’ hit “Come Together”. Gossard maneuvered through the crowds while singing this classic hit. They ended with one of their originals, “Strata Red”.

The expectation of Nonpoint grew as the number of fans increased. Finally they arrived on stage, performing their first single off of their new record, “Left For You.” The craziness of the fans intensified as mosh pits began to form, and with them, what most fans dread, being pushed around. However, this was definitely the perfect music to mosh to. Colorful lights brightened the small venue, and it made the fog rolling on the stage very vibrant. The dedicated fans belted out the lyrics as the band was singing them. During the set, they did a metal cover of Phil Collins’ hit, “In The Air”; some fans put their hands up in a spiritual matter whereas others continued to mosh around. They ended their set with “Alive and Kicking” – which had the crowd chanting the words very enthusiastically- and then the grand finale, their 2005 hit, “Bullet With a Name”. After that excitement was over, the crowd was finally ready for the main event, Hinder.

The crew began to remove the previous band’s equipment in preparation for Hinder. Once moved aside, underneath the drum kit was a banner that read: HINDER. The fans cheered wildly, and some drunkenly began to chant the band’s name. After waiting for what seemed like an eternity, the lights suddenly shut off and the venue was swallowed within the darkness. From the darkness, came a familiar voice, one everybody has been looking forward to all night long, the voice of Austin Winkler: “PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND…LET ME FUCKING HEAR YOU!” Flashing lights accompanied the pitch-blackness, then finally the band all came out at once. Their opener, “Up All Night”, most certainly had the crowd going wild. Winkler began to make his infamous flamboyant moves to the rhythm of the song and the crowd was instantly put under his spell using his powerful, magical voice. The vibrantly colored lights continued to brighten the room and decorated spotlights danced on the walls. The crowd bounced their rocker horns to the beat of the music. After performing the club-beat-like single off of their new record, “Ladies Come First”, they played a more mellow song, a familiar heartbreaking song, if you will, “Better Than Me”. This one definitely tugged the ladies’ heartstrings, some of them got fairly teary-eyed, as they heartily mouthed the lyrics and swayed to the gentle melody. Suddenly, the mood changed drastically as the lights turned off then white flashes revealed Winkler’s shape and location. He did his infamous scream and began to sing the crude lyrics to the first song off of their third record, “2 Sides of Me”. Then again, another radical adjustment was made as the crew placed two wooden stools in the center of the stage, where drummer Cody Hanson blew everybody away by showing up with an acoustic guitar, sitting in the left seat and Winkler sitting on the right. They performed two songs acoustically, “Get Me Away From You” and “Thing For You”. Yet again, Hinder altered their quiet tunes to more hard rock with the occasional ballads. After performing “All American Nightmare”, they played their infamous hit, “Lips of an Angel”, to which Winkler created a game for everyone to sing along louder than him. Of course that was a success. They ended their set with three songs, one of them being the first single of their latest record, “Save Me”, as well as “How Long” from their first album. In the final song, “Get Stoned”, Winkler encouraged the crowd to harmonize with the band and before finishing off the song, he gave credit to his fellow band members. Once the song was over, they left the stage, leaving the crowd begging for more, but clearly the fun had ended.

All things considered, the concert had a very energetic vibe. The crowd was pumped and ready for a fun evening, thanks to the outstanding two opening bands. The setlist for Hinder was most definitely a roller-coaster with the dramatic changes in songs, but it was a wild, fun one. Because of the small venue, there was an unquestionable connection between the bands and their dedicated fans. A plethora of moments stood out, yet it would be hard to determine which one stood out the most because they were all so amazing. Yet again, this was another unforgettable night.