Tag: in this moment

  • Five Finger Death Punch, Papa Roach Tour Shows Rock is Not Dead in Glens Falls

    Five Finger Death Punch, Papa Roach, In This Moment and From Ashes To New, drove their tour buses into Glens Falls on the last stop on their current tour, and showed the fans that packed the Civic Center why rock music is not dead, but fully alive kicking. All the bands will head off to play the Rock Allegiance Festival in Chester, PA.

    The Monster Energy Drink fueled tour had everything you need in a rock show minus the pyro, as the venue does not allow it, but with the connection the fans had with this great lineup of rock stars, it wasn’t needed or missed as the chemistry between the bands and the crowd created enough sparks to burn the house down. This show had combinations of heart, passion, emotion, theatrics, charisma and of course, tons of energy.

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    From Ashes To New excelled as the opening band on this show. FATN set the tone for the night with a very energetic interactive set. Right out of the gate FATN had the fans engaged. As opener’s, FATN wasted no time talking and just played all their hits made popular on Sirius/XM Octane among other singles of their two Ep’s.

    Concert goers who were not familiar with the band were instantly hooked by the bands energy, look and catchy style of rap-rock metal songs. Dual singers Matt Brandyberry and Chris Musser, flow off each other and have great chemistry. Brandyberry’s raps mixed with Musser’s screams and melodic hardcore hooks were spot on. After a fascinating all out performance, I’m sure FATN’s Facebook and Twitter pages jumped in likes and followers after their incredible set.

    You can see From Ashes To New on tour this November when the hit the road with Like A Strom.

    FATN Setlist: Downfall, My Fight, Land of Make Believe, Lost and Alone, I Will Show You, Through It All, Stay This Way

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    In This Moment’s home town girl, Schenectady native Maria Brink brought her theatrical style of live performing to the stage. Fans sang in unison to Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing,” which introduced Brink and the boys to the stage.

    Maria stood front and center in her black widow outfit for the first song of the night “Sick Like Me.” This would be the first of many costume changes through the night as Brink has an outfit and theme for every song on the set list.

    Besides theatrics, Brink sort of brings a pop element to the stage as she has two back up dancers who dress in full costume, with a choreographed routine for each song. Brink stated that its feels great to be home and talked about performing her first show at the QE2 and at Bogies in Albany.

    In a different but cool way, Brink goes into full theater mode during the song “Sex Metal Barbie.” She stands at a pink podium dressed and sings the song as if she’s giving a speech to the crowd, which only someone like Brink can pull off.

    The last song of the night “Whore,” Brink dresses like a school girl and sits on a stool with a dunce cap on her head. The word whore is painted to look like blood in red on the front of the cap. Brink described the meaning behind the song, as taking something negative and turning it into a positive and the taking that into something bigger.

    In This Moment Setlist: Sick Like Me, Black Widow, Blood, Sex Metal Barbie, Big Bad Wolf, Whore

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    Papa Roach took the stage first as part of the co-headline tour. The black curtain hiding the stage dropped to the first song of the night “Face Everything and Rise (F.E.A.R).” Right after, fans erupted when the first note of “Between Angels and Insects” started. Papa Roach was all about business from the start and blazed through the first three songs.

    Frontman Jacoby Shaddix said to the crowd “You love that $#!t,” to a huge crowd response after singing “Getting Away With Murder.

    The ultra charismatic Shaddix, then asked the crowd how they were doing by saying “Motherf***ers in Glens Falls, NY how you f**king livin’ tonight?” The crowd responded with a deafening roar which prompted the hyped up Shaddix to say “That’s what I’m f**king talkin’ about, Friday night baby, you guys f**king partying tonight?” Fans were eating up everything Shaddix was saying.

    Shaddix then said “Yo check this out we are Papa Roach, and we are f**king grateful to f**king be here tonight. We f**king love you guys, but what I want to see on this f**king next song y’all check it out. I wanna see this f**king whole place jumpin’.” Shaddix then asked fans , “Are you with me?” The more than over willing fans screamed with readiness . Shaddix now wanting to get more involved with the crowd then said “lets see what your made of but only when I say go.” Shaddix then introduced the next song Warriors.

    Shaddix got up close and personal with the crowd during Warriors. Shaddix walked throughout the lower half of the arena slapping hands with fans before returning back to the stage. After the song Shaddix said “Now we have a f**king rock and roll show on our hands.”

    The next song Forever, Shaddix dedicated to all the ladies in the crowd. While the intro played, Shaddix asked the crowd if they were having a good time. Shaddix then pointed to some fans up close and said that he knows they are having a good time cause he can see the fire in their eyes.

    Shaddix introduced the band one by one during the intro to Hollywood Whore. He started with guitarist Jerry Horton. Shaddix looked to what he called his main motherf***ing man back there on drums Tony Palermo. Shaddix then told Palermo he was a bad motherf***er, as Palermo laughed. Shaddix then said over on bass we have monster, his name is Tobin Esperance. Shaddix then said who the fuck cares what my name is, lets push some rock and roll. Shaddix and the crowd then sung the intro to Hollywood Whore together.

    Before Falling Apart, Shaddix had to acknowledge the fans up in the seats by saying “F**k yeah, I’m felling you up there, how you guys up there?” Shaddix then added “I see we have some P Roach fans up there, nice fucking t-shirt homie f**k yeah thanks for representing tonight.”

    Shaddix then stated that this was the last show and it has been an awesome tour. Shaddix then stated “In This Moment, Papa Roach, Five Finger Death Punch what the f**k, best tour ever man its been f***ing awesome. It’s an honor to share the stage with those guys.”

    Shaddix gave a speech how the band came about. He talked about how they started in high school as a garage band when Shaddix was sixteen. Shaddix then went on to say next thing you know Papa Roach doing this s**t f***ing world-wide twenty-two f***ing years later. Shaddix then added “So anybody who’s f***ing got big dreams, keep f***ing chasing them if you know what im f***ing saying.”

    In Shaddix’s attempt to be Moses, he wanted to bring it back to old school Papa Roach days and asked each side of the floor to part in the middle for what he call the Braveheart or the Wall of Death. Shaddix then said when he says go, he wants each side to bum rush each other to create one huge mosh pit. The band then played “Blood Brothers.”

    Shaddix and Horton sat on a small elevated stage in the middle of the arena floor and played an acoustic version of “Scars.”

    In a scene fans have been waiting for all night, Maria Brink joined Shaddix on stage for a historic moment as they sang their collaboration of “Gravity,” before ending their high-energy set with “…To Be Loved.”

    Papa Roach Setlist: Face Everything and Rise, Between Angels and Insects, Getting Away With Murder, Warriors, Forever, Hollywood Whore, Kick in the Teeth, Falling Apart, Blood Brothers, Broken as Me, Scars, Gravity, Where Did the Angels Go?, Still Swingin’, Last Resort, …To Be Loved

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    You think fans would be spent by the energy this show has displayed thus far but fans also must have been fueled by Monster Energy as well. Fans were now ready to explode for Five Finger Death Punch waiting for them to hit the stage. As the venue turned to black, fans started a FFDP chant.

    Once again the black curtain fell to Five Finger Death Punch and the first song in the setlist “Lift Me Up.” FFDP kept the trend going by getting straight to the point ripping off song after song to start the night. Frontman Ivan Moody had a red handprint painted on his face to resemble their mascot Knucklehead.

    FFDP put all the rumors to bed, as the band looked like a tight-knit band of brothers who were having fun on stage and showing no signs of animosity between them. These five amazing musicians may be five totally different personalities, but together as a unit FFDP has endless chemistry and talent and raw emotion.

    In normal Five Finger fashion, the band paid tribute to all the men and women in the armed forces by playing their cover version of Bad Company.

    Before the song, Ivan Moody asked fans in the crowd who have served, or are currently serving, to put their hands up. Moody the said “Keep your hands up. Everybody else see those hands? You shake them, you thank them and you buy them a beer for our fucking freedoms.” The crowd reacted with a thunderous roar and even louder U.S.A chant.

    As Moody looked for Jason Hook to start things off, Hook teased Enter Sandman as Moody played to and sang with the crowd until drummer Jeremy Spencer purposely stopped the song as the fans kept singing on cue despite him stopping the music. This prompted Moody to tell the crowd to say “F**k you Jeremy,” the crowd obliged. Spencer respond with a 5 second drum solo, stood up and gave the crowd two middle finger’s.

    Moody then asked Hook to give him something. Hook then started playing  Crazy Train only to have Zoltan take away Moody’s mic after the fist line of the song.

    Hook showed off his incredible guitar playing skills. Moody then jokingly said to Hook “Jason stop flirting, lets play the song that we dedicated to the armed fucking forces.” The band then played Bad Company.

    Before FFDP got into “Jekyll and Hyde” from their new album Got You Six, Moody asked for some of the lights to be turned down because he couldn’t see a thing. Moody the said “Turn off that spotlight I’m not Axel Rose.”

    Moody then asked how many fans had their new album. The crowd went nuts which made Moody stop and say “Wow, you guys are rowdy.” Moody then reiterated and asked the crowd how many of you actually bought the f***ing thing? Then asked how many downloaded it to a small amount of cheers. Moody then said “Oh so proud, you cheap son of a b***h,” which made the crowd laugh. Moody then said “It’s alright though. It’s only like fifteen bucks, so you can like work at McDonald’s for like an hour and a half and you got it,” to more laughter from fans.

    After a top-notch drum solo by Jeremy Spencer, It was now that part of the show where FFDP looks for the next generation of metal fans to bring onto the stage for the next song “Burn MF.”

    Moody though was looking for a certain someone that he wanted on stage he met while he was walking his dog before the show. Moody not realizing the girl made it up to the stage, said thank you for making his day as he turned around to notice the girl was behind him. Moody then said “There you are,” and stated that she looked so much like his own daughter. Moody asked her for a hug and if she wanted a Monster (Energy Drink). Now Moody was back to business as he said “So now were gonna show them how the big kids do this.” Moody then violently screamed into the mic “Open it up,” then said “If you don’t wanna get hurt, now is the right time to get the fuck out of the way.”

    Moody and Hook slowed it down a bit as they played an acoustic arrangement of “Wrong Side of Heaven.” They continued acoustically through to the song “Battle Born.” The rest of FFDP joined them on stage to finish the song electric.

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    Before FFDP played “Burn it Down,” Moody said that Zoltan keeps stopping him cause he wants to play something heavy. Moody the dedicated the song to all the crazy motherf***ers in the mosh pit. After the song ended Moody’s love for the crowds energy said “You guys are f***ing nuts.” FFDP ended the set with “Coming Down.”

    Fans chanted for the band to come back out for an encore. Fans didn’t have to wait long as the band came back out and played “Under and Over It.”

    Moody then wanted to get something off his chest that he said would only take a second. Moody stated “Social media sucks d**k. I don’t have a Facebook page, I don’t have a Twitter, I don’t give a fuck about any of that shit. So if you ever see one that says Ivan L. Moody, fuck that shit. Here’s the reason. Anybody on the internet can say anything at any given time, and immediately it’s considered true.  Eighty percent of my life is you guys, this band and my family and that’s it. The other twenty percent belongs to my dog.” Moody then thanked the fans for coming out and not believing the B.S. Moody asked for everyone to put their lighters and cell phones in the air to light the venue then introduced the last song of the night, The Bleeding.”

    Five Finger Death Punch Setlist: Lift Me Up, Hard to See, Never Enough, Got Your Six, Bad Company, Jekyll and Hyde, Drum Solo, Burn MF, Wrong Side of Heaven, Battle Born, Coming Down Encore: Under and Over It, The Bleeding

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  • Rock Allegiance Festival Sells Out PPL Park

    On Saturday, October 10, metal-heads from all over the Northeast made PPL Park in Chester, Pa., its final destination. PPL Park was host of this year’s Rock Allegiance festival which was sponsored by Monster Energy. Since the festival only lasted one day, it needed to have a lineup that would draw fans from all across the Northeast. The festival promoters couldn’t have done a better job at putting the lineup together because weeks before the event, PPL Park was sold out. With a lineup consisting of numerous bands that could have headlined, Rock Allegiance was set to be a success from the start.

    Saturday’s forecast was perfect for the event, consisting of warm weather and sunshine. The beautiful day definitely helped fans get to the stadium early to get things started right after 11 a.m. With three stages going all day, there was something for everyone. The bands that opened the morning and early afternoon were no amateurs. Bands such as Unlocking The Truth who are still in their teens, took the Rock Allegiance Tent Stage and immediately demanded the circle pits to be started. That type of crowd control and confidence will definitely keep those youngsters going for a long time. Other bands such as Devour The Day and Red Sun Rising, kept the early afternoon rocking on the two stages set up inside the stadium.

    From Ashes To New
                                                   From Ashes To New

    The 3rd band of the day to take the Tent Stage was From Ashes To New. This band has been on the road with Five Finger Death Punch, Papa Roach and In This Moment, all who were also at the festival. From Ashes To New drew a huge crowd for their set time and they were phenomenal. It’s no surprise now why they were on the road with those other bands. The energy and style this rap-rock band was very refreshing because many new bands today go toward the scream vocals and heavy riffs.

    Shifting to the main stages afterward, The Glorious Sons took the stage for a quick set of hard-rocking blues rock. They were definitely the band that stuck out the most, but not in a bad way. Although many fans weren’t there to see them specifically, The Glorious Sons got love from the respectful crowd. After they were done, all the attention shifted to Stage East for Nothing More. At this point, if someone hasn’t heard of Nothing More or hasn’t at least heard “Jenny” or “Mr. MTV”, they’re living under a rock. There hasn’t been a band moving up the ladder this fast in quite a long time. Lead singer Jonny Hawkins and the rest of the band put on one of the best live performances today. They’ve been on the road for quite some time now and are taking cities by storm. The crowd at PPL Park definitely could have gone for a longer set because 30 minutes was certainly not enough. The next band that played inside on Stage West was Atreyu, who just released Long Live on September, 18. This was their first album in six years and these guys got a huge welcome. This band may have been overlooked on the lineup due to all of the other big names, but Atreyu proved they still have what it takes to be on the main stage. Lead singer Alex Varkatzas spent most of the set down in the crowd getting up close and personal with people in the front row.

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                                                         Nothing More

    In the meantime while Nothing More and Atreyu were rocking the main stages inside, the Charm City Devils and Superheaven were playing over in the Tent Stage. After their short sets were done, Pop Evil took over back inside the stadium. Touring on behalf of their recent album Up, Pop Evil played a mix of material from their newest album and Onyx. Pop Evil is a band that works off of the crowds energy and they shined on Saturday. The band looked like they were having fun on stage and they sounded great. As soon as Pop Evil ended, the crowd ran over to the Tent Stage to catch a set from the Butcher Babies. The Butcher Babies are a heavy metal band fronted by Heidi Shepherd and Carla Harvey, two of the most metal chicks in the music industry today. These two ladies take control of the stage and put on an unforgettable performance. The girls jump all over the stage and get down on the crowd to sing with the audience. Anyone who decided to skip out on seeing their set missed an awesome show, but luckily the Butcher Babies are always on the road. Their newest release Take It Like A Man will surely keep them on the road for some time. Speaking of girls in metal, right after the Butcher Babies were done, In This Moment took over PPL Park. With a full stage production with costume changes, choreography and more, Maria Brink and the rest of the band proved why they are one of the top metal bands in the scene today. Although the band has a handful of albums now, their two most recent releases Blood and Black Widow have given them radio play and mainstream success. The crowd sang every word with Maria throughout the entire set. In This Moment seem to get better and better every time around and their performance at Rock Allegiance is proof.

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                                                   Bring Me The Horizon

    One of the craziest crowds of the day had to be for Bring Me The Horizon. Even with a throat infection, singer Oliver Sykes made sure the crowd was left bloody with broken bones just as he demanded. The infection didn’t seem to affect Oliver one bit. The band was spot on and had the crowd in their control before they even took the stage. The fans waiting in front of the East Stage were definitely waiting for BMTH all afternoon. Touring in support of their latest release That’s The Spirit, Bring Me The Horizon has been packing venues left and right the last few weeks in the States. All of the momentum they’ve gained at the smaller shows seemed to explode at Rock Allegiance on Saturday. While Bring Me The Horizon played, new “supergroup” Saint Asonia played over in the tent. Fans of Three Days Grace and Staind were surely over in the tent watching Adam Gontier and Mike Mushok. Their self-titled album has been all over the radio since the announcement of the group and debut at Rock on the Range earlier this year. The original voice of Three Days Grace and axe man of Staind seem to blend perfectly together and have created something nobody expected. Their setlist was mixed with singles off their album and covers of Three Days Grace and Staind.

    Even with all of the bands mentioned so far, Rock Allegiance was not even half over. After Saint Asonia, Jacoby Shaddix and the rest of Papa Roach took over PPL Park. There’s never a Papa Roach show were Jacoby leaves the crowd disappointed. The crowd for Papa Roach was definitely the most so far out of the day. The highlight of the set was when singer Maria Brink of In This Moment came on stage to join Jacoby in singing “Gravity”. Fans who caught the tour with FFDP, Papa Roach, In This Moment and From Ashes To Knew were definitely expecting this duet because they have been doing it nightly. Watching Jacoby and Maria sing the song together was one of the top moments of the day. During Papa Roach’s set, Hollywood Undead competed for audience in the Tent Stage. It was a hard decision to make for fans to pick one or the other. Papa Roach easily had the majority of the crowd, but the tent was still packed for the rap-rock band. The guys came out in their signature masks and carried on their performance like they weren’t competing with anyone.

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                                       Papa Roach

    As the sun went down and the night grew cold, Five Finger Death Punch took the East Stage and got the crowd on their feet and moving. Even with a shorter then normal set, Ivan and the rest of FFDP put on a great performance with a mix of material from their catalog. Unfortunately, the band only played 2 new songs off their latest album, Got Your Six which were “Got Your Six” and “Jekyll and Hyde”. With such success on the charts, many fans were hoping for more of the new material then some of the older. FFDP has always been a band that supported the country’s armed forces and they showed their appreciation Saturday night. Ivan took one fan’s sign that read he had been deployed and had the entire band sign it. As usual, Ivan invited some youngsters on stage to rock out to their song “Burn MF.” During the song, Ivan high-fived the kids and gave them energy drinks, guitar picks and arm bands. What Five Finger Death Punch does for their fans and the troops is a prime example of how every band should be.

    One of the best crowds of the day, hands down, belonged to Boston rockers Godsmack. Sully Erna is one of the best in the business when it comes to putting on a rock show. Sully makes sure the crowd is into the performance and if they’re not, he’s going to change that. The band recorded the song “Something Different” which is going to be used for a new documentary. During the song the crowd reaction was amazing to watch from the stands.  Every person was jumping up and down singing along with Sully. Another highlight of the set was the usual “Batalla de los Tambores” with Sully and Shannon. For those unfamiliar with that song, it’s the dual drum instrumental where Sully and Shannon both play on their own drum kits and Robbie and Tony rock the bass and guitar. They play their own song while mixing in riffs from Metallica, Led Zeppelin, Rush, AC/DC and more. The night was closed out with a cover of Alice Cooper’s “School’s Out” and then their classic hit, “I Stand Alone”. Godsmack could have easily closed out the entire night, but there were still two more bands to go.

    While Godsmack was rocking the stage on the right, the stage on the left was empty with the iconic Korn album backdrop from 1994. With the 20th anniversary shows being common recently, many fans were expecting Korn to play the entire debut album. The set started off in that direction with “Blind”, “Ball Tongue”, “Need To”, “Clown” and “Faget”. But once the band dove into the riff for “Here To Stay”, the crowd knew they weren’t getting the full album. Which for many seemed okay because at a festival there’s typically a mix of fans who want to hear more of the hits. Korn seemed to put on the best setlist of the night. The material they picked kept the crowd moving and it didn’t let up. The highlight was when “Shoots and Ladders” went into the ending for “Somebody Someone” and the crowd went absolutely nuts. Surprisingly Korn ended the night with “Freak On A Leash” and then announced that was their last song instead of announcing it ahead of time. Ending the set like that left fans begging for more as Jonathan Davis brought his wife on stage sharing with the crowd that it was their anniversary.

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                                                 Korn

    Once Korn ended, the entire Stage East crowd shifted to the right to be in front of the stage for Rob Zombie. Even though it was apparent some of the crowd had filed out after Korn, Zombie still had a huge crowd. Unfortunately due to smaller main stages, Zombie didn’t have the stage production some people expected. Even without his signature stage production, Rob Zombie and his band put on a hell of a show. The band came out with different costumes and instruments all night long. Guitarist John 5 was a crowd favorite because of his costumes and unique guitars.The night opened up with a White Zombie cover of “More Human Than Human”, which set the pace for the night. During the song “Sick Bubble-Gum” the band had huge balloons for the crowd to amuse themselves with while they chose sides with either Piggy D. or John 5 by chanting “Rock” or “Mother Fucker”. Rob Zombie always has and will continue to be one of the best entertainers in the music industry. Fortunately for fans in Chester, they got to see one of Rob Zombie’s last shows for a while. The band has been on the road for quite some time now and are ready to take a break from the road. Fans ended the night in Zombie style with fan-favorite “Dragula”.

    Just as fans thought the night was over with a closing fireworks display alongside the Delaware River, Steel Panther was ready for the after-party under the tent. Three albums in, Steel Panther continue to have success with their parody style 80s hair metal. Not only did fans stick around for the after party, but many band members came out to watch Steel Panther. Watching side stage were members of Korn, Five Finger Death Punch, Nothing More, From Ashes To New and even more. Unfortunately, none of those guys got on stage to do any covers, which was surprising due to all of the guest musicians they usually get on stage. Regardless of whether they had guests on stage, Steel Panther put on a show that was perfect to end the day. The band had the entire tent rockin’ and laughing for the entire hour.

    Rob Zombie
                                                          Rob Zombie

    Not only did Rock Allegiance have an awesome day of music, it had some great choices for food and drink. Labeled as having “Gourmet Man Food” and craft beers on top of that, PPL Park had it all on Saturday. Throughout the stadium, there were your basic food vendors as there would be at any event there. On top of that were all the food trucks that the festival brought in. The best part about all of the options was that none of the lines got ridiculously long like they do at other festivals. The prices for everything were fair which helped keep concert goers wallet’s happy. Most of all, having options besides your typical hot dogs, hamburgers, etc was a relief. The same goes for the basic festival overpriced beer, Rock Allegiance made sure there were plenty of options. The festival was filled with plastic canning jars which were being used for a variance of alcoholic beverages. Considering the price of tickets and the experience festival attendees got in return, Rock Allegiance was an absolute steal. It was no surprise at all that this event sold out ahead of time and hopefully it will return again next year.

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  • Breaking Benjamin Continue Strong String Of Live Shows At K-Rockathon

    For Central New York music fans who have been attending since the 90s, it feels hard to believe that the K-Rockathon celebrated its’ 20th anniversary show at the Chevy Court at the NY State Fairgrounds this past weekend. Over the years, the K-Rockathon has been billed as one of the most anticipated shows of the year and with good reason.Past lineups have included mega acts the Violent Femmes, Goo Goo Dolls, Staind, Black Label Society, Social Distortion, Seether, Papa Roach, Avenged Sevenfold, Stone Temple Pilots, Korn, Public Enemy and more . This year’s roster included K-Rockathon veterans Trapt, Shinedown and Breaking Benjamin.

    It was, for the most part, a beautiful day. In what seems to be becoming a K-Rockathon tradition, there was a short-lived, light rain in the morning and a torrential downpour that sent fans scrambling for cover right before headliner Shinedown was set to take the stage.

    Here are some highlights from the day:

    Early in the day, Bad Seed Rising, led by frontwoman Francheska performed their set with an intense energy that got the early concert goers revved up. Bad Seed Rising is currently the youngest band signed with Road Runner Records. Even though they are a young band, their stage presence and performance looked like that have been at it for 20 years.

    Johnny Hawkins and the gang from Nothing More took the stage a bit later in the afternoon. Despite a few technical difficulties, Johnny was jumping and spinning all over the stage like the Tasmanian devil. The band played a notably high energy set and kept the increasingly growing crowd engaged.

    Rick DeJesus of Adelitas Way was so in love with the crowd’s energy, that he leaped off the stage and crowd surfed not once, but twice during the band’s set. Halfway through their set, Rick stopped to thank K-Rock for having them on the show. He also said “I want to thank K-Rock for playing real f^@#!ng rock music. Rick also stated to fans, “This is your Woodstock.”

    Trapt took the stage and came right out of the gate with their hit song “Headstrong.” Front man, Chris Brown, left the stage and stood on the rail of the barrier to get up close and personal with the Syracuse fans. Crowd surfers started flying everywhere during the song “Love/Hate Relationship.” The band ended the set with “Still Frame.”

    In This Moment, fronted by Upstate New York’s own Maria Brink, made their last tour stop at K-Rockathon 20. In This Moment had a distinct theatrical element to their onstage performance that included multiple costume changes, minor set changes and varied themes to go along with each song. The band is not just playing music, they are telling a story. It reminded me of a more modernized version of an Alice Cooper show.

    Breaking Benjamin, who has been on a short hiatus, makes a celebratory return to the scene after their new release “Dark Before Dawn” debuted on the Billboard Top 200 at #1; Quite a feat for any rock band these days. The stage lights slowly start to glow and the first notes begin to ring from the stage. Ben Burnley charges out and tears right into their hit “So Cold.” Ben threw out a bunch of guitar pics to fans while the band played the intro. Ben then shouted into the mic “Syracuse are you ready?” A thunderous scream of approval  was the response from fans as Ben started playing. During the third line of the first verse, Ben yelled out to the crowd to “sing it” and held the mic over the front row of fans. Fans screamed every word right on cue. Ben Burnley and company didn’t waste any time before ripping right into the next song “Follow.” The band took the stage with such force that for a moment, the crowd didn’t know what had hit them.

    Breaking Benjamin has always had an appreciation for their Central New York fans. Between songs Ben shared laughs and interacted with the crowd, repeatedly thanking Syracuse fans for their continued support.  One thing that caught this fan by surprise was their cover of the classic Queen tune, “Who Wants To Live Forever.” Even though Ben is no Freddy Mercury, I thought that the band did a great job capturing the spirit of the song and from the crowd’s reaction I think they felt the same. It was an unusual choice of cover tune by them but none the less a good one.

    The band tore through their newest radio single “Failure” and the classic “Breathe.” The fans sang along to “Breathe” and at times even over powered Ben’s voice. Ben could have just stood there, played, and not said a word because everyone in the venue knew the song by heart. After Breathe, Ben stepped away from center stage allowing bassist Aaron Bruch to step up. I don’t think the crowd or myself was prepared for the song Aaron started to play; it was another cover song and this time it was “Aenima” by Tool! Mosh pits and bodies erupted everywhere! Truly a rare treat considering I have not heard them cover this in many years. When the song ended, Ben didn’t waste any time rushing right back to center stage and shredding into what I can best describe as one of the best live versions of the band’s very first hit “Polyamorous” that I have heard to date. Ben paused for a moment to state “You got four pits out there and that’s how you know you’re doing things right!”

    Like all good things, they unfortunately must come to an end and Ben prepared to depart from the stage leaving this message to the fans: “Syracuse until we meet again, thank you, rock is not dead, thank you for helping us debt at number one on the billboard charts” and he sent the masses into a frenzy with “Diary of Jane.” This is one band I am looking forward to seeing again in Upstate NY very soon. Stay tuned for announcements about their upcoming tour with Godsmack and Sevendust.

    Immediately after Breaking Benjamin left the stage, the sky opened up and it started to pour. After an hour rain delay, Shinedown finally came out to close the show. Brent Smith is one of the best live performers in rock. His voice is hypnotizing and he gives off loads of energy and positive vibes. Before Shinedown played their third song, Smith addressed the crowd, “look to the person in front of you, behind you, to your left and to your right. You may, or may not know who they are but I want everyone to shake or slap hands with that person.”  Smith does this at every concert. It creates such a memorable feel good ritual and is something I look forward to at their shows.

    Halfway through the band’s set, technical difficulties brought the music to a halt. Smith, being a true professional, used the time to thank the fans for their patience. During the delay, Smith noticed a sign in the crowd that said “It’s my birthday and I’m seven years old.” Fans started shouting, “sing Happy Birthday.” Smith replied, “You want me to sing Happy Birthday?” The band filled the down time by singing happy birthday to a very excited seven-year old named Britany.

    The equipment was back up and running and Shinedown had the whole crowd jumping during the song “Enemies.” Smith stated that they usually don’t play this song live. Shinedown ended the night with fan favorite, “The Sound of Madness.” Smith closed the show with his trademark line, “It’s never goodbye, it’s just til’ next time.”

  • K-Rockathon 20th Anniversary Lineup Boast Some Big Names

    Central New York are you ready? It’s time to put the rumor’s to rest and see which bands held up and which bands we just in fact rumor’s. So finally, Syracuse’s K-Rock has announced the line-up for their 20th Anniversary edition of K-Rockathon, which will take place on Saturday July 25th, at the Chevy Court located inside the NYS Fairgrounds.

    Some bands leaked the date early, confirming that they would in fact be on the show, just to have their post on social media sites taken down ten minutes later. The week leading up to the announcement, opener’s for the show confirmed on their social media sites that they would be there without it disappearing minutes later.

    So without any further ado, here are the eleven bands will make up the 20th Anniversary lineup.  Shinedown will headline the anniversary mega show that will also include Breaking Benjamin, Adelitas Way,  N.Y’s own In This Moment,  Nothing More, TraptWe Are Harlot, Shaman’s Harvest, Sons Of TexasFit For Rivals and Revolve. I would look for another band to be added to the line-up down the line to round it out at twelve bands.K Rock Official Lineup Poster

    Now let’s hope for a bigger security presence, more food vendors than beer vendors, a cleaning crew to monitor garbage thrown about the area and finally the ability to keep the plastic cap to your water bottle this year!

    Tickets will go on sale on Saturday June 13. They will go fast!

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  • Monster Energy Presents: Rock Allegiance Festival

    The “World’s Loudest Month” just wrapped up with Rockfest in Kansas City, Missouri – but rock fans have more to look forward to later this year. Yesterday the Monster Energy Rock Allegiance festival lineup was announced for Saturday, Oct. 10 at PPL Park in Chester, PA.

    The lineup consists of some of rock’s biggest names including Rob Zombie and Korn. With Rock Allegiance only being a one-day festival, fans don’t have to wait all weekend to catch their favorite bands; they get to see all of them in one day. Also making appearances at Rock Allegiance are Godsmack and Five Finger Death Punch, who were both present for many festivals throughout May.

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    Five Finger Death Punch is bringing Papa Roach, In This Moment and From Ashes To New along with them since they will be hitting the road together this fall. If that wasn’t enough, fans can get ready for sets from Bring Me The Horizon, Atreyu, and Hollywood Undead. Those who went to Rock On The Range were treated to a special guest which turned out to be the newly formed Saint Asonia, featuring Adam Gontier, formally of Three Days Grace and Mike Mushok of Staind. Saint Asonia will be playing at Rock Allegiance as well.

    There’s not going to be much time for those who like to party outside the venue before the show because there are many more awesome bands who play earlier in the day. Some of those bands are Pop Evil, Nothing More, Butcher Babies, Art Of Dying, Glorious Sons, and Temperance Movement. The earliest acts of the day will consist of sets from the Charm City Devils, Devour The Day, Unlocking The Truth, Dorothy and more.

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    If ending the night with sets from Korn and Rob Zombie wasn’t enough, there’s even an after party with Steel Panther! Best of all, tickets go on sale June 2nd at special early bird pricing! Floor tickets will start at $39.50 and will progressively rise to $79.50. Stadium Seat tickets start at $34.50 and go to $44.50 until the day of the show. There are also a limited number of VIP and Stadium 4 Pack deals. For those traveling from out-of-town, there are limited hotel packages offered to help save a couple bucks. To top off a killer lineup, festival goers won’t have to rely on lame stadium food and drinks — Rock Allegiance is bringing its fans an assortment of specialty craft beers and “Gourmet Man Food.” For more information on Rock Allegiance, check out the website.

  • In This Moment Tears the Roof off Rapids Theatre

    Rapids Theatre was treated to one of the best performance I have ever seen there to date, as In This Moment was here Friday on tour promoting their latest album Black Widow. They had brought some heavy hitters with them this time around. I was a little shocked as the line was not as long as I thought it would be. But never the less people filed in closer to the second bands performance.

    First up was a five piece rock band The Nearly Deads from Nashville, Tennessee. They were a decent opener with some catchy melodies and she brought a lot of energy to the stage. The crowd did not respond to them very well, I think it had something to do that they were a spitting imagine of Paramore band. Her vocals were a bit weak, and she didn’t seem to have much range in her voice.DSC_7430-2

    Second band up was Butcher Babies, I have never heard this band until that night. This band has all the elements of a metal band. Two scandalously dressed women who sang metal, a guitarist and bassist that had extreme amounts of energy on stage. Topped by a drummer whose double bass is one to compete with.

    Towards the end of their set they forewarned the security guards to be ready. They look slightly baffled but soon enough realized what was about to happen. The music got heavier and the crowd surfing began to turn up. What I loved about this was as the fans were thrown over the barrier by security. The girls took the time to shake every fans hand or give them a fist bump. You don’t see this happen very often, kudos to them

    Next up was the band I had been looking forward to seeing all night, Upon A Burning Body. I had previously listened to this band and loved everything about them. They originate from my birth state, Texas. Not one thing was out-of-place this entire performance. They had the crowd screaming and on their feet the entire time. Then Singer Danny Leal told the crowd he wanted to see some pits and mashing, the crowd listened and did just that. I witnessed several mash pits throughout the crowd for several songs. Then they proceeded to do a song tribute to Texas called “Texas Blood Money”. To finish off the night they sang “Turn Down For What” which for many know as a rap song sang by Lil Jon and DJ Snake. The crowd went absolutely crazy. Men put women on their shoulders, and it turned into a bit of a club scene. Their rendition of it was great and I prefer that over the original.

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    Last but certainly not least was the band most people where there to see, In This Moment. They took approximately a half hour to set up but it was definitely worth the wait. This is the second time I have seen them and every time I do it’s extremely theatrical. She is entrancing and with all her disappearances and reappearances after songs coming out in a completely different outfit. She keeps you guessing.  They sang songs off their new album Black Widow. The choreography for her and her two dancing-girls who always remain faceless were done perfectly to a T.

    Maria also took time to talk about how we are all united together by music, and how we must all take care of one another and change the world for the better. In my opinion the best part of the night was when I caught In This Moment Drummer Tom Hane`s drumstick. He threw it, what seemed like directly to me and I was floating on air. It now resides on my music memorabilia wall snugly between signed Shinedown CD and a painting done by Smile Empty Souls own Sean Danielsen.

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