Five bands on the same bill in one night makes for one long, but rocking evening. With so many bands playing it really felt like Breaking Benjamin brought a mini rock festival to the Lakeview Amphitheater in Syracuse, NY on Saturday August 24.
There was a great mixture of new and well known faces on the stage performing that night. Opening the evening was one rad rocker-chick named Diamante. Her blue hair and Joan Jett inspired style added to her incredible stage presence.
Next up was another amazingly talented rad rocker chick named Dorothy. Dorothy’s fashion and singing style was completely different, but equally as rocktastic as Diamante. It was great seeing two stylish and talented women opening up this tour. Dorothy has an old school rock sound mixed within with her sound. Diamante may have looked like Joan Jett, but Dorothy sounded more like a Joan Jett vibe/sound.
Three Days Grace is one of those bands that you don’t realize how many hits they have on the radio until you see them perform live. They have come a long ways with their lead vocalist change up back in 2013, but their new singer knows how to bring the energy and connect with the crowd.
Direct support for this tour was Chevelle. Chevelle is a three piece and always has played as a three piece live with no additional guitarist or tracks. They pride themselves on playing truly live and they don’t disappoint. Chevelle is a band that is all about the music and their performance reflects that. Chevelle is much like Three Days Grace where you just don’t realize how many of their songs have been on the radio over the years.
Headliners Breaking Benjamin started out strong with “Red Cold River” while lead vocalist Benjamin Burnley walked out giving the crowd a heart sign then began to sing. Breaking Benjamin had a cool stage set up along with pyros.
Breaking Benjamin are known for their song mash-ups during their sets and they brought it to Syracuse. This time their mash up consisted of “The Imperial March,” “Cowboys From Hell,” “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Enter Sandman,” “Bulls On Parade,” and they finished with a drum solo from Burnley. Burnley turned the mic over to band members guitarist Keith Wallen and bassist Aaron Bruch to sing a few songs.
Breaking Benjamin:
Chevelle:
Three Days Grace:
Dorothy:
Diamante:
