So Chris and I got a chance to see Stone Temple Pilots after 13 years. The last time we had a chance, I was pregnant with our first child and refused to let him go to San Antonio to see them, leaving me home alone for the night. (I was big and pregnant and not comfortable staying alone at night.) Once we heard that they were touring again and were coming to a really close venue, I bought tickets. It was quite a challenge to get a babysitter, as it was homecoming weekend for the local high school, but never underestimate the motivation of me seeing a concert. I worked out a plan that netted our babysitter a ton of cash and gave a friend an entire night alone for her birthday. We really appreciated my friend and the babysitter to agree to the unconventional plan. So thanks guys! On to the review...
The venue, St. Augustine Amphitheatre:
So this is a fairly new venue and luckily Chris saw the sign that pointed to the new venue, because his phone pulled it up wrong. The lot was packed, so we went down until we found parking. It worked out better, because it was an open lot, where we could pull out onto the street immediately after the concert. We opt to not take the rickshaw and walk to the venue. We speed up once we hear that music is playing. We get inside and I want to get a feel for the venue. With the music playing, Chris wants to get biobreak out of the way and then get down there. We split, which was a mistake, but we found each other.
The venue is not set up in the typical amphitheatre style that we have attended, as there is no lawn area. I guess that this might cause more of a problem for people who are trying to control their concert costs. Chris and I always buy pit tickets and it was a really big pit. Other than that, it is set up in a pretty typical format.
I did have issues with the concession stands, because they had signs at the regular stands that made it seem as if they sold beer and liquor, but it was the stand alone stands that you had to get liquor from. So I wasted some time standing in an unnecessary line. Right after I order my drink, I find out that Chris has me a drink already, so I got two drinks. C'est la vie! I also did not like the Finlandia Vodka that they served. It does not compare to Skyy, Grey Goose, or Smirnoff, but they were generous with the pours. The drinks were also priced what is now the average.
The main problem with this venue is the security. Initially they appeared really vigilant. As soon as some guy behind us started lighting up (cigarette or pot, I am not sure), they immediately pointed him out and told him to put it out or be ejected. There were several more smoke puffs that elicited the same response. I was really stoked that they were so vigilant about the smoke. I have come to accept it, but it is a pleasant surprise to not smell like smoke/pot going home. After that, they failed miserably. I warned Chris that this could be the most dangerous crowd due to the mix of potential people. Sure enough, we had another incident like at the Nonpoint concert shortly after STP took the stage. This heavy, short guy rudely pushes forward, then pulls his girlfriend through to the front. Everyone starts pointing them out to security. The pansy security guy figures out who is causing the problem, then makes an umpire "out" sign and says no pushing. WTF?!?!?! If there is a no pushing policy, then take them out of the pit and if you don't eject them from the venue, then at least make them work to get back up there.
Grade: B- (Venue: A, Drinks:B+, Security: D)
Opening Act, Meat Puppets:
So Chris and I were walking up and heard that the opening act had started. I personally hate to miss them, but we were only 10 minutes late. So they apparently started right on time. I had not been able to find any information on who was opening for STP, so I walked in blind. We recognized "Backwater" playing as we walked up, but could not for the life of us remember the title or the band that sang it originally. (Little did we know that this was the original band). It did not sound good, but we were outside the venue proper still, so maybe the acoustics were just bad on this supposed cover. We went in and got a look at the band. Over the hill does not begin to describe this band. They played some bad version of a song next that I recognized, but still could not place who sang. Then they closed with "Lake of Fire". I actually did not know that this was a cover when Nirvana did it. It was a horrible rendition. Cobain sounds like he is trying to purposely sing this song bad. I did not realize that it was Cobain's interpretation of the Meat Puppet's version. It was beyond bad. They never said their name, so I had no clue who they were when they were on stage. They played a 30 minute set. That is a just getting started, we got one new album, set length. I would expect an established band to play for close to an hour. They were awful, especially for having so much experience. I would not recommend you see them at all. Skip them if they are the first act and do a biobreak and sit down if they are in the middle. They were that bad. Time to give it up, guys.
Grade: F (It is sad when you think that the original band is a BAD cover band.)
Main Act, Stone Temple Pilots:
We are down in the pit and there is adequate personal space considering this is a concert. Everybody is really laid back and we are 1-2 people from the rail. Weiland takes the stage about 8:30 and OMG he was so super sexy! He came out in this awesome white, very fine pinstripe suit and he had these sexy little dance moves. Honestly, he seemed like Adam Levine's dirty, older, rock brother. Weiland has never appealed to me on any level before, but he was just it. I don't think that Weiland even had alcohol in his system. He seemed stone cold sober. They open with "Superman Silvergun" and killed it. It was great. "Wicked Garden" was up next and that was when the heavy rude guy pushed up with his girlfriend. I aggressively defend my territory and Chris was so mad because this guy was trying to push his way between us to move forward. Chris said the guy next to him was holding him back. All I heard was "THAT IS MY WIFE!" I had too much to deal with with his girlfriend. She tries, "This is my first time." I say, "Who cares?" Everyone is pushing on her trying to get security to eject them. She is starting to borderline freak out and I am having no sympathy. I say some choice words and she calls me the b*tch. I said, absolutely. It is obvious that security is not going to do anything, so we all decide to enjoy the music. I do take note of her shoes, which look like patent leather Payless dress shoes. They manage to "accidentally" spill a drink on Chris and I thought he was going to lose it. At the end of the next song, I throw my arms in the air with the last of my drink and oh darn, it lands all over her and her boyfriend. She is livid, but her boyfriend is saying, no big deal, ha ha. Chris has six inches on this guy and although he has 50 pounds on Chris, he does not have the attitude to pull it off. When the next song starts and it is a harder song, I start jumping and oh darn, I "accidentally" land on her toe. I catch a glimpse out of the corner of my eye and she is trying to get her boyfriend to cause an issue. Her boyfriend is like chill, this happens. She backs off from me for the rest of the set. They play "7 Caged Tigers", "Sin", "Creep", "Sex Type Thing", and "Dead and Bloated". It was awesome. The guitarist threw a bottleneck to the guy in front. He obviously aimed it and I watched the guy pocket it, so no chance of snagging it. He also threw a pick later, but it hit the speaker and ended up on stage. The punk security guy wouldn't get it.
Right before they leave the stage, the guy in front of me on the rail leaves, and I move forward. I ask his friend is he trying to keep the b*tch from moving forward and he affirmed. So I actively blocked her. I moved over directly in front of her, allowing Chris to move to the rail as well. Her boyfriend managed to get a hand on the rail, but it was under my armpit. I would not want to smell his hand after the concert, because it was hot, no breeze and no fans. They leave the stage and everyone is going wild. The girl starts pushing me, which she does not understand that I take as normal concert behavior. Without truly aggressive behavior, I am not going to react. When she knees me in the butt, I throw my elbow into her chest. She starts, b*tch don't hit me and starts freaking out. I give her a look like you know what you did, now back off. Then I get security's attention, but to no avail.
STP walks back out and they pull out a hard song. I start jumping and oh darn, land on her foot again, as she was again giving me no personal space for no reason. She backed off again. They play a couple of songs and then bow out. The guitarist throws the pick and I manage to snag it midair. Cha-ching! Everyone is looking for it and Chris tells them I got it. The show was awesome! It rocked. I am not sure how they performed when Weiland was high, but it was incredible. I can wholeheartedly recommend seeing them whenever possible.
Grade: A+++
Overall, the concert was really good. I would definitely go to another concert at this venue and definitely would see STP again, if possible. It was disappointing that they only had one opening act and a really bad one at that. They were still well worth the ticket price plus the babysitter.
Grade: A (I hate these entitled crowds. They really detract from my overall enjoyment.)
So Chris and I have loved Nonpoint for several years now and when I heard that they would be at the HoB in Orlando, I bought tickets immediately. Then we ended up shipping the kids off to Mom's, so we did not have to contend with them, SWEET! I am a little late in writing this, because I have just really lacked the motivation to spend the time to do it. Blame Chris for introducing me to Defense Grid, one of those addictive, "I must beat this level", games. So here goes...
The Venue, House of Blues Orlando:
Chris and I had not been to this venue despite practically living in Orlando every other weekend for 2 years when we first moved to Jax. I have to say that I love this venue. It has a lowered floor area in front of the stage, high-top tables closer to the bar, which extends around the whole bar. This venue had a very intimate feel. We really enjoyed it. The drinks were not nearly as expensive as most venues that we have attended lately, not to mention it is a full bar, so double thumbs up here! I thought it strange that there was an attendant in the women's bathroom, but Chris cleared up that reason (prevents friendly encounters). Getting people into the club was also fairly efficient.
Security was absolutely amazing within the club. I have to really salute them on their zealousness. First, this is a "no smoking" environment, including weed. Security really watched for the tell-tell puff of smoke and then promptly got the person and escorted them out. I actually did not come home smelling of pot. Amazing! Second, there was an incident when Nonpoint came on the stage. Chris and I were on the rail. This short (barely taller than me) beach guy decided that he was going to be up front. He drove his way to slightly to the left of Chris. He nearly got into a fist fight because of how rudely he did it. Then, he pulls his girlfriend through. That was the last straw for everyone there. The guy was talking trash. Several people in front and the people that he ran over to get that close were pointing them out to security. The next song started and it was completely hard. So the big Mexican guy's girlfriend, who was also big, that they had cut in front of, started falling rhythmically on the girlfriend. She was not handling it well and beach boy was ill equipped to protect her at his stature, despite his toned body. He looked like he was about to belt the Mexican's girlfriend and the Mexican guy gave him a look and he instantly backed off. Chris was even ready to jump in. He said if the beach boy had hit the girl, he would have taken him down. By the end of the song, a security manager was escorting them from the venue. Chris had thought that security was ignoring the issue, but they simply had to take the time to get someone in the crowd to extract them. This is an extremely well-run venue that has a very low tolerance policy for disturbances. They do allow crowd surfing, as I saw the same guy more than once. Great job guys!
I also have to praise the Fastpass option. If you eat within the HoB restaurant and spend $10/person (almost impossible not to spend that much), then you can get into the venue first when the doors open. You can also spend a certain amount within the store and get the same access. This meant we walked up and got on the railing. Excellent! Granted we waited in line awhile, but it was a small price to pay for front-row. So I recommend you spend the money and get the access.
Grade: A+
Pre-show:
I could not find the name of the guy that performed outside the restaurant. I believe it was Shawn something, but I don't remember. The HoB website lists a David Townsley performing that night on the Front Porch Bar, but that did not sound right and this guy plugged his myspace page and that guy was not there. Plus, they had tickets on sale for his performance and you could have stood outside the restaurant and heard him for free, ao that doesn't seem right either. I thought he said his name was Shaun something. If someone knows, please let me know. He played acoustic guitar and covered several popular songs. I really did not enjoy the covers. Playing them acoustically messed them up in my opinion. Chris says it is an aversion I have, but there are several acoustic versions that I like. They just have to be really good. Chris thought the songs were ok. He was entertaining and had everyone laughing when he played the "FreeCreditReport.com" song. He was entertaining enough for free music while I stood in line or enjoyed drinks with friends, but I could not recommend that you pay anything to see this guy.
Grade: C
Opening Act One, Kezia:
This band takes the stage and I was surprised. When I had searched Pandora for this band, a pop girl band came up and I could not figure out why this pop band was touring with Nonpoint. Also, they have no Wikipage. There is no excuse to not have a page there, as it is user edited. To promote yourself, you do a myspace, Facebook, Twitter, and Wikipedia page. I was actually quite glad that I would not have to sit through the girl band. Boy, was I WRONG! Kezia is arguably the worst band that Chris and I have ever seen. We debated over whether Army of One was worse or not, I maintained yes, Chris said Kezia was worse. They started their song and the lead singer, who goes by the stage name, Vez, started swinging the mic in a circle and tried to catch it. He failed and ruined his mic for the rest of the set. He was moaning about it later because he really liked that mic. He had wrapped it in colored tape, did you see? OMG, get over the mic. This is something that can easily be practiced even without singing/vocalizing. When he gets another one, he swings this one around and nearly hits the front-row people. Guys, invest in some wireless tech and help keep the audience safe and the performance going.
After the first song, the lead guitarist decides to climb on the speaker, and do a split jump. He lands wrong and slides on his face across the stage, nearly crashing into the drum set. It had us laughing. At this point, this is no longer a serious band. They have no stage presence or talent. They obviously have modelled themselves on Atreyu, but are less talented. Vez vocalizes with no singing talent. The lead guitarist is a mess. Their songs are not good. The bassist does not appear to fit in, as he may have some actual talent. He provides good back-up vocals, looks normal, and does not move so greatly reduces his risk of falling. The drummer seemed ok as well, although he was nothing spectacular.
They covered Outkast. It was not good either. They threw their home-burned, Sharpie-written CDs into the crowd. It is not hard to apply CD labels bought from Office Depot to look a little more professional. I caught one and the guy next to me advised me to throw it back on stage. I might as well have. I stuck it in my CD player and it did not work. Way to go, guys! They were so awful. I actually advised the bassist to dump his bandmates, because he had some talent. He looked confused, but said thanks.
Grade: F, there is no hope for them
Opening Act Two, Rising Up Angry:
So after seeing the worst band on record, audience expectations were extremely low. I found this band on Pandora and they sounded good. They take the stage and the first thing that we notice is that the lead singer looks like our friend Thomas from Austin. There was a striking resemblance and if we did not already know his brothers, this guy would have been a candidate, especially since he was from Texas. The guitarists all look like they are from the hair band generation. It was not just their hair, but their age as well. They looked close to 50 or had some very hard years there. It appears that Mick Vega (the oldest guitarist, who can definitely shred) was part of a Motley Crue tribute band called Sindrome, producing an album in 1987. So he has a lot of experience here and it shows, physically and musically. This band is slightly harder and more metal than we typically listen to, but they were really quite good. They also had good stage performance, although it was obvious that Mick was used to the Ozzy-style shows. He had a freaky "Je ne sais quois" factor.
The vocals were solid, songs sounded good. The guitars were solid metal and the stage performance was good. They have a lot of potential and were enjoyable to watch, especially after the train wreck we watched before. I can definitely recommend seeing them if you like this genre. They are on Pandora and have a myspace page as well, but they are not on Wikipedia. They are currently on tour, so check them out. They will only improve with experience.
Grade: B
Main Act, Nonpoint:
We saw Nonpoint back in April and they rocked out, so we were stoked that we would get to see them in the HoB as the headliner. They tend to play a pretty standard set list, so I was quite excited that they posted that they were going to play some new stuff, old stuff, and rarely played stuff. They took the stage and started with "Explain Myself". They continued rocking with several more songs, including "What a Day", "Broken Bones" and "In the Air Tonight". Then Elias said, we want to play a song off our new album. We have the lead singer of Mudvayne that performed this song for us at some other venue. Chris and I thought that he was going to jump out to sing lead on "Miracle", but it didn't happen. 
I really like the new song and can't wait to learn it once it is released. I got really excited when they said, let's get some Spanish going here. Very few bands rock it out in Spanish and English. I love their Spanish songs. "Rabia" is my absolute favorite. So he starts "Rabia", B@st@rd throws a pick right before beginning the song. It hits me in the head and I can't find it. I tried using my phone to find it and couldn't. I wasn't willing to miss "Rabia" to find it. It was completely awesome. I looked down when they finished and the pick was sitting between my shoes. So now I have a Nonpoint pick. Then they went to "Buscandome". The only one they missed was "Orgullo". Oh well, leaves something for next time.
They decide to switch gears saying that they got a hugely positive response when they recorded an acoustic version for WJRR last year, so they thought that they would do another one. They start "March of War". This is a Nonpoint filler song. It is solid Nonpoint, but nothing special. They pull out a keyboard and Elias starts playing as he sings. The song is beautiful acoustic. (So there, Chris!) It is a much more amazing song acoustic. You feel the pain in the song. Amazing! Then they pull out "To the Pain", also acoustic, which is the song (and version) that Chris wanted to hear. So we both heard the songs that we wanted. They close it out with "Bullet With a Name". Awesome!
Elias was not as smooth in his transitions this time, but this also felt more informal and relaxed. It is also a new set list for them, so I imagine it takes some tweaking to get as smooth as he was in Tampa. That is honestly the only critique that I can offer to the show. It was awesome! We will definitely go see Nonpoint at every opportunity possible, especially at this venue. It made a huge difference with the venue and the crowd that was there for Nonpoint. Nonpoint knew that they did not need to sell themselves to this audience. They did not have to work the crowd as they did in Tampa. I definitely prefer them headlining, not to mention they get to play longer.
After the show, they came out to sign/sell. They were extremely down-to-earth. We talked to all the members. We told them we were going to be in Daytona to see them and Zach warned us that it would be a short set. Strange that they tried to discourage us from coming, but I respected that they wanted us to not be disappointed. Chris determined that he needed a t-shirt and took the last large. It did not fit him, so I have a Nonpoint shirt now. 
These guys not only rock it out; they remember that the fans are enabling them to live this life and are grateful.
Grade: A++++ (I know how good his transitioning can be, so work on that for some more plusses. 
)
Overall, this was a great show. Great venue, one good opening act, and then Nonpoint kicked it out of the park. Definitely worth the cost. The only bad part was Kezoa
Grade: A
So I was excited to see this movie, like most of America. I thought that the first was good, but not the end all, be all. I expected a solid blockbuster movie with nothing special plot wise. I was disappointed, even though my expectations were moderate to low to begin with. Let me elaborate. There may be spoilers ahead, but I doubt that these are true plot spoilers, as there was no plot.
Problem 1: Lack of plot
In a summer blockbuster, I really don't expect much of a plot. Give me a little justification to tie the story together and I will go with it. Summer blockbusters are much like situational romances to me; they are escape fiction and need only the barest of stories to get me to the action sequences. Unfortunately, this movie did not even have that. The "story" of the Fallen had no good reason to tie Sam into it, much less Megan Fox's character. They send Sam to college and she is staying behind. Time to move on, people. Megan Fox has no reason to be in this movie. She is less than a minor character. She is here for eye candy purposes only. To the point that you see her painting upside down in a provacative outfit leaned over a motorcycle. Can we talk gratuitous pin-up shot? Completely pointless. I barely ask for a reason to have robots fight on Earth, but they failed to even give me that.
Problem 2: Stylized Robots
I read an article prior to seeing the movie that decried the "racist robot" caricatures. It was explained as two voice actors unscripted and that was the way that they had taken the characters. I figured that it was just Hollywood making a fuss over nothing. Boy was I wrong! While the voice actors may have taken the robots in a certain manner, the visual effects were over the top. Gold tooth robots, that were possibly wearing bling (I forget), unnecessarily pounding on each other. All Bay needed was them driving by and randomly shooting each other to complete the stereotype. It was appalling and I agree racist to put that in there. The worst part was that it was completely unnecessary to the story. Supposedly they were put in for the kids, but they were so inappropriate for kids that it was not even funny.
Problem 3: Humping
The movie opens and within the first few scenes, you see the two dogs humping. They are called down, but a few minutes later it cuts back to them again. It is completely pointless and unnecessary, not to mention making it at least questionably appropriate for children due to the unnecessary attention that is drawn to it. It is the lowest common denominator type humor.
Then Bay takes it a step further later and has a small Decepticon that Megan Fox has caught, jump out of the box and start humping her leg like a dog. At this point, I was just waiting for the movie to end and throughly disgusted with the unnecessary lewdness.
Problem 4: Robot Language
The stylized robots mentioned before cursed a lot, but they were not the only ones. Several scenes had the robots talking and cursing for no apparent reason. I understand some placement of curse words within a film for various reasons, but these were unnecessary and over the top. It was much like a 6th grader, cursing for the sake of cursing. Bay claimed to add things to make the movie more "kid-friendly", but adding in unnecessary language for no reason defeats the entire purpose.
Problem 5: Gratuitous Sexuality
Megan Fox has no reason to be in this movie. She is less than a minor character. She is here for eye candy purposes only. To the point that you see her painting upside down in a provacative outfit leaned over a motorcycle. Can we talk gratuitous pin-up shot? Completely pointless. They also have a college party where several attractive girls are and there is more sexuality. I understand trying to appeal to your demographic, but throwing in a random college party just detracts from the plot.
Problem 6: Movie Confusion
Apparently Michael Bay forgot which movie he was making in the middle of shooting. When did Tranformers become liquid metal just like Terminators? Another article detailed how Bay took the parts that America loved from the blockbusters and said, how would that be with robots? It was so cheesy.
Overall, this movie was awful. It got to the point, where I was waiting for it to be over. It was unredeemable. The worst part was the parts that he tried to make "kid-friendly", but it was so overrun with sex, language and racism that I am not remotely allowing my kids to watch it. Maybe when the YouTube version comes out that cuts out the pointless parts (like the one that eliminated Jar-Jar), then they can see it.
Grade: D- (It would have achieved an F, but the robots did fight and there was Josh Duhamel.)
So it has been almost 2 months since this concert, but I have been too busy/not adequately motivated to sit and blog this until now. With the kids gone, I finally found the time to do this, so that I can blog the other two things that I need to as well. So here goes, (what I remember, anyway)...
The Venue, Francis Field, St. Augustine:
We show up and get some drinks. They were expensive, but not outrageous. The only crazy part seemed to be the booth that gave you the option of coconut cups that you could keep for refills. This seemed dangerous with the propensity that people have to throw things at concerts, not to mention inconvenient to keep track of. I suppose if you brought a chair to sit then it would have been a good deal, but if you planned to get near the stage, it was no deal.
There were a lot of people sitting and the venue really needed to put a "No Blankets Past This Point" sign. There was also a "VIP" section that you paid extra for and received special raised seating and all you can eat crawfish. Since I don't like crawfish, it made no sense to get the "VIP" tickets and I like to be at the stage. The "VIP" seating was to the left of the stage on risers. There was no shade, no cushions, and the view was not great. I would have demanded a refund if I had paid for that. At the very least, shade should have been provided. The stage set-up was strange, since they cordoned off an area so that the performers could run down through the crowd. It made for a lousy set-up.
Francis Field was a good venue to hold a festival like this. It provided adequate room for both those desiring proximity to the stage and those wanting to hang back and hang out with their family. It was scorching, but they were spraying the crowd with water which really helped a lot; until it got cooler and they did not seem to know that the water no longer felt good, but chilled everyone. It was possible to listen to the concert outside the venue, since the field was enclosed with chain link fence.
Grade: B (A, for location; C for execution)
Crowd:
This was a "4th of July" type crowd. It crossed a lot of demographics and was very odd in nature. This is the second mainstream concert that I have attended in a month. I have made a couple of conclusions based on the crowd. First, most of these attendees are not regular concert attendees. They do not know that crowd surges are a normal occurence and either profusely apologize or get angry when you bump into them. Second, many of them believe that they are entitled to be at the front, because of when they got there or because they are special. Third, these crowds are more dangerous than the ones with all the "freaks". I have devised a solution to these problems and decided to dress as I do when I attend the harder concerts that I go to with all the "freaks". Basically, a "Don't F with Me" outfit, complete with attitude. Give them a reason to think that messing with you is a bad idea and more than likely, they won't.
This was the rudest concert that I have ever attended, even including the Nickelback concert, where I was punched in the mouth. The beach bunny wife that believed she was entitled to return to the front when she left for some reason. I actively try to block, while Chris just stands his ground. She made it back, but she sat there and argued with us about it. The drunk mom that obviously supplied her underage son and friends with alcohol at the concert that proceeded to try to pee in a bottle in the middle of the crowd. Then she caps it and sends it flying back into the crowd with the little bit that she got in there. I KID YOU NOT! She was unable to fully alleviate her bladder and ended up leaving after all. Later, the crowd was surging a little and beach bunny's husband threatened that he would take all the mofo's out to protect his 13-year-old son and niece. Chris bumped into beach bunny wife accidentally at one point and she started to go off on him. He yelled right back at her and expected her hubby to jump in. Instead, he ignored it. Chris had several inches on him, so I guess he decided to pipe down and not take Chris out.
The crowd did show a lot of enthusiasm, especially once Candlebox was about to come on. The crowd was singing along to the stereo music, so they were all ready to rock.
Grade: D
Opening Act One, Shawn Fisher and the Jukebox Gypsies
We were unable to show up in time to see this band.
Grade: I (Incomplete)
Opening Act Two, Presidents of the United States (PotUS):
Chris and I like PotUS as much as the next person, but they are not a band that we would every have paid to see. There was, of course, the required overzealous fan couple that knew all the words to every song, not just the hit ones. They take the stage and the lead singer goes, 'it is so hot, don't exert yourself. Don't worry about shouting all out for us, how about halfway...' They were self-deprecating and hilarious. They played all the hits that I could think of and ended with "We're Not Gonna Make it After All". They were great in concert. laid back and had great stage presence. I don't think that I would pay to see them on their own, but they were good and fun to watch. It would definitely make a good innocuous date night.
Grade: A
Opening Act Three, Saving Abel:
Saving Abel played the same set as The Dark Horse tour. They had good crowd response and did a good job getting the audience energized. The lead singer delivered on all the vocals. Both guitarists were solid in their performances, as well. This band has a lot of potential and needs a little polishing is all. They are definitely worth seeing and may become a much better band with more practice. They did another good job, although they did not show any improvement from a couple of weeks before.
Grade: B+
Opening Act Four, Candlebox:
I saw Candlebox in 1996, when their first album was released. Chris and I have listened to them since high school and have them on our daily playlist. We downloaded the new album and I was disappointed to some extent that there was no growth. All the songs sounded like they could have belonged on the first album. They were not bad, but they were forgettable and I had not had 15+ years to listen to them and learn them. The crowd went wild when they took the stage. The crowd sang to all the old songs and some of the new ones. He sang a couple of covers, that I hated, but the crowd really liked. Then he started ranting about the big music industry and for people to support independent music. They made two albums in almost 20 years and were not doing a great job of promoting the new album. Maybe there is a reason for the big industry. Maybe the big guys would have pushed them to make some more music and expand their abilities some. I really think that they did not do as well as they did in concert in '96. They really haven't improved. Who knows if it was an age or talent issue, but I could not recommend seeing them now as a headlining band.
Grade: C
Opening Act Five, Hinder:
Chris does not like Hinder because of the lead singer's "Frankenstein" (read: jerky) moves in his videos; plus he thinks they lack talent. I will agree that they are not a highly talented band. They are like this generation's Def Leppard: songs about sex and drugs that are fun to sing with no deep lyrics or phenomenal music. I don't think that they will be around long-term, but they could be the next Nickelback, if they branch out and do a few more serious songs. They came out and he did not do jerky movements, he had a decent stage presence, did a great job of working up the crowd, and delivered on their known songs. They also played one or two of the songs off their new album, including their new single. It will be a hit, because they have hit on the right formula for them. I thought that they did a good job overall and would go see them again, if there was another band with them that I wanted to see. If they were the only band there, maybe not. Even Chris admitted that they were better than he expected them to be.
Grade: B+
Main Act, 3 Doors Down:
They come onto stage and the crowd is hyped. The lead singer says that he knew it was going to be a good show when he could hear the crowd singing along to the warm-up music. They play lots of their hits along with a few songs that I am not familiar with. They deliver on every song. They had great energy. At one point, he runs down through the middle of the crowd (within the awkward barrier). It gets the crowd really excited. They go off the stage and then come back with a few more songs. Then the lead singer takes the drummer's place and plays "Kryptonite". It was awesome! Especially when he handed the drum stick to the 13-year-old kid in front and threw the other one and Chris caught it. I can definitely recommend seeing this band and would go see them again.
Grade: A+
Overall, a great day even with the heat. The venue and performers were good. The crowd and heat were the only parts that sucked.
Grade: A-
So this has been an awesome week. This will have made the thrid concert that I have been to in one week and I won tickets to the next big concert to boot. Thirteen is a lucky year. I have listened to Cold since 2003 and love some of their songs. I was extremely excited when I heard thay were coming home to Jax. Chris and I ended up hiring a babysitter, which we never do, and seeing them on the Sunday night that they played. I was determined to make it work. On to the review:
The Venue, Freebird Live:
As many years as we have lived in Jax and this is the first time that we have been to Freebird. Crazy, I know. This venue is almost as intimate as Twisted Martini. You have to choose to have a bad viewing area, as you really can't be more than 10 (at absolute most) people from the front. There is an upper balcony for 21+ and an area off to the right where you might not be able to see, but you must choose to go over there. The major complaint that I have about this venue is that the music starts on time and they are extremely slow about getting people inside the venue. We missed the first act because the line was slow to move, there was no ability to drift in and they were late to get started. I did love the venue though. The drinks were actually reasonably priced for a concert. (Chris got a beer and a mixed drink for me, all under $7.) It was easy to move about. The bathrooms were clean when I went and it was not impossible to get back to my spot. I would definitely recommend seeing any band you like here. It is a very personal experience, as I have more room in my downstairs than the main area of their club occupies. Awesome for concerts.
Grade: A+
The crowd:
This was an extremely strange crowd. It ranged from teens to 50+ plus fans. They not only knew the Cold songs, but also those of the opening acts. They were rather rude for an eclectic crowd. The tall guy in front of me kept leaning back and taking up 2-3 body spaces. I almost had his elbows in my face numerous times. A couple of chics came through thinking that they were going to get in front of me. Since I was 1 person behind the rails, I did not move and just stared them down. I also dressed inappropriately for the concert. Jax Beach has a snooty rep, so I dressed nicer than I normally would for a concert. Turns out that I should have come in my regular rock concert attire. Sandals are a no-no. There were several crowd surges. One guy got so excited that he was pounding Chris on the back with both hands to call Cold out for an encore. Chris turned around and said something along the lines of 'What's your problem? Stop touching me.' The guy was obviously drunk and smarted off to him. I then said, hey back off. Luckily Chris missed his response about having a girl defend him. Chris would have floored him easily. The energy of the crowd was incredible though. One of the highest energy level crowds, especially for its small size.
Grade: C (Rudeness:D, Energy: A)
Opening Act, Validity's Fault:
Since we walked in on their last or next-to-last song, I do not feel right about evaluating them. I do know that they were a local band, because the girl standing behind us kept saying that she went to school with them. From what I did see, the band was fine; the vocalist was lacking. He had too much screaming and not enough melody. They might be ok as a studio band, but I can't see them making it.
Grade: I (Incomplete)
Opening Act 2, The Drama Club:
This band has obviously taken some cues from Cold, as they start with a projection. They have also been obviously influenced by Pink Floyd, as they have recorded openings/pieces to several of their songs. The band needs some work. I did not find them horrible. Their sound system was a little off. Their show would definitely send an epileptic into a fit of seizures. Chris hated the "Frankenstein" moves of the lead singer. They actually reminded me of Adema, but not as good. I could not recommend seeing this band now, but with some experience they might work up to a decent opening act for a good band. It would take a lot of experience to get them to good though. That being said, a good portion of the audience seemed to be familiar with their songs and the teenager in front of me apparently knew all their songs and her parents liked them too. Freaky.
Grade: C
Opening Act 3, Killer and the Star:
After The Drama Club leaves, they move the piano out onto the stage and plaster it with posters of the band. Scooter, the lead singer of Cold, and Michael Harris constitute the band. The main problem with the music is that it does not remotely fit into the music genre here. Yes, Scooter fronts the band and he has an amazing voice. However, the music produced here is solid AC. It was not bad. Chris actually enjoyed it, but it was such a non sequitur, that I was confused. The main problem with the band was the guitarist. The guy cannot play without his tongue lolling around his mouth and making funny and pained faces. It would be best to close your eyes while watching this band, as his stage presence seriously detracts from enjoyment of the music. I understand why they toured with Cold and a good portion of the crowd seemed familiar with the songs. Under different circumstances they might receive a better grade, but as for them being in concert with Cold, they did not fit the bill. Also, find a new guitarist. He is not talented enough to make up for his stage performance.
Grade: B (Scooter: A, Michael: F, Music: B)
Main Act, Cold:
Killer and the Star leave the stage and they project some stars onto the screen on the back of the stage. The crowd gets very excited. Then they proceed to show a 15-minute slideshow with canned music of Cold through the years (an entire decade with every album release noted) and fans from the shows highlighting their Cold-themed tats. The first few minutes fine, but 15 is way too freakin' long. It was ridiculous. They had a ton of apparently die hard fans in the audience and even they were getting restless. When they finally took the stage, the audio was messed up. Anytime they rocked heavier, the vocals were drowned out and I was literally 1 person from the stage rails in the center. The background music is awesome, but Cold is made with Scooter's vocals. I was also not aware with how unfamiliar I was with Cold songs. Being that they have spanned a decade, they have a ton of songs. They played "Stupid Girl" to a completely hyped audience. "Suffocate" was crazy and the lead singer from The Drama Club provided the feature vocals. Michael Harris from The Killer and the Star also provided feature vocals on one of their songs. He appeared to be killing it, but I could barely hear him and I was right up front. I swear that they must have had his mic turned off. He made funny faces singing too. They did an awesome job on "Wasted Years". I was disappointed that they did not play "Feel it in Your Heart". They played "Gone Away" and "A Different Kind of Pain" and a tone of songs that I could not readily identify, but the crowd knew. I was definitely in the minority here. I think that they put on a decent performance, but their sound system was off and the intro slideshow was way too long. I don't know if I could recommend going to see them as the headlining act. Scooter has an amazing voice and the band is definitely amazing, but if after 10 years they can not get their sound dynamics right, then something is wrong. They definitely make a great opening act, but they still don't seem main stage material.
Grade: B (Sound system: D, Music: A, Letting Michael Harris come on stage: D, Slideshow Length: D, Ability to hype the Crowd: A+)
Overall: Definitely worth the money to experience the venue and see the major songs from Cold. They just need better roadies, I guess.
Overall Grade: B
So this was a really great week for me. I celebrated my 13th wedding anniversary and won tickets to an exclusive viewing of "The Living Things" and won tickets to The Crawfish boil, in addition to seeing "Cold" on this coming Sunday. So I was completely unfamiliar with this band, but was excited to check them out and especially to check out the venue, Twisted Martini. They have ads on the Planet all the time and there is not much better than a good martini.
The Radio Staff:
We were told that the show started at 11, so we arrived to The Landing about 10:30, since we were not really familiar with where Twisted Martini was. We get there right before 11 and the radio staff is disorganized to say the least. They find my name, although with the lousy turnout, anyone could have shown up for the show and been admitted. When Jagger got up to intro the band, his lack of enthusiasm was blatant. During the set, he did not even try to hide his boredom. It was truly appalling, even considering the band's performance, which I will get to later. Part of his job is to promo the bands that come in. If this band tours with someone bigger and says what jerks 102.9 DJs are, then we are directly affected when the bigger band chooses not to come here. Suck it up Jagger, and do your job. The rest of the radio staff was courteous, if a little harried.
Grade: Jagger: D, Remainder staff: B
The Venue, Twisted Martini:
Intimate does not even begin to describe this venue. It appeared to be divided into two sections, one along the Landing walkway and the other more interior space with the stage, couches, and semi-private sitting rooms consisting of decorative high-back plush bench seating, low coffee-style tables, and sheers. It was a rather interesting set-up and probably would be really cool at night with the band playing. We sat at a high-top table directly in front of the stage (less than 5 feet, literally). There was a couch set-up between our table and the stage, which was occupied by a Midwestern 50ish woman who enjoyed the band way too much. This was not head-banging music and she was throwing her head around like it was Metallica in their heyday. She also had LSP (Life Story Paranoia: a disorder originally diagnosed in my mother, by my sister and I, where the person talking believes that everyone from strangers to the grocery store cashier wants to know minute details from your life). Since she was stretched out on the couch, she kept talking to us until the band started the sound check. That is the only real drawback that I could see to this venue. It can be really hard to avoid someone when it is that small.
The wait staff was on the ball. The food provided (not sure by whom) was edible, but not great. It ranged from bruschetta to cheese quesadillas, all appetizer-style finger foods. Chris had a Czechvar (sp?) and enjoyed it. I had their signature Twisted Martini and LOVED it! I have to figure out how to make it. The drink tastes good, but the presentation is stupendous. It has three distinct layers and the engineer in me totally geeked out. I can definitely recommend going to this venue, especially if there is a band that you want to see.
Grade: A
The band, The Living Things:
Again, this is not a band I was familiar with and I do not recall ever hearing their music even on 102.9. I listened to some of their music on Pandora. It was softer than what I like, but did not sound horrible. It is not something that I would choose to listen to though. They take the stage and it is immediately obvious that 3 of the 4 members are brothers, which I knew from Wikipedia. The two guitarists and lead singer have a resemblance. All of them are wearing skinny black jeans, have bedhead, and a really scrawny look. The drummer is the odd man out having a stocky frame, shorter curly hair, and obviously shorter. Come to find out at the end of the set, the lead guitarist is the unrelated childhood friend. It was quite a shock.
They start singing. The background music is too loud. The vocals are not loud enough. I am sitting less than 5 feet from the stage and the vocals are drowned out. The sound guy messed with the volumes a little after each song, but even after they finish their 3 song "set", the acoustics are not right. This "exclusive preview" was nothing more than a sound check for the band. I would say a failed sound check at that, because they failed to even get the sound right before they decided to quit playing.
The songs were bad. The lyrics were awful. The worst one was to the song "Bom Bom Bom", even the title is stupid or they cannot spell "bomb" properly. "Oxygen" was one of the other songs that they played. The song consists of four lines other than the chorus. It was not even good. They have been dubbed as "unpatriotic" and I completely buy it. Some of their songs try to be political in nature, but ultimately just seem like whining. None of the three songs they played were good. The lyrics that we could make out were infantile and the lead singer had a strange stage performance. I really cannot see that this band is headed anywhere.
The one good thing that I can say about the band is they were very down-to-earth. They came off the stage and met nearly all those attending and told the radio station that everyone there could get in free to their show that night. Pretty cool of them, but I am not sure that they convinced us to come with that performance.
Grade: D, (Music: C, Sound System: F, Songs: F)
So a little over a month ago, I attended the Nickelback concert with my friend Kim. Chris refused to go with me because he thinks Nickelback is overexposed. While I don't disagree, I enjoy too many of their songs to not attend a concert. Since then, I have been busy with all manner of things and have not had a chance to blog the experience. So I apologize if my blog is incomplete in the review.
The Venue, Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena:
The last time that I had been here was for the Evanescence concert in October 2007. The venue has not changed noticibly since then. The drinks are still overpriced, but that is to be expected. The floor area is large and has adequate stadium seating in an oval shape. The stage was set-up with an extension into the audience, which Chad so crudely called his "p*nis stage". I personally did not like this set-up, because I push to the front and when they move, I can't see them. I have to watch them on the large screens or watch the drummer. I do have to applaud their security. The facility had signs posted about the dangers of moshing, but apparently that meant "No Moshing Allowed". Before Nickelback came on, a girl was trying to push through closer. She and her friend had previously tried to get in front of us before Seether, so her arguments were falling on deaf ears. Kim kept quiet, but I mouthed off and this other woman and I were discussing her lies. When Nickelback came on stage, this girl started moshing. It made Kim nervous, so I swapped out places with her. I was pushing this girl as she moshed to keep things under control. Security spotlighted her and immediately began moving her forward to get her out. As she is being moved to the rails, she spots me and pops me in the mouth. Both my lips are immediately busted. Security already has hold of her and is ejecting her from the stadium. Kim says I had a gleam in my eye, but I refused to be ejected to retaliate.
Venue Grade: A
Crowd:
I was really surprised by this crowd. I attend concerts with people that have more areas of their bodies tatted and pierced than not, not to mention hair styles and colors and are definitely not natural. I am quite aware of how to handle myself around potentially threatening people. I have had my toes stepped on, been shoved during crowd surges, and accidentally bumped with elbows, etc. Never been truly injured before though. Kim was a little nervous about going without our husbands, but I assured her that Chris would not let me attend if there was any threat level. We got there and the crowd was 70%+ women. Kim and I immediately go, no threat level here. There was a drunk chic that was over 50 and had obviously lived pretty hard. Kim was ready to take her out, because she kept bumping her. She also said, we need to get all these little 12-year olds out of the way. I turn around and she goes to Kim, oh is she with you, I'm sorry. I go, honey, I'm 32, not 12. She didn't say much after that and we ended up moving away from her. Several people tried to push through. Kim chose to ignore them, of course I would engage them and tell them no. I was completely shocked when I got punched in the mouth by one of the girls that I refused to let pass. It was truly appalling that going to the "safe" concert is where I got in a confrontation that drew blood. For some reason, the older the crowdand tamer the band, the more danger there is apparently. I understand that is counterintuitive, but it seems to be true. The attendants are also much more rude.
Crowd Grade: D
Opening Act One, Saving Abel:
I love "Addicted" and "18 Days" and had listened to the CD a couple of times before this. The first two songs, I did not recognize, but they were much harder than either of their radio hits. The third song was "New Tatoo". I recognized this one from the album and really enjoyed it. It was even better than the album in concert. They proceeded to play "Facedown", "Addicted", and "18 Days" between some of the other songs that I did not recognize. The lead singer delivered on all the vocals. Both guitarists were solid in their performances, as well. They did a really great job and much more of a crowd turned out for them than what is usual for an opening act. They did a good job of energizing the crowd. This band has a lot of potential and needs a little polishing is all. They are definitely worth seeing and may become a much better band with more practice.
Grade: B+
Opening Act Two, Seether:
I have seen Seether before and they were really great. They take the stage and the lead singer from Saving Abel comes out to play guitar. I didn't realize that he also played guitar. Anyway, the crowd is extremely unfamiliar with Seether songs, which was quite surprising. Seether has been around for 10 years and has had hits since 2002. It was like attending a Seether's Greatest Hits concert. I knew every word to every one of their songs. They played "Gasoline", "Fine Again", "Remedy", "Fake It", a bunch of other hits and an awesome acoustic version of "Broken". I normally don't like "Broken" without Amy Lee, but you could feel his heartbreak in this stripped-down version. They also played "Careless Whisper", yes the George Michael song, that is their latest release. They did an awesome job on all of these songs. Then he launched into an Alice in Chains cover. It was not good. Kim said that all 4 of the band members were playing different things by the middle of the song. It was obvious that Shaun was high on something. I could not even identify which song it was. Turns out it was "Nutshell", which I am quite familiar with, especially since Staind has an awesome version that we listen to all the time. The fact that I could not identify it at all should tell you how bad it was.
Overall, they kept the crowd energy up and they put on an awesome performance, other than the one cover. They played all hits and there was nothing to be disappointed about with their set list.
Grade: A
Main Act, Nickelback:
By this time, Kim and I have made it 2-3 people back from the rails. There is a guy with horrible body odor, but I am not moving to accomodate my olfactory senses. As the lights go down, it sounded like gunshots. They had a massive pyrotechnic set-up. They take the stage and launch into "Something In Your Mouth", their latest hit. By the chorus, I had a fist in my mouth from the girl that I refused to let in front of me. All those around me were concerned, especially Kim, but I refused to leave just when they started. My lips swelled and were bleeding, but they stopped soon enough and before the concert was over, no one could tell that I had busted lips. They played some more hits, had a really nice slideshow that synched with "Photograph". They switched to more hits and then threw in a cover of "Hey Man, Nice Shot" featuring Shaun from Seether. That was an excellent version. In fact, it was mush better than Filter's live version, which is the band that made that song famous.
They play another hit and then go into "If Everyone Cared" with another synched slideshow. They then transition to the "P*nis Stage", as Chad put it. They say that they feel kind of funny and start playing some country sounding riffs. Then they launch into Garth Brooks' "Friends in Low Places". It was awesome. Kim was appalled that I knew all the words, but I really could not have grown up in Texas without knowing all the words to that. Plus it is a fun song. He also did some Zac Brown "Chicken Fried". Then he launches into an acoustic version of "This Afternoon". This was not a song that I was familiar with. Kim said that she knows it and it is played all over the APE, not a channel I listen to. Then Chad introes "Rockstar" and asks who wants to be a rockstar. Kim and I both go, nah, not really. It made the two twenty-somethings in front of us laugh.
Then they bring out the roadies and these T-shirt sniper rifles. They said at their last concert, the t-shirt cannons did not launch them far enough. When they shot these rifles, it shot the t-shirt up into the second balcony. They were incredible! They play another song then the drummer launches into a 10+ minute drum solo. It was incredible.
They play "How You Remind Me" and the crowd is crazy. They close with one more song and leave the stage. The crowd is applauding and chanting. All of a sudden, the emergency lights and siren come on telling us to exit. They have played for over an hour and a half at this point, so I have no doubts that this could be the venue's ploy to evacuate everyone. Nobody moves. Nickelback comes back out and the mics and guitars are not working. They stick it out until the sound is back on and then Ryan, the lead guitarist and back-up vocalist, takes the stage and does Kings of Leon's "Use Somebody". He actually made the song better, because he has a much more pleasing voice. The Kings of Leon guy whines that song, Ryan did not. They play another song and then close with "Animals". The crowd went wild. It was awesome. Their setlist was impressive and definitely did not disappoint. I felt that I had seen the major hits that I wanted from Nickelback.
I was really impressed with how it was Nickelback that performed and not Chad and his bandmates. I really expected him to have a huge ego and he was really quite a team player. They chose a crowd-pleasing setlist and definitely delivered on all of their songs, even the ones that they covered. They also played close to two hours, so they covered a lot of music. The only complaint I had was that Chad talked too much. It got to be annoying and it was like, start a song already. Not to mention, he had bleached his hair and it looked awful.
I caught the drumstick at the end of the concert, but so did four other people that were together. The fat girl and I were the last two and she wrenched it away by twisting over the rails. I couldn't get enough torque. Man! Chris called me a double loser for getting popped in the mouth and losing the drum stick.
Overall, a very entertaining show. They definitely put on a show and not a performance. I can recommend that you go see Nickelback once, but I do not have a desire to see them again.
Grade: A- (A for the show, B- for the incessant talking, A for the setlist, A for the performance)
Overall, a great show, well worth the ticket price, and the pop in the mouth.
Overall Grade: A
I was on Facebook and saw an update that Nonpoint was performing a FREE show in Tampa. I didn't really think that "FREE" meant no payment required to view, so I checked out the info and found out sure enough it did! I was flabbergasted. I have been listening to Nonpoint since 2003 and Chris and I were severly disappointed that Nonpoint and Mudvayne visited the city where we grew up (I refuse to call it our hometown, because we are from Austin) and not where we currently live. We couldn't swing flying the family to see the grandparents, because it was too expensive, so we had to miss the tour. When I mentioned that we could all go for free if we drove to Tampa, Chris said ok. The kids were way excited because we had told them no concerts before 15. I even bought them some concert gear. I figured we could all play dress-up for the concert.
The concert was part of 98RockFest in Tampa at St. Pete Times Forum. The first four bands were outside in the Plaza and were free to the public. Nonpoint deserved to be inside the forum, but I was glad that they were not. That show went from 6 to midnight and I wouldn't have taken the kids. The plaza was an open area and we told the kids that we would stand as close as was safe based on the crowd. As Chris and I have been to several of these all day events, we know that a small percentage show up to the opening bands so we weren't concerned about the crowds, especially for any bands before Nonpoint. Since we had the kids with So on with the reviews:
The venue, St. Pete Times Forum Plaza:
Not bad for an outdoor show. It was possible to view the show from the parking garage next door (although the views had to be horrible), which would provide shade and some security from the undesireables. Beer was the only alcoholic beverage available, which I thought was a wise choice. It also meant a cheap concert experience for Chris and me, as I refuse to drink beer. No porta-potties. The pool club was open and people were to use the restrooms inside there, so quite nice by concert standards. There were vendors set up and the Marines. I do have a bone to pick with the Marines. They had prizes for pull-ups. Chris can probably do 5; Max, a few; Gabi, one; and me, a big fat 0. Bri, on the other hand, can do 20-25 full up and down, as the Marines wanted. They would not let her do any, as you had to be 14. It would have been really funny to see her show up all those guys. Oh well. The plaza was set up well for an outdoor show, so no complaints. It was hot early on though and no shade to be had. Chris and I survived, but it was tough on the kids. They actually barely survived through Adelitas Way. Max complained his head hurt; Gabi was complaining; Bri was the only trooper. Since our hotel was literally across the street, we walked them back, set them up with a movie, and called between bands to check on them. It actually worked out better for Chris and me, since we got front row for Nonpoint without them. We would have been quite far back if they had stayed.
Grade: A
First band, Adelitas Way:
They got started a little behind schedule and the kids kept asking when would it start. We moved up towards the front, probably 20 feet from the railing when we see the band walk out. They start the music, which sounds good, and then the lead singer starts, by the third note, you can tell this is going to be good. Their songs are all solid and they give a good performance. The lead singer needs to work on his stage presence. He praised Cavo (the third band to take the stage and reviewed below) and I really worry about him now. A piece of advice: Rick, look at 10 years and Chevelle, who you are currently on tour with and learn. DO NOT TAKE ANY TIPS FROM CAVO!! The vocals are solid, the music is excellent, they have a bright future. The album drops in July, so the single should debut soon and I urge everyone to call and request it. This band is definitely worth seeing and can only improve with experience, especially since they are traveling with two highly talented bands that are in the same vein as they are.
Grade: B+ (Work on the stage presence)
Second band, Uncrowned:
This band is more metal than Adelita's Way, but lacks the talent. The music is fair as is the performance. The lead singer has more energy and presence, but less talent. The single that they will release sounds the best of all their songs, but that is really to be expected. The single might encourage you to check them out, but the rest of the music is filler. They are really nothing special. They are not bad, but neither are they good and it boded much worse for them having followed Adelitas Way, which was solid. Overall, I can't recommend that you pay to see them. They aren't horrible and you can sit through them as an opening act, but not as the headliner.
Grade: C
Third band, Cavo:
This band was awful. The lead singer comes out and he doesn't look rock. He has on a white undershirt with a hole in it and some necklace, shaggy hair. The guitarist has on a white undershirt and black leather jacket with his shaggy hair and sunglasses. I did not even notice the drummer. The bassist has an awesome look and is the only visually redeeming quality of this band. The lead singer was not a bad singer, but the music was disparate. The metal guitar riffs did not belong in the song, with the voice, and were not good. The bassist had a cool look, but was not talented and made funny faces when he was singing back-up vocals. I actually stuffed paper towel wads in my ears to temper the sound, because I was right by the speaker. Their single "Champagne" may sound better on the radio, but the lyrics are trite and ridiculously simplistic. Not to mention, they covered "Come Undone". Yes, the 2005 Duran Duran single when they tried to revive their career and launch into Adult Contemporary. It was not even a good karaoke version and they could not figure out how to work the guitars in properly. It was awful. That they would even think to cover that song shows they belong in the AC genre with Coldplay. I could not believe that Adelitas Way had said these guys rocked. I hope that they were just being courteous and supportive to fellow stage performers. The lead singer was obviously in the wrong music genre. Go try AC, like Coldplay. I felt like the band was Coldplay with a (bad) metal guitar. I was relieved when they got off the stage. My hearing suffered for no good reason, other than I was keeping my front row, by the railing position for Nonpoint. Don't go see this band. You will be disappointed, no matter how low you set expectations. I can think of only one worse band that I have seen (Army of One), but these guys are definitely the second worse band. I would skip them as an opening act even.
Grade: D+ (Only the cool-looking, but talentless, bassist saved them from an F)
Final band, Nonpoint:
I discovered Nonpoint via a Napster pre-set playlist ("Damage") in 2003. Since then,Chris and I have become quite big fans. We were so disappointed that they hit Midland, TX (huh?) but not Jax. We would have found a way to see them here. When I found out that they were in Tampa, over the kids' Spring Break, it was like a gift from God, on Good Friday nonetheless. To top it all off, they are free to see. I don't know how they could sweeten the pot anymore. Chris and I really had no doubt in their ability to perform. Their "Live and Kicking" album is one of the few live albums that I actually enjoy, because there is not excessive crowd noise. I pay to hear them, not the crowd. Crowd singing is cool, if you can attend the concert, but not cool to hear on an album.
The plaza started to get a lot more crowded. Luckily, we got up front after Uncrowned and I stayed put. Chris took a biobreak at some point and did not appear to have too much trouble returning, but that would not be the case once Nonpoint started. Their stage set-up was interesting. The drums were set at a 90-degree angle to the right. So the drummer's side was facing the audience. I have never seen that before. They also set a box covered in blue camo at the front of the stage. They were ready well before their alloted time, but did not take the stage until scheduled time. It's too bad, they could have fit in another song or two.
They take the stage and Zach starts the opening guitar notes for "What a Day". The crowd does not react with appropriate enthusiasm and Elias goes, we're going to try this again. The crowd gets more into it and he launches into the song. Elias has a great stage show. He really elevates it from a performance to a show. He has intros into each song that are obviously rehearsed (and many are heard nearly verbatim on the "Live and Kicking" album), but they add to the show. It makes him appear polished. Some of his moves can also seem over-rehearsed, but they are well-placed and entertaining and really after 9 years, he should have some of these songs down pat. He does and it shows. They definitely rock harder live than on their albums. They hype the crowd well. They also apparently coordinate outfits. Elias was in blue camo, Zach in green camo, B@st@rd in yellow camo, and Robb in black/white camo. Cute. (6)
They played an amazing set with only one song that I didn't recognize immediately. It ranged from "Miracle" to "Broken Bones". They delivered on every song. "In the Air", a cover of Phil Collins' song, was awesome. While the melody remained the same, they kicked up the background music to proper rock levels. He had the whole crowd involved in "The Wreckoning" with our "wrecking balls" (fists) in the air. He dedicated "Victim" to all the ex-boyfriends/girlfriends who would have been here if they stayed in the relationship. That was hilarious. "Your Signs" was amazing. He really worked hard to get the crowd to sing "The Truth". The lyrics are not hard to learn, but he got a fair response, but not for lack of trying. They closed with "Bullet With a Name on It". The crowd was wild.
While probably half the crowd knew the songs, it was obvious when you needed to thrash around because Nonpoint killed it. Elias kept the energy high and B@st@rd was all over the place and had a kind of half-crazed look most of the time. They all worked really hard to deliver and they did not disappoint. There are several songs that Chris and I would have really liked to see ("Rabia", "Past It All", among others) but there was just not enough time. They played hard their whole set. I can definitely recommend seeing this band at whatever price you have to pay, especially if they are headlining in an intimate club setting. They hyped the crowd where at least half the people probably had no clue about their songs. I cannot imagine what the response would be with actual fans that have paid to see them. Go see them at every opportunity, I am.
Grade: A++
Overall, a great concert experience considering we discovered a new band and checked Nonpoint off the list of bands that we want to see live. I only need to remember to apply the sunblock before I head out next time. Despite the sunburn and horrible band before Nonpoint that uselessly wasted my eardrums, Nonpoint was worth it all.
Overall experience: A
I had a chance to see Disturbed and Shinedown at the House of Blues in Orlando in 2002. Unfortunately, I knew only one Disturbed song ("Down with the Sickness") and had no real clue who Shinedown was, as we did not listen to that genre until 2003. I know, call me stupid. Chris frequently gave me he** over choosing not to see them. We rectified seeing Shinedown and they are since our most viewed live band. When I heard Disturbed was coming to Jax, I bought tickets immediately. I knew that they would put on an intense concert and I could think of few places that I would be safer attending a concert like that than Jax. They played on Friday the 13th, right before Valentine's Day.
Chris found out mid-January that he would be in Abu Dhabi over the concert. I told him too bad, I was going anyway, but I was really upset that he couldn't go. He offered to fly my friend from Austin to go with me. All was forgiven and she spent Valentine's weekend with us. It was a blast and we really enjoyed having her. Her kids were quite incensed that they did not get to go to Florida, but she needed the break. Many thanks to her husband that watched the kids and let her come stay with us. It's really long, but it always is so, on with the show...
The opening acts were Skindred and Sevendust. I have known of Skindred since 2003 and Sevendust since 1997. Skindred is actually outside of what I like. They are a little too reggae for my tastes. So I end up liking half the song and not being able to stand the other half. We skipped them at Buzz Bake Sale and discovered Ghost of Gloria, definitely check them out. I had heard that Skindred was labeled Ska, but the band labels it "Ragga Metal". I think that is a much better label. Sevendust has been around since 1992, but under a couple of different names ("Tomorrow's Pain" and "Crawlspace", not to be confused with the West Coast band of the same name that prompted a name change). Before we get into the actual acts, let me review the venue...
The Venue: Morocco Shrine Auditorium, Jacksonville
I have never been to this venue and all Chris knew was "that was where they have the gun shows". We end up not making it until 7:30 (doors opened at 7:00) due to running kids to activities and catching some dinner before the show. I was not upset, because I had no real desire to see Skindred. All the songs that I had listened to of theirs ended up annoying me and I would turn them prematurely. We pull in and the parking lot is really busy. The attendant is not paying attention and Chris easily could have driven past without paying. The fact that there was no display ticket showing paid for the windshield would have made that all the easier. So we park and this lady goes, if you park there I will not be able to get out. Wah! This is a concert. Eryn says, unless you are going to stay here the whole concert, you will be blocked. Chris however moves over and parks in another place. As we are trading spots with a Vette, so that we can drive off the curb and he will be able to back out at the end, someone pulls in blocking her. It was funny. In the meantime, some friend of this woman comes up and tells her (and anyone listening) about the center line at the front that has practically no one in it. Since Eryn came and Chris did not end up going to Abu Dhabi, we had to buy Chris a ticket that day for the concert. So I started looking for the "Will Call" office. Most of the time it is not at the same place as the entrance.
The line is stretched around the building to where we parked, but I have to find where they are holding Chris' ticket, so we walk to the front. Sure enough there is a short center line, since I do not see a box office, I get in the short line. Chris and Eryn are holding back, because there are no signs about what this line is for. They finally come and I ask the person beside us if this is a special line and she goes, Shh! So we stay put. The lines start moving and sure enough we move at the same rate as the other lines. I look around inside and still see no box office, so I lean over to where these people are sitting at a table and they are helping the 2 "official" lines that streamed in. They ask my name and mark it off the list. I ask where the ticket is and they look at me funny and then someone asks how I got a printed ticket. Um, hello...I bought it off Ticketmaster a long time ago. Chris and Eryn are completely oblivious and wander in. There is no one to take tickets and if you wandered in through the center line, then you would not have had to buy a ticket. Hmm.
We get inside the main room and it is set-up similar to a multi-level club. The main floor is surrounded by a rail and a couple of ramps lead to the second level, which also has a rail. The concession stands are located on two sides of the room. The drinks were horrible and expensive. A cranberry and vodka should not have carbonation. We end up only getting the one drink apiece, because we are trying to push forward after that point.
The only real problem with the venue was the seeming lack of air conditioning. It was so hot that people were literally suffering from heat stroke. They had to keep pulling people over the front railing as they were near fainting. By the time Disturbed came on, we were covered in 4 layers of sweat, as Eryn put it. We all felt the need to bathe in Germ-X, as we kept rubbing bodies with all the sweaty people around us, some who looked really questionable.
Basically, the venue was not as intimate as a club setting, but it was similar. It was GA only, so no chairs, which I really liked. Getting inside was crazy since they had a list that they were checking everyone's name against. Not to mention getting in without a ticket was not only possible but easy, as Chris and Eryn inadvertantly proved (although we all had legit tickets). I would definitely advocate more efficient admission procedures. I have no idea how long some of those people waited to get in. They also need to turn on the air conditioner when that many people are packed that closely. I don't care if it is chilly outside, it was steamy up there.
Grade: B (Setting: A, Drinks: C, Entrance Procedure: F (but since we cheated, I did not count off as much on the overall grade))
Opening Act: Skindred
We got inside about 7:45 and Skindred was already on stage. Since I was not hot to see them, I was not upset by this fact. Thomas, Eryn's husband, never lets her get down into the pit, because he is too afraid that she will be hurt. A valid concern, granted, but a total buzzkill. She is a little nervous and Chris is trying to assess the audience "threat level" (potento ial of being hurt by the audience). I decide we can hang back for now as I was not real anxious to see Skindred and I knew that we would do a biobreak after the act for bathroom and drinks. At one point I tell Eryn and Chris not to be a drag and that they need two drinks apiece to loosen them up. Chris glares at me and Eryn gets defensive that she is not being a drag. I figured that goading her would get the desired reaction. (Sorry for the manipulation babe, but you know it was worth it.)
However, the lead vocalist was extremely entertaining. He puts on a great show. Also their music was much harder and less reggae live. Chris told me I messed up not seeing them at Buzz Bake Sale. Even Eryn agreed that the guy was entertaining. At one point, he tells the crowd that we had to say "Oy" when he pointed. So he sings and then points and the crowd delays for a second, then says "Oy!" He goes, "No, no, no. Faster!" He starts over and finally the crowd gets it right. His reaction the first time was funny though. He kept us laughing and the performance that we saw was great. He also did a great job of hyping the audience, which can be quite a challenge at some shows. I don't know if they catered to the audience or if they are normally harder when playing live. Buzz Bake Sale had several different genre types, so it would have been interesting to see their performance there. I would definitely say they are worth seeing live with someone else. I can't say yet if they would be worth the ticket price as a headliner.
Grade: A
Opening Act 2: Sevendust
Chris and I have been Sevendust fans for a long time (since 1997). They are a solid band, but don't generate quite the excitement of some of the other bands that we listen to. They take the stage and bust out. I start pushing forward and Eryn and Chris are a little nervous about moving ahead. I get us about 10 people deep from the frontline, but we are on the far leftside of the stage and near the speaker. Chris complains and pulls me back. A mosh pit starts and there are some guys that Chris is concerned about. Unfortunately it is too loud for me to make a logical plea that we are safer up near the frontline, so we migrate a little farther back. Chris forbids me to move and tells me to be considerate of my friend. I glare and don't move for the remainder of the song, then opportunistically push forward. Eryn follows and Chris is behind her creating a sloped line. (I'm a geek, so deal with the terminology.)
Sevendust gave a solid performance and the crowd went wild when they announced "Black" and then went straight to "Denial" afterwards. The only real complaint I had was that their set seemed really short. They finished about 9:15 and Skindred finished up some time after 8:00, so if they played an hour, then it really wasn't short, but it seemed it. I could not find someone who had published the set list from the show, so I wasn't sure if it was me or not. Since Chris was watching over both of us, I had to watch more for potential crowdsurfing injuries, which definitely could have skewed my perception about the set length. I can definitely recommend seeing them, because they put on a solid performance. However, the lead vocalist was not nearly as entertaining as the guy from Skindred.
Grade: A- (They followed a highly energetic, entertaining personality and I would be really surprised to find out that they played a full set, but their music was completely on.)
Main Act: Disturbed
By this time, Eryn had lost a lot of her nervousness (calling her a drag really seemed to kick in that defensive, I am not attitude 
) so she was good with going towards the center and pushing forward. I told her to just follow me and I always opportunistically push forward. During the break, we met 19-year-old college boy Robby, who ended up being quite the Southern Gentleman and provided protection from crowdsurfers with no funny business. He even tried to protect me once by asking Eryn if she wanted him to pull me back (because I was pushing forward again), to which I yelled and shook my head emphatically, NO! Sweet thought, but really, don't mess with my concert experience. So thanks again Robby!
This was a completely new and different experience for Eryn and the most physically intense crowd that Chris and I have ever been in. We were only buffered from the mosh pit by a couple of people, so any surges from moshing, we felt. At one point, I was like a sardine with my arms trapped and being pushed from the right with the resistance of the existing people on the left. Yet, it was not a rough crowd, so I did not feel unsafe. There was the girl that was with her boyfriend that completly started freaking out every time the crowd surged. She would be ok when the surge stopped and enjoy the music until the next surge. Her boyfriend tried to get her out by moving forward to security, because we were only 5-6 people deep from the front, but it was a solid wall of people. Screaming did not help his case, because Disturbed was playing and you couldn't hear anything but the music. He finally backed out with her. Concert tip: There is no personal space near the stage of a concert. So if you are claustrophobic or can't stand to have people touch you, don't come down anywhere near the stage.
There was a really funny, so Eryn moment, when I thought she was going to go psycho and jump in the pit to "save" the 8-year-old in the pit. He was not being harmed, but he kept trying to get them to go tougher on him. Eryn wanted to drag him to his mom and ream her. All this I could tell from glancing back and seeing the look in her eyes as she watched the kid. We explained that this happened every concert and that we had seen even more appalling incidents at other concerts. There are just stupid people in this world and Eryn got to see how stupid at this concert.
Eryn asks if I am going to move up and that she will follow. I do the best I can and do manage to move us up some, but it becomes a solid wall of people with no space. During the encore, this drunk chic nearly falls all over me moving ahead of me (some space has opened up since the mosh pit has dissolved). I roll my eyes and forget it. When she comes back in less than a minute and nearly falls on me again, I shove her as hard as I can out of the way. She stumbles and comes back apologizing and wanting to give me a hug. I held my hands out and told her to back off. I expected Chris to intervene and call me down, because I was ready to really strike her if she touched me. She backed off though. Then I found out that she had apparently been rubbing up against his back before she came through the first time. He was throughly disgusted, so he might have let me strike her. Even though she outweighed me by more than 20 pounds, she had no fight in her due to the intoxication.
Disturbed completely rocked the house. They were absolutely awesome. I did not hear all the songs that I would have liked, but I did not feel cheated. They played an hour and a half or more, so we definitely got our money's worth. He opened the show with this cool intro (he has such an awesome voice) that tonight "brothers and sisters" we were going to release our demons. If I remember (and feel free to correct me), they opened with "Inside the Fire". "10,000 Fists" was awesome. He introed it and told us he wanted to see our fists in the air. The energy was amazing. "Prayer" was another killer track that they just slayed. "Indestructible" and "Liberate" were off the hook too. They closed the encore with "The Sickness". It was so awesome. He started the song and goes, "Can you feel it?" and the drums are going and when it comes to the sound "Waaa-aaa-aaa" (closest approximation I know), he goes silent. The crowd made the noise and then we all laugh because he hasn't. Then he goes on. It just made it that much more awesome.
The energy at this concert was on par with Linkin Park in A tlanta and Avenged Sevenfold at Buzz Bake Sale. Jax did a really great job at this concert. Apparently in 2006, Disturbed came and the audience was so lame that they said they were never playing here again. Thank goodness they reconsidered and we delivered this time.
This was definitely one of the most intense concerts that we have been to due to a combination of the venue, crowd, and band. Eryn is completely sold on the pit now. She said it is a completely different experience when you can feel the bass travel through your body. She said we were the most fun people to go to concerts with (sorry all her other friends) and she was not letting Thomas hold her back anymore (sorry Thomas, but you knew I would corrupt her some more without you here ). Eryn got so into it, she said that she wanted to jump in the mosh pit at the end. Chris and I laughed. MUHAHA! It takes so little to corrupt her so completly.
I will go see Disturbed at every opportunity and pay for the pit tickets, regardless of the cost. I can wholeheartedly tell you to go see them.
Grade: A+++++++
Overall, this was a great experience. It would have been really fun if Thomas could have come too. Although I don't know if I could have overcome 3 people's crowd anxities to get down to the front. (I have to corrupt them one at a time.) We then went to the beach (since Eryn had never been here) and hit an Irish Pub. Walking to the pub, Eryn reaches in her jacket and pulls out a Disturbed pick. WHAT ARE THE CHANCES? Her jacket was tied around her waist at the concert, so the pick arced through the air, no one caught it, and on its downward trajectory managed to fall into the pocket of her jacket. Chris claims it had to hit me in the face, but I am so short that I never saw the guy even throw it. I would have had the t-shirt that they threw if I had not been so short. It was literally over my head. Da** genes!
So worth the experience!
It has been quite a while since I last blogged. Chris and I had the opportunity to see Taken recently. I normally refuse to see movies about kids being abducted, so it really surprised me that I really wanted to see this movie. White boys normally do not appeal to me, but Liam Neeson gets the Eastern European nod, so that is foreign enough. Then there is the fact that he is just a B.A. operative in this movie. I can tell you without ruining the movie that it is about the sex trade of young girls. This was my mother's favorite reason for denying me the ability to go to the mall with my friends, etc. At the time, I thought that she was extremely paranoid, to the point of delusion, in the "humble" opinion of a middle schooler. Now as the mother of a middle schooler, I consider this film quite educational. rest assured that my daughters WILL see this movie before they are allowed to go places independently. This movie was so good! I would definitely recommend it. It was so good that I was going to go see it a second time with my friend that was in for the weekend. (We had second thoughts and decided not to see it, when we realized that it was Valentine's Day.) It also catapulted Liam Neeson to a whole new spot for me. Grrr!
Grade: A
WARNING: Spoilers ahead!
There are so many lessons for young girls to take from this movie. Let's delineate them, so that we can point them all out.
- The movie starts off and the girl is lobbying to go to Europe with her friend. We quickly find out that she has deceived her father (Liam Neeson) and is subsequently abducted.
Lesson 1: Don't lie to your parents. They have reasons for what they do.
- Liam's daughter finds out upon arrival that her friend's relatives are not actually in residence while they are there as she had informed her parents.
Lesson 2: Your friends may lie to you in order to get your parents to agree to a situation. You should immediately come clean with your parents when you discover this situation has occurred.
- She and her friend decide to share a taxi with a cute stranger to the home that they are staying at for the summer. They also give said stranger lots of private information, like that the host family is not actually there and they are alone. He subsequently quickly routes the abductors to the address.
Lesson 3: Don't ride with strangers, even in a taxi. Who knows their motivation.
- Liam's daughter has time to call her father before she is abducted, but her friend does not. He gives her some pointers and this gives him the basis for the search.
Lesson 4: Not everyone is going to be able to call for help in these situations. Not everyone is going to have someone who has the ability to come find them. This point is also emphasized throughout the movie with all the other girls that he runs across in the various rooms.
- Liam uses his contacts in law enforcement to get information on who is holding her. Then he finds out that his friend is dirty.
Lesson 5: The government knows that these things occur and either suppress them or are unable to do anything about them.
- The scenes that show girls strung out and tied to the beds illustrate how this can happen.
Lesson 6: Sex slavery is real. As paradoxical as it may seem. middle schoolers will believe a movie more than news articles. This is probably the case because it is presented in story format and gives them some way to comprehend it. This movie is quite pragmatic about presenting a realistic situation on how this so easily could happen.
I am sure that I have missed some of the lessons to be gleaned from this movie please feel free to add to the lessons that I can point out to my daughters when they view it.
The only reason this movie did not get an A+ was for the scene where he is driving an SUV through their camp. Bullets are flying in all directions, including through the car and he manages to escape unscathed. It seems a little too incredulous. Yet it does not seriously detract from the movie.
There was also one important lesson that I wanted to point out for parents. The girl's mother knows that her plans are to follow a band around Europe for the summer and aids in the deception of the father to obtain his permission.
Lesson: Being your child's "friend" is not always what is best for the child. It is much more important to be the parent. This is especially true as the child becomes a teenager.
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