The forecast called for anywhere from 5-11 inches of snow the day of this show. This proved to be a bit of a worry since the white stuff tends to make a two hour trek to Omaha treacherous. Luckily mother nature gave a reprieve and allowed the sun to shine just prior to departure allowing the drive to be possible. Good thing too, because I would’ve been very disappointed if I had missed this show.
In This Moment opened up the show. I was looking forward to seeing what this band brought to the table live. Female fronted rock bands often evoke stereotypes that are hard to overcome in a male dominated genre. When the band took the stage the first thing you saw was lead singer Maria Brink -- a hot blonde woman wearing a cute little dress. One might wonder, “how can this chick possibly rock?” Those with doubt weren’t in doubt long because a few bars into the first song she opened her mouth and let out the most brutal scream causing the fists in the audience to raise. Just when she blew you away by her rawness, she turned beautifully melodic showing the depth of her range. The rest of the band was not without merit. They played with intense passion and energy and were great at getting the crowd’s energy up for the following bands. I was particularly pleased that they played their newest single “Forever” as well as their most popular single “Beautiful Tragedy”.
Nonpoint was up next and were the main reason I purchased a ticket to the show. I had been aware of them as a band for a while due to the success of their singles “What a Day” and “Bullet with a Name” as well as their cover of Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight,” but had only recently taken a closer look at them thanks to a close friend of mine. I found I was more than fond of a lot of their music and was looking forward to their live set. Elias is a great front man. He definitely had a way of interacting with the crowd while expressing the raw emotion in the lyrics of each song. I thought it odd at first that the drummer Robb Rivera’s drum kit was facing sideways on the stage, because I didn’t think that would be conducive to good sound emission. After a few songs it was clear that the sound from the drums wasn't affected and the reason he arranged things as he did was to add of bit of showmanship and spice to his role in the live set. With his kit the way it was he was able to get up throughout the songs and bang away displaying a different kind drum playing which proved to be pretty awesome and entertaining. The band’s set was decent, especially during “Bullet” when the crowd interaction hit a high point, but I have to admit I was a little disappointed that they only played about 6 songs -- leaving out many of my favorites.
Mudvayne was the headliner. I fully admit to only being aware of a couple of songs this band has put out. I knew of them but couldn’t call myself a fan in the least. I just never took the time to investigate them. In a way this was an advantage for me because I had a clean slate in order to form an opinion with. The stage set-up was pretty impressive on its own. The drum kit was raised high on a riser. There were flags and lights decorating every inch of the stage. Lead singer Chad Gray took the stage in a red gorilla/elmo looking suit and I knew this was going to be entertaining at the very least.
What I wasn’t prepared for was being blown away by their set. The band was completely in sync the entire time and the musical breaks and bad ass drumming by Matthew McDonough were emphasized by an incredible strobing light show. The two things that sealed the deal for me in moving from being an observer to a fan were the band’s unique time signatures and the amazing bass playing of Ryan Martinie. You never knew what to expect and I adore that from a band's live set. Chad Gray did a great job commanding the crowd to action with his explicit laden lyrics. All in all I was enamored with the sum of all the parts of this band’s performance and will definitely be taking a closer look at their discography as well as catching any live shows of theirs that come my way in the future. I was, in a word, impressed.
LINKS:Mudvayne performing "World So Cold" Live @ Sokol in Omaha (YouTube)Mudvayne MySpaceNonpoint MySpaceIn This Moment MySpaceUp Next:2/20 - Thunder 103's Battle of the Bands
3/15 - Shinedown/Saliva/Halestorm
