REVIEW: 1-26-10 - Three Days Grace/Breaking Bejamin/Flyleaf in Grand Island
I had been looking forward to the Three Days Grace/Breaking Benjamin/Flyleaf concert for weeks. When Tuesday finally arrived, I was more than ready to treat my ears to the music of these bands.
The buzz surrounding this concert was everywhere. It seemed everyone I crossed paths with were planning on attending. Living in Grand Island, Nebraska, this caliber of rock show doesn’t happen very often, so when it does you can bet that there will be a huge turn out. This makes me happy because the more response a show gets is generally indicative of having more shows of its kind come Grand Island’s way in the future. Always a plus for a rock loving chick.
Upon arriving at the venue, my friends and I spent a lot of time saying hello to the vast amount of our friends and acquaintances that were in attendance. We scoped out the floor for the prime spot to listen to the music goodness unfold and waited for the first band to hit the stage.
Flyleaf opened the show. This was around my sixth time seeing this Texas band and I knew they would nail their set as they always do. The front woman, Lacey, is TNT in a tiny package. You can’t let her size fool you because when she opens her mouth to let those lyrics out it is an amazingly powerful sound. She has the ability to sweetly serenade you and then deliver the most guttural screams to put an exclamation point on the emotion she wants to express. She has always been impressive to me since first seeing her and the band open for 30 Seconds to Mars when they were vastly unknown amongst most of the world. The whole band was teeming with energy and were so tight throughout their time on stage. I always enjoy watching Pat play bass because the man is an animal up there. How he can exude such crazy amounts of energy running around and jumping off any inanimate object in sight and still play some sick bass lines is beyond me, but truly entertaining. Their set contained a good number of their older tracks such as “All Around Me”, “Cassie” and “I’m So Sick”, but more prominent were new songs from their recently released album “Memento Mori”. They, of course, played the latest single “Again” which is blowing up the radio air waves at present. I have a special love for Flyleaf because their lyrics and music just affect me so intensely on an emotional level. I feel every chord, every drum beat, every word. It’s awesome to connect like that with music. They were the perfect band to have warm up the crowd.
Next up was a band I adore -- Breaking Benjamin. The last time I saw these blokes was, ironically, at the Heartland Event Center’s very first rock concert back in August of 2006. Prior to this night I went on You Tube to check out the videos fans were posting of this tour. I was excited to see that Breaking Benjamin had invested in a stage set-up that I knew would add an incredible element to their set in the form of kick ass, choreographed lighting and three huge video screens. The band exploded onto stage and rocked their opening number, their latest single “I Will Not Bow”. From that moment on the energy with which they played never wavered. I had heard that Ben Burley was ill and you never once could tell. He gave it his all and sounded awesome. They played a first-class set that included all the greats like “So Cold”, “Polyamorous”, “Sooner or Later”, “Diary of Jane” and my favorite “Breath” amongst others. The most stellar part of the set had to be when Ben and guitarist Aaron Fink sat down to cover Aerosmith’s “Dream On”. They paid tribute to fallen musicians such as Buddy Holly, Elvis, Johnny Cash, Layne Staley, Curt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix and Dimebag Darrell by showing their pictures on the three huge screens. It was brilliant and a moment I won‘t soon forget.
Three Days Grace was the headliner. I hadn’t seen this band perform since I took in their show in 2004 at the legendary, and now non-existent, venue The Ranch Bowl in Omaha, Ne. They jumped into their set by playing their new single “Break”. I have to admit that this wasn’t the band I was most excited to see on the bill. I have always liked their music, but they never really clicked hard core with me. After perfectly nailing the performance of their various hits “Just Like You”, “Home”, “It’s Never Too Late”, “I Hate Everything About You” and “Riot” I discovered a new found adoration for the band. Adam Gontier’s voice is one of the best I have heard live. The drum solo that Neil Sanderson delivered mid-set was simply bad ass. I was particularly thrilled that upon the completion of the drum solo that Adam appeared on a platform in the sound booth to perform the song “I Don’t Care” which he lent his voice to for the band Apocalyptica. It’s a song I completely adore and have in permanent rotation in my music library. The only thing I could wish to be different was for them to play my favorite song of theirs “Let You Down”. That said, assessing everything, I think I can live with that.
The trifecta of bands that performed on this night resulted in one fan-freakin-tastic rock show. I am grateful I was able to experience it and from the conversations I have read online I know I am not the only one that came away with those same sentiments. I would like to once again to thank Jive Records for so generously extending me a ticket to the show. You made my month!
I am including some pictures that my friend and talented photographer Jessa Cameron snapped during the performances for your viewing pleasure.
Here are some videos (not from Tuesday) that I found on YouTube of Sanderson’s drum solo, Breaking Benjamin’s “Dream On” cover, Flyleaf’s “All Around Me”, and Three Days Grace’s “I Don't Care” to give you a taste of the experience. Catch this show when it comes your way if you are able.
The buzz surrounding this concert was everywhere. It seemed everyone I crossed paths with were planning on attending. Living in Grand Island, Nebraska, this caliber of rock show doesn’t happen very often, so when it does you can bet that there will be a huge turn out. This makes me happy because the more response a show gets is generally indicative of having more shows of its kind come Grand Island’s way in the future. Always a plus for a rock loving chick.
Upon arriving at the venue, my friends and I spent a lot of time saying hello to the vast amount of our friends and acquaintances that were in attendance. We scoped out the floor for the prime spot to listen to the music goodness unfold and waited for the first band to hit the stage.
Flyleaf opened the show. This was around my sixth time seeing this Texas band and I knew they would nail their set as they always do. The front woman, Lacey, is TNT in a tiny package. You can’t let her size fool you because when she opens her mouth to let those lyrics out it is an amazingly powerful sound. She has the ability to sweetly serenade you and then deliver the most guttural screams to put an exclamation point on the emotion she wants to express. She has always been impressive to me since first seeing her and the band open for 30 Seconds to Mars when they were vastly unknown amongst most of the world. The whole band was teeming with energy and were so tight throughout their time on stage. I always enjoy watching Pat play bass because the man is an animal up there. How he can exude such crazy amounts of energy running around and jumping off any inanimate object in sight and still play some sick bass lines is beyond me, but truly entertaining. Their set contained a good number of their older tracks such as “All Around Me”, “Cassie” and “I’m So Sick”, but more prominent were new songs from their recently released album “Memento Mori”. They, of course, played the latest single “Again” which is blowing up the radio air waves at present. I have a special love for Flyleaf because their lyrics and music just affect me so intensely on an emotional level. I feel every chord, every drum beat, every word. It’s awesome to connect like that with music. They were the perfect band to have warm up the crowd.
Next up was a band I adore -- Breaking Benjamin. The last time I saw these blokes was, ironically, at the Heartland Event Center’s very first rock concert back in August of 2006. Prior to this night I went on You Tube to check out the videos fans were posting of this tour. I was excited to see that Breaking Benjamin had invested in a stage set-up that I knew would add an incredible element to their set in the form of kick ass, choreographed lighting and three huge video screens. The band exploded onto stage and rocked their opening number, their latest single “I Will Not Bow”. From that moment on the energy with which they played never wavered. I had heard that Ben Burley was ill and you never once could tell. He gave it his all and sounded awesome. They played a first-class set that included all the greats like “So Cold”, “Polyamorous”, “Sooner or Later”, “Diary of Jane” and my favorite “Breath” amongst others. The most stellar part of the set had to be when Ben and guitarist Aaron Fink sat down to cover Aerosmith’s “Dream On”. They paid tribute to fallen musicians such as Buddy Holly, Elvis, Johnny Cash, Layne Staley, Curt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix and Dimebag Darrell by showing their pictures on the three huge screens. It was brilliant and a moment I won‘t soon forget.
Three Days Grace was the headliner. I hadn’t seen this band perform since I took in their show in 2004 at the legendary, and now non-existent, venue The Ranch Bowl in Omaha, Ne. They jumped into their set by playing their new single “Break”. I have to admit that this wasn’t the band I was most excited to see on the bill. I have always liked their music, but they never really clicked hard core with me. After perfectly nailing the performance of their various hits “Just Like You”, “Home”, “It’s Never Too Late”, “I Hate Everything About You” and “Riot” I discovered a new found adoration for the band. Adam Gontier’s voice is one of the best I have heard live. The drum solo that Neil Sanderson delivered mid-set was simply bad ass. I was particularly thrilled that upon the completion of the drum solo that Adam appeared on a platform in the sound booth to perform the song “I Don’t Care” which he lent his voice to for the band Apocalyptica. It’s a song I completely adore and have in permanent rotation in my music library. The only thing I could wish to be different was for them to play my favorite song of theirs “Let You Down”. That said, assessing everything, I think I can live with that.
The trifecta of bands that performed on this night resulted in one fan-freakin-tastic rock show. I am grateful I was able to experience it and from the conversations I have read online I know I am not the only one that came away with those same sentiments. I would like to once again to thank Jive Records for so generously extending me a ticket to the show. You made my month!
I am including some pictures that my friend and talented photographer Jessa Cameron snapped during the performances for your viewing pleasure.
Here are some videos (not from Tuesday) that I found on YouTube of Sanderson’s drum solo, Breaking Benjamin’s “Dream On” cover, Flyleaf’s “All Around Me”, and Three Days Grace’s “I Don't Care” to give you a taste of the experience. Catch this show when it comes your way if you are able.
posted by TongaLH at 8:10 PM
1 Comments:
Love it!! Grand job m'dear! and thanks for adding my photos. You rock!
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