To nobody’s surprise I woke up still a little drunk from the day before this morning. After getting our shit together we walked down the road to our staple Buffalo Wild Wings to watch some football and get some beer and food. After we were nice and sauced on $5 pitchers we made a pit stop at a local dispensary for edibles on the way to the show.
We made it just in time to catch Seether, who was badass as per usual. Their newest album Poison the Parish came out in May of 2017 but for some reason I had not picked it up yet so was unfamiliar with the two songs they played from the album but I did like the songs. Note to self: pick up the album.
To our delight we did not have to leave this stage for the next band we wanted to see which was Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators. Slash was melting faces like it was 1987. I never really went down the rabbit hole of Slash solo material so most of the set was unfamiliar but hearing “Nightrain” made the whole set worthwhile.
I had just saw Incubus exactly a month earlier at Kaaboo. I think they played exactly the same set but that was just fine by me.
Alice In Chains had just released Rainier Fog less than two months before this and played a short but intense set.
This is when another night starts to get fuzzy again as Marvin and I got separated from the other two. We managed to make it to see System of a Down, which I am always pumped to see. They had not released new material in nearly 13 years at the time of this concert but we all keep lining up because they are incredible live.
At this point Mr. or Mrs. Reader you are probably asking yourself (again) why I continue to spend a lot of money to just get trashed and not remember everything. For the answer we need look no further than the wise words of Wooderson: L-I-V-I-N.
So we had taken a couple years off since our last Aftershock but it was time to get the band back together…with the exceptions of Joe and Marvin. Joe just flat out said he was not going to make it but Marvin, being the sneaky fuck that he is sometimes known to be, kept us hanging. We decided that two days of nonstop drinking would be enough for us so instead of showing up early Bob and I booked a flight leaving San Diego at 6:20 am the day of, which means we had to be heading towards the airport by 5. I thought Bob was joking about having a beer once he parked at my place at 4:30 but apparently he was not…
Fast-forward a couple hours after having breakfast at our hotel and stocking up on beer at the Total Wine down the street we were now awaiting Ken’s arrival. Marvin finally text us that he was not going to make it but I thought him and Ken were in cahoots due to some very suspicious text messages. It turns out they were not, so after a little more drinking all three of us hopped into a Lyft and headed for the show.
This year’s Aftershock was moved back to Discovery Park where we attended our first Aftershock (it was at Gibson Ranch the last time we went). The layout was a little more spacious from that first time, which was a good thing because apparently this was the first time that Aftershock ever sold out.
We showed up in time to catch Hyro the Hero, which reminded me an awful lot of Rage Against the Machine and I do not mean that in a bad way. It was about 80 degrees outside in direct sunlight but it was worth enduring.
What I really wanted to see was the Vinnie Paul All Star Tribute. Hellyeah was supposed to play Aftershock but decided not to after Vinnie Paul unexpectedly passed away on June 22nd. SiriusXM deejay Jose Mangin helped organize a performance anchored by Vinnie’s ex-Hellyeah bandmate Kyle Sanders on the bass and Pepe Clarke of Kyng on the drums. Other than that it was a rotating cast of characters that started off the fun with Damage Plan’s “Save Me,” followed by Pantera’s “Becoming” with Stephen Carpenter, “Mouth For War” with members of Gwar, “A New Level” with the freshly shave-headed Jose Mangin on vocals and “Walk” featuring Jonathan Davis and Sully. The thrill of seeing these songs again in a live setting was oh so badass and I am pretty sure this is what all but blew my voice out for the next several days.
To be completely honest this is where things started to get a little fuzzy. After getting some food together we of course all got separated from each other. I remember being completely confused watching Jonathan Davis because I thought he was going to do a DJ set but instead had a full on band with a bass player that was getting after it. I later found out he had released a solo album at the end of May called Black Labyrinth.
The next three bands were all welcome sights and sounds but nothing in particular stuck out about any of the performances (probably because I was a drunk ass). The first of these was 311, who had released two new albums, Stereolithic and Mosaic, since I had last seen them five years prior. The next was Godsmack who were touring for When Legends Rise that was just released back in April and the last of the evening was Deftones, whose newest release was still Gore that was released back in 2016 but I hadn’t seen them since the last Aftershock I attended in 2015.
The night was far from over after the last notes rang from the Deftones amps as my phone battery had died and therefore I had no way to get back to our hotel that was about 10 miles away. I anticipated a dead battery so I brought an external charger but what I did not anticipate was losing the cord that connected the external charger to my phone! After awhile I found a couple that reluctantly let me use their cord just long enough to get my phone powered on to request a Lyft and get back to the hotel. Once I arrived I found Marvin sitting on the couch. I had a feeling he would make it but since he did not tell anyone he was coming he spent all day by himself and then finagled his way into our room since he did not have a key to get in. I should have went to bed at this point but I was still drunk and was not about to squander away an opportunity to drink more with one of my oldest friends.
Attending all three days of Kaaboo the previous year was a little too much standing in the sun, drinking and spending a shit ton of money so Ingrid and I decided to cut it down to just one of the days this year. Based on the lineup of Everclear, Incubus, Blondie and Foo Fighters the day that was decided upon was Friday. Unfortunately Ingrid had to bail out at the last minute and sell her ticket due to an impromptu bachelorette party in Vegas.
The Charter Bus worked out well last year so I decided to do that again instead of paying for a surge priced Uber or staying sober and driving. After sucking down a tall boy of Bud Light on the way, our bus rounded the last corner to the Del Mar Fairgrounds to reveal a line of people trying to get in that nearly stretched to that intersection. I could not believe what I was seeing but thankfully there was a far shorter line near the bus drop off point because Everclear was set to kick off the festival about 10 minutes later. Even that line was moving slowly but moments later a festival worker announced that there was a line specifically for people without a bag that was empty. It is baffling to me that an expensive festival that expected 40,000 people could be so disorganized but what can you do?
I got in just in time to grab a cold 16-ounce Corona for $13 as Everclear took the stage around 2 pm. I had not seen Everclear for 17 years and had all but stopped paying attention to any new Everclear material since So Much For the Afterglow so I did not know what to expect. What I got was a band that passed as Everclear but did not go as full force as they could have with the songs at their disposal. I loved that nearly their whole set was songs from Sparkle and Fade and So Much For the Afterglow and it was great to hear those songs live again (especially “Heroin Girl”) but despite Art Alexakis’ best efforts the songs still sounded slightly lackluster. Maybe it was just impossible to impress me because of that time I saw them tear the roof off the place when they opened for Filter about two months before they hit it big with “Santa Monica” back in the day.
Near the end of the Everclear set I met up with Larry and basically just kept drinking and wandering around until Larry’s wife Christi showed up because the next band I wanted to see was Incubus and they were not on until just after 6. We went to watch comedian Tom Papa and quickly realized it was more of a plug for bread baking then it was a comedy show so we caught a little of The Zombies set before more drinking and wandering around ensued.
Close to the time Incubus was to go on I was reminded that every time there are too many people in one spot the woman’s bathroom line is always crazy and there are always a few brave women willing to go into the men’s bathroom. One particular pair of younger girls in front of us were not going into the bathroom to use the toilet but rather to go do some coke with a 70 year old billionaire. After we exited the bathroom Christi and Larry started chatting with them and the gold digging vibe was making me sick to my stomach so I ended up basically ditching them and standing by myself for Incubus because Kyle had come in later and found Larry and Calvin and Jane never returned my text.
This was to be my seventh time seeing Incubus but I had not seen them for nine years. Their newest effort was the album 8 that was released a year earlier but other than “No Fun” they stuck to older songs and treated us to a one/two punch of “Calgone” and a great cover of “Need You Tonight” by INXS. I feel like Incubus made the most of their limited time and age was not about to slow them down. Not that they are old by any means but they were still sounding fantastic playing the shit out of their songs with passion and enthusiasm after all these years.
SETLIST: Privilege, Anna Molly, Meglomaniac, A Kiss to Send Us Off, Circles, Pardon Me, No Fun, Love Hurts, Calgone, Need You Tonight (INXS), Are You In?, Nice to Know You, Wish You Were Here, Drive, A Crow Left of the Murder
Next up was Blondie. Even though there are only five Blondie songs I really like I was excited to see them because I had never seen them before. After getting a round of applause for basically telling some jerk chick trying to cut in front of everyone in the beer line to fuck off I got to see a 73 year old Debbie Harry do her thing. She was still pretty spry but something was just missing for me from the band as a whole. I got to see “One Way or Another,” “Rapture,” and “Call Me,” but had to get my ass to the other stage to see Foo Fighters so I missed “Heart of Glass” and “The Tide Is High.” At least I got to see someone playing the keytar before I left.
Once I made my way to where the Foo Fighters were playing I ran into Christi and Sierra. Larry, Kyle and Sierra’s boyfriend had gone to get beers so I just waited there and watched the Foo with that group. This was my eighth time seeing Foo Fighters but this time was not like the last time I saw them a year earlier at a festival made up of strictly rock and roll bands that they headlined. This was a diverse group of bands gathered so they knew their audience and filled the limited set time with mostly hits. To be fair they do have a lot of hits. Regardless of this a Foo show is always packed with energy and surprises. Taylor’s drum riser literally started rising during a drum solo tacked onto the end of “My Hero” that lead into him singing “Sunday Rain.” The most rocking song I got out of them was “The Sky Is a Neighborhood” but the most fun moments started near the end when Dave sang Van Halen’s “Jump” over the music of “Imagine” by John Lennon. It matched up surprisingly well. After that we got a little “Hey Ho, Let’s Go” from the Ramones “Blitzkrieg Bop” followed by a full on cover of Queen’s “Under Pressure” with Dave climbing behind the drum kit to let Taylor come out front and sing after he proclaimed, “Here’s one Vanilla Ice stole from Queen and we’re taking it back.” Those moments made the whole day worthwhile.
SETLIST: All My Life, Learn to Fly, The Pretender, The Sky Is a Neighborhood, These Days, Walk, My Hero, Sunday Rain, Another One Bites the Dust/Imagine/Jump/Blitzkrieg Bop, Under Pressure, Monkey Wrench, Best of You, Everlong
Smashing Pumpkins reuniting will all the original members except for D’Arcy playing strictly songs from their first five albums? Yes, please! The last time I saw Smashing Pumpkins was about 11 years before this when they were promoting the Zeitgeist album without James Iha. That time was alright but the older stuff did not sound quite as thick without James.
After a little pre-funk at the bar down the street Ingrid, her friend Laney, her friend Laney’s friend Dick and I made our way to the venue and ended up getting there slightly late. We had no interest in the opening band and unfortunately misjudged the timing but thankfully only really missed “Disarm.”
Upon arrival I immediately was overtaken by familiar sounds of “Rocket” and was relieved that Billy Corgan’s voice had not lost that magic. What the fuck he was wearing was a different story. He appeared to be wearing a long silver skirt with some sort of gladiator type sandals with silver socks underneath. He could have been wearing a tutu for all I care but it was at the very least noteworthy.
About this time my “cookie” had reached peak effect and I was in hog heaven. A brilliant cover of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” was just around the corner and I think Bowie would have approved. While we are on the topic of covers let me just say this is the only time I can remember any band I have seen cover “Stairway to Heaven” and it was off the charts. The main guitar riff was replaced with piano but otherwise a very faithful rendition that left many jaws on the floor of the Aztec Arena.
For this “Shiny and Oh So Bright” tour they retained the services of extra guitarist Jeff Schroeder, which freed Billy Corgan up on many songs to get in touch with his inner showman or sit down at the piano. This was a fantastic production full of gems being shown on the mammoth video screens that were serving as a backdrop to the stage. I had a feeling that I would be hearing one of my favorite songs “Soma” at some point in the evening and I was right. To me that song perfectly sums up what I like about Smashing Pumpkins, which much like Black Sabbath is the soft and the heavy. Other standout moments for me were “Zero,” “Porcelina of the Vast Oceans,” and “Thirty-Three.” People for the most part were present and not on their phones for the nearly three hour set but to be fair most of us in attendance probably did not have our first cell phone until way after becoming fans of this band. Having James Iha back in the lineup made all the difference in the world and it was pure magic to see him and Billy make sweet music together again.
SETLIST: Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, Disarm, Rocket, Siva, Rhinoceros, Space Oddity, Drown, Zero, The Everlasting Gaze, Stand Inside Your Love, Thirty-Three, Eye, Soma, Blew Away, For Martha, To Sheila, Mayonaise, Porcelina of the Vast Oceans, Landslide, Tonight, Tonight, Stairway to Heaven, Cherub Rock, 1979, Ava Adore, Try, Try, Try, The Beginning Is the End is the Beginning, Hummer, Today, Bullet With Butterfly Wings, Muzzle, Solara, Baby Mine
Bob caught wind of a crazy Australian band called Parkway Drive on Sirius XM’s Octane channel and suggested I check them out. I am not sure which of their songs I heard first but they definitely sounded like something that was worth further inspection.
This was the first show I had been to at Soma for about eight years and once Bob and I arrived I could not help but notice the larger security presence all around, although this could have been due to the heavier nature of the bands playing. It was a far cry from being able to walk in the back door like Marvin and I used to do. I had also forgotten what a sweatbox Soma is. When we entered to see the last half of August Burns Red I was quickly reminded that there is zero ventilation in that place so you are going to sweat even if you decide to watch the show in a stationary position.
Parkway Drive was touring for their sixth album Reverence that was released on May 4th and this was the opening night of the tour. Right after I randomly ran into the gal that cuts my hair the house sound system started playing quite the warmup of singalong 80’s songs such as Mr. Mister’s “Kyrie,” Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’,” and Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ On A Prayer,” which I thought was a very funny tongue-in-cheek move for such a heavy band.
Once the band came out the crowd went absolutely apeshit. Usually a small mosh pit will erupt near the front of the stage but for Parkway Drive the mosh pit went front to back. It was full on meathead madness with more than one person cruising around throwing haymakers. I was completely sober and not entirely familiar with the songs so it was interesting trying to hold the position I was in. Some idiot kept finding water bottles and windmilling them over his head so I was soaked in no time but to be fair I was already gross from sweating and it did feel kind of good.
Frontman Winston McCall did a great job of well, being a frontman. He was able to continually whip the crowd into a frenzy with just a few choice words and commanded the stage like that was exactly where he was supposed to be. The dual guitar attack of Luke Kilpatrick and Jeff Ling fed well off of one another and the rhythm section of Jia O’Connor and Ben Gordon held down the fort. The songs are very accessible. I don’t want to say predictable breaks but rather something akin to following along with the bouncing ball onscreen. Digestible. All I know is that Parkway Drive made a new fan that night.
SETLIST: Wishing Wells, Prey, Carrion, Vice Grip, Dedicated, Boneyards, Cemetery Bloom, The Void, Idols and Anchors, Dead Man’s Chest, Karma, Absolute Power, Wild Eyes, Crushed, Bottom Feeder
I never saw Jack White perform as a solo artist and in fact had not seen him in any way, shape or form for 10 years when I last saw him with the Raconteurs. When he announced he was swinging by San Diego in support of the five month old wonderfully weird album Boarding House Reach I knew I would be attending, just not the details. The details ended up being buying a last minute ticket from Larry and going by myself. Larry ended up having to travel for work and my friends Calvin and Jane that were there had apparently bought tickets during the presale.
This was the first show I have been to that utilized something called Yondr, which is essentially an opaque pouch you were forced to lock your phone in upon arrival so you could not use it unless you went outside to a specific “phone zone.” I have been saying for awhile now to anyone willing to listen that the way to get everyone to put their phones away at concerts was for the artists to hire a professional videographer/photographer and make the videos and pictures available to everyone that had attended. Why would you take some shitty video if you knew you could get professional quality videos? Why not just include it in the price of the ticket? I would pay extra for this and I am sure I am not the only one. This is what I envisioned was going to happen since the show ticket came with a disclaimer that said “our official tour photographer will be posting photos and videos after the show at jackwhiteiii.com…repost our photos and videos as much as you want.” So far the only thing posted on his website are some photos but zero videos. Good idea but the execution part still needs some work.
I only had a digital ticket on my phone and did not memorize my seat before locking my phone into the Yondr pouch so I just took a seat in the vicinity of where I knew my seat was. I did not think this would be an issue since there were many open seats (not sold out) and I was literally sitting at the top rear of the arena, but when people started filling in the open spots they were adamant on sitting in their assigned seat. By this point the cookie I ate was in full effect so I am glad I stuck to water at the show because the no phone zone started to get weird sitting by myself stoned out of my mind wondering if I was in the right seat.
There was no opening band advertised so I thought this paranoia would soon wash away at 8 pm when the lights went out and the show started but we all got tricked. The show did start at 8 pm but instead of Jack White we got a guitarist named William Tyler who played by himself. He was a great guitar player but in a live setting bigger than a coffee shop it did not translate song after song. It could have been the cookie but it seemed like he played forever. What was especially funny to me is that he had these elaborate song titles for songs with no words, just him playing guitar.
The time had finally come for Jack White and he was well worth the wait. His band consisted of two males playing keyboards, one male playing bass and one very hard hitting female drummer. The most impressive part of this journey is that they were improvising the setlist. Jack would just kind of wave his hand, shoot them a look or play a small part of something to get them on the same page and they were off. His guitar sounded fantastic and made the songs sound so much heavier live, especially “A Martyr for My Love for You,” “I’m Slowly Turning Into You,” “Steady As She Goes,” “Sixteen Saltines” and my personal favorite “Hello Operator.” Jack White is an innovator, a guitar god and musical genius. I am pretty sure I made the right decision to come alone rather than not come at all.
SETLIST: Over and Over and Over, Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground, Lazaretto, Corporation, Cannon, Respect Commander, Hotel Yorba, Love Interruption, Battle Cry, Get in the Mind Shaft, Trash Tongue Talker, A Martyr for My Love for You, I Cut Like a Buffalo, Humoresque, Hello Operator, Just One Drink, I’m Slowly Turning Into You, Steady As She Goes, Sixteen Saltines, Connected By Love, Seven Nation Army
Despite all of the negative things I could rant about when it comes to Ticketmaster and Live Nation it is cool that for most shows you can choose the exact seat you want to purchase from the website. Several months before this show my buddies PM and Don that I used to work with text me which seats they bought and I was able to buy the open seat literally right next to theirs due to this feature.
After not being able to agree on a plan for meeting up with PM and Don beforehand I decided to ride down with Bob, his son, Larry, Christi, their two kids and the two Norwegians they were with, who had all decided to get lawn tickets at the last minute. Once we grabbed a quick bite at some weird place close by called Canada Steak Burger that was much more Greek than Canada, a quick beer and “cookie” (just me) everyone I came with went in and I met up with PM and Don in the parking lot before we went in.
I do not really know any Sleigh Bells songs but due to my fondness/fascination of bands with only two members I did kind of want to see them so I was a little bummed this did not happen. By the time we got through security, took a leak and grabbed a beer we made it to our assigned seats on the 200 level with enough time to watch the last half of the Pixies set. This is a nutty band that I also do not know a whole lot of outside of their song “Where Is My Mind?” but I do respect the influence they had on several “Alternative” bands that I love. It was cool to recognize Paz Lenchantin that I knew from A Perfect Circle holding down bass duties.
The last time I saw Weezer it was what I considered a somewhat half-baked performance about a year before this at Kaaboo. Not this time. This was my sixth time seeing Weezer overall and since that last show they had released the album Pacific Daydream, but more importantly had recently re-entered the Zeitgeist with their cover of Toto’s “Africa.” Apparently a 14-year-old girl started a Twitter account for the sole purpose of coaxing Weezer into covering the song. They first trolled her by covering Toto’s “Rosanna” (badass) and then finally gave in to “Africa.” It is not like Weezer has not been pumping out albums forever, but their return to relevance combined with the fact that this was the second to last date of the tour seemed to re-energize them back to the levels I had come to expect. We had good seats, the kinks (if there ever were any) had been worked out of their set and their normal stage setup boasted some upgrades. They essentially opened with a replication of the Arnold’s Diner setup from the “Buddy Holly” video as they played the song live and then slowly shed that in favor of a garage looking setup for “In the Garage.” Eventually it was onward to their winged W logo to full on fire and sparks raining down from the top of the stage. Rivers played “Island In the Sun” from a “boat” that was being pushed around between the stage and the first row of seats. A very entertaining set from a very talented band that knows how to keep things interesting.
SETLIST: Buddy Holly, Beverly Hills, Pork and Beans, Undone – The Sweater Song, Hash Pipe, Perfect Situation, My Name is Jonas, El Scorcho, In the Garage, The Good Life, Happy Together, Keep Fishin’, Island in the Sun, Take On Me, Burndt Jamb, (If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To, Feels Like Summer, Africa, Pink Triangle, Say It Ain’t So/Paranoid
It all started in July when I was scrolling through Facebook and came across an ad for the five dates Stevie Wonder would be playing in Las Vegas during the month of August. I did not remember ever seeing Stevie Wonder touring near me so I took a screen shot as a reminder to mention it to Ingrid. I remembered later that night on our way to dinner and her response was an ecstatic “We are going! He is a bucket list concert for me!” I did not take her totally serious until we returned home and she bought tickets and booked a hotel!
I am not exactly sure when or how I first heard Stevie Wonder but in all fairness I have never lived under a rock and his music is not only timeless but also universally liked by all types of people. This man is a legend through and through. I can say with certainty that the first song of his that truly grabbed me was “Superstitious.” That song creeps into my bones and makes me start dancing every time I hear it and I am not what anyone would describe as a dancer.
Due to scheduling conflicts we ended up getting tickets to the first performance and the day had come. Despite proclaiming that we would never drive to Vegas again after about a 10 hour ride home when we went to see Soundgarden years before, here we were driving to Vegas to pinch a few pennies on our spontaneous trip. We left San Diego at 11:30 am sharp and did not end up getting to Vegas and checked into our hotel room until 6 pm, which turned out to be perfect because it gave us a solid hour before we had to hop into a Lyft to make our way to the Park Theater. Apparently the whole Park MGM was a fully renovated/recently reopened Monte Carlo. Thankfully our Lyft driver knew this because we were about to get dropped off at the MGM and wander around aimlessly for who knows how long before we figured out we were in the wrong place.
I did not realize Stevie Wonder’s blindness was so severe that he would need assistance walking across the stage until I saw it with my own eyes. His band consisted of a DJ, two horn players, two drummers, three female backup singers, a bassist and a guitarist and they crushed it. Everyone in the crowd was up and dancing the whole time and it was just a good vibe all around. I would have been satisfied just hearing “Superstition,” “I Wish,” and “Sir Duke” but he played those and so many more. At one point he mesmerized me by playing from where I was standing what looked like a paper scroll. After some research I found out it’s called a harpejji, which in his own description is “somewhere between a keyboard and a guitar” with 16 strings. This man has brought great joy to the world and his music will continue to spread that joy for him long after he is gone. I am beyond thrilled that I got the chance to witness it live while he was still here.
Loverboy? That band from Canada that had a handful of hits back in the 80’s? Yep. I grew to actually like five of their songs as I was exposed to them time and time again growing up in the 80’s and the show was on a Saturday so I figured what the hell? Much to my surprise the cheapest tickets were going for $60 so I decided to just check back periodically figuring they would get cheaper as the show got closer. My suspicions were confirmed when I received an email from Goldstar offering tickets for $20 but I did not have anyone to go with and the concert was 30 miles from my place at Viejas Casino in Alpine. By the time Bob said he would go when we were at the Breaking Benjamin concert a few days earlier the tickets on Goldstar were gone so I was right back in the same ticket conundrum as before.
There were exactly four tickets listed for sale on StubHub and each was $55. I did not want to see Loverboy that badly so I checked Craigslist, which had three postings. One linked back to StubHub, one was a pair for $30 each and one was a pair for $20 each. I responded by email to the $20 post but did not hear anything back all day so I called the $30 post and was informed the tickets were just sold. Right when I was about to let Bob know we would not be going I finally got a response from the $20 ticket posting saying they were available and we could meet up at the venue.
After picking up Bob from SeaWorld (he was there all day with his family) we were on our way to the middle of nowhere. There would be no drinking for me since I had to drive so I brought a little wacky tobacky and had some back at the car once we arrived and secured the tickets. We squeezed into our seats near the back and could not help but notice that there were a lot of empty seats. This surprised me since there were so few available on the secondary market but I rationed that the casino probably comped quite a few tickets that never got used. Bob and I would eventually take it upon ourselves to move to a row of our own much closer to the stage.
Once Loverboy took the stage to an underutilized video screen backdrop used simply to display Loverboy in typewriter text it was hard to miss the singer Mike Reno, who was once a normal sized man back in the day and was now a portly man. The crowd was precisely the crowd I envisioned and by that I mean old. The band was under no false pretenses about this as Mike Reno addressed the crowd with “We are at a different time in our lives. The kids have moved out of the house…” The band was very good at playing their instruments but it would be seven songs in before I even knew a song they were playing. I was very confused that a band of this nature would make the crowd wait through the entire first half of their set to hear a “hit.” When they finally played the songs I came to see it felt like they were showing off how much better they had become at playing their instruments in 40 years instead of playing faithful renditions of the songs people were there to see. One highlight for me was when keyboard player Doug Johnson played a snippet from “Riders on the Storm” by the Doors. That guy had some of the fastest fingers I have ever seen. The encore of “Lovin’ Every Minute of It” made the whole outing worth it but I can now say with certainty that Loverboy falls into the category of been there done that.
SETLIST: Notorious, Lucky Ones, Queen of the Broken Hearts, Take Me to the Top, It’s Your Life, This Could Be the Night, The Kid Is Hot Tonite, When It’s Over, Hot Girls In Love, Turn Me Loose, Working for the Weekend, Lovin’ Every Minute of It
This show was not on my radar at all but Bob was jazzed to go and this was quite simply an opportunity to hang out and have some drinks with one of my favorite peeps. I do like Breaking Benjamin but I would have been good with the one time I did see them almost three years before this at Aftershock and I am not a fan of Five Finger Death Punch whatsoever. It did help that I scored a ticket for only $6 off of StubHub.
I originally thought Bob was going to drive us, which would have allowed us to grab a bite and have a couple beers in the parking lot but that did not happen. Instead we had beers at my house, no dinner and caught a Lyft to the show. We missed the opener Bad Wolves but once we arrived we were informed that our tickets were upgraded since the lawn section had been closed off due to a lack of ticket sales. Even better, when we got to the table where they were exchanging the lawn tickets we were upgraded to General Admission Pit tickets for no charge and no particular good reason. No complaints here as that meant my $6 lawn ticket turned into a $6 floor ticket. The good news kept coming as we then found out that Five Finger Death Punch was to open for Breaking Benjamin as opposed to the other way around like I had thought.
Five Finger Death Punch was touring for their seventh album And Justice for None that was released about two months before this. The floor section was not all that packed so we stood fairly close to the right side of the stage. The bass player was on our side of the stage a lot and looked like he was some sort of octopus creature from Pirates of the Caribbean due to his beard. I did not know the significance of the red hand painted on singer Ivan Moody’s face but apparently their fans did and he pulled about 10 of them with matching red hands out of the crowd to join him onstage for a song. They were good musicians but save for their cover of “Bad Company” I just could not get into it.
SETLIST: Lift Me Up, Trouble, Wash It All Away, Jekyll and Hyde, Bad Company, Fake, Wrong Side of Heaven, Remember Everything, Coming Down, Burn MF, Gone Away, Under and Over It, The Bleeding
Breaking Benjamin was touring for their sixth album Ember that was released on 4/13/18. I am fairly certain that I saw them at Aftershock during the day so seeing them at night was a much different experience. They seemed more in their element and had more presence this time. Maybe it was partially due to the darkness and maybe it was partially due to the dark beers I had consumed. Their mashup of the Star Wars Imperial March, Tool, Nirvana, Pantera and Metallica was pretty cool but anything Pantera is going to win points with me. Bob and I made a rare appearance in the mosh pit because a.) it felt criminal to get upgraded to floor tickets and not go in the mosh pit and b.) the pit was fun since it was more of a weak dancing circle than a full on slam dancing/get punched in the face on accident kind of a thing.
SETLIST: Red Cold River, I Will Not Bow, Never Again, Breath, Imperial March/Schism/Smells Like Teen Spirit/Walk/Sad But True, Sooner or Later, Blow Me Away, So Cold, Angels Fall, Psycho, Failure, Until the End, Believe, Torn In Two, The Diary of Jane
AFTERWARD: All the goodness of the evening was counterbalanced by the reality of life the next morning when we awoke to realize that Bob’s car had been towed since Bob did not end up driving and we did not put a parking pass in Bob’s car. $263 later and the universe was right again. I would do it all over again if given the chance.
I never saw Jack White perform as a solo artist and in fact had not seen him in any way, shape or form for 10 years when I last saw him with the Raconteurs. When he announced he was swinging by San Diego in support of the five month old wonderfully weird album Boarding House Reach I knew I would be attending, just not the details. The details ended up being buying a last minute ticket from Larry and going by myself. Larry ended up having to travel for work and my friends Calvin and Jane that were there had apparently bought tickets during the presale.
