Red Sun Rising Concert Review with Greta Van Fleet, Through Fire and Deadset Society
Nutcracker 20
Limelight Eventplex, Peoria, Illinois
Nutcracker 2017 was the twentieth year for the holiday rock show from radio station 105.7 the X in Peoria, Illinois. In the age of rock radio getting shut down over the years, it is nice to see rock radio actually doing well. The powerhouse radio station has had much of the same staff over the past time and put up a slideshow of the bands that have been at Nutcracker through the years. We have to love any radio station that brings rock shows to the area. Some of the bands were Papa Roach, Linkin Park, Chevelle, Sevendust, Pop Evil, Highly Suspect and so many others through the years.
The evening started with Deadset Society. Deadset Society, formerly known as Never Say Die is a Canadian rock band that consists of members Reid Henry and Brendan McMillan of My Darkest Days. This is where they have landed when My Darkest Days vocalist Matt Walst went to front Three Days Grace. The former Three Days Grace vocalist, Adam Gontier, has formed Saint Asonia with Mike Mushok, formerly of Staind. Keeping up with the changes of bands members in the scene can something require a spreadsheet. Deadset Society’s biggest hit, “Like a Nightmare” is off their album Destroy + Rebuild has had tremendous success. Their live set was short but energy filled. They performed their songs and also snuck in “Porn Star Dancing” (My Darkest Days Cover).
Deadset Society
Through Fire is a rock band from Omaha, Nebraska. Their biggest hits “Stronger” and “Breathe” have had active rock radio play on over the air stations and also satellite radio. Through Fire’s vocalist, Grant Joshua Kendrick, donned some Bowie Ziggy Stardust inspired makeup and came onstage in a black stocking cap but released his hair later to head bang. The crowd knew their hits and their current single, “Where You Lie” about deception.
Through Fire
Next up was Greta Van Fleet. The band is known for sounding a lot like Led Zeppelin. Everyone there wanted to see if these boys had the goods to go with the hype that they are the next Led Zeppelin. If you only listen to the band and do not realize it is Greta Van Fleet, you might mistake their songs for new Led Zeppelin songs. They have the blues rock sound that Led Zeppelin so successfully produced. Now to see if they reference Tolkien in their lyrics or maybe they might go with Harry Potter references. They might lose some of their coolness unless they reference something a little less popular and I have to suggest the A Song of Fire and Ice series by George R.R. Martin.
The band comes from Frankemuth, Michigan and is named after a woman in the town and uses the name with her permission. The band consists of three brothers, Josh (vocalist), Sam (bassist) and Jake (guitarist) Kiszka and Danny Wagner (drummer). Josh and Jake are twins, aged 21 and Sam is 18 and Danny is 18 also. Turns out the band is the real thing and seeing them is something special as they will be the next biggest artist to start selling out arenas. Everyone who was there knows they witnessed seeing the band before they were huge.
Josh Kiszka they delivered a mature performance and is a true tenor which reiterates his similarity to Robert Plant. We all wondered if the band could really deliver the same quality live as their double EP, From The Fires. Jake Kiszka, guitarist, wowed the crowd by playing behind his head. Their stage wear was exactly like something out of the seventies and eighties with Josh wearing a dashiki ensemble. Sam had the leather bomber from the eighties with flags of different countries. In their merch, they were selling the essential jersey shirt and also a velvet black light poster.
The band performed a cover and it was not Led Zeppelin. “Evil(Is Goin’ On)” by Howlin’ Wolf as a tribute to the great blues artist. Their full setlist:
Talk on the Streets
Black Smoke Rising
Edge of Darkness
When the Cold Wind Blows
Flower Power
You’re the One
Evil(Is Goin’ On) (Howlin’ Wolf cover)
Mountain of the Sun
Lover Leaver Taker Believer
Highway Tune
Click to view Greta Van Fleet Photo Gallery
Red Sun Rising is another band that is the future of the resurgence of rock. The band comes from Akron, Ohio. Their singles, “The Otherside” and “Emotionless” went to No. 1 on the Billboard rock charts. Their cover of “Uninvited” by Alanis Morrissette puts vocalist Mike Protich’s vocals on display. Their style is basic hard rock such Audioslave, Pop Evil, or Shinedown. I believe their vocalist has the natural ability to be as good as Chris Cornell.
The band has been in Peoria four times in the past couple of years including Nutcracker 2016 with Pop Evil. Their set started with sound issues that caused echoing during the first two songs. They performed a new song initially but it was hard to hear it and of course the band was distracted by the sound issues. Later, the echoing sound issues were rectified but the levels were still not up to par with vocals being drowned out by the instruments during some songs.
The band members were almost unrecognizable as all their long, beautiful hair was cut short with the exception of guitarist, Ryan Williams who still had shoulder length hair. The band says their next album is written and the final touches are being put on it. Red Sun Rising performed another new song called “Veins”. It had an upbeat tempo and reminded me of Foo Fighters. Their fans are anxious to hear their sophomore album. There were no sound issues during their cover “Uninvited” by Alanis Morrissette and Mike Protich’s voice sounded amazing. Their set only lasted about an hour. The band ended the night with an encore of “Emotionless”.
Foo Fighters with The Struts Concert Review
State Farm Center
Champaign, Illinois
Wednesday night in Champaign, Illinois was chilly but the Foo Fighters fans were out in droves to see the band who has been performing for twenty years. State Farm Center which is the renamed Assembly Hall, had hosted the band before seventeen years ago along with the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Needless to say, it was the first time for a lot of fans to see Foo Fighters live.
They only have one opening band because their catalog is twenty years deep. They have had three albums come out in the last five years including Sonic Highways, along with their HBO special that spanned the United States in famous studios, Saint Cecelia, an EP which was offered for free after the tragedy massacre at Le Bataclan, and Concrete and Gold released September 15, 2017.
Openers were The Struts. Never heard of The Struts? You probably have heard their rock anthem hit “Could Have Been Me” and sung along without even realizing it. The track is one of the timeless songs that every person can relate to. The story of living a life without regrets. The Struts hail from England and look like they stepped right out of the golden age of rock, the seventies. Luke Spiller, the vocalist, looks like the child of Freddie Mercury and Mick Jagger.
Their hit song “Could Have Been Me” is not a one-hit wonder. Their debut album Everybody Wants has hits all over including “Kiss This”, “Put Your Money On Me” and “Dirty Sexy Money” This year, they released the Queen-sounding ballad, “One Night Only” and we are eagerly awaiting their second release anticipated in early 2018.
Their setlist:
Put Your Hands Up
These Times Are Changing
One Night Only
Primadonna Like Me
Kiss This
Put Your Money on Me
Could Have Been Me
Where Did She Go
You can learn more about The Struts at their website: www.thestruts.com
Click to view Struts Photo Gallery
Foo Fighters have a fairly simple stage setup. The main feature of the stage is a large led screen set on a diagonal and cameras featuring the band members. When Taylor Hawkins performed his drum solo, the drum kit lifted to about twenty feet in the air. It also could move back and forth when sitting on the stage. The night began with Concrete and Gold curtain covering the stage. They began singing, “Run” before the curtain came down. Concrete and Gold is a departure from their normal formulaic sound with contributions from heavy hitters like Justin Timberlake and Paul McCartney.
The Foo started the set with high energy and maintained it for a long time. Their set could be paired down from two and half hours to ninety minutes with an encore. Some songs like “Monkey Wrench” just needs to be dropped from their set. The vocals on it were poor and no one has enthusiasm performing the song anymore. In addition, they brought fan, Mike Carpenter to sing “Tom Sawyer” by Rush. While the guy was really good, a five minute performance for the fan to sing is great. The song went on for fifteen minutes. I think everyone would be satisfied as long as they hear “My Hero”, “Walk” and “The Best Of You”. Everyone liked the new songs “Run” and “The Sky Is A Neighborhood”.
Foo Fighters setlist:
Run
All My Life
Learn to Fly
The Pretender
The Sky Is a Neighborhood
Rope
Drum Solo
(Taylor Hawkins’ stage lifted)
Sunday Rain
My Hero
These Days
Walk
White Limo
Arlandria
Jump
(Van Halen cover) (snippet)
Tom Sawyer
(Rush cover) (with fan Mike Carpenter on vocals)
Highly Suspect Concert Review
September 23, 2017
The Castle Theatre
Bloomington, Illinois
Highly Suspect came to Bloomington-Normal, Illinois on Saturday, an unusually hot day. The show had sold out within the first week. Blo-no’ers were ready for a rock show. They had been in the grind of back to school and work for while now. Several fans came from miles around to see the three time Grammy nominated Highly Suspect at The Castle Theatre. The Castle Theatre is one of the premiere intimate venues in the Midwest.
The backdrop for Highly Suspect was the acronym M.C.I.D. which stands for My Crew Is Dope. Which means that their friends and fans are dope. Tattoos, snapbacks and t-shirts abound with the #mcid and the MCID Nation is real. DJ Redbees started spinning tunes and acted an informal emcee for the bands. The music he played was not loud but really background music for the wait.
Openers for the show, Bones U.K., wowed the audience with their blues rock and fiery attitude. Rosie Bones comes out on stage with a flask and an instant cool attitude. Guitarist, Carmen Vandenberg, was impressive. Bones U.K. has recently co-written Jeff Beck’s album “Loud Hailer”. Their own songs are filled with fun, spunk and attitude. Most notably, their song “Girls Can’t Play Guitar” and Rosie Bones told us the story about the man that inspired that song. You can learn more about them from their Facebook page: Bones and Bones
Introduced by DJ Redbees, Highly Suspect took the darkened stage. Drummer, Ryan Meyer,came out, followed by Rich Meyer, bassist and then the vocalist, Johnny Stevens. MCID Nation was ready to see these guys live. I was impressed by the live show from the plugged in guitars to the technical guitar playing. Highly Suspect’s song writing make the listener feel as if we are part of their experience. Whether it is the melancholy “Little One” or the gritty “Bloodfeather” or the anthemic “My Name Is Human”, you feel the songs. These songs are not just for casual listening.
Their complete set list for the night:
1. Send Me An Angel (Real Life cover)
2. Bath Salts
3. Bloodfeather
4. Serotonia
5. Fuck Me Up
6. Round & Round
7. Vanity
8. Viper Strike
9. Lydia
10. Claudeland
11. ATL/Drum Solo/ATL (reprise)
12. My Name Is Human
Encore:
13. Little One
14. Wolf
15. Look Alive, Stay Alive
During the last song, the tech took over on drums and Ryan decided to do a little crowd surfing. What a fitting end to a perfect Saturday night rock show.
You can find out more about Highly Suspect on their website: HighlySuspect.net
Spoon Concert Review
September 10, 2017
Limelight Eventplex
Peoria, Illinois
Spoon digs into Peoria, Illinois with thanks to WWCT 99.9 and Limelight Eventplex.
Putting the bad puns aside. Spoon the band, came to Peoria, Illinois for the first time. The rock community welcomed the popular indie band. When I think of Spoon, I think of a solid rock band with a distinct sound that pulls from influences like the Beatles, The Pixies, and David Bowie. They are touring in support of their latest and best album to date, Hot Thoughts (Matador Records). The album that was released on March 17, 2017 and has definitely got a Bowie feel. It is a contender for one of best rock albums of 2017.
The night began with Twin Peaks that hail from Chicago, Illinois. Twin Peaks joined the tour for a few dates starting this evening. Hearing the band for the first time, my immediate impressions was a band drawing from The Rolling Stones. The band had a fun vibe and the early crowd definitely received them well.
Spoon is a rock band from Austin, Texas that has been around since 1993. The band was named after the song ‘Spoon’ by the band Can. The song is infectious and so the is the band Spoon. When you listen to any Spoon song, the next thing you know you’re humming along. The band had a simple but great set up with lighting that really made the show feel like a bigger arena show.
The setlist was full of songs from Hot Thoughts. The full setlist is below: Do I Have To Talk You Into It Inside Out I Turn My Camera On Anything You Want Stay, Don’t Go Don’t You Evah Do You Via Kanela I Ain’t The One Hot Thoughts Can I Sit Next To You My Mathematical Mind Don’t Make Me A Target The Underdog Got Nuffin Black Like Me
For my first time seeing Spoon, I was impressed as the band was better live than their album. When a band is better live than on their album that means they are technically gifted. But more than that, they care about the quality of the show they are giving to fans. Even in some medium sized river town in the middle of nowhere, they care.
Find out more about Spoon at their website: Spoon website
Best of Vans Warped Tour 2017
Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
Tinley Park, Illinois
The crowd at Vans Warped Tour in Chicago are big and ready to have a good time. This year the fans were walking around like deer in headlights. It could have been the heat but also the suicide of Chester Bennington that was two days before. He died on Chris Cornell’s birthday, another great who committed suicide. The messages from the bands and the posters were “It’s okay to not be okay.” I did feel like it was an extension of a scene from 13 Reasons Why but what we do to soothe ourselves after trauma is almost always going to be on a poster.
In the 23rd year of the largest and longest running traveling festival, Vans Warped Tour has fans like no other festival. They are not the homogeneous crowds at rock festivals because the bands are so diverse. You have rap, singer songwriter, rock, punk and metal. The fans are aged 5-90 and every ethnicity and body type. No one cared about the amount of skin that was showing from any person. The fans and bands are so inclusive at Vans Warped Tour and that is what makes it one of the best festivals in the country.
When we arrived, the fans made a run for the water stations! What was nice this year was that there was additional time for entry. You could make your way to the schedule and figure out when your favorite band was playing. What was not good was that no shows were happening in the amphitheatre where you could sit and get a break from the sun. Sure, there was tent set up to block the sun but you had to sit on the ground and you could not see any shows from the tents.
Enough about what could be improved. Every year there is a band that sells out their merch at their merch tent. This year there was a tie between I Prevail and Gwar. I think all the regular Warped Tour fans were surprised to see Gwar on the lineup this year. Though Gwar has been through many iterations, they still provide a great live show. And fans, old and new, know they have had a unique experience seeing them live. I Prevail, has been on the scene for only a little while but they are gaining popularity dramatically since their formation in 2013. They are social media minded and their songs resonate with a large group. (Learn more about them in my interview here.)
Best Breakout Band
Without a doubt, the band on everyone’s lips was Bad Cop/Bad Cop as one of the must see bands. The band played the Hard Rock stage so I knew they were going to rock. The band is an all female band that lists their interests as ‘donuts’ on their Facebook page. So you know they have be awesome. The band has catchy songs and really are just having fun performing.
I Prevail is a metalcore band from Southfield, Michigan. I have been one of their ardent supporters and am extremely thrilled they have gotten so popular. Each year there is a band where more body surfing occurs than you think is possible. This year it was I Prevail who’s fans set the standard for the most people up in the air. There was an endless stream of people who went from front to back the whole set.
Best Artist Before They Become Untouchable Andy Black or Futuristic
Vans Warped Tour has had several huge stars on their stage from Green Day, Weezer, My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy, Katy Perry, and Paramore. We make our prediction about who the next superstar is going to be. Andy Black (Biersack) is the lead singer of metal band, Black Veil Brides. Black Veil Brides has slowly gained tremendous success with each album they release. Their fans are fervent supporters of their message of believing in yourself when you are different. He has had a fairy tale romance with Juliet Simms (Biersack), an American singer who rose to fame on The Voice. They married in a ceremony in April of 2016. (We later find out they have been married legally since 2012).
Andy Black has a pop sound versus the metal sound of Black Veil Brides. While performing, his sway with the audience was undeniable. When he moved toward the audience, there was unadulterated screaming and fans wanting to touch him and called his name in earnest. He is starring in a feature film called American Satan to be released this year on Friday the 13th of October. The movie also stars Ben Bruce of of the band, Asking Alexandria, Denise Richards, Malcolm McDowell, and John Bradley-West (Samwell Tarley from Game Of Thrones). The trailer looks like it will be a blockbuster and will move metal music back to popular culture again.
Futuristicis a rapper unlike any others. He has gained success through social media and done it without a label. He really has done what he has wanted from the ground up. What stands out about Futuristic is how relatable his lyrics are to his generation. I guess that is still the millennials but those specifically twenty-five and under. Plus, his speed as a rapper is impressive.
Best Band With A Message Fire From The Gods
Fire From The Gods is a metal band from Austin, Texas. Their Facebook states “Free from hate. Free from pain. Free to choose our own path.” Their album Narrative Retold is one of the best of 2017 with the song “Excuse Me” that brings a message that everyone needs to listen to. Yet is it not the only song with the message. We have to listen to “Evolve” and “End Transmission” and really the entire album to get the message. Their live show is mesmerizing and powerful.
Best Retro Sounding Band William Control
Somewhere between Black Veil Brides and Depeche Mode is William Control and The Neuromantic Boys. They are electronic, dark and catchy. I almost missed them as they were the last band playing in Chicago. It probably also helps that he could probably be mistaken for Corey Feldman. Regardless, I felt like I was stepping back in time listening to the sound of his band.
We love the excitement of seeing bands live and finding new and good bands at Vans Warped Tour this year and hopefully for many more years to come.
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