Tag Archives: Breaking Benjamin Concert Review

The Stage World Tour Avenged Sevenfold with Breaking Benjamin and Bullet For My Valentine

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The Stage World Tour Avenged Sevenfold with Breaking Benjamin and Bullet For My Valentine
Peoria Civic Center, Peoria, Illinois

The Stage World Tour sold out the Peoria Civic Center in Peoria, Illinois. Just when I think that I cannot be any more impressed with a live show, Avenged Sevenfold sets the bar even higher. The stage was set with a storybook led screens staggered across the stage projecting video of the band and other videos coordinated with the music. The stage also extended with a catwalk. They consulted with Cirque Du Soleil directors for the stage presentation. 

Avenged Sevenfold released their seventh studio The Stage in October 2016. They were nominated for a Grammy for Best Rock Song for “The Stage”. They are not attending the awards show in protest since the presentation for Rock is only shown online instead of during the televised ceremony. Rock fans do not understand the Grammy Awards for excluding a huge population from interest in watching the Grammys.

The night began with Bullet For My Valentine is from Wales. They are known for their breakup rock songs. Their Metalcore style is punctuated by searing rock riffs from guitarist, Michael “Padge” Paget and poetic lyrics sung or screamed by Matt Tuck. Bullet For My Valentine fans showed up early to see the band. They performed an abbreviated set including new song “No Way Out” from their latest album Venom. Their full setlist:

  • Your Betrayal
  • No Way Out
  • The Last Fight
  • 4 Words (To Choke Upon)
  • Worthless
  • Tears Don’t Fall
  • Waking the Demon
  • Don’t Need You

For more about Bullet For My Valentine: BMFV Website

Bullet For My Valentine

Bullet For My Valentine

 

Breaking Benjamin returned to the central Illinois area for the third time since their return after re-configuring.
They have just released the song “Red Cold River” which they performed at the show. Their new album Ember set for release on April 13, 2018. From the songs released so far, it will be a harder album than Dark Before Dawn. Breaking Benjamin has a simple stage set up with lighted boxes with the Celtic knot symbol they are known for on each side of the stage. Ben Burnley, lead vocalist, was more energetic than usual.

  • So Cold
  • Angels Fall
  • Sooner or Later
  • Blow Me Away
  • Red Cold River
  • Never Again
  • Failure
  • Breath
  • The Imperial March/Schism/Smells Like Teen Spirit/Walk/ Drum Solo
  • I Will Not Bow
  • Intro
  • The Diary of Jane

 

The crowd sang along to “Breath” and it was a great version. Breaking Benjamin dedicated “I Will Not Bow” to the military and first responders. They brought up young kids to show the future of rock is alive. The lucky kids got to sing along to “The Diary of Jane” and take selfies with Ben Burnley.

Make sure to see Breaking Benjamin this time around: Breaking Benjamin Website

Breaking Benjamin

Breaking Benjamin

 

Breaking Benjamin

Breaking Benjamin

Breaking Benjamin

Breaking Benjamin

Breaking Benjamin

Breaking Benjamin

 

The band everyone stayed up to see was Avenged Sevenfold. The band came close to disbanding when their drummer, Jimmy “The Rev Sullivan” died of an accidental prescription drug overdose in 2009. A7X persevered and grew their fanbase by putting on phenomenal live shows and drawing on their influences for their music. Their albums always have a theme and are interesting. Their sound is signature to them. This tour is an amazing display of videos coordinated with the music and lights.
Their setlist:

  • The Stage
  • Afterlife
  • Hail To The King
  • Paradigm
  • Beast and The Harlot
  • Buried Alive
  • So Far Away
  • Nightmare
  • God Damn
  • Burn It Down
  • Exist
  • Higher
  • Wish You Were Here
  • Bat Country
  • Critical Acclaim
  • A Little Piece of Heaven
  • Unholy Confessions

I know that I was not the only person to get a little teary eyed when the screens lit up with video of The Rev talking about the band. He talked about the band and what it meant to him. The side screens showed the iconic photo of the band huddled together. Then the band sang “So Far Away” the song that Brian aka Synyster Gates wrote as a tribute to him.

 

Avenged Sevenfold

Avenged Sevenfold

 

During the song “Higher” a huge astronaut  was raised from the stage in front of screens showing scenes from space.  

Avenged Sevenfold

Avenged Sevenfold

 

During the encore, the video for A Little Piece of Heaven played on the screens and it is a morose song and video in cartoon.  Overall, the live performance was breathtaking with two hours of entertaining, skillfull and amazing metal music.

See more about the tour: Avenged Sevenfold Website

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Click to view complete Avenged Sevenfold Photo Gallery

                                

Nocturnal Underground Tour Review featuring Korn and Breaking Benjamin

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Nocturnal Underground Tour Review featuring Korn and Breaking Benjamin
Peoria, Illinois

All Time Low's Rian Dawson

Nocturnal Underground Tour Korn

 

 

 

 

 

Two huge bands teamed up to bring rock and metal to the Peoria Civic Center in Peoria, Illinois. Korn has been around since 1993 and they are still going strong with their latest album set for release on October 21st. The album is named Serenity of Suffering. You cna pre-order exclusive album bundles here. Breaking Benjamin has been around since 1999. Breaking Benjamin has had a comeback with their latest album Dark Before Dawn that reached number one on the charts in 2015. They were joined by relative newcomers, Motionless In White, and Silver Snakes. Motionless in White have their own hits including A-M-E-R-I-C-A and the video was directed by Clown of Slipknot.

The weather was still warm for a Wednesday in late September in central Illinois. Silver Snakes opened the show and while they are a solid rock band, nothing really stood out during their set. While Motionless In White has their own fan-base mainly consisting of the younger crowd that has been cultivated from years on Warped Tour. Their set was sparse with a big backdrop with Motionless In White appeared to be written in blood red. Ghost’s mike stand props consisted of a Holy Bible and rosary beads. Their drum kit featured an orange jack o’lantern that is also featured on their merch. Their fans came dressed appropriately with the right makeup and sang along to all their songs including their newest track, “570”.

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Click to view complete Motionless In White Photo Gallery

 

Breaking Benjamin took the stage next and their stage set consists of a catwalk above and behind the drum kit. New features to their set are several CO2 smoke cannons. This feature adds more depth to the performance without the danger of pyro cannons. Ben Burnley and the guys have been on tour since 2015 all over the country and I have seen them five times to this date. At times, their sound is plagued by issues where levels of vocals drown out some of the other instruments. Unfortunately, this was one of those nights. Sound was not stellar for their performance. Now I know we love the Breaking Benjamin classic songs and Ben’s voice really makes the band what it is. That is how he was able to start over with new band members and still be successful as Breaking Benjamin. The songs that Keith Wallen and Aaron Bruch were singing were fine but did not feel like Breaking Benjamin songs. Otherwise, the band performed their hits along with a medley that they have done previously consisting of “The Imperial March”, “Schism”, “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, and “Walk” was not surprising. Again for fans of Breaking Benjamin, they have seen them multiple times and are looking for new Breaking Benjamin songs that consists of Ben on vocals.

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Click to view complete Breaking Benjamin Photo Gallery

 

Korn closed out the show. They always have an amazing live show and tonight was no exception. Their stage was covered while it was being set up and you though it consisted of a boring backdrop with Korn in red letters on gray background but later that dropped to reveal their newest artwork for their album Serenity of Suffering. There is a child with eerie blue eyes going to a carnival filled with creatures. The child has a zombie teddy bear from their Issues album cover with exposed innards where there is some freaky fat guy inside. The artwork was done by renowned artist, Ron English. There were also led light boxes with various abstract lights during the show.

Korn started their set with “Right Now”, “Here To Stay” and “Rotting In Vain”. Their single “Rotting In Vain” has an infectious quality since it was introduced at Chicago Open Air and fans knew all the words singing along. Their set consisted of songs from all time periods. They had the entire crowd chant “Fuck That” just before playing “Y’all Want A Single”. The carthartic release of that song is enough to go see Korn any day. Jonathan Davis sounded especially good with the bagpipes during “Shoots and Ladders”. Jonathon Davis mentioned that their album Life Is Peachy turned twenty years old and they performed “Twist” and “Good God” off of it. I think the true fans were looking for “A.D.I.D.A.S.” though. Regardless, they ended the night in true fashion with “Falling Away From Me” and “Freak On A Leash”.

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Click to view complete Korn Photo Gallery

 

 

You can see Korn on tour. Click here for complete tour dates. Korn Tour

Shinedown and Breaking Benjamin Concert Review

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Shinedown and Breaking Benjamin Concert Review
with Sevendust
Peoria Civic Center, Peoria, Illinois

All Time Low's Rian Dawson

Shinedown and Breaking Benjamin have teamed up with Sevendust to create a super tour. Each band has a devoted following and fan base. Doors to the venue had notices that stated strobe lights were in use and loud fireworks as well. The signs piqued the curiosity of the crowd as they entered the venue.

Sevendust opened the evening and played one of the shortest sets ever. My companions and I missed most of their set due to traffic backed up for over an hour. Sevendust are a favorite in the area and the fans showed up early to see them. What I did see included Sevendust’s new song “Thank You” off their album Kill The Flaw.

Breaking Benjamin took the stage next with their return to making music and touring. Their number one album Dark Before Dawn is still highly successful. Fans came out to see their classic hits such as “Blow Me Away”, “Breath”, “Polyamorous”, “I Will Not Bow” and “The Diary of Jane”. Their performance was solid but sound issues seem to plague them. There were a few moments when sound was sub-par. Their stage was set with their signature Celtic knot of interlocking B’s flanking each side of the stage with pressurized air being shot from the top of each one. Part of their show contains bringing children on the stage with their parents. It was a dream come true for some of the kids and their parents. Ben Burnley, the main force behind Breaking Benjamin and only original member, spoke about being in the crowd when he was younger and knowing that he wanted to perform some day. Fans embraced their set and loved the mix of new and classic songs.

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Click to view Breaking Benjamin Photo Gallery

 

 

 

I was always just a passing fan of Shinedown but I am surrounded by friends who have seen them double digit times. They have listened to their music at their lowest times in their lives to emerge with hope. Shinedown is their music friend. Their latest album Threat To Survival has relatable lyrics that paint a visionary tale with extremely catchy hooks. The album is the most listenable of 2015 and is definitely on the list of the best of 2015. While some fans will miss the hard rock that Shinedown has been known for, new fans will be able to still feel a little of the hard rock with “Cut The Cord”.  Brent Smith told the crowd that night that they knew that the album would change some things up. A deliberate move to pop rock while retaining the lyrical genius.

“Thick As Thieves”

“Evidently we can’t work it out
I guess that courage ain’t allowed
Evidently you’re not in the mood
And everything I say just bothers you

You built this fortress
I stumble towards it”

The show was punctuated with pyrotechnics with flame cannons and loud fireworks. The setlist included a lot of new songs and songs that go along with the pop rock feel such as “Bully”, “State of My Head”, “I’ll Follow You”, “45”, and “Simple Man”.

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Click to view Shinedown Photo Gallery

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Breaking Benjamin Concert Review

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Breaking Benjamin Concert Review
U.S. Cellular Coliseum
July 21, 2015

Breaking Benjamin is back.

Breaking Benjamin is a rock band from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania fronted by Benjamin Burnley. Breaking Benjamin is back from a five year hiatus. Burnley is the only remaining member of the original band. The band reformed in 2014 with new members, Aaron Bruch as bassist, Keith Wallen on rhythm guitar and backing vocals, Jasen Rauch as lead guitarist, and drummer, Shaun Foist. The single “Failure” dominated charts for several weeks. The latest album Dark Before Dawn was released on June 23, 2015 and debuted at No. 1 on Billboard charts.

Fans flocked to U.S. Cellular Coliseum to see the band in its new form. Many fans were seeing Breaking Benjamin live for the first time, myself included. The venue was almost sold out. The show was on a Tuesday night and only two bands were on the bill. A show with two bands is perfect for a weeknight show as fans have to work in the mornings most weekdays. I wish more shows would follow suit.

The show was opened by Starset. They are self-described as cinematic rock. Their band has an electronic, symphonic rock sound similar to a modern Moody Blues or Pink Floyd. The band is a vision with vocalist Dustin Bates wearing a bow tie and black-rimmed glasses. He uses a transparent touchscreen that is similar to screens in the movie Minority Report. The rest of band wears mask with LED lights that change colors and spacesuits. Their stage set is flanked by LED screens. The story is the band is spreading the message by The Starset Society to “publicizing scientific discoveries which have been silenced or otherwise stolen by public or private agents.” A graphic novel is out now to explain their mission. A novel is slated for release later this year to explain the message in depth.

Starset’s set was ethereal and hypnotic. They performed songs off their album Transmissions. Their setlist contained their latest single “Halo”, “Carnivore” and their hit song “My Demons”.

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CLICK to view Starset Photo Gallery

Breaking Benjamin took the stage without a lot of stage props or special lighting. Their stage highlighted the band without any superfluous parts. One thing fans look for is the patch that Ben Burnley wears on his left sleeve. He has several different black button down shirts but with different patches on the sleeve. Tonight it was an Autobot symbol from Transformers. He must have be feeling like he wanted to be on the good side of the Autobot-Decepticon rivalry.

The duration of Breaking Benjamin’s set quite lengthy. We were treated to twenty-two songs including a cover medley including “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and “Walk”. The audience participated in many sing-alongs. The one they sang most passionately was “I Will Not Bow”.

The fans were hoping that the show would be as good as shows from the past and I think the fans were surprised by how excellent the show was. Ben Burnley’s singing was magnificent. Shaun Foist’s drumming skills were incredible on “Shallow Bay”. Aaron Bruch sang a respectable cover of “Ænema” by Tool. The show was everything we expected and more. It was a triumphant return of a band that inspires and encourages many who relate to their music.

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CLICK to view complete Breaking Benjamin Photo Gallery

You should see the show yourself. Find the remaining dates here:
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