I Prevail performed next and the current members are vocalist Eric Vanlerberghe, lead guitarist, Steve Menoian, rhythm guitarist and vocalist, Dylan Bowman, bassist Jon Eberhard, and drummer Gabe Helguera.  They played all of their hits, a few new songs from the Violent Nature album and a fantastic cover of “Sad But True” by Metallica.  During their set, the legendary Banana and Carrot were in the pit and Eric Vanlerberghe said it was time to make a smoothie. 

 

I Prevail is one of my favorite bands and this was my first time seeing them without Brian Burkheiser.  Brian was an important founding member of I Prevail.  I think most of their fans are not as enthusiastic about I Prevail without Brian.  The show was good tonight.  Dylan Bowman is a good singer and we have seen him in the role of co-vocalist before.  The band just lacks that certain magic that made it great when Brian Burkheiser was a part of the band.  The band was always communicative with both his struggles with mental health and also physical health.  So when the fans heard he was essentially kicked out of the band, they did not receive it well.  While we don’t know all the details, it has the feeling of beating someone when they were already down.  I don’t think I Prevail will be able to recover to their previous glory unless Brian were to rejoin the band.  

 

Their setlist: 

The local rock radio station, 105.7 the X Rocks, announced that the show sold out.  Three Days Grace drew a crowd of varied ages.  There were many families there with parents and their kids.  I think of Three Days Grace as emo rock.  Their songs speak to breakup, suicide and general depression about the world.  The backdrop was approximately 40 foot of led screens.  The screens featured artwork from albums and scenes from music videos.  Drummer Neil Sanderson had rupture his bicep tendon and recently had surgery so he was relegated to the keyboard.  While Shawn Foist (Breaking Benjamin) joined the tour to drum.  Adam Gontier sported a very trim mohawk and Matt Walst had a shorter cut also.  Matt wore a white military style coat with three hash marks on the back and entered the stage with a mask with skeleton teeth over his mouth.  Adam had a motorcycle jacket and a t-shirt with Van Gogh (with a David Bowie Ziggy Stardust stripe across his face).  

There was an ultimate sing along to the divorce dad rock song, “I Hate Everything About You”.  The whole civic center basically screaming at the top of their lungs was cathartic.  It certainly stimulated my vagus nerve.  

Adam Gontier’s voice is so powerful and is one of the best in rock.  So to see him singing all the songs with Three Days Grace reformed was moving and fantastic.  He also gave gratitude to Matt Walst for keeping the band going so he could rejoin it.  

They performed a medley with “Gone Forever” then “Porn Star Dancing” (My Darkest Days cover) and finally “I Don’t Care” (Apocalyptica with Adam Gontier cover).  They performed a new song called “Don’t Wanna Go Home Tonight” that showed the roots of the band.  Adam’s cousin, Cale Gontier (Saint Asonia) made an appearance on stage and played this song. Pictures of the band when they were kids, their first shows, and other candid photos throughout time were shown on the screens.  

The arena went dark and a starry night sky was on the backdrop.   A story line went up about their roots and how they were just in the backyard sitting around a fire and singing in their small hometown of Norwood, Ontario.  The band did an acoustic set around a faux campfire.  Neil pretended to urinate on the fence.  Adam and Matt harmonized on “Lost in You”, “Pain”, and “Lifetime”.  Then the stage went dark again and Adam started singing a capella “Here Without You” (3 Doors Down cover).  When he asked us to sing along, I was getting so teary-eyed thinking of Brad Arnold’s lost battle with cancer.  The world lost a good soul that day. 

Three Days Grace started a second set after their acoustic interlude.  They played for two hours from their extensive catalog.  Lee Jennings from The Funeral Portrait was lucky enough to join them to sing “Just Like You”.  They ended the night with super high energy with “Riot”  It almost made you forget it was a Tuesday and you had to get home and to work the next day.  

The full setlist: 

1. Dominate
2. Animal I Have Become
3. So Called Life
4. Break 
5. I Am Machine
6. The Mountain
7. Kill Me Fast
8.I Hate Everything About You
9. Gone Forever/ Porn Star Dancing/ I Don’t Care
10. Time of Dying
11. Don’t Wanna Go Home Tonight (with Cale Gontier) 

Acoustic
12. Lost in You
13. Pain
14. Lifetime
15. Here Without You (3 Doors Down cover) 

Set 2: 
16. World So Cold
17. Just Like You (with Lee Jennings)
18. Mayday
19. The Good Life
20. Painkiller
21. Never Too Late
22. Riot

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

@bestrocklist.com “Don’t Wanna Go Home Tonight” by @threedaysgraceofficial is my new favorite song ‘When the story was still ours to write And all the stupid shit we do I’m lucky I’m not dead after hanging round you’ #threedaysgrace ♬ original sound – BestRockList.com

 

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Sources: 

https://www.thefuneralportrait.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Days_Grace

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