Nonpoint Concert Review

Nonpoint Concert Review
The Castle Theatre
Normal, Illinois

Nonpoint is a metal band from Fort Lauderdale, Florida that has been in existence for over twenty years. Vocalist, Elias Soriano, made a statement that they have always been doing the music their way and it has allowed them to live their lives as rock stars. Nonpoint is touring in support of their latest release, The Poison Red. The album displays the maturity of the band when they contemplate the world that their children are growing up in. Their single, “Generation Idiot” hit a chord since the show was on Election Day.

“And you’ll watch your bellies go hollow
When you have no one to follow The dividing occupation of
The binding separation of
This generation of idiots
Generation of idiots, generation of idiots”

Local openers, Letters From The Dead, are from Peoria, Illinois and they began their set with a cover of “What Hurts The Most”. Their drummer, Adam Hoye, wearing his F*ck Cancer shirt told us that his wife just had someone close to her die from cancer. Letters From The Dead is a band devoted to 90s Alternative music and they performed their songs, “If I Had a Gun”.

Letters From The Dead

Letters From The Dead Photos

 

New, local band, Burden of The Sky, was next and they are clearly on the path of being a great hard rock or self described alt-metal band. Their music, I have to compare to Nickelback with the same melodic lyrics and the correct amount of hard sound. Obviously, they are not as hated as Nickelback is. They have that same catchiness to their music. When their set was done, the crowd definitely wanted more. Their album entitled “Cinis Ad Cinis” comes out January 2017.

For more about Burden of The Sky, see their Burden of The Sky Facebook

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Click to view complete Burden of The Sky Photo Gallery

 

Kansas City rockers, Sidewise, were next and they are a solid rockers. They have graced the stages of Shiprocked and Rockfest. Their style is most similar to Adelita’s Way. Sidewise’s energy was a great prelude that matches the intensity of Nonpoint’s live show. We had a sing along to “Head Like a Hole” cover.

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Click to view complete Sidewise Photo Gallery

 

Nonpoint came onto the stage with a backdrop of their new album art which is a poison red frog on a red background. This particular red frog is found on Bastimentos Island, Panama. Nonpoint fans have a varied taste in music. T-shirts that were on display were Deftones, Prophets of Rage, Clutch, and Red. Nonpoint is always a central Illinois favorite and their fans will travel for hours to make sure to seem them. The band is signing their records and you can pick up a signed copy on the road. They are a band that is truly about the music and not about the money as they were only charging minimal amounts for signed copies of their CDs and vinyl albums.

The band performed songs from their extensive setlist and Elias Soriano commented on the state of the uncertainty of the election day. We still have the freedom to rock. When the band started playing “What A Day” the fans pulled their energy out despite it being eleven at night. The fans also felt the fervor of “Breaking Skin”, “Bullet With A Name” and “That Day”.

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Click to view complete Nonpoint Photo Gallery

                                

Disturbed Concert Review

Disturbed Concert Review with Nonpoint
Prairie Capital Convention Center, Springfield, Illinois

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Disturbed fans at the Prairie Capital Convention Center

                                

Disturbed was joined by Nonpoint for a grueling tour schedule since their return after a hiatus in 2011. They came to the Prairie Capital Convention Center in Springfield, Illinois. The capital of Illinois was welcoming to the band and several fans traveled from all over to see the reunited band from Chicago. Disturbed recently released their sixth studio album Immortalized. The album is their fifth consecutive number one album.

Nonpoint is a hard rock band Fort Lauderdale, Florida with Puerto Rican roots. Their signature frog or coquí was explained in an interview with vocalist, Elias Soriano. He explained it as a small frog with a tremendous sound. Nonpoint is known for playing more intimate venues but had no problem with their sound really filling the larger venue. They lived up to their coquí mascot. Nonpoint performed all their hits including “Bullet With A Name”, “That Day” and their newer songs of “Breaking Skin” which is about addiction and F**ked which is a statement about our world today. Their next album is slated for release in July of 2016.

On a side note, the members of this band are very humble. I saw Robb Rivera, the drummer for Nonpoint, giving a chair to a pregnant woman who was watching Disturbed’s set. He went out of his way to give this woman a chair. Cheers to Robb Rivera for being a decent human being.

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Click to view complete Nonpoint Photo Gallery

 

 

 
Disturbed’s return to rock was well received as they took the stage packed house of approximately four thousand. All the guys in Disturbed seemed to have thinned down over the years, most notably Dan Donegan, appeared to have a dramatic weight loss. Disturbed’s backdrop was the image from their Immortalized album. They had intricate light show that rivals an EDM show and added pyrotechnics that shot large flames from the stage. It was hard to believe that it has been since 2011 that we got to see Disturbed. The band has matured and their performance with their newer songs including “The Vengeful One” but most notably with their cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s “Sound of Silence” display that maturity. They rolled out a baby grand piano, timpani drum and had an additional guitarist, cellist, and violinist join them for “Sound of Silence”. The sound during this song was surprisingly pure yet remained true to Disturbed and Simon & Garfunkel.

Their setlist consisted of a medley including “Closer” by Nine Inch Nails, “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” by U2, “Baba O’Riley” by The Who and “Killing In The Name Of” by Rage Against The Machine. Elias Soriano, vocalist for Nonpoint joined them on the stage. This medley showed their diversity and skill. A young fan with a broken leg joined the band onstage and David Draiman read a letter she had written which went on about how their music spoke to her. She incorrectly assumed that his mother beat him from the lyrics of “The Sickness”. David explained to her that lyrics are a metaphor representing mother society hitting us to try to make us conform. The young woman was lucky and also gave David Draiman a skull necklace.

At the end of the show, Disturbed asked the fans to chant along with them, ‘We are Disturbed!’ to reiterate that we are all part of the Disturbed family. If you are part of the Disturbed family, you can see them on tour. They will be on tour in the United States and Europe. Visit their website for dates and tickets: Disturbed Website

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Click to view complete Disturbed Concert Photo Gallery

Nonpoint and Otherwise Concert Review and Photos

                          

 

Nonpoint and Otherwise Concert Review and Photos

Nonpoint
Otherwise

The show was on a late summer evening in 2013.  The weather was balmy and pleasant.  I saw Nonpoint and Otherwise at the historic Castle Theatre in Bloomington, Illinois.  This venue is very small and has a nice stage with an intimate feel.  Local bands Clippoint and Polarity opened.  The final opener was Primer 55, a solid metal band from Atlanta, Georgia.

Otherwise is a hard rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada.  Their song, “I Don’t Apologize (1000 Pictures)” is a great song about getting cheated on.  They lyrics:

I’d rather be blind than to see your eyes,  I’d rather be deaf than to hear your lies

I’d rather be broke than to sell my soul, I gave you my all but you’ll never know

No I’m not going to  hurt anymore, I’ve already walked through that door

The catchy hook and the timeless subject of infidelity makes it a sure hit.  Watch the video here:

The band had family that had traveled from Chicago in the audience and dedicated fans who knew every single word to every song.  Ryan Patrick, the guitarist came up to one of those fans and acknowledged her immediately.  Then he came right up to me and gave me a hug.  That is what I love about the small venue.  You can really connect with the artist so closely.   Vassilios “V” Metropoulis, the bassist, of Otherwise did a lot of work for the band including sound check, carrying equipment, selling merchandise and posing for pictures.

 

Otherwise
Adrian Patrick
Otherwise
Ryan Patrick
Otherwise
Andrew Pugh
Otherwise
Badass Adrian Patrick

Nonpoint is a metal band from Fort Lauderdale, Florida with Puerto Rican roots.  They have played huge venues like Download Festival but small venues like The Castle Theatre as well. The vocalist, Elias Soriano, had locs down to his waist and was wearing an old Snoop Dog shirt.  Robb Rivera, the drummer, has his stuffed “Animal” from the Muppets keeping his kit company.

Elias Soriano’s voice is hypnotic and the rhythm makes you want to bang your head all night.   Nonpoint played all their hits including “Bullet With a Name On It”, “Left for You”, “I Said It”, and their cover “In The Air Tonight”.  One of their biggest fans was V Metropoulis from Otherwise.  He got in the middle of the pit and got it moving.  Security started moving up to control him and then they realized he was from Otherwise.  He was fine and I am glad to say there were no injuries in that pit.

Elias Soriano’s wife and sweet daughter with protective ear gear was in the crowd.  She was watching her daddy work. That is so nice that he is able to bring his family to be together on the road.

Nonpoint
Nonpoint

 

Adam Woloszyn
Adam Woloszyn
Elias Soriano
Elias Soriano

 

Dave Lizzio
Dave Lizzio

 

Elias Soriano
Elias Soriano

 

 

 

I am always amazed at the graciousness of these rock stars and their true relationship with their fan base.  They understand that we are all fans and love to rock!

Nonpoint
Ryan Patrick, Suzie Soule, & Corky Gainford

 

Nonpoint
V Metropoulis, Andrew Pugh, Suzie Soule, & Adrian Patrick

 

 

Nonpoint
Rasheed Thomas, Suzie Soule, & Adam Woloszyn

Additional photos are viewable on Instagram here 

 

Resources: http://www.azlyrics.com, www.Wikipedia.org accessed 9/11/2013