Amidst frustrations regarding Connecticut's only modern rock station, 106.9 WCCC, changing formats, CT rockers were wondering if we would continue to get the awesome lineups the old station had brought for their listeners. Wallingford's Dome at the Oakdale Theater was packed full last night to prove that rock is still very much alive in the state. Stone Sour, In This Moment, and Hell or Highwater brought their Revolver Road to the Golden Gods tour to treat us to a night of high power nonstop metal.
California's Hell or Highwater opened the night late in the evening, perfect timing for them to play for a full crowd at the dome. Having appeared on national tours like Uproar alongside Avenged Sevenfold and Three Days Grace, these guys knew exactly how to get the crowd going. Their short set included a number of tracks from their album "Begin Again", a high energy, guitar driven album. The band opened with "Crash & Burn", catching the crowd's attention instantly. Frontman Brandon Saller, formerly the drummer for Atreyu, leaped around the stage throughout the night, holding his mic out for fans to sing along. A fan favorite seemed to be "Go Alone", with the recorded version featuring vocals from Avenged Sevenfold's M. Shadows. Impressive solos from guitarists Matt Pauling and Neal Tieman in between catchy riffs kept band's set moving along far too fast.
In This Moment were next to take the stage. The band's crew meticulously arranged skull adorned props and fog machines to give us an eerie feel as the band stepped on stage to open with "Rise With Me". Singer Maria Brink took the stage in the first of numerous outfits, along with a wireless mic. that allowed her to headbang and dance along to the music. On either side of the frontwoman, fog swirled around bassist Travis Johnson, and guitarists Randy Weitzel and Chris Howorth. Their smudged black makeup and Howorth's covered face added to the eerie vibe as the band continued their set with a number of hits, including "Adrenalize" and "Whore". Brinks' deep and powerful vocals were like nothing else seen in the primarily male fronted rock and metal world, and a unique, refreshing change of pace. They closed their set up with "Blood", the title track from the bands latest album released last year. The dark lyrics and combination of singing, screaming, and talking made for a surprisingly impressive finish to the set.
Headliners Stone Sour went for a simple look, nothing but the band and their instruments on stage alongside arguably one of the best bands in modern metal. The band took the stage to a welcome eruption of screams from the audience, growing even louder when frontman Corey Taylor took his place center stage. Their set included a random mix of tracks from the bands collection, including some from "House of Gold & Bones Part 2", released that day. The band owned the stage, effortlessly flying through high energy solos and chest pounding drums. Taylor's endlessly powerful vocals had the audience screaming along with each and every word on every single song, including favorites "Say You'll Haunt Me" and "Absolute Zero".
Towards the end of the set the band took a break and left Taylor with a guitar to perform "Bother". Hearing Taylor's voice without the band to back him was a treat for fans as he showed off his impressive range. Nonstop screams from the audience and chants of "Corey, Corey" enforced the love for the dynamic frontman. The band joined Taylor again for the rest of the night, continuing the softer sound with "Through Glass". The echo of the Oakdale's dome ceiling had the audience nearly drowning out the band on the hit single, with each and every person in the audience singing. The band picked it up again to finish off their set, asking us if we'd mind if they played some newer tracks, to which everyone responded enthusiastically. The heavy end to the night left adrenaline high fans limping out of the pit with wide grins on their faces at the end of the night.
For those that were at this show, be sure to check out Save the Rock CT on Facebook at www.facebook.com/savetherockct to make sure the bands can keep returning to rock out with us.
More Photos:
0 comments:
Post a Comment