Chimaira / Lacuna Coil / Killswitch Engage / Disturbed
Crooked X / Bury Your Dead / Spineshank / Suicide Silence -Cancelled

April 20th, 2009
Erie Civic Center (Erie, PA)

Went to this concert with my dad and my friend Zak.

We left around 1, expecting to get there close to doors open at 2. Only to arrive a little before 2 to learn that the outdoor events had been cancelled due to weather. Doors wouldn't be opening until 6.

So, we had to kill 4 hours.
We headed to Books Galore to look around, and then the mall to get something to eat and relax for a bit.

Finally went back around 6, and by this time it was freezing outside, and starting to rain a little, and we had to wait in line for the doors to open. The line was wrapped around the block.

About 15 minutes of waiting, and we headed inside.

Went and got our wristbands for the floor, and made our plans to meet up after the show if we got seperated, then headed onto the floor.

We had pretty good spots not far from the stage, but not up close either.

Chimaira came on shortly, and played a great set.

They really got the crowd into it, and kicked things off well.
They had a good energy, and were decent performers. Not great, but good for openers.
The moshers definately loved them.

CHIMAIRA:
01. Pleasure In Pain
02. Needle
03. The Impossibility Of Reason
04. Power Trip
05. New Song
06. Black Heart
07. Nothing Remains
08. Down Again
09. Pure Hatred

After Chimaira, Zak and I headed upstairs so I could get my shirt, while my dad went outside to smoke.
It was only about 5 minutes later when Lacuna Coil came on.... which really through me off because I'm used to it taking longer.

We went back to roughly the same spot, but a little closer just as the first song was getting going.

They had a very nice start, but in the middle of Spell Bound, had technical difficulties with the sound cutting out.
It was barely a few minutes before they were back, and they restarted the song, and played one more, and were done.

I don't know if maybe the sound was worse than it appeared, but whatever was going on, they only played about half of their set.

What they did play was good though.
It was just missing a few songs...

LACUNA COIL
01. Enjoy The Silence
02. Heaven's A Lie
03. Senzafine
04. Purify
05. Swamped
06. Closer
07. Spellbound
08. Our Truth

After Lacuna Coil, Zak and I headed upstairs to get some drinks, and then were back down shortly for Killswitch Engages.

My dad stayed in his spot, but we moved up a few rows. I asked Zak if he wanted to get really close, but he seemed ok with where we were, as long as we were up closer for Disturbed.

Killswitch took the stage, and they were full of energy. Really got the aduience going, and opened up a lot of pits.

A few songs in, they split the crowd and made the "Wall of Death".
For anyone that doesn't know what the Wall of Death is: The audience splits into two sides with about 10 meters inbetween. Then once the heavy part of the song comes, both sides just rush at eachother. It's basically a giant mosh pit.

Well, Zak and I were in the very middle where it split. And as soon as it started going, instead of running in it, I ran up to the front, until I was the second row of people from the barrier.
I looked back to see that Zak was smart enough to follow me.

However, up there, it was insane. Huge moshing, and just everyone pressed so tightly together and thrashing around that your brain almost can't keep up. After a few minutes, it was still rowdy, but calmed down enough to be able to deal with the crowd, deal with the crowd surfers falling on my head, warn Zak before they fell on him (since he all ready lost his contact), and still watch the stage to enjoy the show.

Put it this way, it was so packed, and so much insanity, that it took me 10 minutes to realize that a guy over twice my size had been standing on my foot. I kept pushing him off it, but it was so packed, and no where to stand, that it took another 10 minutes to actually free my foot.
My toe is pretty messed up and bruised, and it was really killing me during Disturbed, but at the time, I didn't even notice anything.

It was fun, and Killswitch did really good.

Afterwards, I hung out there for a bit, but then made my way upstairs to get a drink.
Zak stayed there, he wasn't losing his spot.

KILLSWITCH ENGAGE:
01. Daylight Dies
02. The End of Heartache
03. Rose Of Sharyn
04. This Fire Burns
05. Breathe Life
06. My Curse
07. The Arms Of Sorrow
08. When Darkness Falls
09. New Song
10. This Is Absolution
11. Holy Dive

After a little break, and cooling down, so I wasn't so drenched in sweat, I headed back down to the floor, and ran into my dad. Talked with him, and shared our stories from our own perspectives of the set, then Disturbed took the stage.

They came out strong and got the crowd going.

About the second song in, I ditched my dad and moved up closer.

The crowd was having a blast and loving it, and the band was doing a great job. Lots of energy and crowd interaction.

About half way through the set, I was up at the front of the barricade, but it was getting really cramped and hot, so I drifted back about ten feet, and before I knew it, ended up on the outside of a rowdy mosh pit. I played barricade for a while, until these three guys stepped in front of me to protect me because they didn't think I could handle myself.

So I was then able to just watch the show and enjoy it for a while.

The irony is, a few songs later, I ended up being the one protecting those guys from getting slammed around.
They were just too drunk to pay attention to the mosh pit and the stage at the same time.

And there was a lot going on. So much so, that I didn't even realize until after the show that I had been elbowed in the jaw. I remember it happening while I was in the pit, but I didn't actual process that it happened until later.

But the guys moshing, and the ones around me were cool guys, and made the show fun.

After the lights went down, and we were waiting for the encore, I fell back a little more to get some air. I got to the back just in time for the last song when the lead singer went up on the sound board in the back of the room. So, I had him right above my head, until he came down, and made his way through the crowd to the stage.

Pretty good way to end a show, I think.

The only problem I had with their set was that it was too long.
A lot of the crowd was just warn out and exhausted by the end.
It would've helped to have a better variety to their songs. They were all pretty hard songs, not a whole lot of softer songs to let the crowd catch their breath. There were some, but they were toward the end. And at that point, I was past ready for it to be over... though a lot of that was because of my foot.

DISTURBED:
01. Indestructible
02. Prayer
03. Just Stop
04. Voices
05. Droppin' Plates
06. Land Of Confusion
07. Criminal
08. Perfect Insanity
09. Ten Thousand Fists
10. Remember
11. Haunted
12. Stricken
13. The Game
14. Inside The Fire
15. Liberate
16. Stupify
----------
17. Down With The Sickness

I wasn't sticking around any longer than I had to on the floor. I headed upstairs immediately to go get a drink... and I really needed one.
Met up with Zak and my dad, and headed home.

I have a sore throat, am incredibly stiff all over, my toe really hurts, and I have 12 bruises/cuts/scrapes/ect... and am still finding more...and I love it!
It was a good show.
Not the best I've seen. But not the worse either.

Ratings 1-10:
Chimaira: 7
Not great, but for an opening, they were pretty good. Entertained me.
Lacuna Coil: 6
They were ok, and I enjoyed them, but they didn't really catch my attention until near the end.
Killswitch Engaged: 7
Good band, good performers, and a lot of fun. Good. Not great.
Disturbed: 7.5
They put on a good show, and I really enjoted them, and had a blast, but it could've been better. And it was too long.