Papa Roach / Nothing More / Escape the Fate 2018

04/21/2018

This is the 2nd of the 2 shows I got my daughter tickets for xmas.
The first one was fun, but very taxing. This one was going to be even worse.
It hadn't even been 2 weeks since I was in the hospital for pneumonia. I was still hurting really bad. So much so,
I considered bailing on this show. If I wasn't meeting my daughter at the venue, I wouldn't have even left my house.
As it was, I still had to pull over at a rest area and take a quick nap in order to have the energy to continue.

Once I got there, things were good.
I'd never been to this venue, so I was unsure how it was set up. I knew the whole place was GA, but I didn't know if that meant it was just a giant open floor, or what. Turns out it only has a small open floor in front of the stage, then some seats, then a balcony with more seats. After I found Britny, we found seats in the upper balcony that were pretty good.
She hung with me for the first 2 bands. Of course, once we got to Papa Roach, she ran down to the pit. We found each other at the merch table after the show.

The first band was completely forgettable. Same as when I saw them back in 2011 at Uproar.
I hoped they had gotten better with their new singer. But it was all just kind of blah.

I was excited to check out Nothing More. I hadn't heard anything about or from them before Jacoby did part of a song with them.
But after that, they started turning up on the radio quite a bit. They had like 3 songs that were getting a decent amount of play. (funny, I hardly ever hear then anymore though)
The show itself wasn't bad, but not great either. There were some interesting aspects. The music and singing were both quite good.
For some reason though, I never really got sucked it, or pumped up.
Yeah, my illness could have been part of that, but I don't think so. They are just one of those groups that I don't regret getting to see, but feel no urge to see again.
I think part of it was the singer wandering all over the place shirtless and barefoot was just odd. It was like some piece of performance art that I just didn't get.

Finally. The reason I made the trip.
It was really strange being at a Papa Roach show and being in a seat up in a balcony. The only other time I've had a seat for Papa Roach was the first time I saw them back in 2008 on the Cruefest tour. Which is when I got hooked on them. The energy was just infectious, and I've been in the pit for every show since.
It was frustrating not being able to rock out. Even with the crappy acoustics of the venue I just wanted to get on my feet, bang my head, and pump my fist in te air while I sang along. I had to settle for bobbing my head and mouthing the words most of the time.
Though, by the end I was on my feet and pumping my fist in the air. I just couldn't resist. Couldn't scream along though. (I was having enough trouble just staying on my feet). After it was over, I had to sit for a bit to get the strength to climb back down the stairs.
I love all the stuff from the Crooked Teeth album, so I was glad to hear more of it live. Got a few that weren't at the other show.
'My Medication', and 'None of the Above' spring to mind. Both of which I really like, so it was great to hear them live.
Another high point, was this was the first time I'd seen Broken Home since that first show in 08.
Also, at one point during the show, Jacoby brought his son out on stage to rock with his dad. That was killer.

I am so glad I went to this show. I had fun, even if I was severly restricted and somewhat miserable.
I got to check out another somewhat local venue, that I may visit again. Got to hang with my daughter.
And, I got my favorite Papa Roach shirt!

I wanted to get it at the other show, but the crowd at the merch table was too packed. And it was way too far away from the floor to go visit it again.

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