Papa Roach 2019
Shinedown / Papa Roach/ Asking Alexandria

03/05/2019 - Covelli Centre

This may sound strange, but my daughter actually had to convince me to go to this show.
I know, right. Why would I need convincing to go see Papa Roach? Well, the show was in the middle of the week, I really didn't want to see Shinedown again, I have a lot of stuff to do with the new house and the old house. Not to mention it was in March which means cold, and I really didn't care for the venue. Not from my one experience and the really uncomfortable seating.

Well, she really didn't give me a choice. She bought the ticket and told me I was going.
So glad she did.

What made it even better was taking the day off and meeting her down there early to grab a bite to eat before the show and visit for a while.

Ride down was uneventful. Found a parking garage close that was half the price of the open lot next to the venue, and not much more walk.
Got to the pub a bit before my daughter, just got my food ordered before she came in. We food was great. We visited for a couple hours and made the 4 block walk to the venue. With a stop at the garage to drop off our extra food (portions were huge!)
Waited for what seemed like forever for the doors to open in the cold nd wind.
Finally got in, and went straight to the pit to get our wristbands, which was key, as both our tickets were on her phone.
After that, I hit the bathroom, and stepped out for a smoke. Then found my daughter in the pit again.

Now, on to the concert review.
The setup for this show is a little different than what you normally find at a rock show.
The foor was half pit (front half), and half seats (back half), and the pit had a walkway down the middle with a small area at the end.
My daughter an I had debated the pros-and-cons of this setup. I will get more into that at the end of this review.

Went into seeing these guys pretty much cold. I checked a few videos on YouTube just to see what style they were. Seemed ok.
At the show, I enjoyed them. Nothing I would go seeking out. A little too raw for my tastes. But seeing them as an operer, was more than ok.
Their sound was good. The singer really has a nice range and actually sings (as well as some growling). Nice tempo to most of the songs, with some great
energy. Both from the band, and the crowd. Singer is really good at chatting with the audience and interacting. I also enjoyed watching the bass player.
He's one of those types that has a really low-slung bass. And man does he move around. Reminded me a lot of Harris, with his energy levels, animated style, and singing like every word as he played.
In the future, these guys being on a bill could tip the balance in favor of me going to a show.

Now we are to the reason I am here!
Papa Roach!
Even though I really dislike the new album, I was stoked. Even knowing they were going to play several songs from the new album. I didn't care.
I knew it was going to be a good show, and I wasn't disappointed.
First, I should mention, we had a great spot. We picked the left side of the stage to watch Jerry play. Which turned out to be a good decision. Tobin wasn't nearly as active as normal. Found out later from my daughter that he has been fighting a bug the past few days. Like a trooper he was out there and killing it, just not moving around too much.
We were about 5 people from the barrier to the stage, and about 3 people from the barrier to the walkway. So we had a great view, and in a good rowdie bunch.
I loved that they kicked off the show with Last Resort. Really set the mood for the night. Usually this is their closer, but man it really ramped things up from the get go. And that energy kept going until we hit Renegade Music. That song was still nice and intense live, but it kind of slowed things down just a bit as the crowd wasn't quite as into it. BAAI brought the crowd back to life though. That fired up the first circle pit of the night. Right behind me. Then the crowd surfing started.
YEAH! This is what a came for! Great tunes and a rowdie crowd!
Elevate kind took some energy out of the room, but then Jacoby went out in the crowd (as he does) and that nade the song bearable.
Then they played the song that I HATE on the new album. Most of the songs I am just ambivalent about. Don't hate them, but don't like them either. But this one just feels soooooooo wrong.
Except, it really works live. (insert confused expression here)
Something about the way it totally contrasts with everything else, and it's upbeat, almost poppy feel, just makes it loads of fun and a great change of pace.
Then they continued the fun with the Blur cover they've been doing for almost a year now.
With that energy boost, the crowd was primed for the final onslaught of great tunes.
Lots of singing along by the crowd. Really high energy. And just a total blast!
Only downside for me, personally, I don't like the current incarnation of Forever. They always kind of change up the intro to the song. Usually I like the changes. Sometimes I love the changes. This time, I didn't care for them. My daughter loved them though.

We got our second circle pit during ...To Be Loved, but security broke it up. Which I thought was strange.
Later I learned from my daughter, that they probably broke it up becuase several people got hurt in the first one. Do to poor footing.
I had noticed when we entered the pit that the board on the floor were kind of loose and shifted slightly under foot. As we were leaving the pit, I noticed that there was some kind of dusty/grainy substance on it also, that felt kinda like sawdust.
She said, that was the reason she wasn't in the pit long. She thought her feet were going out from under her.

Shinedown put on a good show, and sounded really goood. They had an intricate stage set, with lights, pyro, video screens, and lasers.
They were also the reason for the walkway down the middle. It was there idea. They do a little, more intimate show down at the end of it with all the band members. It really was a good show. Would have been fine to watch from the seats. But it wasn't a stand-in-the-pit wothy show.
I was kinda bored and just tired during a lot of it.
I'm fine with most of their music, I like hearing it on the radio. The singer was a good entertainer. Very theatrical.
The light show was great. The pyro was impressive. But it just bored me.
I just watched 2 high-energy, highly interactive bands before this. I rocked out and had a blast, then this visual spectical happens and it's kind of a letdown.
Which is why I left before they took the stage back in 2012. (I had just watched Stained and Godsmack, and knew I didn't want to stand in the pit for Shinedown)
Really, the only reason I stayed was to see what they did with the walkway. Which was fun. Especially as they bantered back-and-forth about what song they were going to do next.

Overall, it was a great night.
Got to spend time with my daughter. Got to see Papa Roach, and got introduced to Asking Alexandria. Got a bit of a workout with the pit, and lots of crowd surfers.
Things I didn't mention earlier. Got to see a couple girls get in a fight. Bodies flying, people being yanked up by their hair, the whole 9 yards.
That was just before the first pit during PRoach.
When they broke up the 2nd pit, I got to see a couple big security guards act like human bulldozers as they cleared people out of the circle.
During Shinedown I saw a guy propose (she said yes).
During the FRONT STAGE portion, the band learned about it, and foudn out another couple, on the other side of the front stage, also got engaged during the show. They let each of them have the mic and announce it. Which I thought was cool.

Then it was time to leave.
Getting out of the garage wasn't bad. Getting out of tawn wasn't too bad either.
Then I hit snow on the way home. Travel went from 70 mph down to 40 at one point. Whiteout condidions, slick road, the whole ball of wax.
I just kept on moving and taking it easy. Made it home with no real issues other than some frayed nerves.

Thought I would be a lot sorer the day after.
When I got home, my feet hurt, my legs hurt, my back hurt, my shoulders hurt, my neck hurt, and I had a headache.
When I got up, just a little tightness in my calves.

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