DISTURBED BRINGS THREE DAYS GRACE AND THE EVOLUTION WORLD TOUR TO PINNACLE BANK ARENA IN LINCOLN, NE
“No one is so brave that he is not disturbed by something unexpected.”
-Julius Caesar-
Disturbed and Three Days Grace have already cemented their places in rock. Disturbed formed in 1994 while just 3 years later, Three Days Grace was founded. Both these bands have paid their dues and have earned everything that comes with fame. Even though this tour is in support of Evolution which is the 7th studio album released by Disturbed, I’m going to just go ahead and proclaim this show as co-headlined.
Hailing from the Great White North Matt Walst (vocals), Brad Walst (bass), Neil Sanderson (drums) and Barry Stock (guitar) are collectively known as Three Days Grace. These guys would supply a blazing hour-long set that any headlining act would be grateful to have as their opener.
Kicking things off with “The Mountain” which is the first single off their 6th studio album Outsider released back in March 2018. It is heavy and full of angst and it instantly launched the band/fan connection. As they always do, they bring potent guitar work, bombastic and furious drumming and a hammering bass. The “new” lead singers voice is enormously powerful with a dash of grunge. Matt simply is a rock and roll vocalist. After “Home”, we were treated to the “The Good Life.” This song absolutely had to be played in Lincoln as The Good Life was the state slogan until it was recently replaced with, (and I’m not kidding), “Nebraska: honestly, it’s not for everyone.” Their set also included another song off their latest album, “Infra-Red.” A very powerful semi-ballad with force and grit. Later, Matt took a moment to pose these questions to us. Why is love so fxxked up? How can you hate and love something at the same time? The band answered the question by flying into “I Hate Everything About You.” Three Days Grace didn’t do any covers, but there was one song that included a mash-up. During “Animal I Have Become’ we were treated to a bit of “Seven Nation Army.” The crowd really savored this. Things calmed down a little during “Never Too Late” as the cell-phone lights were lifted in the air by all in attendance. Their final song started with a call to “repeat after me”. RIOT…RIOT...RIOT…RIOT. Everybody was screaming the chorus, LET’S START A RIOT!!! and for a moment there, I thought there might be one.
Three Days Grace gave us a dynamic show with a great balance of the old and new. They could have easily headlined their own show and I’m sure they will soon.
Web: https://threedaysgrace.com/
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THE MOUNTAIN – HOME – THE GOOD LIFE – PAIN – INFRA-RED – JUST LIKE YOU – PAINKILLER – BREAK – I HATE EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU – ANIMAL I HAVE BECOME (Seven Nation Army) – NEVER TOO LATE - RIOT
Back in October, Disturbed announced their Evolution Tour which is the bands worldwide headline tour. This tour will run through May and consist of several major North American & European cities. Lincoln, NE was their 8th stop on the North American leg and we sure were grateful. The album Evolution continues to draw glowing reviews and may be their best. In keeping with the title of the album, the bands live show also has evolved. There are striking pyrotechnics, an incredible diamond shaped stage that extends into the GA area of the arena floor and a smaller, more subdued, stage that was at least 50 yards from the mainstage near the soundboard. There was also a great back screen that showcased tons of imagery tracing the bands history.
An enthusiastic audience was greeted with “Are You Ready,” “Prayer,” and “The VENGEFUL ONE.” A trio of songs that was relentless and, during the 3rd song, pyro that seized the attention of the admiring crowd by throat. Frontman David Draiman was feeling it this evening as his voice was flawless. They continued with “The Animal” and then from their debut LP they gave up “Stupify.” During this song we got a taste of Dan Donegans guitar abilities as he gave us an impressive solo. Although their catalog of songs goes on for days, they did give us a cover song. NOPE, not “The Sound of Silence” (at least not yet). Instead they offered their version of Genesis’ “Land Of Confusion.” It went off very well and had the crowd rocking. During “Hold On to Memories” we got a chance to hear and see John Moyer perform a great bass solo and watch Mike Wengren destroy the drums. During “The Game” there was a moment of audience participation in which they chanted the chorus. This was incited by Draiman who hit the floor with the rest of the GA crowd. It was now time for them to take the smaller more intimate stage located near the back of the arena. From there they performed “Reason To Fight” and “Watch You Burn.” Very personal songs to the band. The first is about substance abuse and the 2nd is about how artists are ill-treated by the corporate side of music. It was time to go back to the main stage, but they maintained the “simple” feel as they sang the Simon & Garfunkel classic, “Sound of Silence." Draiman's vocal range is astonishing during this song, easily the song of the night. After a couple of songs from their Indestructible LP, "Indestructible" and "Inside The Fire," they left the stage. The roar and chanting that followed was deafening.
They came back for a 3-song encore. First was “The Light.” During this song, the cell-phones came out and lit up the entire venue. During “No More” the lyrics were flashed on the big screen behind the band. The last song of the evening was “Down With Sickness.” This head banger of a song was the perfect way to close their show, as it’s from their first LP – The Sickness and totally reminds us of how much this band has evolved.
Web: http://www.disturbed1.com/
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ARE YOU READY – PRAYER – THE VENGEFUL ONE – THE ANIMAL – STUPIFY (band instrumental) – VOICES – LAND OF CONFUSION (Genesis cover) – HOLD ON TO MEMORIES (bass/drum solo) – THE GAME – A REASON TO FIGHT – WATCH YOU BURN – THE SOUND OF SILENCE (Simon & Garfunkel cover) – INDESTRUCTIBLE – INSIDE THE FIRE – THE LIGHT – NO MORE – DOWN WITH SICKNESS