The SiCK Tour (March 26th, 2012)

It had been at least a month before I had been to a show. Long enough, in fact, that I don't remember what the last show I went to was. Better check on that...anyway! This show was to be my welcoming back "party", since so many of my friends were there for the fun. Got my parking spot with no problem (or money spent), got in quickly, and we were under way.

The opening band was a Pittsburgh local named My Final Heaven. A pretty decent name for a less than decent band. You can tell they were trying to be Motionless In White with their synth efforts. Not to mention that they all looked like they were perfect for the Hot Topic high school fashion line. They weren't terrible, but they were unoriginal in every respect. They DID manage to get a pit going on their last song though.

The following band was The Crimson Armada. I'll say that, first, I would've preferred Volumes by a LONG SHOT, because they're one of my favorite bands. But let it be known that Saud and his guys do put on a good live show. They played a couple songs off Guardians, and in fact closed the show with Revelations. Beforehand they played Composed Of Stone, Conviction, The Serpent's Tongue, and Forgive Me. Saud took over for the cleans on Forgive Me, since their previous clean vocalist seems to be gone now? Anyway, Saud's screams were good, although he did rest via "speaking" the lyrics on a more than a few occasions. The band as a whole was great though, and there was a ton of moshing to be had, much more than I expected, actually. I can't complain about their set.

Vanna followed next. I'll admit that I never gave these guys a true listen before, but they were impressive. They have a very intense stage presence, constantly getting in the front row's face and putting out all their effort to make it a good show. The screams were strong, the cleans were impressive, and the band brought plenty of variation to the show. I can't name the songs they played, simply because I don't know them. But their show has made me curious about their material, so I think it's time to dive into their discography, and see what I can uncover.

Up next were the French men, Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! I know many people find this band to be less than stellar due to their incorporation of somewhat childish synth, and their very poppy cleans. But I personally dig this band a lot. And I daresay, live, they're even more impressive than on their debut album. The screams of Bertrand Poncet are very deep. They opened with Born For Adversity, which was a perfect way to start off. They followed with Captain Blood, We Fell Fast, Make Them Believe, We R Who We R (yes, I mean it), and closed with In Friends We Trust. Bring the hate, but this band is awesome live. And they did a good job in making the crowd move at all times.

For The Fallen Dreams took the stage next, and opened with their quintessential opener, Nightmares. As usual, the mosh was out of control. Dylan's screams and cleans were very good, surprisingly. Although not very diverse in his delivery, he still delivered solid vocals. The band as a whole was strong, and kept the crowd going with stage diving, gang vocals and plenty of slam dancing. After the opener came Deep Down Inside, Vengeance, Complicate The Situation, Until It Runs Out (a new song to be on their new album), December Everyday, and the wonderful closer, Brothers In Arms. I should mention now, that I've seen these guys 3 times before, and their performances were good, but not GREAT. But, the crowd was really into the band this time around, and I'm glad they improved compared to their last performance, which overall seemed subpar.

Following FTFD were the party moshers, Attila. I never gave this band a solid chance, for whatever reason. But after seeing them live, I'm sold. I had heard a song here and there, simply because my friends had raved about them so much, so I knew a tiny bit about their set. I admittedly didn't know all their songs, but every moment was intense. For anyone that knows this band, their star is Chris Fronzak, AKA Fronz. If anyone hasn't seen them live, and wonders if this guy can apply the same range as he does on the albums, I can confirm that he does, almost TOO perfectly. His screams, whether they were low, or lightning speed, were insane. I was next to my friend during their set, and I kept turning to her and giving her astonished looks, simply because his vocals are so sporadic, yet so solid. The band as a whole did very well too. There was a lot more technical guitar work then I thought there'd be, but that only made it better. It was blatantly obvious that the band was stoned beyond belief, but hell, maybe that made them better! Great performance from these guys. Time for me to look into their discography as well.

Now we bring ourselves to the headliner, Chelsea Grin. This is my 3rd time seeing these guys, and I can honestly say that this was their best thus far. Their first time they still had their full roster with all 6 members, but their sound seemed off. The second time was lacking lead guitarist Mike Stafford, due to his departure from the band, so it seemed less than stellar. But, as they often say, the 3rd time is the charm. This time with a full group, now with Jason Richardson, formerly of Born of Osiris, taking over at lead guitar, the band took off immediately. Surprisingly enough, they didn't close with Recreant. In fact, they opened with it. Not a bad move on their part, because all hell broke loose almost immediately. Jason's presence really seemed to fuel the rest of the band, as they seemed more intense and stronger than they have before. Alex's vocals are always subject to question, since he minces his vocal chords with his style. Thankfully, he sounded good, and seemed to be controlling his screams or resting them well. Following Recreant came Oblivion, The Foolish One, Everlasting Sleep, Sonnet of the Wretched, The Human Condition, Cheyne Stokes, and Crewcabanger. After a series of mosh pits, circle pits, stage dives, knockouts, and people getting kicked out via security, the band departed from the stage. But, as any CG fan knows, they missed one of their top songs. After a good minute of venue wide "One more song!" chants, the acoustic atmosphere of Kharon is heard over the sound system, and the band returned to bring their final track, My Damnation, at which point, during a pit, a kid was charging right at me in an attempt to mosh outside the pit. I promptly disposed of him with a quick shot to the jaw, he got up, thinking it was someone else, started a fight with another kid, and got kicked out. Pretty great way to end the night, and an amazing set by Chelsea Grin.

Overall, a great show. If anyone has this tour coming up, check it out. I think you'll enjoy the time just as much, if not more than myself.

By PaulOverVanity ~ Me Gusta Reviews