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REVIEW: IN THIS MOMENT, ALL THAT REMAINS, HELLYEAH, NONPOINT, & LOLA BLACK 3/26/2013
Gweedo
Tuesday night featured a sold out show at The Fillmore Auditorium. How was this accomplished? By hosting the hardest rocking show thus far this year, then taking said show and only charging $10.67! In This Moment, All That Remains, Hellyeah, Nonpoint, and Lola Black put on an awesome show for people on a budget. As if that wasn’t good enough, they also made the offer that if you went to a locally owned record store and bought one of the line up’s CDs, you would get a free preshow Meet and Greet. That was totally worth it. They let you in an hour early, the bands were lined up, and they ran you through to get signatures but no photos. Hellyeah and In This Moment handed out little posters to get signed. I grabbed one of the posters for In This Moment, had Hellyeah sign my CD cover, and Nonpoint sign my ticket. In hindsight, the ticket signing wasn’t the smartest idea because they sent us back outside to wait for doors and still needed to scan the ticket. Luckily, you could still read the numbers on the barcode and all was well. Surprisingly, not very many people took advantage of this Meet and Greet for a sold out show. I gave away one Meet and Greet by walking down the line, and people looked at me like I was crazy. Finally, one adventurous soul took it and was ecstatic throughout! There wasn’t much information on where to go for the Meet and Greet, but it wasn’t too hard to figure out if you just asked one of the staff. Unfortunately for some, they waited too long and missed it. It took about 25 mins to get through everyone. All the bands were very happy to meet the fans and appreciated them coming to the greet.
Gweedo
Tuesday night featured a sold out show at The Fillmore Auditorium. How was this accomplished? By hosting the hardest rocking show thus far this year, then taking said show and only charging $10.67! In This Moment, All That Remains, Hellyeah, Nonpoint, and Lola Black put on an awesome show for people on a budget. As if that wasn’t good enough, they also made the offer that if you went to a locally owned record store and bought one of the line up’s CDs, you would get a free preshow Meet and Greet. That was totally worth it. They let you in an hour early, the bands were lined up, and they ran you through to get signatures but no photos. Hellyeah and In This Moment handed out little posters to get signed. I grabbed one of the posters for In This Moment, had Hellyeah sign my CD cover, and Nonpoint sign my ticket. In hindsight, the ticket signing wasn’t the smartest idea because they sent us back outside to wait for doors and still needed to scan the ticket. Luckily, you could still read the numbers on the barcode and all was well. Surprisingly, not very many people took advantage of this Meet and Greet for a sold out show. I gave away one Meet and Greet by walking down the line, and people looked at me like I was crazy. Finally, one adventurous soul took it and was ecstatic throughout! There wasn’t much information on where to go for the Meet and Greet, but it wasn’t too hard to figure out if you just asked one of the staff. Unfortunately for some, they waited too long and missed it. It took about 25 mins to get through everyone. All the bands were very happy to meet the fans and appreciated them coming to the greet.
Lola Black Exiting the Meet and Greet put you at the front of the line, which is fantastic for entering a sold out show. Lola Black took the stage shortly after the doors opened. I was very interested in seeing this local band since they’ve had quite a bit of radio play and had just won the Best Band In Denver. They played as people literally spilled in from outside. Their set was very short, and a lot of people asked me later if they even played because they were still waiting outside when the band finished. Lola Black had lots of energy and great stage presence for a local band. From the local bands I’ve seen, I’d say they more than deserve the Best Band In Denver title. I bet most uninformed people wouldn’t have known that Lola Black was a local band. Much of that comes with pure confidence. While playing their radio hit, Black’s microphone stopped working, and without visibly panicking, she just used one of the guitarists’ and picked right up in the song. The band had a lot going on instrumentally. They had three guitars, which I wasn’t sure was necessary but didn’t sound bad. Also, they had an amazing looking six string bass. That seems like a lot of musical depth to work with. I hope as the band further matures, they take complete advantage of that. Their drum set was cool looking as well with a matte black finish. They had a solid fan base cheering them on and singing along. The sound board needed some work to mix them a little better. After the show they hung out at their merch booth to meet fans.
Elias Soriano To further energize the present crowd and kick start the new comers, Nonpoint came out to do work. I have no idea how this Ft. Lauderdale band hasn’t gotten bigger. They have great music, amazing people, and tons of energy from start to finish. The crowd had grown to be almost a quarter of the floor as people were still trying to make their way in. The audience loved the music and was really getting into it. There was a violent mosh pit up front. I think that was the only bad thing and not necessarily due to the band. There were actually people in there punching women, which was totally uncalled for, especially when the women weren’t in the mosh pit. Beyond that, the performance got people jumping and very hyped. Nonpoint is great at interacting with the crowd. They had a cool sideways drumset. After the show they met fans by the merch booth.
Chad Gray Never to be out done, the southern boys in Hellyeah came out to kick everyone’s teeth in. Having the legend Vinnie Paul on drums and Chad Gray singing, you can never go wrong. Their stage had a little bit more space as prior equipment was removed. They kept it simple though with a back drop and cut out metal steer heads. Paul did have a giant set though, as nothing from Texas is ever small. He threw drum sticks in the crowd throughout the set. The crowd loved the band and generously gave them two mosh pits up front that merged to one giant pit from time to time. Fillmore had filled in quite a bit by this point. Their set included songs that brought the energy level up and down. Often, this is a must for the crowd so they don’t wear everyone out. Most don’t think of Chad Gray as a phenomenal singer, but I submit that he is. He’s able to smooth his voice out and sing a nice little ballad then turn around and scream until he’s about to puke. His vocal cords must be strong as hell. Radio personality Willie B of 106.7 KBPI was out in the mosh pit and crowd surfed a couple times. It’s his dedication and love for the music that made the night so successful. Hellyeah had a fantastic set, as always.
Oli Herbert Next up to bat was All That Remains. They had a simple but effective stage. It had some barbed wire fence in front of the speakers and spot lights. They were much harder than the rest but still fit in. Their attire was simple with no bells or whistles, but the music spoke for itself. Lead guitarist Oli Herbert is like a Red Bull squirrel. He can just shred the guitar; it is awesome. Philip Labonte is a great vocalist that has a decent scream to him and is able to clean it up for some songs. I have a soft spot for women bassists, so it’s nice to see Jeanne Sagan up there killin’ it. She performed well and had a good scream and growl. At the beginning, they were hosting a giant mosh pit, but the crowd tuckered out towards the end of their set and things were a little slower moving. I think they brought an excellent set to the audience and did a nice job rocking loud and hard.
Maria Brink In This Moment was the headliner for this event. All the preceding bands did an excellent job to build the crow up to this point. However, setting up the stage for In This Moment took entirely too long. There were too many small pieces being put together, and it just seemed that all this stuff should have been set up before the show and covered up with sheets. Also, the quality of some of it, like the skulls and the lights on the mic stands, seemed Wal-Mart quality. Some of the skull props were even falling over, but roadies were in such a frenzy to find plug ins and set up everything that details like that were missed. All the set up made them go on 15 mins late. Now don’t get me wrong, I’ve been a huge fan of these guys ever since their first CD, but with the gain in popularity, it seems like they are trying to up their production. I’m ok with this evolution of a band, but it just needs to be thought out more and executed better. I thought the props enhanced the individual songs when singer Maria Brink brought them out and interacted with them, but when the roadies were running around removing chairs and props between songs, it really disrupted the continuity. One improvement from the last time I saw them with this higher production is that the duration between songs greatly improved and there were less long winded costume changes. I think if they button up a few more things here and there, they will be able to pull it off. Their new drummer Tom Hane is incredible. He had a cool looking drum set, is a really nice guy, and is very talented. Hane would helicopter his hair while playing. He had a good drum solo, but you couldn’t see him do it because there was too much smoke and the lighting was bad. The crowd didn’t seem to have as much energy due to the late night and the other bands draining everyone. To give Brink a rest, the band did an instrumental cover medley that highlighted how talented these guys are. There were quite a few of the band’s songs from their latest album, Blood, thrown in the set list. The performance sounded great. Personally, I don’t like that Brink switched to a headset mic. I understand the freedom that it gives, but she would do a lot more head banging before. I think that really energized the crowd when she did that and the headset comes off as very poppy. One of the songs that I like is “Into The Light” because it really shows a different side to the band. I’m disappointed that when they used to perform it, Brink would come out and do a little solo act playing the piano, and now she just sits and sings with her headset and a recording. When she would play and sing with the piano, it just showed how talented she is and that she’s not just a hot blonde on stage. Everyone was there to see In This Moment and was very excited when they finally came out. A lot of the crowd was singing along with them. I’m very interested to watch and see how the band continues to change their act as they gain even more popularity.
In This Moment This was the heaviest show so far this year. The Fillmore was loud the entire time, and you could feel all the bass in your chest. They mercifully piped in air between bands to cool everyone off. Also, roadies would go around throwing bottles of water into the crowd. It was much appreciated. In This Moment had the best stage out of all the bands. All That Remains was hardcore and got the crowd the craziest. Hellyeah was the best musically, in my opinion, and by far, Nonpoint had the most energy to their set and was the best opener. As for Lola Black, they were good to start the show, but most people missed them as well as most of Nonpoint. It was an amazing show for $10.67, and I would totally do it again given the chance.
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