I think I might be aging out of some of the rock shows I attend. I find myself increasingly annoyed by the lead singers who insist on barking out orders to me during their set. I’m never loud enough. I sit in my seat too much. And I need to sing their songs to them. (Wait. Didn’t I just pay $40 to hear you sing your songs?)
My husband and I enjoyed a rare evening out on Valentine’s Day. Not because it was Valentine’s Day, and we were celebrating our love. No, the Breaking Benjamin concert just happened to coincide with the holiday.
While Three Days Grace actually headlined the show, we went for Breaking Benjamin and Flyleaf. It was the third time we’ve seen Breaking Benjamin. The first time I saw them, I was 20 weeks pregnant with my first son. I find each time I see them in concert, I like them more. I always love a band that sounds even better live than they do on their albums. I only wish they were on the stage longer.
Ben Burnley’s voice is strong and commanding and can go from sweet to maniacal in a matter of seconds. He got the crowd involved, but he focused on playing rock music. Flyleaf was pretty good too. I love that Lacey Mosley came out in a lacy white dress over jeans and screamed her guts out. I guess that’s why Three Days Grace was so annoying to me.
Don’t get me wrong, Three Days Grace sounded pretty good. I knew most of their songs since they get a lot of airplay on the radio. They just went through every rock show cliche there is. There was lots of crowd singing because “If you don’t know this song, I don’t know where you’ve been.” There was a competition to see which side of the Cumberland County Civic Center could sing the loudest melodies, which were repeated after Adam Grontier in a progression of ahs and ohs. There was fire. At one point, Adam Grontier appeared on a platform in the middle of the civic center. There was even a rotating drum set.
Anyone remember Motley Crue’s Dr. Feelgood tour? That’s what it reminded me of. Then I realized that I was about 14 or 15 when I went to that concert. (What were my parents thinking?) Most of the people around me on Sunday were probably closer to that age than to mine. Not that I think thirty-somethings should stay at home and stick to listening to music on the iPod or anything. My husband and I were singing louder than most of the crowd while Breaking Benjamin was on. (We were probably a few of the only ones who could sing along to their sweet version of Aerosmith’s “Dream On” as well.) It just seems like we’re not quite in the target audience of some of the bands these days.
I don’t hate everything about you. My house is a home. And I have no interest in starting a riot. However, we did note that our 14 month old would probably find the song “Let’s Start a Riot” both catchy and inspirational.
Here are a few bad pics I took with my cell phone. Note the safe distance from the floor where all the crowd surfing was happening.
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