Maybe Lajon Witherspoon of Sevendust really didn’t know how well he and the band sounded Thursday night at Piere’s. Maybe not. Sevendust proved themselves to be a more than worthy headlining act when they blew the doors off of Piere’s and the crowd was more than ready to follow them anywhere…at any hour.
Starting around 10:30 pm the guys from Sevendust decided to put on a clinic on how you should just rock the house if the house is really here to see you. Not a bit of disrespect to the other bands; Saliva, Neverset and Overscene, this crowd really was stoked to hear what Sevendust had in them and if my eyes aren’t completely shot, the crowd was really into this show.
My ears on the other hand, well they rang for a little while on the drive home, but the sound of all the bands was impressive. Now, with that said, it was obvious that Sevendust had an agenda, my new concert friends; Rudy and Danielle, let me in on a little secret, apparently one of the last times Sevendust was in town, if not the last time, it was an outdoor show (The Three Rivers Fest???) and apparently it didn’t sound so good. Well, that happens and Lajon and company went out of their ways to erase any bad thoughts for the people of Ft. Wayne. Their light show was truly stellar as well, good enough to remind me of some of the old Stone Temple Pilots shows from the 1990’s where lighting was an art form, well it is an art form when done by the guys in Sevendust. (I do mean the band and the crew)
Prior to “Enemy”, Lajon went out of his way to make sure that he let the Ft. Wayne crowd know that while visiting some soldiers on a US tour, that he was truly appreciative of a female guard that was truly into the band and how it helps the troops get through their training in boot camp and all. Well, Lajon and the guys from Sevendust will be showing their appreciation for the troops by playing for them in Afghanistan, the crowd was stoked for the band and the band ripped a truly rocking version of “Enemy”.
“Clueless” is another song from the night that caught my ear and it has everything to do with something that the band knows how to do really damn well; they have a rhythm section that rivals just about any band out there. The bass work by Vinnie Hornsby and the amazing drum work of Morgan Rose was killer all night. Their was no thud that didn’t work this night and the tribal kind of beat on “Clueless” sort of fed the band throughout the rest of the evening. Morgan Rose is a trip to see live, it looks like the dude is a kid in need of depressants because of how active he is on the kit, but he never sounded out of control. I appreciated all parts of the group, but I walked away most impressed by the rhythm section. (No disrespect to guitarists John Connolly and Clint Lowery, you guys had killer riffs all night too!)
All in all, it was a great night to see Sevendust.
Just before Sevendust was Saliva, a band that I had recently seen in South Bend, so I expected a good show and got one again. Josey Scott has a pretty good voice, not too polished and not too raw and when you get to see these guys, you hear the voice and realize that you know a lot of their songs…A LOT OF THEM. Saliva has a nice niche that they have built for themselves and they know how to set their set-list in such a way that it becomes a greatest hits concert.
“Black Sheep” off their most recent release, Blood Stained Love Story, was a nice opener, but gotta admit, when “F**K All Y’All” came through the P.A., you knew that it was time to really rock. The band was quite consistent throughout the night and the guitar work stood out on each solo throughout the night.
By the way, just to let you know, the Playstation 3 song, you know, “Ladies and Gentlemen” is a killer song. It is great song, have no clue what the hell Josey is talking about on the song or if there is a meaning behind it, but the song has one really killer riff, the vocals are cool and the whole song just flat out rocks and the people in the crow were most appreciative.
The final song of the night for Saliva was “Your Disease”, the first song I remember hearing from the band in 2001. “Your Disease” is more of a rock/rap song, the stuff you used to hear, but Josey had something in store for the crowd, he sang the lyrics and it worked great. Yes, the original is great, but you have to love it when a band extends itself and goes out of its way to change something up for a live show.
Neverset and Overscene were good openers for the headliners this evening. Neverset is more of a raw sound, if only due to the lead vocals of Shawn Hamm, the dude can scream. Really LOUD. But guess what; these guys were able to create a montage of cover songs together that went something like this: “Shout at the Devil to Sad But True to Break Stuff to Last Resort to Symphony of Destruction into Walk”, this was an impressive way to point out their influences and it was cool too.
Overscene deserves and apology from me; I mean, had I know that all roads north of Ft. Wayne were closed or detoured, I would have left at noon to get to Ft. Wayne on time! Anyway, I came in and “Shine” by Collective Soul was ringing out from the band and while it was a cover, the guys of Overscene were able to convey their love for the song and the crowd was digging it. “Here I Am” was more of a mellow anthem type song and while the song didn’t blow anyone away, it does seem that these guys have a good stage presence and can write good songs of their own.
This was a fun night and for the first night of the Real Rock Reporter, it was a good show to let people know about. Yes, you should see Sevendust when given the chance, if you like grinding heavy metal and if you want a really strong sound, Piere’s is a great place to be.