Concert Review: Incubus Double Feature

The Bots, Death from Above 1979, The Deftones, and Incubus
Riverbend (Cincinnati) and Klipsch (Indianapolis) Music Centers
7/25 and 7/26, 2015

Note to Readers: This is a first for The Music Pill: A guest post from a friend of the site, who was able to catch a couple Incubus shows that I couldn’t make it to. Hope you guys enjoy reading!!

I saw Incubus three years ago at Riverbend in Cincinnati on a sultry August day. I remember mostly drinking tepid beer and standing in line for more tepid beer, during hydration to dehydration cycles. We were in the lawn at the venue, which makes it very easy to get distracted from iconic bands, as foolish as that sounds. At Riverbend Music Center in the lawn, you can easily replicate the experience by doing the following: Drag a small television into a field, prop it up on a beam that would block your view of anyone playing music behind it, bring an Ipod and a knock off speaker, dunk the ipod and speaker into water. Close your eyes. You’re at Riverbend Lawn. Just saved you twenty bucks.

Concert Review: Breaking Benjamin

Several years ago, I forced myself to sit down and document my bucket list – a list of bands that I desperately wanted to see before I got too old…or they did. Breaking Benjamin was one of the first bands that came to mind. At that time, catching a show was out of the question, as singer Benjamin Burnley was sick, and the band was in a nasty legal battle over the band name and material. My general assumption was that Breaking Benjamin as I knew it was probably over. However, I still put them on my bucket list and held on to hope.

Much to my thrill, in 2014 it was announced that BB was on it’s way back, with a brand new band surrounding Burnley, a new album, and some heavy touring planned. I was ecstatic. After 12 years of anticipation, I was finally able to check them off my bucket list at Rock on the Range 2015, but rather than blog about that show, I decided to hold off until 3 days later, when we had the opportunity to catch them up close in personal, for a headlining set in a small venue in Indianapolis called the Egyptian Room. Breaking Benjamin – let’s do this.

Rock on the Range 2015: Day 3

Day Three of Rock on the Range 2015. This day’s lineup featured a lineup as diverse as ever – with the chance to see Crobot again, a Halestorm show that I was hoping would surprise me, and a Tech N9ne show that was sure to be an outlier in a day full of hard rock and metal. On top of that, it was all culminating for a massive Linkin Park show to headline the weekend. We loaded up the van for the third straight day, with a slight headache and my beloved Monster Rehab, headed back to Mapfre Stadium for the grand finale.

Art of Dying

The day opened up with Art of Dying, a band that was introduced to me at ROTR in 2011 (see the review here), and they were a pleasant surprise. Get Through This and Die Trying were strong enough tracks to peak my interest, and I was excited to see what was in store for this band. Fast forward 4 years, and I haven’t heard much from them since. Unfortunately, this show didn’t quite stack up well to the previous one. I still enjoyed a handful of their songs, including a surprisingly fun version of Rise Up, but overall show seemed like a slightly less energetic version of the one four years ago and didn’t feature anything that stood out or felt unique. Not a BAD way to open up the day, but I was excited to move on.

Rock on the Range 2015: Day 2

Ever since Rock on the Range went to the three day lineup, day 2 has always started the same. I wake up super early: I’m sore, tired, and dehydrated, and I have a brief period where I mumble to myself “There is absolutely no way that I can do this for two more days.” Just another great part of having 15 years of concerts under your belt. However, once we get ourselves together, get some food in our stomachs, and get to the venue, things start to turn around. We start tailgating, the music starts blaring, and slowly but surely, my excitement overcomes my soreness. Saturday’s lineup featured a great list of bands, including several brand new to the scene, a couple old favorites, and the chance to see legendary Judas Priest. It was a warm, rainy day on Saturday – with lots of clouds to block the hot sun, and lots of chances to see some great bands. Game Face time. Rock on the Range 2015 Day 2. Let’s do this.

Rock on the Range 2015: Day 1

Seven years ago, I was 23 years old, just out of college, and had all the free time in the world. I was single, with no kids, and lived in an apartment. It was also the first year that a friend of mine happened to stumble onto some info about an up and coming festival called Rock on the Range. I’ve been in love ever since. This past weekend, for the seventh consecutive year, a group of my crazy, music-obsessed friends from all over the midwest (nine of us this year) piled into a rental van and headed to Columbus to catch the 2015 version of the mighty Rock on the Range. We were equipped with every tailgating accessory you can possibly imagine (planned to the minute detail), and a perfect concert weather forecast: clouds and a little tiny bit of rain.

As the festival has grown each year, so has my blogging effort. This year, like last, I will do three separate blogs on the three separate days of this festival. First up – a Friday lineup packed with great bands, and headlined by my favorite band, Slipknot. I was juiced when we got to Columbus, and even though some of us had driven all night to get there by 10am, I couldn’t get into the venue fast enough.

My only hope: that this year would simply live up to previous year’s incredible experiences. That’s no easy feat my friends. ROTR 2015 – I’ve been looking forward to you for exactly 362 days. Let’s do this.

Concert Review: Pierce the Veil

Pierce the Veil, Sleeping with Sirens, and Beartooth
World Tour – February 7th, 2015
The Egyptian Room at Old National Center, Indianapolis, IN

Pierce the Veil, Sleeping with Sirens, and Beartooth brought their aptly named “World Tour” to Indianapolis this spring to play a show. As my musical tastes have matured, I find myself gravitating a bit away from the metalcore genre, however, PtV is a band that I will always have a soft spot. Something about their music really lands home with me, and I find myself frequently taking a break from the stuff I typically listen to, I end up throwing on a Pierce the Veil record. They also have a great live show, a trait that further weakens that soft spot that I have. Thanks to a buddy, I even got free tickets. Pierce the Veil – lets do this!

Concert Review: Slipknot

Prepare for Hell Tour
Allen County War Memorial Coliseum
11/23/2014

Despite the stomach flu’s best efforts, I was able to sneak away to see Slipknot and Korn play a double-headlining set in Ft Wayne, IN right before Thanksgiving. Such a great opportunity to see two bands that have been doing this for 2 decades, and are still every bit as entertaining as they were in the late 90s. This would be my first Slipknot show since the release of their new album, which was the first album since a change in bassists (after Paul Gray’s death) and drummer (after Joey Jordison’s release from the band). Korn as the other headliner made the show solid top to bottom, and that’s all I need for an excuse to drive to Ft. Wayne and check out a new venue.

Festival Review: Louder than Life 2014: Day 2

In between a major project at work, a new baby boy born on September 2nd, and the holiday season coming up soon, I was able to squeeze in a quick day trip to Louisville with some friends to catch Day 2 of the inaugural Louder than Life festival. This festival is basically a little brother of Rock on the Range, as it is put on by the same people and features many of the same bands.

My overall opinion of the festival was that it was fantastic. I only got to see the second and final day, but in terms of organization and design of the venue, they did an exceptional job for a first year festival. The layout did have one major challenge in that it was too linear, and the restrooms were what felt like a mile walk from the stage, but they overcame that by great sound, and awesome local food and Kentucky Bourbon to bring the Louisville flair out. This looks to be a festival for a long time to come.

Now, on to the bands!

Concert Review: Linkin Park/30 Seconds to Mars

Linkin Park and 30 Seconds to Mars
Carnivores Tour – August 29th, 2014
First Midwest Bank Amphitheater – Chicago, IL

I bought tickets 15 minutes after I saw this show was going to happen. I was in a conference room at a client site and saw the notification come across (Thanks Bandsintown!), texted a friend, and pulled the trigger. It’s amazing how willing I am to drop $175 and book a hotel and drive to Chicago, but this was such a unique opportunity to see these two bands together. Originally, I thought this was a strange pairing – Alt Rock legends 30 Seconds to Mars with Nu-Metal giants Linkin Park, but I later learned that the pairing was at the request of the LP fans. Kudos to them for this suggestion – it ended up as a great one.

Concert Review: Rockstar Mayhem 2014

I look forward to Mayhem each year, because when you live in Indianapolis, it’s your only opportunity for a metal festival. Previous years’ shows have been fantastic, highlighted by an extremely memorable performance by Slipknot in 2012. Mayhem consistently brings a solid lineup of bands across the entire metal spectrum, as well as lots of different flavors of metal, and gives an all around great experience into the current landscape of metal music. This year featured sets from Texas Hippie Coalition, Mushroomhead, Miss May I, and Emmure, and more on three side stages, paired with headlining shows from Trivium, Asking Alexandria, Korn, and the mighty Avenged Sevenfold.

So here goes nothing. Mayhem 2014 – bring it!