Who: Carnival of Madness Tour featuring 10 Years, Sevendust, Chevelle, Puddle of Mudd (cancelled) and Shinedown
When: Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Where: Desoto Civic Center – Southaven, MS
Favorite Moment: Watching Shinedown headline the Carnival of Madness tour and still remembering back when they opened a local rockfest as an “unknown.” Kinda makes you proud.
Not so Much: Surprise, surprise: Puddle of Mudd was a no show. The only thing worse than this would have been sitting through yet another one of their annoyingly unoriginal performances. (Sorry P.O.M. fans.)
You could not pry the smile off my face with a crow bar. ~ Brent Smith
So after a pretty slow summer as far as my concert calendar is concerned, I’m finally getting my rock blog off the ground. And with a pretty significant show at that. The Carnival of Madness tour kicked off last month and finally rolled its demented acts into Southaven, MS (about 15 minutes south of Memphis.) The lineup featured a who’s who of modern rock acts: 10 Years, Sevendust, Chevelle, Puddle of Mudd and Shinedown. For once, I felt pretty justified to pay a slightly higher ticket price.
Unfortunately, the rock Gods were not on my side when the night began. Not one, but TWO accidents on the expressway made what should have been a 30 minute trip take over an hour. By the time we arrived at the venue, 10 Years was leaving the stage. (Ironically, this is the second time I’ve tried to see these guys, but to no avail.) So my review for this band will have to wait yet again.
Luckily, my mood was soon changed when Atlanta-bred Sevendust took the stage. I caught these guys most recently at Rock on the Range this past May in Columbus, Ohio. And as expected, they delivered another great show. Not for the faint of heart, Sevendust is a five-piece group made up of… men. I mean, testosterone fueled, don’t-mess-with-me-or-I’ll-mess-you-up MEN. The cool thing about these guys is that they’re true veterans of the industry, a little older than the stereotypical rock group nowadays. And even better is the story you’ll learn if you dig a little deeper into their past.
In a nutshell, they learned the ins and outs of the music world the hard way (which is really more like the stereotypical way, I guess.) Greedy money-grubbers, flaky labels, changing band members and so on. But Sevendust came out the other end with eight studio albums to date (three of which have gone gold), three compilation albums and their own record label. I guess their personal philosophy is “If you can’t beat ‘em… kick their ass and then do it yourself.” Add it all up so far and they’ve had a successful career spanning more than 15 years. My advice to the young-in’s of the tour like 10 Years? Pay attention and take some serious notes. But I digress, so back to the music.
Led by vocalist Lajon Witherspoon, the band opened with the single “Splinter” from their latest album, 2010’s Cold Day Memory. The song’s steady beat is a nice warm up for the hard core headbangers who came to rock out. As if that song wasn’t enough to make sure the crowd was really awake, the band immediately followed with “Denial” from 1999’s album Home. Both songs showcase one of the band’s strengths, specifically in the form of Witherspoon. He looks the part of the badass rocker, the real kind that could hold his own in a seedy biker bar, and not the made-up Hollister model in designer ripped jeans. More importantly, he can scream AND sing, making both sound like butter (the gritty home-churned kind.)
Witherspoon is a knowledgeable front man, skilled at reading and feeding a crowd. His banter is on point, always giving credit to the fans in attendance without dragging out the commentary beyond what is necessary. One of his funnier moments of the night came when he told the crowd about his drive to the venue, during which they passed signs for Elvis Presley’s home Graceland. It was at that point that he remembered in all the times he’s visited Memphis, he’s never been to the iconic home. But he went on to explain it was usually because “I always make time for the Rendezvous ribs.” (For you non-Memphian’s, Rendezvous is one of the better known rib joints in town and a must-try for any first timers… or second… or third.) I guess a growing boy’s got to prioritize, eh?
The crowd got a bit of a breather when Sevendust settled in for an acoustic version of “Angel Son”, although by the end the band unleashed the full force of heavy guitar riffs and hurricane-speed drumming they’ve always been known for. The song speaks of a person learning to live with the loss of a loved one and was written to memorialize fellow musician James Lynn Strait from the band Snot. Even when the song is played in its most simple form through a voice and acoustic guitar, it’s still somewhat fast paced. I can’t help but wonder how many people have actually taken time to notice the sentiment of the painful lyrics. Other songs played included “Driven” and one of their earlier hits, “Black” off their 1999 self titled CD.
Somewhere in the midst of the band’s set, we were informed that Puddle of Mudd had cancelled for the night, which would explain Sevendust’s longer than expected performance time. I might have been more upset by the news, if I was actually a bigger fan of Puddle of Mudd. But in all actuality I’m not, so longer stage time for Sevendust was A-OK with me. By the time they wrapped their set with their new single “Unraveling” and then finally 2004’s hit “Face to Face”, the crowd was on overdrive and yet still wanted more. And isn’t that the sign of a great show? My only question about the band’s performance was the obvious absence of any songs from their self titled debut album. Or maybe it was only obvious to me because I’m kind of obsessed with these guys. Huh.
In between sets, I made my way around the venue to grab a diet coke and check out the overpriced merch. People-watching is always one of the best things about a rock show, and there was a wide variety of personalities on display that night, my favorite being the inebriated teeny-bopper that demanded her giant boyfriend “ask that girl where she got her heels” and then spilled her beer on him. I don’t know what was sadder, the totally whipped dude or the waste of a perfectly good beer. (By the way, after he wiped the excess brew from his soaked shirt, he did indeed ask where the heels came from. Target… in case you’re interested.)
Back in my seat, I was kept entertained by interactive gaming offered up by the Carnival of Madness tour. The crowd was able to download a free phone app to play the game but everyone could play along as the multiple choice trivia questions flashed on the jumbo screen above the stage. You only had 30 seconds to answer, so no cheating allowed. The top five scorers would win backstage passes just before the headliners took the stage. Now I consider myself pretty up to speed on useless rock knowledge and even I was having a difficult time answering this stuff. So kudos to those brainiacs who found themselves backstage.
Next up was the Midwestern band Chevelle. To be honest, I like these guys but have never been what you could call a die-hard fan. But I’ll be the first to give credit when it’s due, and Chevelle is slowly starting to win me over. They’re a three piece band, which is really difficult to pull off, and maybe therein lies my problem. To me, they come across as a bit boring. Allow me to explain.
Most other bands in the genre stick to the formula of four to five members, the difference between the two depending on whether or not the lead singer plays an instrument. This gives them flexibility to move around the stage, take breaks for wild solos and flat out just perform. But with Chevelle, they’re pretty much stuck in front of their mic the entire show. And there really aren’t any impressive guitar solos like you’ve come to expect at a rock show. WTF!? Seriously people, I need to hear dive bombs, wah-wahs and shredding!
That said, there’s no denying that this group is solid. What you hear on the CD is what you’re going hear live. And Chevelle definitely has quite the catalog to pull from. Among the songs on the set list for this night were “The Clincher,” “Jars,” Vitamin R” and one of their latest singles “Letter to a Thief.” This song was inspired by a rather unfortunate series of events in which the band’s gear trailer was stolen after a show in 2007. It’s kind of hard to continue touring when you don’t have any instruments, but they obviously recovered and at least got a hit song out of the whole mess.
The band’s set dressing was pretty simple, with a dark curtain backdrop that highlighted a digital Chevelle logo throughout the performance. Most of the lighting was cool, except for their apparent love of strobe lights to enhance the really “hard and heavy” music breaks. Guess I missed the safety warning that this portion of the show wasn’t recommended for pregnant women, elderly folks or people in general who wanted to retain use of their eyes. But who am I to complain about something as trivial as vision?
Another break between sets, another round of trivia. And then the true madness began. In true freak show style, somewhat similar to Motley Crue’s Carnival of Sins tour, the members of Shinedown appeared on stage in dramatic fashion. Distorted silhouettes projected onto an oversized white curtain while the opening riffs of their single “Sound of Madness” played. The curtain dropped to reveal the band members each wearing their own spin of circus couture. Most notable was lead singer Brent Smith, sporting black and red striped pants, black tuxedo jacket complete with tails, and a top hat. Even better was the ringmaster cane he wielded expertly, surprisingly reminiscent of Jim Carrey as The Joker in Batman Forever (without the green leotard.) But Smith summed it up best after the first song when he told the crowd, “Tonight I’m feeling a little more psychotic than the regular Willy Wonka.”
What followed was a litany of hard rock and crossover hits that would be the envy of any artist in any genre (or their labels for that matter.) Included early in the set was “I Dare You” from 2005’s Us and Them and “If You Only Knew” from 2007’s Sound of Madness. And then came the story even I didn’t know (GASP!) Apparently, Mr. Smith had recently received a surprising request from an unlikely fan.
“It’s not every day that you receive a call from Rocky and Rambo in the same day,” he informed the audience. Turned out Sylvester Stallone was working on his new film, The Expendables, showcasing the cream of the crop in terms of action heroes. Sly needed a kick-ass song for the soundtrack that would personify rock and roll from the South. What resulted was the band’s newest single "Diamond Eyes (Boom-Lay Boom-Lay Boom).” This was a particular highlight of the show for me since I’ve heard just about every other single performed live at previous shows. The mellow tones of the song’s intro draw you in with the subtle drama the band is known for. Next thing you know the floor drops out from under your feet, your stomach spiraling from the unexpected free-fall as you’re submersed in the harsh beats and catchy chants. It’s a wild ride for sure.
As with Chevelle, one of the things I like most about Shinedown is their consistency. Again, what you hear on the CD is what you hear live. Brent Smith can hit some unreal notes, and he’ll prove it to you at each and every performance. Smith is an excellent front man with a flair for the dramatics, from his on-stage mannerisms all the way through to his between-song banter (though this can sometimes verge on overextended ramblings.) Not to be outdone, the other band members carry their own unique brand of energy which is channeled through their appropriate instruments.
Especially poignant was a homecoming of sorts for guitarist Zach Myers, who was born and raised in Memphis, TN. Not an original member of the band, Myers is considered by many to be a guitar prodigy that made him a global touring blues artist by the age of 14 (pretty significant since he only started playing the guitar at age 13!) Coming back home to his rock roots, he founded and lead the band The Fairwell. The band was pretty popular and scored gigs opening for major acts like Hinder and Three Doors Down. Myers didn’t waste any opportunities, building connections that later landed him a temporary gig with Shinedown as bass guitarist and later as lead guitarist. All in all, he’s been with the band since 2005.
Myers had a pretty substantial fan base of his own in attendance since this show was within spitting distance of his hometown. The appreciation was most apparent during the encore when Myers came back onstage wearing a blue Memphis Tigers t-shirt and proceeded to enamor the crowd with a solo acoustic intro to “Simple Man” before Smith, and finally the rest of the band, joined him onstage. “Simple Man” is arguably the band’s most popular song to date and is credited with catapulting the band to stardom. In my opinion, acoustic is the only way to perform this song such as the title demands. At this point in their career, the song stands as a tangible connection between Shinedown and their fans. The crowd knows all the lyrics and they sing along loud and with passion. You could tell that Smith and Myers were enjoying this laid-back time in the spotlight. But my favorite moment was when Barry Kerch (drummer) and Eric Bass (ironically, the bass player) meandered back on stage to just sit and take it all in. They didn’t play. They just enjoyed.
In the end, Brent Smith wrapped up his emotions pretty appropriately saying, “You could not pry the smile off my face with a crow bar.”
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