Rock the Rock Fest '24

At first Rock the Rock Fest seemed like a weak pun, but when you consider that the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ is nicknamed "the Rock" then the play on words is revealed to be even more clever!  The event was sponsored by 105.5 WDHA (one of the few FM stations worth listening to) and although this was a big lineup worthy of a festival, this concert from April 25 is not in place of their annual Rock the Park concert which is being held in July at PNC Bank Arts Center.  Rock the Rock featured Staind, Seether, the Struts, Dayseeker, and Ayron Jones.  My buddy and I took the train in, and got to our seats just in time for the main stage opening act.  There were a couple of acoustic performances as well as radio interviews taking place around the arena prior to the 5:30 start time.  This is a classic example of it being worth it to get there early/on time.  If you are only coming for headliners and spend too long pre-gaming, you are missing out on some great tunes and not getting the most out of what you paid for a ticket.

After hearing Ayron Jones on Sirius radio stations and the Colbert show, I was excited to catch a live performance.  Similar to Gary Clark Jr., Ayron Jones sings about racial tensions and growing up in America while blending genres including blues, soul, hip-hop, and rock. The band sounded phenomenal jamming through six songs from three studio albums.  I particularly enjoyed the opener "Boys from Puget Sound" as well as rockers "Blood in the Water," "Mercy," and "Take Me Away".  You can catch the blistering end of Mercy and the beginning of Take Me Away on my YouTube channel.

At about 6:20PM came Dayseeker out of California.  Though they have five albums going back to 2012, I've only recently become aware of them as their last two albums Sleeptalk and Dark Sun have been getting played on Sirius Octane.  They're characterized as post-hardcore, and while some songs feature screams, most of the singing is clean and the music is rock with some electronic elements similar to bands like Sleepwave and Starset.  Highlights for me were the really catchy "Without Me" and closer "Neon Grave."

During the set change we went in search of some food which required taking an elevator up from the concert floor to get to the overpriced concessions.  The silver lining was that there wasn't much of a line, and we found some tables to stand at.  We just about finished our meal when the next band came on and we headed back to the floor.  We had seats near the back, next to the sound board, and nobody bothered checking our tickets at this point.  The arena looked pretty full, but the seats above the luxury boxes were closed off, and even the lower section was not sold out.  The Struts are glam rock band from England that is kind of like a hybrid of the Darkness and the Strokes.  They played 8 songs in a fun set.  My favorite was definitely "Pretty Vicious," the title track from their 2023 release.

Before each set, the WDHA DJ's would come out to say hello and hype up the crowd.  They did a good job of not hogging the stage, and if you are a fan of the station it was nice to see Terry Carr, Michael Anthony, and crew.  This night was my 11th time seeing Seether live, but the first time since 2017.  Of course in between there was that whole pandemic thing and then on 8/21/21 Seether didn't show up in Philadelphia.  Although I've seen them as a threesome, they typically tour with a second guitarist.  Since 2018 the guy has been Corey Lowery (formerly of Stuck Mojo, Stereomud, Dark New Day, Eye Empire, and Saint Asonia).  I noticed that Corey is also singing back-up to Shaun a lot more than Dale is.  They played 12 songs from 7 different albums in about an hour.  Like the last time I saw them, they fill space between songs with guitar feedback and noise rather than have a lot of dead space.  Some people have criticized that their setlist hasn't changed much since Corey joined, but as I haven't seen them in years I wasn't bothered.  Also it was my first time hearing songs from 2020's Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum live which were "Bruised and Bloodied," "Wasteland," and "Dangerous."  As is typical, they opened with "Gasoline" and closed with "Remedy."  On the penultimate song "Fake It" there was a different slow breakdown and then harder ending.  They are playing more shows with Staind this spring on "The Tailgate Tour" and a few festivals in the summer.  I hope to get new music and a headline tour from them soon.

This night would be my sixth time seeing Staind live and the third time with them headlining.  They were great just last year with Godsmack, but I enjoyed them even more as the headliners.  Aaron's voice still sounds great, and they were able to go deeper into their catalogue and play some more of the heavier tunes.  They played 16 songs, from 6 albums, in 90 minutes.  (Lowest in Me, Eyes Wide Open, Fade, Raw, Not Again, Here and Now, Something to Remind You (Aaron & Mike only), Right Here, Wannabe, Outside (full band), Better Days, Paper Wings, So Far Away, For You, It's Been A While (full band), and Mudshovel). Notably, they haven't been playing any songs from 2008's the Illusion of Progress.  I was pleasantly surprised to hear "Paper Wings" and "Raw," the latter of which he sang a little differently than usual when saying "raw."  I also liked that they did "Outside" and "It's Been A While" as full band instead of just acoustic as it is often done.  I just about blew my voice out in the middle of the set singing along.  I don't know how Aaron's has held up as well as it has.  If you haven't seen them at all or in a while, and you're in the NJ area, I recommend getting tickets to see them with Breaking Benjamin at PNC in September!

Static-X Regeneration 2.0

In February of 2000 Vince Carter put on the most electrifying display by a single human at an NBA Slam Dunk contest.  Just a week later I went to my first ever live music concert.  My college friend Bill had been introducing me to bands like Deftones, Staind, and many more hard rock and metal acts.  When he learned I had never been to a concert, he said that I should go see Static-X with him and that he was sure I would like it.  On Februrary 18 we went to Roseland Ballroom in NYC for my first show.  When we got there the line wrapped around the building and we ended up missing the openers, Chevelle, much to my disappointment.  However, once inside we made our way close to the front for the beginning of Dope's set.  So they were the first ever band that I saw on stage!  Bill described them as "scuzzy" and said I didn't have to like them.  Their style and songs weren't the best thing in the world, but I didn't hate them either.  Then we pushed towards center stage for Static-X.  They played 10 songs off of Wisconsin Death Trip.  Thier second single had just dropped.  Wayne's hair was spiked tall and his beard was a long rope.  His mannerisms and the music were infectious, and by the end of the set I thought it was just about the coolest thing I had ever seen.  The headliner Powerman 5000 was also good, but I was more of a fan of Static-X.  Prior to this show I knew little about industrial metal and hadn't listened to much music this heavy.  If I hadn't seen it live in-person, I don't know if I would have been as open to it, but now I was hooked.  I went on to see at least 164 more concerts (that I have documented) including four more shows with Wayne fronting Static-X and then two with his "replacement" Xer0.

Fast forward to Saturday February 10, 2024 and I arrived at Starland Ballroom to see the "Machine Killer" tour with Lines of Loyalty, Dope, Sevendust and Static-X.  The show was sold out and by the time I got into the venue at about 6:35PM the first band was almost done.  Not for nothing, but 6:15 is an early start time for a weekend show!  Anyway, Lines of Loyalty come from Kinosha, WI and just released their debut album.  From the two songs I heard they sounded like a heavier Pop Evil and I'd give them another listen.  Dope went on at about 7PM.  They opened with Blood Money which came out in 2016 and finished with their cover of You Spin Me Round, the same way they did the last time I saw them in 2019.  The girl behind me said that she felt cheated because they didn't even play the full song.  Then there was a long wait before Sevendust took the stage.  They definitely could have played a few more songs, but most people believe that the lead singer, Edsel Dope, is also Xer0, the new frontman of Static-X in which case it makes sense that he save his energy.  Edsel did thank the crowd and all the other bands.  He asked who saw their first tour with Static-X in 1999/2000 and I was able to proudly raise my horns and shout in the affirmative.  Little does he know that this very tour sparked my love of concert going and poured gasoline on my love for metal.

After an interlude which included songs on the PA ranging from Pantera to Neil Diamond, Sevendust took the stage at 8PM.  They played a good mix of 14 songs from 8 different albums.  It was a completely different setlist and vibe from the last time I saw them on the Animosity anniversary tour.  Lajon seemed to have fun interacting with the crowd, and the sold-out crowd was loving them in return.  Last time the crowd loved them too, but when they headlined they actually destroyed with their energy.  This night they were just out there having a good time.  Having seen them four times now in the last 20 years, I am confident saying Sevendust is one of the best live acts I've ever witnessed.  They are one of the few bands that transform on stage and outperform their recordings in an almost inexplicable way.  Their first ever single from 1997, Black, is still a fan favorite and the message is still relevant.  Check out a video from the night here.

About 40 minutes went by before Static-X came out.  I'm used to long breaks between sets from back in the day, but it doesn't make much sense at shows like this one where the equipment has already been set up on stage and sound check has been completed in advance.  I also noticed that the video screen never came down all night.  Usually Starland runs ads on a projection screen in between sets.  The only time people got to cheer for IHOP is when the guitarist from Dope flashed the back of his guitar with an IHOP sign on it.  When Static-X did come out on stage they were joined by a large monster guy with a large, round, light-up head.  Lead singer Xer0 has updated his costume with more wiry looking hair, headphones, and red light up eyes instead of a plain mask.  His face and arms look machine like.  As mentioned previously, it is believed to be Edsel Dope under the mask.  Last time I saw them he tried his best to sound like Wayne at all times.  This time his speaking voice came out a little more during some song parts and especially when he addressed the crowd saying "New Jersey" is sounded like Edsel.  Xer0 is joined by the original members bass player Tony Kampos, lead guitarist Koichi Fukada, and drummer Ken Jay.  Their latest album, Project Regeneration 2.0 was just released on January 26 and features about half of the songs attributed to Wayne Static, using some of his recorded vocals and synthesizers, and about half of the songs written by Xer0.  I expected to hear a lot more new material this time around since they already toured the anniversary of Wisconsin Death Trip.  However, 75% of the setlist consisted of material from the first two albums!  They only played Z0mbie from the latest record.  This goes to show that they are continuing to play tribute to Wayne.  His face appears on the big screens towards the end of the set with the years 1965-2014 displayed.  Meanwhile the stage show takes them into the modern era with superb video and lighting from multiple giant light boards, three different monsters, and the addition of a smoky bubble machine.  If you are skeptical or curious about what they are like now I urge you to go see a show for yourself.  I do not think you will be disappointed.  I know I didn't want to miss the Wisconsin Death Trip anniversary show and this time around they sounded as good, if not even better.  It certainly filled my musical soul to go back to where it all began for me.  After 16 songs the lights start to come up and there is no encore.  We all get out of the venue and on the road before 11PM!  Check out more videos here.  Please "like" the videos and subscribe to my YouTube channel.