Just got back from Down last night. I'll give a review in a few hours, but I'm going to bed for a bit. A few fucked up things happened to our group, but it was still a top notch show.
Sorry, I kinda went back to sleep for a few hours due to getting maybe 2 hours of sleep last night. Just woke up.
Down-4/30/2011-Sayerville, NJ-SOLD OUT
So, on campus yesterday there was a giant Folk festival. My friend Melissa and I helped out at the radio station booth for a bit, and left for Melissa's house in Plainsboro around 3. We had to wait for Alex to get to Melissa's and Melissa's friend Dan to show up so we didn't leave for the show till like 6:15ish. I don't know how many of you have been to the Starland Ballroom, but it is in THE MIDDLE OF FUCKING NOWHERE! We missed the turn off like 4 separate times. It was my first time there. We got there right before 7. As soon as I got up there to get wanded and patted down, they were like "No studded belts allowed". -_- I had to go put my belt back in Melissa's car, so another 15 before I got in the door.
First band, Haarp, was alright. We were hanging out at the bar for them, so we couldn't really see the singer that well since he sung almost their entire set in the crowd. 6/10
Danava-Really really good. Not sure why I liked them, but they kicked ass. We moved down to the main floor area for them. 7/10
Down-Went on stage from 10:10. Now, I'm a recent Down fan so I generally didn't know most of the songs by name, so I was relying on my friends to tell me the song names. They opened up with Eyes of the South. The entire place went nuts. Phil was hilarious. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get any pictures because the crowd was too rough. So, the bad parts of the evening. My friend Melissa and I were crowdsurfing. This one guy on the railing was going out of his way to grope girls, and not in the boob or ass. He did it multiple times. My friend Melissa got fucking livid and got the asshole kicked out. Alex and I ended up colliding while going crazy and pretty much stunning each other in pain for like 2 minutes or so. Durning Down's last song, Alex (who recently had surgery on his left arm for nerve damage), like a dumbfuck decided to crowdsurf as well. He got dropped twice, once on his back and once right on his left arm. People kept on hitting his left arm on the way out so he was close to puking in pain. Dumbfuck. The other bands came onstage and played with Down for Bury Me in Smoke. 10/10
Melissa was very tired and kind of paranoid by the end of the night so Alex and I ended up crashing at her place. We ended up staying up watching Black Sheep. I didn't get much sleep because I had to make sure Alex didn't overdose from the amount of painkillers he swallowed. Fell asleep around 6am, got woken up at 8:30am to come back to campus.
Great fucking show. Could have done without the few hiccups, but totally worth the money. I will most certainly be seeing Down again.
Down Setlist:
Eyes of the South NOD Lysergic Funeral Procession Lifer Ghosts Along the Mississippi The Path Underneath Everything Losing All New Orleans is a Dying Whore Pillars of Eternity On March the Saints Hail the Leaf - encore - Stone the Crow Bury Me in Smoke
Dumbass, what did you miss turning, the big friggin billboard that says STARLAND BALLROOM on the street w/ who was playing underneath? though Jernee Mill Rd may be easy to miss considering if you miss that turn to get onto it, you'll be confused.
hellz yeah Britt! I'm glad you dug!! Anselmo is awesome, and the band was tight when I was them, glad you felt the same... sorry bout all the BS that happened to you, but i still hope you had a blast! hopefully they come around again soon and we can roll together B-)
drinkwine732Posts: 20,418destroyer of motherfuckers
I have the hugest man-crush on Explosions in the Sky, holy shit.
They're so good live...
I was bawling like a baby during Birth and Death of the Day, which I got on video. I'm really happy that the only person I was with was an acquaintance who I don't see every day.
5-1-11 - The Fillmore Detroit - Detroit, MI - Deftones
This show was a bit different for me in that for the first time since I started going to concerts regularly in 2008, I did not have to drive myself. Dayna, Brad, and Brad's sister were already going when I finally decided to get on board and buy a ticket last month, so we carpooled for this one to minimize the cost of parking next to the venue, which is $12 on most nights. We got to the venue at about 6:15, 15 minutes before the doors were to open. Not keen to stand in a long line to get in, we parked and then chilled in the car for about 45 minutes, all the while blasting the new Foo Fighters album. \m/ At about 7, we left the car and went into the venue. We looked over the merch once inside and to be honest, none of the designs impressed me at all. I was not planning on buying a shirt going into this show, but had I wanted one, I would have been pretty disappointed. Eventually, the main stage area started to fill with noise and the crowd began to cheer, meaning the opening act was about to take the stage. Though we weren't all that interested, we decided to check them out anyway.....
Funeral Party - A newer band from California who had their debut album drop earlier this year, and their inexperience showed. There was no stage presence whatsoever from them at all, as every member of the band stood there and expected everyone to get into their music, which I will address in a moment. They didn't talk to the audience at all either; they came on, played their set, and left, and if you didn't do your homework beforehand, you would have had no idea who the fuck the band that had just played was. For a young band trying to get their name out, that's not the best way to promote themselves at all. Now, the music itself wasn't terrible. They had an electro/funk/dance kind of sound, with nothing in the way of heaviness at all but music designed to get you to move a bit. Unfortunately for them, no one was moving, and neither was I. I found the majority of the music to be pretty bland and boring, not aided at all by the non-existent stage presence. And the singer absolutely killed any chance I had of getting into the music with his horrible, incredibly nasal vocals. Overall, not the best performance by a band trying to get some recognition nationally on this tour. I checked out a couple songs afterward and they sound better on album, but they have many problems to work out live. 3/10 http://www.myspace.com/funeralparty
The Dillinger Escape Plan - Oh my goodness. I had seen a few Youtube videos of their live performances prior to tonight, so I knew it would get a bit crazy. They did not disappoint in that regard. As soon as they hit the stage, the main floor, which had been pretty much completely stagnant throughout Funeral Party's set, woke up, and pits and chaos ensued. Dayna and Brad and Hailey got separated from me as we tried to avoid the pits, as well as the few insane Dillinger fans that were hopping around people like madmen, screaming every word to every song. The chaos on stage mimicked the insanity of the crowd as DEP put on one of the most energetic performances I have ever seen from any band. Whereas Funeral Party did not move at all, there was not one member of this band that was not running around the stage except for the drummer, for obvious reasons. The guitarists and bassist were not just headbanging, they were thrashing about like they were losing complete control of their bodies. One of the guitarists was right in front of me and acted like he was going to chuck his guitar into the audience, and actually tossed the guitar a bit in our direction. He was holding on to the strap the whole time, but it still scared the shit out of me. Greg Puciato, the lead vocalist, completely takes the cake if you're talking reckless live performances. He was literally everywhere. When he wasn't screaming his face off on stage, he was on the rail screaming right in OUR faces, crowd surfing, or mixing it up in the huge pits his band had created. Now, I have seen vocalists do all of this stuff before, but his sense of reckless abandon and unpredictability was something I had not seen before, and it was definitely fun to watch. Musically, they are mathcore/experimental rock, which pretty much means their music doesn't really follow conventional rules. Indeed, the music was incredibly dynamic and filled with odd time signatures. It was probably one of the most schizophrenic sets I have ever seen, where the musical direction changed without warning. Sometimes, it was from hardcore punk-style stuff to more melodic stuff, but more often than not it went on from one hardcore punk-fest to another, again, very suddenly. If you weren't paying attention, it would be very easy to get lost in what they were doing on stage. It was one of the craziest 45 minutes I have ever witnessed at a show. I don't think I would ever get into these guys on album, but if you're going to see them live, buckle up and hold on. 8.5/10
Setlist:
Farewell, Mona Lisa Milk Lizard Panasonic Youth Fix Your Face Room Full of Eyes Gold Teeth On A Bum Black Bubblegum Sunshine the Werewolf
Deftones - After a set such as DEP's, it's hard to imagine any set following it up to be nearly as crazy. However, I soon found out that Deftones were up to this challenge. Our group reconvened again after Dillinger, and at that point we were a couple people away from the rail. Dayna mentioned that this was the closest she had been to the stage at the Fillmore and the closest she had been to the stage since Disturbed played at Cobo Arena a few years ago. Unfortunately, at that point there was really no chance of us getting any closer, so we positioned ourselves as best we could and waited for the inevitable push. Sure enough, when the band finally took the stage, Chino hopped up and took the mic, and went right into Diamond Eyes, the push was on, and it was a hell of a push. The set started off with Diamond Eyes and Rocket Skates, two of my favorites from their latest album, and it was clear from the get-go how tight the band's sound was. Diamond Eyes was woven just as delicately and beautifully live as it is on the album, and personally, I cannot tell you how long I had been waiting to scream the chorus of Rocket Skates aloud with Chino live. It was awesome, and the first of many times Chino would demonstrate his great screaming ability. The band then went into a long stretch in which they delved into their catalog of older stuff, starting off with Birthmark and Engine No. 9 before moving on to two selections from Around The Fur: Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away) and My Own Summer (Shove It), the latter of which is one of my favorite Deftones songs. Up until that point, I had been keeping one eye on Dayna and the rest of the group, as the push coming from all sides was constant and intense. When My Own Summer started up, Dayna told me they were backing out and moving towards the back, and I didn't see them again until after the show. I held my ground and hoped that they would be fine on their own. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a bit worse than that, as Dayna proceeded to be knocked out. With the help of security, and without any help from crowdsurfers (both the security escort and Brad got nailed by one as they tried to get out), they got her out of the pit area and checked out. She turned out to be fine, thankfully. Unaware of these events, I continued watching as Deftones tore through an incredible set. It became increasingly apparent throughout the night that the star of the band was Chino, because while the rest of the band essentially stood still, Chino took on the challenge of matching the energy of the singer of the band who came before him. He did not jump into the pit or crowdsurf, but he basically did everything else, and you could tell by the copious amounts of sweat he was working up how much he was giving this performance. The two Around The Fur songs were succeeded, appropriately, by three songs from their legendary White Pony album in Digital Bath, Korea, and Knife Prty. Hearing the songs in this order gave one the idea of just how the band had evolved in their early days, as these three were less aggressive and more eclectic in sound, and certainly more atmospheric. Though the songs changed, the band's great playing remained constant as they moved to a couple from their self-titled album and then three more from Diamond Eyes, including You've Seen The Butcher, with its awesome lumbering riff that was only amplified live and the soothing sounds and melodies of Sextape and Beauty School. Elite was one of the best songs of the night, with Chino screaming his lungs out to one of the heaviest songs in the set by far. The main part of the set couldn't have had a much better conclusion for me, with three of my favorite Deftones songs right in a row in Change, Passenger, and Back To School. Change was brilliant, with Chino manning the guitar himself on this one and adding to the atmosphere, and Passenger did not suffer at all from having Chino sing both vocal parts. It was executed masterfully, along with Back To School, and the band then quickly took a break. Stephen Carpenter, on the other hand, stayed onstage to have a smoke and throw out some picks. At that point, I had worked my way up to the rail and was in prime position to snag a pick from the band's co-founder and succeeded. The rest of the band then came back out and ripped through two classics in Root and 7 Words in awesome fashion, with Chino giving as much on the last song as he did on the first song. Their night done, the band bid farewell, and though I was able to get my hands on a piece of drumstick, I eventually lost the three-way battle. Like STP, this band has gotten a rep in the past for bad shows, but just as STP runs through Scott Weiland, Deftones runs through Chino Moreno, and he led his band in a performance I will not soon forget. 10/10
Setlist:
Diamond Eyes Rocket Skates Birthmark Engine No. 9 Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away) My Own Summer (Shove It) Digital Bath Korea Knife Prty Hexagram Minerva Bloody Cape You've Seen The Butcher Sextape Beauty School Feiticeira Elite Change (In the House of Flies) Passenger Back To School (Mini Maggit) -------------------------------- Root 7 Words
I left the venue and met the rest of the group, who were waiting outside the car because Dayna had locked her keys inside. It didn't take long for us to get assistance, however, and while we were waiting I gave Dayna the pick I had caught, which gave her a happy. It probably didn't make up for missing a good portion of the band she came to see, but I'm glad I was able to catch something for her anyway. It was a very interesting night on many accounts, but I enjoyed hanging out with Dayna and Brad and Hailey and hope that we can do it again someday.
Comments
Down-4/30/2011-Sayerville, NJ-SOLD OUT
So, on campus yesterday there was a giant Folk festival. My friend Melissa and I helped out at the radio station booth for a bit, and left for Melissa's house in Plainsboro around 3. We had to wait for Alex to get to Melissa's and Melissa's friend Dan to show up so we didn't leave for the show till like 6:15ish. I don't know how many of you have been to the Starland Ballroom, but it is in THE MIDDLE OF FUCKING NOWHERE! We missed the turn off like 4 separate times. It was my first time there. We got there right before 7. As soon as I got up there to get wanded and patted down, they were like "No studded belts allowed". -_- I had to go put my belt back in Melissa's car, so another 15 before I got in the door.
First band, Haarp, was alright. We were hanging out at the bar for them, so we couldn't really see the singer that well since he sung almost their entire set in the crowd. 6/10
Danava-Really really good. Not sure why I liked them, but they kicked ass. We moved down to the main floor area for them. 7/10
Down-Went on stage from 10:10. Now, I'm a recent Down fan so I generally didn't know most of the songs by name, so I was relying on my friends to tell me the song names. They opened up with Eyes of the South. The entire place went nuts. Phil was hilarious. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get any pictures because the crowd was too rough. So, the bad parts of the evening. My friend Melissa and I were crowdsurfing. This one guy on the railing was going out of his way to grope girls, and not in the boob or ass. He did it multiple times. My friend Melissa got fucking livid and got the asshole kicked out. Alex and I ended up colliding while going crazy and pretty much stunning each other in pain for like 2 minutes or so. Durning Down's last song, Alex (who recently had surgery on his left arm for nerve damage), like a dumbfuck decided to crowdsurf as well. He got dropped twice, once on his back and once right on his left arm. People kept on hitting his left arm on the way out so he was close to puking in pain. Dumbfuck. The other bands came onstage and played with Down for Bury Me in Smoke. 10/10
Melissa was very tired and kind of paranoid by the end of the night so Alex and I ended up crashing at her place. We ended up staying up watching Black Sheep. I didn't get much sleep because I had to make sure Alex didn't overdose from the amount of painkillers he swallowed. Fell asleep around 6am, got woken up at 8:30am to come back to campus.
Great fucking show. Could have done without the few hiccups, but totally worth the money. I will most certainly be seeing Down again.
Down Setlist:
Eyes of the South
NOD
Lysergic Funeral Procession
Lifer
Ghosts Along the Mississippi
The Path
Underneath Everything
Losing All
New Orleans is a Dying Whore
Pillars of Eternity
On March the Saints
Hail the Leaf
- encore -
Stone the Crow
Bury Me in Smoke
ill just leave this here....
This show was a bit different for me in that for the first time since I started going to concerts regularly in 2008, I did not have to drive myself. Dayna, Brad, and Brad's sister were already going when I finally decided to get on board and buy a ticket last month, so we carpooled for this one to minimize the cost of parking next to the venue, which is $12 on most nights. We got to the venue at about 6:15, 15 minutes before the doors were to open. Not keen to stand in a long line to get in, we parked and then chilled in the car for about 45 minutes, all the while blasting the new Foo Fighters album. \m/ At about 7, we left the car and went into the venue. We looked over the merch once inside and to be honest, none of the designs impressed me at all. I was not planning on buying a shirt going into this show, but had I wanted one, I would have been pretty disappointed. Eventually, the main stage area started to fill with noise and the crowd began to cheer, meaning the opening act was about to take the stage. Though we weren't all that interested, we decided to check them out anyway.....
Funeral Party - A newer band from California who had their debut album drop earlier this year, and their inexperience showed. There was no stage presence whatsoever from them at all, as every member of the band stood there and expected everyone to get into their music, which I will address in a moment. They didn't talk to the audience at all either; they came on, played their set, and left, and if you didn't do your homework beforehand, you would have had no idea who the fuck the band that had just played was. For a young band trying to get their name out, that's not the best way to promote themselves at all. Now, the music itself wasn't terrible. They had an electro/funk/dance kind of sound, with nothing in the way of heaviness at all but music designed to get you to move a bit. Unfortunately for them, no one was moving, and neither was I. I found the majority of the music to be pretty bland and boring, not aided at all by the non-existent stage presence. And the singer absolutely killed any chance I had of getting into the music with his horrible, incredibly nasal vocals. Overall, not the best performance by a band trying to get some recognition nationally on this tour. I checked out a couple songs afterward and they sound better on album, but they have many problems to work out live. 3/10 http://www.myspace.com/funeralparty
The Dillinger Escape Plan - Oh my goodness. I had seen a few Youtube videos of their live performances prior to tonight, so I knew it would get a bit crazy. They did not disappoint in that regard. As soon as they hit the stage, the main floor, which had been pretty much completely stagnant throughout Funeral Party's set, woke up, and pits and chaos ensued. Dayna and Brad and Hailey got separated from me as we tried to avoid the pits, as well as the few insane Dillinger fans that were hopping around people like madmen, screaming every word to every song. The chaos on stage mimicked the insanity of the crowd as DEP put on one of the most energetic performances I have ever seen from any band. Whereas Funeral Party did not move at all, there was not one member of this band that was not running around the stage except for the drummer, for obvious reasons. The guitarists and bassist were not just headbanging, they were thrashing about like they were losing complete control of their bodies. One of the guitarists was right in front of me and acted like he was going to chuck his guitar into the audience, and actually tossed the guitar a bit in our direction. He was holding on to the strap the whole time, but it still scared the shit out of me. Greg Puciato, the lead vocalist, completely takes the cake if you're talking reckless live performances. He was literally everywhere. When he wasn't screaming his face off on stage, he was on the rail screaming right in OUR faces, crowd surfing, or mixing it up in the huge pits his band had created. Now, I have seen vocalists do all of this stuff before, but his sense of reckless abandon and unpredictability was something I had not seen before, and it was definitely fun to watch. Musically, they are mathcore/experimental rock, which pretty much means their music doesn't really follow conventional rules. Indeed, the music was incredibly dynamic and filled with odd time signatures. It was probably one of the most schizophrenic sets I have ever seen, where the musical direction changed without warning. Sometimes, it was from hardcore punk-style stuff to more melodic stuff, but more often than not it went on from one hardcore punk-fest to another, again, very suddenly. If you weren't paying attention, it would be very easy to get lost in what they were doing on stage. It was one of the craziest 45 minutes I have ever witnessed at a show. I don't think I would ever get into these guys on album, but if you're going to see them live, buckle up and hold on. 8.5/10
Setlist:
Farewell, Mona Lisa
Milk Lizard
Panasonic Youth
Fix Your Face
Room Full of Eyes
Gold Teeth On A Bum
Black Bubblegum
Sunshine the Werewolf
Setlist:
Diamond Eyes
Rocket Skates
Birthmark
Engine No. 9
Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)
My Own Summer (Shove It)
Digital Bath
Korea
Knife Prty
Hexagram
Minerva
Bloody Cape
You've Seen The Butcher
Sextape
Beauty School
Feiticeira
Elite
Change (In the House of Flies)
Passenger
Back To School (Mini Maggit)
--------------------------------
Root
7 Words
I left the venue and met the rest of the group, who were waiting outside the car because Dayna had locked her keys inside. It didn't take long for us to get assistance, however, and while we were waiting I gave Dayna the pick I had caught, which gave her a happy.