Balls. That’s how hot it was. Big burning, sweating, dripping balls. Oh man, I’m still trying to rehydrate from earlier this week when Bad Wolves, Five Finger Death Punch, and Breaking Benjamin rocked the White River Amphitheater in Auburn, WA in no less than 96 degrees. And let me tell you what, the place was packed! Even up in the lawn where the roof of the amphitheater falls short of protecting you from the infernal rays of the death ball, hoards of Knuckleheads, “Benjaminians”, and whatever you call the Bad Wolves masses covered the lawn from top to bottom.
Bad Wolves hit the stage with some bad intentions. If you didn’t know that you were at a metal show, lead singer Tommy Vext made it obvious. Bad Wolves thundered through a 10 song set list to a packed venue. Opening band, packed venue. Let that sink in for a second. Just after the midway point in the set, the completely flawless Diamante came out on stage to join Tommy for “Hear Me Now”. And ending their set, we all got to sing along as Bad Wolves rocked their cover of the Cranberries’ Zombie. I tried to sing along. My mouth opened, but my voice was stuck in my throat. I wasn’t crying, my eyeballs were sweating. Shut up!
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By the time 5FDP came on stage, the sun had decended into that spot. If you’ve ever been to White River, you know the one. That perfect angle where the back of your head and neck get completely fried as the performers on the stage get completely blinded. with the sun firmly in their faces, Ivan, Zoltan, Chris, Jeremy, and Jason opened their night with “Ashes”, played live for the first time in over 10 years. Later in the set, before playing “Wrong Side Of Heaven”, Ivan made a poignant tribute to one of the fans’ recently passed father and to the recently departed Vinnie Paul.
Then, as if things weren’t emotional enough, Ivan invited a bunch of kids up on stage to “help him” sing the new song “I Refuse” from And Justice For None. Ivan had the lyrics printed since forgetting them after recording the song. One young man held the printed lyrics while Ivan sang as the song was performed live for the first time ever. When the song was over all the kids were given guitar picks, drum sticks, hugs and high fives. The young man holding the lyrics tried to hand them back to the singer, but Ivan said “no buddy, that was yours the whole time.” Geez, I’m getting all emotional just writing this. I need to stop eating kale or something.
At each 5FDP show, one lucky fan goes home with a bat that Ivan signs and gives away, usually to a kid. But, breaking with tradition, before playing “Coming Down”, Ivan surveyed the audience about alcoholism and sobriety, something that he personally has been battling with. On this night, the bat went to a gentleman celebrating 8 months of sobriety. Going over their alotted set time, the 5FDP set closed out with “Under And Over It”, “The Bleeding” and “Sham Pain” from the lastest album.
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The last band to take the stage on this co-headlining adventure was Breaking Benjamin. In stark contrast to the bright sunshine and pyrotechnics, Breaking Benjamin opted for a darker, simple stage. With the sun now securely nestled below the horizon, they opened with “Red Cold River” from their most recent release Ember. They brought down the house on the second song with “I Will Not Bow”. Five songs into the set, a strange drum/lightsaber love-child was brought front and center. With Benjamin Burnley pounding the drums up front, the band performed a medley of the Star Wars Imperial march, Tool’s “Schism”, Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, Pantera’s “Walk”, and Metallica’s “Sad But True”. Because nothing says “heavy” like Sad But True.
Throughout the set, Ben, Aaron Bruch and Keith Wallen would take turns as vocalist with Keith exclusively on “Sooner or Later”. Breaking Benjamin’s set was heavy, but still had the soulful feel of a Breaking Benjamin show. Lead Singer Benjamin Burley didn’t spend a lot of time addressing the audience, instead letting his music do the heavy lifting.
Overall, I think that the co-headlining format was perfect for this tour, giving each of the band’s fan bases some exposure to a kick-ass night of some fabulous metal music.
