Trivium & Tremonti @ The Baltimore Soundstage, September 25 2015.

I have never been a big fan of Trivium and not heard a lot of Mark Tremonti’s new project. But when a friend of mine asked me to go and watch them I didn’t think twice. Firstly it was a Metal Concert on a Friday night and secondly it was in Baltimore, at the Soundstage. The Baltimore Soundstage, a famous venue for the underground metal scene in the dmv area. 

So days before the concert I started to listen to their new albums. And I was really happy. Both their new albums were killer. I was always a big fan of Creed, even though I know not a lot of people do not approve of Creed, but honestly Mark Tremonti is a gifted guitarist. Both at Creed and at Alter Bridge I really liked his style of music. And his new album was really refreshing. A proper mix of his famous intricate guitar parts and fast shredding.  However, even though the soundstage was a great venue, the audio equipment and the way the amps were set up kind of felt odd, especially during Tremonti’s performance. That was a huge disappointment for me, since I was really looking forward to the sudden subtle changes from heavy to clean tunes. 

Trivium and Matt Heafy came on next. To be honest until that moment I never thought Matt Heafy would have such an impact on the crowd, he was really good. You need a frontman who can take charge and Matt Heafy did just that,  right from his signature tongue wagging which would remind people of KISS, and asking the crowd to jump it was refreshing to see Trivium. There are different types of frontmen and how they carry the crowd. For instance you have Randy Blythe who right from the first song has so much energy and the energy shifts to the crowd, on the other side you have legends like Tom Araya, who’s silence is more than enough for the crowd to go mad. There aren’t a lot of metal bands that are adored like Slayer and people to go nuts just by the silent stare of Tom Araya, so a successful band needs a frontman who can energize the crowd. 

Their performance was good, but I would love to see Trivium in a bigger stage with better audio equipment and a bigger crowd. It was a good experience to check the Soundstage, but poor access to transportation to D.C off hours meant that I wouldn’t be able to attend much shows at the Soundstage. It just wasn’t worth the hassle unless it was a band that I simply couldn’t miss. 

Summer’s Last Stand Tour, @ Jiffy Lube Live, Bristow Virginia, August 11th 2015

When I start to right this I don’t know why but I keep humming the intro to the Devil in I by Slipknot. Not the heavy alternate picking part but the part before it ! Yes, it’s almost like the calm before the storm. That’s how I felt on the day hours before the Summer’s Last Stand Tour. 

It was my first proper metal concert. And when I say proper it can’t get any better than this. Summer’s last stand tour headlined by Slipknot, supported by Lamb of God, Bullet for my Valentine and Motionless in White. I didn’t care much for Motionless in White even though I know they are a decent band and I love their song “Reincarnate”, we pretty much missed their entire set and I have no worries on that. But the other two bands and the headliner ! It was one hell of a line up. It being my first metal concert in the USA I was a bit nervous and to be honest I was but scared, but little did I know that it was going to change my entire perspective of metal music and the heavy metal community. 

I initially had gotten the lawn tickets far away from all the madness for me and my friend, but my other two friends who kind of are my close concert buddies now got the pit tickets. You can’t blame me cause I was a bit cautious. A couple of weeks before the  concert, I had twisted my ankle real bad while playing soccer, and had a protective brace on my ankle.  To make matters worse my friend dropped out and I had to get pit tickets myself cause I didn’t want to go alone. I’d rather be with friends in between the madness rather than far away from the stage alone. So by the time we went got to Jiffy Lube, fighting through traffic, Motionless in White had finished their set. I could hear them playing Reincarnate as we stood in long line to get something to drink. I wore a Lemmy Kilmister, Motörhead t shirt and got a few fist bumps from fellow Motörhead fans. By the time had gotten our drinks, Bullet had started their set, all blazing. We could hear them play, Your Betrayal, I wanted to run towards the stage but kept my cool. Didn’t want to look too eager. When I entered the pit, reality struck me. It was absolute carnage out there. People going absolutely crazy and already had a mosh pit going on. As I saw Matthew Tuck, I still couldn’t believe how close he was standing from me. It took me a while to realize that I was actually there. Bullet’s set was short, but great. They played their hits and right in the midst of Scream, Aim, Fire there was a huge mosh going on. I was so into the music that I decided to join in. At the part where Matt Tuck screams and there is a heavy break down I snapped my ankle real bad. I slowly tried to get out of the mosh and stood away. It hurt real bad I thought I had fractured my ankle. I could see it swell fast. As Bullet finished their set with Waking the Demon I was kind of disappointed, I wanted to see a longer set but with such big acts you can’t expect more. My ankle was hurting real bad. I walked back to get something to drink with my friends before Lamb of god started. As I tried walking the pain in my leg worsened. And then Lamb of God started their set. 

Can you relate to a moment in life where their is so much going around you but you are completely lost  ? I never believed in such moments, but it happened to me. As Mark Morton started to play the into to Walk with me in Hell and as I saw Randy Blythe walk towards the stage with his water bottle I was completely lost in the music. I was completely lost in the moment, my ankle was hurting very bad but it just didn’t matter, ever since that day everytime I go to a concert I long for such a moment but never has something similar happened. I have seen Lamb again but it just did not happen. Let me tell you something , people relate to different things when they are down and depressed, some go to church, some pray, some confide to a close friend, some cry. For me as absurd as it might sound, I think whatever life throws at me I can handle if I listen to lamb of god. It has helped me during so many low points in my life. Some people cannot understand, I feel sorry for you if you don’t. But Lamb of God has been a shining beacon for me amidst all hardships. Their set was perfect. And they are one of the best live bands I have seen. Randy Blythe does so well in keeping the crowd involved. Chris Adler plays with a grace that is so hard to miss. I was very sad when they had to finish their set but I told to myself that never would I miss Lamb of God if they are in town again. 

Next the guys in their Jumpsuits and scary masks were on stage. I wonder how they can perform with so much energy at each show especially during such a long tour. With my ankle injured and being right in the middle of the pit I couldn’t handle that much energy. Slipknot was more like a organized show than a live band performance. With all that extra percussion, striking the drums with baseball bats and the pyrotechnics it was intense ! Those guys give their all at every show and it is remarkable to think how they are able to do that consistently. They had a long setlist and were done with some of their biggest hits right in the middle. That kind of made it worse for me cause I would have preferred to see an encore maybe but who am I to complain ? They are Slipknot they play whatever they want and whenever they want. I was completely worn out by the time they finished their set. As I limped towards the parking lot after the show, I realized what an amazing experience it was. To this day it is the best concert I have been to.  

    
 

Foo Fighters 20th Anniversary Bash @RFK Stadium, Washington D.C, 4th of July 2015

It was around 11pm, I was walking along 21st street of Northwest Washington, D.C. I was sleepy, tired and just had a Big Daddy burger from BTS. But a poster lit me up ! It said Foo Fighters @RFK stadium. Rest is history !

It was the summer of 2015. I had been in D.C for around 7 months and had not been to a single concert. It’s quite remarkable when I think about it now. I decided this would be the perfect first concert and it was Foo Fighters ! I mean who doesn’t like Foo Fighters, a legendary band with the coolest frontman ever, the man himself Dave Grohl. I got my tickets soon and was waiting patiently but I had made a huge mistake which I have learnt from. I had gotten the Stadium tickets instead of field tickets even though they were priced the same (yes that is odd). The site said General Admission but little did I know that I had gotten the stadium seat tickets instead. It was quite a bummer. 

To make matters worse Dave Grohl fractured his leg a month before the show. Yes that’s the epic show where he fractured his leg but came back with a brace to finish the show ! Now you can relate to why I think he is the coolest frontman. Foo Fighters had cancelled a lot of shows leading up to the Fourth of July bash. I was really scared that they would cancel the show too. But they did not. But I was still concerned, you don’t need to be a doctor to realize that a fracture doesn’t heal completely in a month. Dave Grohl is associated with his energetic runs, jumping and moving about the stage. I was thinking that aspect of the show would be missing. But I was thankful that atleast the show was not cancelled. 

So the day arrived, it was hot, humid and cloudy. Me and my friend took the metro to RFK stadium. We entered and Joan Jett and the Heartbreakers were playing “Do you Wanna Touch ?”. Yes I know what you are thinking ! Joan Jett performed, so did Heart and Buddy Guy and Trouble Funk and Gary Clark Jr. ! It was an epic set ! But as  they say it’s always sunny only in Philadelphia ! It started raining, and it poured. It was so bad that they had to ask all the people in the field to take shelter inside. But I was not concerned, the guy broke his leg but came back to finish the show. He’s not gonna let rain take away his moment of glory during the 20th anniversary bash at his hometown is it ? No way. But what made sad was looking at all the people having fun in the field. They were diving in the puddle and throwing mud on each other. Made me even more sick when I paid the same amount of money but was stuck in the stadium seating. But the rain did eventually stop and show went on well. All the bands performed and it was time for the Foo ! 

Everyone was curious on Dave’s state. It was the first show after he had injured his leg. How is gonna perform ? Is he going to sit ? How will he play the guitar ? All these thoughts were running in my head as I saw the huge Foo Fighters banner covering the stage. And then the moment of glory ! Everlong ! Yes they started with Everlong even though they finish their set with Everlong usually. As the epic intro to Everlong blasted accross RFK the curtains fell and out came Dave. What a sight it was ! Dave Grohl on a powered Game of Thrones style throne but with guitar necks instead of Swords !! He could move up and down the stage like he always did with his guitar throne. The setlist was amazing, Dave Grohl went through  the broken leg incident once again as we all saw the video on the giant screen and everything was fine. The show ended to an amazing firework display. It’s nothing compared to the firework display at the Mall but who the hell cares about fireworks ? I am a mechanical engineer and I advocate climate change, I would take Foo Fighters over fireworks, Dang I would prefer Foo Fighters probably over most other things. 

It was the perfect concert. I couldn’t have asked for anything more. I will never forget 4th of July 2015. 

Music Heals

Hey One and all,

I am Carey, an International Student from India pursuing my masters in Washington, D.C.. I moved here in December 2014 and its been quite a ride so far. Music is my passion and drives me on. Only God knows what would happen to me if there was no music. I am not a great musician myself but I do fiddle a bit with the guitar and it greatly helps and appreciate the talent in and around you. Even though I grew up in India I was exposed to western music. The rock and roll world had a great influence on me growing up.  After exploring different genres of music I slowly drifted towards rock and metal. I don’t see me drift to any other genres now ! Having said that, listening to all these great bands and watching their videos on YouTube I never dreamt that one day I’d be able to watch them live, to stand in the same room with them, to watch them only a few feet away, to watch them breathe, to watch them sweat, to watch them shred the living hell out of the guitar ! I greatly appreciate the effort that each and every musician puts into each show and feel extremely grateful and lucky to see all these awesome bands live. 

Since I moved here I have been to a  bunch of concerts. I wouldn’t say too many but definitely more than an average concert goer. I have experienced a lot of emotions and my perceptions have completely changed. Ever since I had been to my first concert I wanted to start a blog or YouTube channel and share these memories. I am not a great writer and my English is not good, but who cares ? I am doing this cause I want to and down the lane I could look back at it and smile. 

Thank you for your time and join me on this journey !! \m/