What a night for a concert. The humidity has finally broken and the skies are clear. The lovely BLT and her ever present Dogg were anxious for the show to begin.
Kinda strange pulling into the Knob at 4:30 and seeing the parking lots 2/3 full already! The Carnival of Madness starts at 5:00 PM sharp. This first year event promises to be an aural assault on those unfamiliar with the sheer ferocity of this years line up. Five bands in six hours sounds like a great time to us!
First up is a band we are unfamiliar with, Ten Years. At 5:00 PM they take the stage to a 1/4 full pavillion and 1/2 full hill. With a sound that is a cross between Three Days Grace and Nine Inch Nails, the crowd was very receptive to their 6song set, lasting 35 minutes. The Dogg likes this band!
Next up at 6:00 is Sevendust. We are quite surprized that they are not further up the bill. People either love or hate Sevendust. I think they are a true powerhouse of sound and energy. Their 7 song set had the crowd on their feet from beginning to end. BLT and I loved some of the older patrons look of disgust and shock at the lyrics and crowd. Fuck em I say! Great people watching, non-stop head bob and fist pumping makes this Dogg a happy Dogg!
At 7:55, Puddle of Mudd takes over and immediatly those older folks perk up and finally look happy. I guess all it takes is some radio friendly music and a little name recognition to get them grooving. Typical Puddle of Mudd show; strong vocals, good harmony, amazing rythem section and good guitars. One rather lame part was their cover of AC/DC, Dirty Deeds. Come on guys, the School of Rock did it better and they are teenagers. Overall a strong 50 minute performance.
Around 8:15 Chevelle comes on to a nearly full house. We've never been fans of Chevelle and they did little to convert us during this performance. as far as I'm concerned they were the 5th band and should have led off. However, I got to admit the crowd loved them! What surprized me was how strong the rythem section is. Its like every beat of the drum and strum of the bass were coregraphed to perfection. A++ on this end. Where the let down has always come for me is the timbre of the singers voice. Not a strong rock voice at all. He'd be OK at a kareoke bar, but not at the Knob. BLT and i headed to the VIP to get liquered up for Shinedown!
At 9:30 Shinedown takes the stage to a sell out crowd and man are they fired up! Strong stage presence, good lighting and backdrops, ripping guitars, a truly magical rythem section, and the near perfect Rock Dogg vocals made for a real strong set. From the opening notes of "Sound of Madness, to .45, Heroes, Left Out, etc. the crowd was on their feet jamming like madmen. The 14 song set then had the added bonus of a 3 song encore, including an excellent cover of Skynrds "Simple Man", Fly Inside and the set closing Second Chance (my personal favorite). Awesome show gentleman.
Weather A
Crowd A
Atmosphere A
Sound B+
Lighting B
Staging B
Line Up B
Overall B++ a great night with 4-5 bands worthy of the show.
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