Musical Moments #13

Date: September 8, 2013
Venue: The Zoo Amphitheater, OKC
Lineup: We As Human
              In This Moment
              Papa Roach
              Skillet
              Shinedown



For starters, I might have slightly underestimated the line at the gates. The Carnival was slated to start at 4:30...and it was pretty close to that when We As Human took the stage. I was still outside, about halfway through the line. Thus, I can't really review them. I'll grant that I wasn't there for them anyway, and didn't realize they were on the lineup until someone else mentioned it. But I am a bit disappointed I missed a (apparently) local band.

As I understand it, the Zoo Amphitheater recently changed management.
So far I like what I see. The old management had some rather over-conservative rules floating around - namely a large fine for "swear" words, which is obviously pretty fucking ridiculous for any kind of hard rock show. Might not be that significant of a change, but it sure felt like a step in the right direction. Much cooler logo, too.

For whatever local following I probably don't have, if you haven't been to the Zoo Amp, you should go. It's a great venue, and I love the sound system. That being said, it is outdoors, so don't be dumb about it.

Moving on, In This Moment followed, and by then I was comfortably inside the venue. I'll take this moment to say that the only bands I haven't seen before were Papa Roach and Shinedown. With that in mind, I love the show In This Moment puts on. I hadn't yet seen much of the Blood album performed, and I liked it a lot. They've come a long way from The Dream, which is the first tour I saw them on, especially as far as visuals are concerned. I do wish they'd had a long enough set to play some older music, but I'll happily take what I can get. Mmm, Maria Brink.

Papa Roach was up next, and I was very pleasantly surprised.
Let's be clear, I didn't expect the band to suck or something. I was not, however, expecting them to have that awesome of an energy. Hell of a stage presence, and the singer (Jacoby) is a bit insane...ventured out into the crowd three (I think) times during the set? Fantastic stuff. Given what I saw, I'd actually have put them higher up in the lineup if I had the choice. Ah well.

On to Skillet. I've seen them before, but not since Rise released. I did enjoy the newer songs, but their set was very classics-heavy (as far as Skillet is concerned.) I'm okay with that, and I enjoyed their set...that being said, there was a bit of a drop in energy level and stage presence, despite the rising/lowering platforms and rather fun string players. Then again, I wasn't looking for anything new here, so it might have just been me.

(Warning: I am a huge Shinedown fan. Bear with me.)
Shinedown...holy shit. I've missed these guys every time they've been around for the past 5-6 years, and that has pissed me off every time. I finally get to see them for Carnival of Madness, and it's the day before my birthday? Best present ever.
There is a reason they headline that show. Good God, that set was intense. The Zoo Amp was basically wall-to-wall by this point in the show, which is pretty damned impressive given the size of the place. Lots of crowd energy, epic stage presence, and a really well-selected set. Plus the visuals and show they put on were spectacular. Zero complaints.

Suffice it to say, I left feeling rather musically fulfilled, which is nice. The show stretched from 4:30 to about 10:30, the breaks weren't too long, and nobody failed to bring their A-game to the table. I love established tours.

Highlight tracks:
In This Moment - Blood, Adrenalize
Papa Roach - Still Swingin', Last Resort (I don't care, they were fucking awesome live.)
Skillet - Rise, Rebirthing
Shinedown - Fuck it, the whole damn set. Amaryllis, I'm Not Alright, and Unity, if you're going to make me choose.

- C