MMRBQ

Decided to go catch this show just the day before. Glad I did! Got phenomenal seats considering it was 24 hours before the show. 12th row from the pit! And padded seats & backs! I never sat up that close before - who knew? It was $25 more than the non-premium seats, but well worth it just for the padding. The only drawback was, that it may have been too close for optimum sound. At times the vocals were drowned out & any little glitch in the equipment was heard, whereas people much farther back didn't notice. I must give props to the weather. It was AWESOME!

So, the lineup:
Noosphere: Don't know who they are. Must be a local band, but they were playing prior to the show's actual start time, so we didn't even attempt to be there that early.

Seether: Well somebody had set the gps to avoid toll roads & instead of going the way I knew, I listened to the blasted thing, causing us to drive through the city, adding another half hour to the trip! grrrrrrrrrrrrr And the line at the will call window was moving sooooo slowly! I do prefer my Seether with a touch of Amy Lee, and I would've liked to see them. Darn show for starting on time. What is that about? But apparently they had to be on the West Coast to record or something so wanted to play first or something like that. We did get to catch the last few songs of their set, so that worked out ok. Remedy was last & that was good.

Silvertide: Local band. I think I'd heard of them before, but didn't really know their music. i guess they were ok, but I was anxious to hear the other bands, so listened to them impatiently.

Collective Soul: AMAZING! I was looking forward to them but was still pleasantly surprised. A great performance! 'Nough Said!

Three Days Grace: Good set. I like this band & they were pretty much just what I expected.

Breaking Benjamin: There seemed to be a crackling coming through the speakers and at first I thought that maybe being so close to the front, that my eardrums had been blown out, but soon other people around me remarked about it as well. Once it was confirmed I seemed to notice it even more. It persisted through a few songs & then there was some nasty feedback & that got our attention! Shortly after that the band acknowledged "technical difficulties" which they had not previously been aware of. Sadly this ruined the set for me. I really thought that someone on their crew would've caught onto this sooner & corrected it or something. Although, like I said, people sitting farther back didn't even notice, so perhaps it was our location that heightened it. Still though, with all the expensive equipment, not to mention what our tickets cost, I really expected better. I am glad though, that not everyone was bothered by it.

Live: Finished out the show with a very good set. Everyone in the crowd around me seemed to really enjoy them. Ed's voice is amazing & he gave a most energetic performance. They came back for an encore, including Lightning Crashes, which I knew they couldn't leave out.


Fireworks, Ferry, Long Drive Home - the end!