Avenged Sevenfold w/ Stone Sour, Hollywood Undead, & New Medicine – iWireless Center, Moline, IL (02.01.11)

Posted by Aaron Titan on 02.10.2011

The blizzard 411's Aaron Titan traversed through to get to this show was...YOUR FUCKIN' NIGHTMARE!

Not that this wasn’t affecting 29 other states besides Illinois, but I’d still like to preface this review with my travel story to Moline’s iWireless Center.

For the 4-5 days before this show, meteorologists were basically daring me to still make the trip. You see, a gargantuan blizzard was on its way to start shitting on our area around lunch time the day of the show.

It started 20 minutes before lunch.

So, after being relieved from work early because of the weather, I decided to hop on the interstate early and defy the recommendations of coworkers and weathermen/women alike.



And I did. And the lanes weren’t visible. And some asshole cut across traffic and almost hit me. And I sort of got lost because I couldn’t read the exit signs that well. And I booked a hotel after finally arriving in the Quad Cities.

And then I got a beer. And then another.



And after being subjected to the high school B-boy punk stylings of New Medicine, I needed another. The crowd was into it overall, probably because it woke everyone up after the exhausting journeys many took on toilsome roads that city officials pulled plows off of that evening due to snow drifting making their efforts ineffective. Basically, New Medicine were a crappier version of Story of the Year, and that's saying something.



Then, the music switched gears to the post-nü metal grooves of Hollywood Undead. After opening with their smash hit “Undead,” they had the crowd hooked for the rest of their short set. It’s kind of a mark of the times that a crowd of kids that came to see two of the bigger bands on hard rock radio today got so into a group that resembled a Caucasian version of the Wu-Tang Clan with instruments.

Basically, Hollywood Undead were fun, but after a certain point, I was kind of over songs about kicking people’s asses, going to parties, and fucking bitches at said parties.

Then, after a very brief set change, “Duel of the Fates,” the theme song from Star Wars, Episode I: The Phantom Menace, blared over the PA and Stone Sour emerged, led by smirking frontman Corey Taylor. The band blasted through “Mission Statement” to open the set and while the snow-covered crowd had bounced around a little during the two openers’ sets, visible circle pits and singing-along really added to the energy of the show.



Stone Sour delivered more radio rock numbers, both new (“Digital (Did You Tell),” “Hesitate,” “Say You’ll Haunt Me”) and old (“Made of Scars,” “Hell & Consequences,” “Reborn”). As has been standard at the other Stone Sour shows I’ve attended, Taylor was featured mostly solo for the group’s acoustic staples: “Bother” and “Through Glass.” A true rock show, complete with Stone Sour lauding the Midwestern crowd – everyone except drummer Roy Mayoroga is from Iowa – for braving the weather and adding to the set so much, Stone Sour gave the performance of the night by far. Corey Taylor was just cracking jokes like a modern day Diamond Dave and he really controls the room in a fun, non-domineering way.

About 25 minutes later, the crowd is breathing heavy and ready for the headliners to go on so they can go unbury their cars. The curtain drops, a stuntman roadie drops from the lighting rigs with a rigged noose around his neck, and the plunking keys intro to “Nightmare” blare through the arena as fans from front to back roar. M. Shadows – clad in a classic Slayer tee – and the rest of Avenged Sevenfold take the stage bathed in ethereal blue light and seam through the rest of the 6-minute rocker quite convincingly.



Arin Ilejay has replaced ex-Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy in A7X’s live show, and having seen them on the Rockstar Uproar Tour last summer, I really didn’t notice the difference. So, if Ilejay is their guy for the foreseeable future, he should do just peachy.

The majority of the set was an honest tribute to the late Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan – mostly songs off of their most recent release, Nightmare –including the somber affair that was the middle of the set: “Buried Alive,” “So Far Away,” “Afterlife,” “and “God Hates Us.” While the show didn’t slow down pacing-wise, it was sort of a bummer. I get that the band’s hurting and that they’re still paying homage to their late bandmate and all, but it was tough to see the tragedy of pain and loss played out on stage after the day’s battle with the blizzard.

Also, from my close perspective on the floor level, it seemed like guitarists Synyster Gates and Zacky Vengeance just didn’t give a shit about the entertainment value in their performance. Note for note, they were spot-on and their dueling solos were pretty awesome, but they were mild-mannered and solemn the entire set. Not a ton of facial expression to be seen. They moved around to various spots on the stage, but didn't do much besides stand and play. I know it’s been a hard year for the band, but c’mon! If you’re gonna’ go, go full on or don’t go at all.

After picking things up with their first major hit, “Bat Country,” they pulled out a gem from Waking the Fallen: “Unholy Confessions.” This was the first time I’ve seen Avenged play anything from before City of Evil and I’ve seen them four times since 2006 when they were on the main stage at Ozzfest.

After the traditional encore clamor, the group came back out. The roadies had wheeled a vacant piano out to center stage and M. Shadows sang the heartbreaking duet “Fiction” that Sullivan had recorded demos for three days before his passing. Sullivan’s piano playing and vocals were played on a backing track over the PA, which only slightly detracted from the live experience.

After rocking the Sweeny Todd-reminiscent epic “A Little Piece of Heaven” (I'd never seen them play this one before either), the show was over and the crowd trudged through the snow, most opting for nearby hotels like we did.

The 411: Even though I had seen Stone Sour and Avenged multiple times before this, I’m still glad I braved the blizzard and went to the show. It was a fun night had by all and I was thoroughly impressed all bands on the bill in putting their all into their performances for the loyal crowd, Avenged slightly excluded. M. Shadows has never sounded better and Corey Taylor is now officially one of the most entertaining frontmen I’ve ever seen live. If this tour is coming to town, I’d highly recommend checking it out.

Final Score:  8.0   [ Very Good ]