The Carnival Of Madness tour was making a stop at Red Rocks on the 10th, and as luck would have it, Brad had scored some choice comp seats. Plans were made for us to meet up after we left our respective places of employment and catch whatever acts had yet to play.
The COM Tour is somewhat of a mini nu-metal festival, and features We As Human, In This Moment, Papa Roach, Skillet, and Shinedown.
Truth be told, I was not too familiar with any of those bands, though I had heard Papa Roach's Scars on the radio, and Shinedown's Second Chance.
The show got underway at 5:00pm, but being as how I had to work until 6:00pm and had to stop due to a minor accident in front of me at an intersection on the way home, we did not get to our seats at Red Rocks amphitheater until 7:30pm, right after Papa Roach had wrapped up their set.
Which was a bummer, sure, but on the plus side the rain had let up so we could take off the portable-humidifier-esque rain gear and enjoy the fresh cool air of the foothills after a late summer shower.
The band Skillet took the stage just after 8:00pm. As I mentioned I was not familiar with the band, so I decided to take notes on my phone. Here are the notes I took:
Epileptic seizure inducing strobes @8:12pm
Canons shooting smoke @8:12pm
Frontman working the crowd...We're called Skillet...encourages the crowd in a sing along...If you're feeling good, sing...if you're feeling bad, sing...you sound good! @ 8:13pm
Large video screen backdrop...shows video captures that remind of the The Jams Sound Effects album cover @8:14pm
Tried and true video montage @8:15pm
Preaching hope and love to a metal crowd...raise your hand if you're sick, if you're sick of it...@8:16pm
Well dressed band, lead vocalist is looking a little like Billy Joe from Green Day in a black vest and striped tie @8:17
White-clad violin and cello players take center stage @8:18
Has to be the 50th or so band I've heard state that this was their first time playing Red Rocks. Must be a feather-in-the-cap for bands @8:22
Skillet's lead vocalist and the keyboardist doing an Evanescence-esque thing @8:30pm
Video screens show cartoons depicting people using slingshots to overcome hate and fear represented by armies of skeleton/death-like figures @8:31pm
Video is now a girl walking through cemeteries, drowning, being pushed off a cliff by death? @8:32
Video has two ballet dancers one dressed in black one dressed in white @8:32
Lots of images of young girl as victim who overcomes horror movie imagery @8:33
Frontman works the crowd, pushes new album Rise, says next song will be a slow song...says it was written about a girl he knew who wanted to commit suicide...poignant song...slow intro, builds to anthem @8:36
Slow heavy song would work as a soundtrack selection Michael Bay film @8:36
Lead guitarist throws a little Eddie Van Halen Eruption riff into song intro? @8:44pm
Video of the band beating up a clown with red hair, wearing red jumper with white polka dots - WWE wrestling moves and leaps from turnbuckles @8:49pm
Frontman asking the crowd Do you feel like a monster...Mitch Hedburg reference? No it's the song @8:49pm
Frontman thanks his #1 man Jesus. Is this a Christian metal band? @8:53pm
Violin and cello player on risers now rising @8:54pm
Frontman thanks everyone profusely @8:55pm
Those are all the notes I made on my phone as I watched Skillet. It may not be apparent from those notes, but I truly enjoyed the band's performance. I had no idea they are a Christian metal band, all I thought when they first took the stage was that they were a little lacking in tattoos for a metal band, and they were very professional.
The older I get, the more I appreciate professionalism in a band. When I was younger I'd put up with bands making the crowd wait an hour and half before taking the stage, or the band members being too fcuked up to actually play coherently. Now, I much prefer the pros.
The headliner for the COM tour is Shinedown, and they took the stage about 30 minutes after Skillet's set. Here are my phone notes made during their performance:
Holy moley huge jets of flame for Shinedown. Carnival performers on stage juggling flaming batons too? @9:32pm
Carnival Of Madness logo on video screen @9:33pm
Frontman says Colorado make some noise...round of applause for Carnival Of Madness performers @9:33pm
Crowd encouraged to look at person to left, person to right, shake hands with them @9:34pm
Video shown as if looking into a porthole...video shown is a rotoscope of band members fighting at a band meeting? @9:39pm
Drummer has long dreads? Eye black makes him look like Uncle Creepy @9:43pm
Narrator of video is from Great Dictator? Charlie Chaplin @9:44pm
Audience sing along...ever been caught in a sea of despair...put your hands in the air...audience has hands in air as lyrics request @9:46pm
Depression era newsreels? WWII? Vietnam protesters? National Guard rescuers after flood? Tornado? @9:47pm
Singing I took all your pictures off the wall wrapped them in a newspaper something something...I recognize this song, like it @9:50pm
Crowd doing a Purple Rain like wave @9:51pm
Every song sounds like an anthem @10:04pm
Put your fist in air thing looks too much like a fascist salute @10:09pm
Guitarist and drummer showing off some serious skills @10:10pm
Frontman talks about the power of Rock and Roll...Rock was there when you needed it...That one song...Rock saved you time and time again...Rock and Roll is not a genre Rock and Roll is a way of life @10:19pm
Rain coming down pretty hard again @10:26pm
Tesla and Edison in video...seems like tribute to both...most people take sides in that debate...this seems to give each his due...Fritz Lang's Metropolis? @10:33pm
Encore acoustic cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd's Simple Man...crowd sing along...call and response @10:39pm
Encore...video has name of Amanda Michelle Todd with birth and death dates...she was victim of cyber-bullying in Canada who took her own life...very dramatic...video is the one she posted on Youtube with flashcards that described her ordeal @10:47pm
Pyrotechnics galore, big finish @10:53pm
Band thanks everyone...says this is not goodbye it's until we meet again @10:54pm
There you go, the notes I made during Shinedown's performance. Again, while this particular style of music is generally not my cup of tea, this band was both professional and very entertaining. I was initially hesitant to attend the show, and in fact I sent a pic to a friend of the stage covered in tarps while a light rain fell when we first got to our seats, with a text sentiment equivalent to "Meh, but I'll put up with it."
But I didn't have to put up with anything. Both bands put on shows far superior to many I've seen by much bigger names. A great time was had, even with the advent of a deluge near the end of the show.
Afterwards Brad and I paid a visit to Jose O'Shea's for a few beers and some bar food. Yeah, we enjoyed the show so much we decided to chance the Jose O'Shea's late night taco bar...may the lord have mercy.
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