VICTORIOUS NIGHT ALL AROUND AT HAMPTON BEACH SEVENDUST SHOW

Many of us spent the 19th of April glued to our type of prefered technology to watch the manhunt for the 2nd Marathon Bomber. I did so until it was time to leave Wells Beach Maine to travel south alongside the Atlantic ocean into Hampton Beach for the only show that was happening at the time that could keep me away from the NEHMF. When my fiend and I drove down Route 1A along the beaches of New Hampshire, we realized that the NEHMF was kicking off the 3 day event that is the best heavy metal concert of the plant just 90 minutes south of us. More importantly, 45 minutes south of our location a Boston suburb was on lock down as the manhunt continued. It was an eerie, ominous feeling as we paid our parking attendant five dollars to park outside the Hampton Beach Ballroom Casino. The sky was cloudy and a light wind pushed the misty rain in all directions. We could hear some thunder above us and there was simply a feeling of uncertainty with the bomber still on the loose from the authorities.
I was excited to see Sevendust tonight for many reasons. It's true I have seen the band a handful of times. The first time I witnessed the band in person was at Club Lupo's to celbrate the release of their sophmore album. They played an amazing set with Staic X and I will always remember it. I, as well as the roughly 2000 metal heads with tickets to the show, needed an event like this to put some positivity into our lives. The sellout crowd needed a boost from the beloved rock band and that is what we got. I was also excited to hear tracks off all of their 9 studio albums, including the brand new album that dropped a mere 6 weeks ago.
I traveled up the ten steps and got scanned after emptying my pockets and then showed some I.D. to get a bracelet to have a few adult beverages. I had finally reached my destination! Seeing Lacuna Coil perform for the 1st time ever at this venue had me pumped, as was the return of Coal Chamber and the debut of new alternative band Stolen Babies. At 7:00 sharp, the lights went down and the four fans above the stage turned on and the show had begun. I sipped my Long Trail and tried to explain the opening band to my pal who was sipping a Harpoon Summer Ale. The problem was I really could not. You simply can't categorize a band like this. I summed them up as a mix between The Agonist and maybe if there was a heavy metal cover band for No Doubt. If he knew who IWRESTLEDABEARONCE was I could compare Stolen Babies to them. Stolen Babies played a ripping set that featured 6 tracks extended over a 28 minute window. The fans in attendance were totally perplexed and I understood why. The crowd was mostly a hard rock Sevendust crowd who were introduced for the very first time to this unique band. The drummer was awesome and the vocalist had all ranges of vocals to screams to singing with her accordion in tow. It was gothy, jazzy, heavy and melodic. Some of the jokes were lame and the vocalist strange ideas about mice and lobsters and anything small in this world had the crowd even more confused. The experimental rock group played most of the set from cuts from their most recent album.
Moments after the lights turned on after the opening band had exited the stage, Scorch from rock 101 took the stage to get the crowd pumped up. He immediartly got in his personal plugs and then attempted to get the crowd going with his boisterous voice and asked the crowd to flip his off; which we all did several times.
Lacuna Coil took the stage next and played a set of eight songs over 40 minutes. I loved the set despite a lack of strong vocals from Cristina. Her voice sounded soft and tired and whiny but she still sounded efficient. Andrea, the male vocalist who seems to bug everyone but me, sounded awesome. There was a great vibe and the band let the crowd know about it. The crowd grew larger as concert goers finally arrived to the venue on Friday night. People were singing along to the songs despite the band not playing favorites such as "swamped" and "heavens a lie". They played several songs from the latest album including "intoxicated", "kill the light" and "trip the darkness". They ended their set with "spellbound".
I did not know what to expect from Coal Chamber, especially after it took them about 40  minutes after Lacuna Coil exited to hit the stage. We  wondered how is the band even here with Sevendust, a band they feuded with for years. This would be the last two bands I would expect to see on the same bill together. The set was loud, long and awesome. For the first time of the night the moshpits turned from a handful of drunks to a full scale melee'.  They opened their set with "loco" and the crowd went nuts. Dez came out with a witch craft tee and his neon microphone and tore it up. He did his usual act of being a jerk, which was fine because it is expected from the outspoken frontman. He blasted religion, people who wouldn't get in the pit, guys who brought their girlfriends to the show and even the people seated above the crowd on the 2nd floor box "expensive"sections. He did address the crowd about going on tour and how Morgan texted him and gave the ok to join the tour with them. It shows that even in metal enemies came become friends and vice versa. I also liked when he got mad with the crowd when they didn't cheer enough for the opening bands performance when Dez asked the crowd to give them some love. He ranted how that band get paid little, don't eat and sleep in a van. He also gave a shout-out to the guys in Godsmack who were ironically sitting in the section above that he had ealier ripped for being "expensive" and occupied by fans whith ocerpriced and feminine alcoholic drinks.
The pit was intense at times and the band loved it. All 4 members of the band were into the set that lasted well over an hour. The drummer got himself pumped before the set by punching his face, head and chest and dumping water on his head and shirtless chest. He spent most of the set throwing his drum sticks and spitting all over the stage. The guitarist was jumping all over the stage while the bassist was spinning  herself all over stage when she wasn't head banging. The set ended and we waited for sevendust!
I went to piss out a few beers and did so. The bathroom was as expected at a metal show; I dodged piss, blood and vomit on the floor, walls and the stalls. I went to get a last beer and was waiting in line.......and all of sudden the crowd went into a frenzy. The monitor left of the stage put up the news the manhunt was over and the 2nd bomber was captured in a city just 45 minutes from where we were all watching this show. The place went bezerk and the chants of "we love Boston began" and lasted a long time. At other times throughout the night, the crowd attempted to start a similar chant but it never caught on. This time it did and the night was underway.
Luckily, Sevendust did not waste as much time backstage as did their predecessor. The band came out a little after 10pm and Hampton Beach saw a hurricane created in front of their eyes. The screams and cheers began and we were all ready to turn the good news we just received into an energetic relief that we needed to let out of our souls. The band began their set with new single "decay". A cold steam of cold air erupted from three areas in front of the stage and off we went. The set lasted over an hour and we all got our equal fix from the bands 9 albums. The badn played for 30 minutes, then went out back and returned minutes later with new clothes but the same awesome energy. We heard songs such as "bitch",  "denial", "waffle", "rumblefish", "praise", "till death", "dead roses", "karma" and ended the night (oddly enough) with "face to face". When Lajon put Clint on the spot, he tried to sing new ballad "got a feeling" from the new album but for whatever reason he only sang one verse. Yet, the crowd tuned in and sang the rest and Lajon was shocked how the crowd already knew the songs lyrics in such as short time. Not a surprise I thought, as Sevendust fans such as myself are hardcore and they are the best fans out there. Why else would the sellout crowed be here instead of at the NEHMF?
The night was not without violence though. Many dangerous pits broke out during Coal Chamber and even throughout Sevendust's set. They were ugly at times. Lajon tried to encourage the crowd to keep it away from the females but Dez did the opposite and said he wanted to see pits everywhere and the music beckoned it too and thus it happened throughout the set. A few people got tossed incuding a kid who was bloody and was escorted out after the first song from Sevendust. That is always a bummer! A girl was in a Sevendust pit and I think it was her choice, but she got into a fist fight with an older dude who looked to be her relative but who really knew? Halfway through the set she passed out in the pit and the older dude picked her up and apparently took her away from the pit. Definitly a weird moment. And as always, a group of hammered and apparanet skinheads pushed there way through the entire crowd in hopes of enciting moshpits and fighting everywhere.
A great moment occured when Lajon addressed thecrowd about the cowards and the Marathon tragedy and how they finally caught the scumbag. Per usual, Lajon thanked the crowd and blessed them. The night ended when Morgan came from behind the drums and jumped into the crowd to briefly crowdsurf as the security were right there to bring him back to the stage and the beers that awaited him on the tour bus. It was such a great "victorious" night all around and I could not be happier when the lights were turned on and I exited the building with other sweaty, breathless concert-goers who probably had seen the band many time before and would certainly see them again if they come back to this area. As I drove home, I watched happy concer- goers head out for a celebratory beer at Wally's or for a mouthwatering slice at Cristy's. We all came to the show uncertain about their safety and the future of this great county but left the show all smiles with not a care in the world.