Uproar (Concert Review)

Alan Barthlemess

     Last Friday night I found myself in the Greyhound arena in Post Falls, Idaho.

There was a huge gathering of thousands and thousands of people all standing around jumping up and down banging their heads to the beat of an Uproar. It was only appropriate because this was the Uproar concert featuring many rock and metal bands. This whole event was sponsored by Rockstar energy drink and was much appreciated by its fans, me included.

    The concert initially started around two pm that day with many small local rock bands. It wasn’t until around six though that things started to get interesting However. The main Headliner to attract people to this event was the almighty Disturbed! Opening for them would be Avenged Sevenfold; preceding them would be Stone Sour with Halestorm before them. So there right there was four very popular mainstream bands that filled up the arena. Three out of four bands Stone Sour, Avenged Sevenfold, and Disturbed each have recently released an album and are touring to advertise it.

    Sadly I didn’t arrive until right before Stone Sour came onto the stage. Stone Sour was a great warm band. The energy started flowing throughout the stadium the second they walked out. They played many fast up beat songs that really got the people going and ready for what was soon to come. The crowd was especially delighted to be the first to hear a few songs from their new album “audio secrecy” live never played before in concert. At least that is what Stone Sour claimed.

      Next up was Avenged Sevenfold, my personal reason for attending. After seeing them in concert live twice before, I knew they were going to put on a spectacular performance. This time however was by far the best out of all their shows I’ve ever seen hands down. I won’t throw any spoilers in this article for those of you who may be seeing them later in life. You’ll just have to go and be amazed the way I was standing outside in that open field on that cold Friday night. Everything about their show has been upgraded from their stage gear to the special effects.

Sadly last December Avenged Sevenfold lost its Drummer aka the “REV”. He was a major part of their music, having written most of Avenged hit songs “Afterlife” “A Little Piece of Heaven” and many more. To fill his shoes while Avenged tours is the truly awe inspiring Mike Portnoy. For those of you who are unaware of this rock sensation, he was DreamTheatre’s old drummer and is an amazing drummer with one of the largest kits ever known. With Portnoy welcomed to the Avenged family, it made for one awesome performance. Avenged Sevenfold’s newest CD “Nightmare” is available everywhere.

Last, but definitely not least, was Disturbed. Disturbed has been a very mainstream popular band for many years, and well deserved I feel. This band consists of only four members, each skilled at their own trait. Disturbed also played a few hits from their latest album and some all-time crowd pleasers like “Stricken” and “Inside the Fire”. In their show, Disturbed brought out enough LED panels to cover the entire stage background. So their show was like one huge music video. Overall the concert was incredible and I highly encourage anyone who gets a chance to see them live to jump at the opportunity. Personally I felt Avenged put on the best show but that’s my preference.