"You Know I Make You Wanna Scream ...!"

Last night, my sister, Danni, her friend Cindy, and myself all headed down to Portland to see Avenged Sevenfold, Papa Roach, Buckcherry and Saving Abel perform at the Memorial Coliseum.

Long story short;
WOW. Simply amazing show. Probably one of the best, if not the best, show I have ever been to.

Now, long story ... er, long.
Time for my detailed account of the night's events. (:

Part of what made this show so extraordinary for me was, in honesty, the hours we spent sitting outside. My mother was kind enough to pick my sister and I up right after school, and from there we headed straight for the venue. We made it to the Coliseum around three o'clock in the afternoon.
... doors weren't schedules to open until five thirty.
The show itself was at six thirty.
I'd never gone early to a show before; at least, not this early. When we arrived, there were probably fourty people, tops, already in line for general admission floor. So, my sister and I took our place at the back of the line ... and got comfortable.


At least the weather was decent for the two-and-a-half hours we sat outside. The weatherman was calling for rain but, luckily, none fell. However, it was rather chilly outside. Like, goosebumps and purple fingers chilly. No one wanted to bring a hoody into the venue, so we all just shivered and shook until our bodies went comfortably numb (:
We met a lot of awesome people in line, made a couple new friends - at least, for one night. Some of these friends we lost when we finally were allowed to enter the venue; others hung with us while we sprinted toward the barrier. More friends were made still while we stood waiting for the first act of the night to take center stage. As the show progressed, our little group got to know more and more people ... which is part of the fun of shows.
So, here's a shout-out to ... Kayla, Heather, the girls with the bunny ears, Heather's friend, the guy who showed us where the restrooms were and snuck into our group picture before we went in the venue, the guy who was as bored with Buckcherry's set as we were (more on that later); the girls beside me, who almost got attacked by the blondie who took an elbow to the face personally (sigh); and the guy who so graciously handed around his empty lemonade, full of ice cubes, to the crowd.
You guys were all awesome x]

By the time our little gang had sprinted into the coliseum, we found ourselves ... not on barrier, but the second row. And that was more than good enough for us! I personally had never been so close to the barrier before, and I knew it was going to make the show that much more exciting.

First to take the stage were Saving Abel.
In all honesty, in the months prior to the actual show, this was the band I was least interested in seeing perform. I'd heard just about all I could take of Addicted - the track which is currently defining Saving Abel as a one-hit wonder - and personally wasn't expecting anything better from their live performance.
However, I was pleasantly surprised. They weren't spectacular, but they definitely weren't what I expected. Although their songs weren't stand-outs, they were fun to listen to, and the band was fun to watch play.
I'd have to say the star of Saving Abel's set was their lead guitarist, of who's name has evaded me from memory and Google search. However, the image of him, putting his heart and soul into every solo last night, will forever be on my mind. He was the exact image of a passionate guitarist.
So, kudos to him (:

Next up was Papa Roach.
If they hadn't have taken the stage second out of four bands, you would have had no idea they weren't the headliners.
Oh. My. God.

All the band members put on a completely fantastic set. The energy was completely hardcore; the songs were hard, fast and loud, and the fans were one-hundred-percent dedicated. But what I appreciated most was the way the guys of Papa Roach seemed to connect with the crowd - there really was just that mutualism there. The first thing Jacoby Shaddix screamed when he came on stage was, "I need this!" ... it was such a simple statement, but completely embodied the passion in the band's performance, as well as the crowd's reaction, last night.
There were so many things great about Papa Roach's set. In the second or third song, Jacoby decided to exit stage left and head up into the stadium seats, where he was, of course, mauled by fans (: One girl named Erin had a Papa Roach tattoo, and Jacoby gave her a big hug before telling her that he was "glad their cross had path-ed." xp
After Jacoby returned to the stage, he wasted no time in introducing the band's latest track. As soon as the soft, simple guitars for Hollywood Whore began, Danni, my sister, Cindy and myself all broke out in epic screams - as did a lot of the crowd. However, it seemed Jacoby noticed our intense enthusiasm. During the bridge of the song, Jacoby came over to our section of the barrier, and leaned into the crowd.
... it was pretty much epic. That's all I can say. We all had our hands over Jacoby, screaming along to the lyrics of the song. He stayed for the entire bridge, and when he left, he made sure to take along the bunny ears the girls on the barrier gave him x] He put them on after the song was over. "I have no idea why I'm wearing these things. ... Pretty damn cute though, huh?" Insert crowd screams and camera shutters here. I didn't get a picture ... thank God Danni did!
Everything about Papa Roach's set was just breathtaking. Everyone was screaming and feeling and just one-hundred percent dedicated - I personally got pretty emotional when the band played Scars and Last Resort. It's a set I won't ever forget, and a band I will surely see again in a heartbeat next time they're in town!

Before I move on in my review, I'd like to take a quick moment to make an acknowledgement.
Papa Roach took a very long time coming on stage before their set. We all made jokes about how Jacoby was probably fixing his hair ;)
Turns out, Jacoby got a phone call fifteen minutes before the band was scheduled to take the stage. One of his friends had passed away, literally minutes before Papa Roach came out and played last night.
Maybe that puts a whole new meaning on how Jacoby "needed" to perform that night.
Either way, if my memory serves correct, the friend Jacoby lost was named Julie. My sympathies to her family, her friends, and the world she left behind.

Buckcherry was the third act up.
... and it was so very far from entertaining.
I don't know what it was, exactly, but Buckcherry just had an incredibly hard time connecting with the Portland crowd. About ninety percent of the people in the pit were simply waiting for Buckcherry to play their two hits - Crazy Bitch, mainly, and Sorry, because everyone needs a good ballad - and then get off stage, so Avenged Sevenfold could steal the show.
However, Buckcherry put on a shockingly long, shockingly nondescript performance. When you're animated backdrop is more interesting than your set ... you know you've done something very, very wrong. When kids start booing, flipping you off, and putting in earplugs in the middle of your set - only to take them out once you leave stage - ... well, you know.
The lead singer noticed. He made several comments on the "long faces" in the crowd. The even went so far as to take a shot at our teenage hormones in order to rile us up, making plenty of sexual references throughout the night - to no effect, surprisingly enough. However, we did all manage to crack a smile - and plenty of uncensored laughter - when he tripped over one of the amplifiers.
My, oh my. This was one set I won't ever forget ... and definitely not in the same way as Papa Roach's. No, I think it will be the anime porn playing in the background while the band played Crazy Bitch that I'll remember most ... not the band's performance.
Speaking of which ... granted, Buckcherry had an incredibly tough act to follow. But, regardless of who played prior, I really don't think Buckcherry had a prayer last night, with that crowd.

However, as soon as Buckcherry left the stage, that meant only one band was left to perform.
... that alleviated any "long faces" in the crowd.


All hell broke loose in the pit as soon as Avenged Sevenfold came on stage. And, from the moment the boys played their first guitar chord, to the moment the crowd's voices died down, defiantly declaring that "I'm not insane!" ...
... it was complete and utter chaos, in the most beautiful of ways.

A7X put on a fantastic set, packed full with the energy and passion one would expect as such a show. With every song, the band poured out their heart and soul to give the crowd what they had come for; and the crowd did their best to return the favor, exerting themselves to the extent of their physical capabilities to make sure the guys knew just how much they were appreciated.
Although every song they played was magnificent, I had to say my favorites to hear live were Beast and the Harlot and Gunslinger. The later is just such an emotionally charged track anyway, and to hear it live, with however-many-thousand people backing it up ... it's simply remarkable. Dear God was the same way, as well as Critical Acclaim; all are just such powerful songs, and when you get the passion of a live set incorporated, it just makes them so much more meaningful. Beast and the Harlot was special to hear live because it's such a unique recorded track - I was really impressed with how the band presented it live. The transitions from the hard-and-fast verses and the slower, more remorseful intermissions in the song were flawlessly executed. Overall, just a brilliant job done by the band.
However, there was plenty to note about the rest of the show experience, besides the band's musical performance :) One of the things I found most special about last night was the way the members of Avenged Sevenfold interacted with eachother. They acted like a family on stage, shooting eachother glances or smiles, poking fun at eachother, patting eachother on the back. It was just special to watch a band act as if they actually enjoyed working together - sometimes (too often), that's not the case. The guys of A7X treated the fans like family, too, thanking us and telling us how much they appreciated our enthusiasm xD
Our little group of fans had a couple of interactions with the band as well x]
When Cindy screamed, "I love you Matt!!!", the vocalist responded by saying, "I love you. ... you don't love me nearly as much as I love you." As much as it seemed a generalized statement - resulting in thousands of cheers/fangirl swoons - Cindy knew it was directed at least vaguely to her. And there's video evidence, which just makes it that much cooler.
After much consideration, Danni finally decided it was worth sacrificing her lucky bandanna to the band that meant so much to her. However, I was kind of surprised when she asked me to throw it for her! Using my limited range of motion and trying to defy the laws of physics - which clearly state that an item as light as a bandanna should not be able to hurdle through the air with any sort of power - I actually managed to land the thing on stage (thank God!). However, the pitch was a far cry from hitting Syn Gates - it was, however, a perfect home run onto the guitarist's foot pedals. And, while it wasn't exactly the target we were aiming for, seeing the look of confusion on Synyster Gates and Johnny Christ's faces whenever they went to use a pedal made up for my lack of upper-arm strength (:
And, at the very end of the set, Heather found herself lucky enough to take home one of the boys' guitar picks. Who's was it? We have no idea. But that's really not the point.


At the end of the night, we all exited the venue sore, sweaty ... and completely ecstatic. We knew the next day would be a bit of a fog - I, personally, knew band practice at nine a.m. the next morning was going to be an experience (and let me tell you, folks, I was playing anything but pretty this morning). But, to experience such a show ... this really was the kind of show that reminds us why we pay so much money, to get beat up and bruised - pushed, shoved, tackled -, to have our eardrums burst and our lungs explode, for the sake of five-odd millionaires who don't even know who we are.
And the thing is, shows like this reminds us that all those technicalities don't mean a thing at the end of the night. Every ache, every pain ... none of it means a thing. Because getting a chance to see those musicians, those men or women who mean so much to you, who dedicate their lives to giving you what makes your life worth living ... and to have a chance to, even abstractly, give them a feel for just how much that is appreciated by you, by your friends, by everyone who's ever plugged their headphones in and indulged in their creation ...
Shows like last night's remind us just why we do what we do.



keep on living
xoxo