Photos by Hector Amador
So, after seeing Staind with special guests Man Made Machine at the Tabernacle in Atlanta, I find myself at a crossroad. Do I review the show or do I sit down and write some new tunes on guitar? That’s how powerfully the music of Staind affected me tonight.
They canceled their December 01 show due to illness and rescheduled for the 18th. By the time Staind hit the stage, you could no longer see the floor from the balcony due to the sea of people. It was good to see that people were still able to make the show even though it was getting really close to the holidays.
Guitarist Mike Mushok took the stage to start the show and almost came out of his shoes with his energetic stage movements, while singer Aaron Lewis walked around casually Zen, barely breaking a sweat, like he was taking a walk to get some coffee so he could wake up.
Bassist Johnny April and Drummer Sal Giancarelli helped add the backbone and depth to the overall sound, especially with April took to tasking some vocal harmonies with Lewis, which is always impressive when done correctly.
At one point in the show, Lewis treated the crowd with some new material that he recently recorded. The song, “Red, White, and Blue,” with its country vibe, definitely contrasted with the normal Staind material. Lewis even added a little twang to his voice.
Another interesting contrast was the difference in guitars used by Mushok and Lewis. Mushok had several versions of his signature PRS guitars, and Lewis was armed with various Gibson and Fender guitars, all of which had a vintage quality to them, at least in cosmetics.
The crowd reacted to some songs with a few mosh pits. At one point, I saw someone get knocked down pretty hard, but then immediately picked back up by the same person. That’s the way it’s supposed to be in the pit. It can get pretty violent, but if you knock someone down, or if you see someone get knocked down, help them back up.
The next scheduled Staind show is on February 25 in Brisbane, Australia. If you didn’t get a chance to see them this time around try to catch them the next time they come to the area.
You can find them online at http://www.staind.com.
Review by Russell Eldridge; Photos by Hector Amador of www.amadorphoto.com
