Avalanche Tour, 2011
It was a cold March evening when the Avalanche tour rolled into Nashville, TN. However, the night surely heated up when the bands on the tour took the stage. The first band to get the evening started off was a band from Canada called Art of Dying. The band fronted by the talented Jonny Hetherington brought a pallet of tunes that sure pleased the crowd’s hungry ears. Songs like “Get through this” and “Die Trying” had the crowd singing along. Another song that got my attention was “Sorry” the song started with shared guitar notes played by Jonny Hetherington and Tavis Stanley. Both were so in sync with each other the guitars blended beautifully. Over all the band provided the fuel that helped ignite the crowd that evening.
Next up in the evening was a band I’m all too familiar with Halestorm. This band has been around for a little while now and has continued to amaze the crowd with their performances. The bands set opened up with “Love Bites (So do I)” and this made the crowd scream for more as the band went straight into the next song on their list “It’s Not You”. The whole band has the onstage vibe that rocks the house, but don’t let it fool you their offstage presence is just as warming to the heart. The performance they gave on this tour has been nothing but stellar in my opinion. You can tell this band is hard working and does not take their fans for granted. Other highlights in Halestorm’s performance was Arejay’s drum solo, now normally he would do a drum solo then the band would re join him on stage and they would all have a drum line type performance together. However tonight was different, after Arejay’s solo was complete the band rejoined him on stage for a hard hitting performance of Skid Row’s song “Slave to the Grind”. I have often told people when describing Halestorm’s performance and sound that they are unlike nothing you have ever seen before.
After Halestorm lit the fire inside the crowd with their performance, it was time for another band to take the stage to warm the soul. Skillet was next to take the stage and they were ready with a set list to warm any crowds soul. The band took the stage and the crowd completely ignited the set opener was their hit song “Sometimes” and they followed up with the heartwarming song “Whispers in the Dark”. The highlight of the show for me was the moment the violin and cellos started in with the opening notes to “Heroes”, this song touches my heart in a few ways that just makes the song a hit with me. The performance during “Heroes” was spectacular the lighting, lifts, and smoke flares made the song more visually appealing. Skillet’s stage performance was none the less spectalur and the band was full of energy that increased the emotion of the crowd setting their souls on fire with the performance that Skillet was delivering.
Now that the night is in full swing and the bands that have performed got the crowd warmed up and ignited the fires within the souls and hearts of all the fans present it was time for a little humor with the band Theory of a Deadman. Before Theory took the stage, they had a little theme song they want the crowd to hear. It was “Blame Canada” from the South Park movie “Bigger Longer and Uncut”. This song lightened the mood of the crowd and readying them for the set that Theory was about to rock them with. The band started the set with the ever so popular “So Happy”, in which Tyler Connolly, the band’s lead singer, delivered so much energy that had the crowd not only singing along because they knew the words, but because they wanted to be a part of the performance of the song. Another song that appeared to be a crowd pleaser was “The Bitch Came Back” which has a nice melody to it that makes the song all too funny and sad but true at times. Since the band played that new song, they gave the crowd another taste of the new material with another song called “Low Life” this is another track from their new upcoming album. Theory of a Deadman didn’t stop there with the crowd interaction. They did a cover of Eric Clapton’s song “Cocaine” which the band backed off on several parts and the crowd sang the song back to them. But the TOAD didn’t stop there with the hits and crowd pleasers they delivered more of their hits like “Bad Girlfriend”, “Hate My Life”, and “Got it Made”. By the time, their set was finished the fire inside everyone in the crowd had been completely ignited, and it was time for the final band on this magnificent tour to take the stage.
The final band of the night to take the stage was Stone Sour. This band has made history with their albums and performances. Their performances are never the same, because they come to each venue and to each city on the tours with a new energy and a new emotion for the fans they meet there. Corey Taylor is a man of many words and well his favorite word is Mother Fucker. He is a comedian when it comes to crowd interaction. He knows how to get what he wants from the crowd and he commands them very well. The band started the set off with “Mission Statement” which says a lot because the band was on a mission to make sure the crowd enjoyed themselves. The crowd was pumped and moving and you could tell the band was feeding off the energy and they just kept dishing out the music. Songs that filled the performance were “Made of Scars”,” Reborn”,” Digital”, and many others. However, I think the best part of the show was the performance of “Bother”. The crowd sang along while Corey strummed on the guitar and sang to the crowd. I think it was a heartfelt performance for both the Corey Taylor and the crowd. Because it seemed Corey was in awe that the fans wanted to help him sing the song, and with all the voices in the crowd in unison backing him up it was truly a heartwarming performance. The final touch on the band performance was a solid performance of the final three songs of the night. The band ended the session with solid hard hitting performances of “Through the Glass”,” Get In Side”, and “30/30 150”
I have been to many shows in my days and I have always walked away pleased and with great memories of the night. However, this was a night to remember because it was filled with warmth, emotion, and laughter. The Avalanche Tour is something that should not be missed it’s worth the money spent and your guaranteed a great show filled with wonderful bands that are happy to entertain you and make sure you have a great time with them while they are performing on stage.
Sorry – Art of Dying
Get Through This – Art of Dying
Slave to the Grind – Halestorm
Dirty Work – Halestorm
Awake – Skillet
Hero – Skillet
Low Life – Theory of a Deadman
Hate My Life – Theory of a Deadman
Bother – Stone Sour
Digital – Stone Sour
Scars – Stone Sour
30/30 150 – Stone Sour
