Disturbed (with Bloodsimple): The Jägermeister Tour - 2/2/06, Nokia Live - Grand Prairie, TX Feb 04 '06 (Updated Mar 11 '06)    Write an essay on this topic. Tweet Popular Products in Music Revelation [Digipak] by Journey From $12 Machine Gun Etiquette by The Damned From $40 The Bottom Line I'm sore. I hurt. I can't hear. But it was all worth it... I got to see Disturbed. I live for the thrill of concerts. I always have, I always will. Nothing in the world tops the live music experience. It's just so surreal to be gathered with a couple thousand people who are passionate about the same thing you are -- and of course, being only a matter of feet from your favorite band isn't all that shabby, either. Every single time a band I love comes near, I'll do whatever I possibly can to make it to the show. So you can only imagine my excitement when I found out that Disturbed was coming to my area as the headlining act on the second leg of the Jägermeister Tour. Although I've been a Disturbed fan for a few years now, I'd never gotten the opportunity to see them in concert. Additionally, since I'm a member of the 'Disturbed Ones' Fan Club, I was presented with pre-show Meet and Greet passes. It took me a few months to wrap my head around the concept of simply being able to compliment and thank a band whose incredible music has helped me in ways I can't even begin to describe... The weeks before the concert were a blur. Time passed by so quickly, and finally, the day was here. Thursday, February 2, 2006 I was a bit nervous for a couple of reasons. Of course I was a little anxious about the actual M&G, but what made matters worse was the fact that the time to meet up with the fan club was not clarified. To be on the safe side, I showed up at Nokia Live -- which just so happens to be my absolute favorite venue -- a few hours early. When we pulled up in the parking lot, we spotted the Disturbed vocalist David Draiman riding his motorcycle around with a few friends. I think that's when the reality of it all sunk in. I was overwhelmed with happiness and excitement! Luckily, it wasn't too cold outside, so waiting outside wasn't an excruciating experience at all. At one point during our wait, my brother nudged me and pointed out a familiar face buying tickets at the booth. It was none other than ex-Damageplan vocalist, Pat Lachman. At first, we were unsure if it was really him or just a look-alike, but after seeing a boy and his mother approach him for an autograph, we knew our eyes weren't playing tricks on us. Unfortunately, before we got the chance to speak to him, his bodyguard whisked him away. That was the first of many interesting sightings that night. Finally, a staff member gathered all of the fan club members and asked us to form a single-file line so he could lead us to the band. Of course, all of us herded in the venue in a shapeless cluster, because who can really fathom the concept of organization and order when they're about to meet a band they adore so much? Sadly, after being led to the backstage area, we all learned that the fan club members weren't the only people being treated to this allegedly "exclusive" encounter -- dozens and dozens of people from the local radio station, 102.1 The Edge, had apparently 'won' backstage passes too. So much for personalization with the fan club members. I was handed a poster to get signed, and the guards gave us the traditional speech of "We have a large crowd tonight, so make sure you say 'hello' and move along. You can take pictures of the guys, but not with them. With an amount of people like this, there's no time to hang around." Expletives were mumbled everywhere, because clearly, it was not fair that the fan club members who spent $30 to get this chance were given the same amount of time with the band as people who randomly won passes from the radio station (some of whom literally knew nothing about Disturbed to begin with). Whatever. I guess it was time to [insert cliché along the line of 'make lemonade out of lemons' here]. Over the years, I'd heard two severely conflicting tales regarding the enigmatic Disturbed frontman: a large chunk of people have claimed that he's simply the nicest musician you'll ever meet, and that he's down-to-earth, warm, and approachable. On the other hand, I've heard so many tales of David being downright rude and insulting. Of course I didn't know what to believe, but as soon as it was my turn to go through the line, I knew that the latter couldn't be any farther from the truth. The guy just has this radiating, luminous aura about him -- he's gorgeous, intelligent, and talented, sure -- but his mere presence is just so commanding and strong that it can make the most self-assured person stutter like a fool. He looked up, smiled and greeted me, and shook my hand. I mumbled something along the line of "It's so nice to finally meet you," to which he enthusiastically (and sincerely) responded, "You too!" Then I rambled on about how talented he is, and how his voice and lyrics are amazing. David looked up, and in his trademark super-low voice (fans will know exactly what I mean), said, "Aw...well, thanks, honey." Somebody pinch me. Guitarist Dan Donegan and drummer Mike Wengren were no less wonderful. So many bands display such an utter lack of appreciation for their fans that it's disgusting -- not Disturbed. I also must rave about the band's new bassist, John Moyer. He was easily the friendliest of the bunch; some musicians fake-nice and even the biggest idiot could detect their insincerity, but when John greeted me and thanked me for supporting the band, nobody could even dare to say that his words weren't heartfelt. I took a few photographs of the guys and went on my way. What a wonderful experience it was to meet Disturbed... I'm so thankful for the tightly-knit fan club, and to the band for being so great to everyone. After the M&G, we were led inside the venue to our super-close seats. A Life Once Lost had already taken the stage -- they're a Philadelphia-based metalcore band in the vein of As I Lay Dying and Throwdown. Considering that I like a healthy dose of melody and distinction in music, it goes unsaid that I wasn't a fan of these guys. It's too bad that their live show was pretty insufferable, too. Lead vocalist Robert Meadows served up the same monotonous growl/chants throughout the entire 30-minute set, and although the possibility of Lamb of God's Randy Blythe joining the band onstage for their collaboration "Vulture" excited my brother, it didn't happen. There was little to no crowd interaction, so as a result, I seriously doubt that A Life Once Lost turned too many Dallas folks onto their music. There was also the Lizard Man, who "entertained" the fairly uninterested crowd in between sets. Although he was lively and occasionally entertaining, he ventured toward 'obnoxious' more often than not. He floated around in the air, suspended by a wire connected to a piercing (OUCH!) in his back, then proceeded to show the crowd all of the blood that was shed due to the stunt. It pained me just to watch that. Yow...the things some will do for attention. Metalcore outfit Bloodsimple, AKA the first signee to Mudvayne vocalist Chad Gray's record label, served as direct support for the tour. I wasn't too familiar with their sound at the time, but after being exposed to their laughable 'we hate the world' songs like "Straight Hate" and "What If I Lost It" (one of which honestly features the lyrics 'How many times have you been mistreated?! HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU BEEN...DEPRESSED!'), I became all too aware that they weren't anything special. Why do so many bands of that genre feel the need to sound so indistinguishable from one another? I don't comprehend it. I will give the band props, however, for a couple of things: for one, they were leaps and bounds better than A Life Once Lost. A few of their songs actually had a glimpse of melody/rhythm to them, namely the stompy "Blood In, Blood Out" and the more mellow, alt-rock track "Falling Backwards", which the band's lead vocalist Tim Williams dedicated to 'all the fucking smokers and drinkers out there.' They were also just better PERFORMERS than the preceding band -- their impressive energy was contagious, but most importantly, they prepared us all for...Disturbed. I've seen plenty of Disturbed performances on television and on their DVDs, M.O.L. and Music As A Weapon II. I thought I knew exactly what to expect: a hard-rocking, energetic, superb live show. Little did I know that it would be so much more, and it would exceed my expectations by far. There are lots of musicians that are talented, but they don't know how to put on a great live show. But Disturbed fans will be happy to know this: if you think their albums are good, your face will be melted right off by their spectacular show. As the lights dimmed and David Draiman slowly made his way to the stage, the crowd went freakin' nuts. Remember what I said earlier about his presence being so commanding? The audience was kind of like David's marionettes -- if he'd told everyone to shave their eyebrows off and chant "I am the aardvark," we all probably would have done it without hesitation. The fact that Disturbed opened the show with the speedy, beautiful "Guarded" was both a blessing and a curse. It may just be one of my very favorite Disturbed songs, and the guys pulled it off live without a hitch -- but I was hoping they would start the show off with one that I was less enthused about, because I got so into "Guarded" that I was sore, hoarse, and out of breath after the first five minutes of the show. Whoops. They segued right into the explosive profanity-laced "Liberate", which is about sixteen thousand times better in concert than it is on record. Dan's guitar playing was excellent, and the band's onstage chemistry was untouchable. After every couple of songs, David would stop to address the audience. The guy talks a lot. He holds nothing back, from blunt comments to some over-enthused (and slightly, uh, over-exposed) girls in the mosh pit to his lashing out at whiny emo bands ("We need to stop all of the hundreds of bands that sound exactly the same," he said. "You know, the ones that all start with 'The.' Those eyeliner-wearing mama's boys who bitch and moan about their girlfriends all the time.") The guy is truly a brainiac and a musical genius -- nobody can rock a crowd like he can. Every single person in attendance was spellbound by his every word, and we all thrived off of the consistent energy that Disturbed provided us with. I thought I'd died and gone to Heaven whenever David said, "Pray with me...about the state of hard rock and heavy fucking metal," right before the crunchy, staccato guitar riffs of "Prayer" filled my ears. This song has special meaning to me because it was the first Disturbed song I'd ever heard, and David pulled off that beautiful, soaring chorus flawlessly. Another definite highlight was getting to hear "Remember" live -- I'd never even saw a live performance of that song before, and it was to die for. Getting to actually hear David's cries of "If I can remember, to know this will CON-QUER ME," in-person was a dream come true, and I made no attempts to hold back the tears. The song is just so beautiful. One of the best things about Disturbed's set was that there was such a nice balance of soft and heavy, and everything flowed so well. They selected a great mix of songs from all three of their albums. The insane atmosphere of crowd favorites like "Voices" and "Bound" was so much fun; everyone waved their lighters to the perfectly anthemic almost-ballad "Overburdened". The catchy, electronically fused "Fear" had everyone "from the left to the right, from the back to the front" jumping up and down maniacally. When it was time to really rock, David announced that a special guest was in attendance. To no surprise, this guest was none other than Vinnie Paul (ex-Pantera, Damageplan). The members of Disturbed were always close friends with Dimebag and Vinnie, and their covers of Pantera's unforgettable mosher "Walk" have practically become a staple in their live shows (especially Texas ones, of course). "I know it's predictable," David admitted, "but we love it. Start that shit up for me, Dan." As Mr. Donegan obediently churned out those instantly recognizable opening staccato guitar riffs of "Walk" and Vinnie gave Mike Wengren a helping hand on drums, the crowd's energy level was at its undeniable peak. After a stellar performance of one of my favorite Disturbed tracks, "The Game", David simply said, "Thank you, Dallas. Goodnight," and left the stage. Hah! HAHAHAHA! What did he think we were, idiots? Of course they couldn't leave without playing their hit single "Stricken" and, most importantly, "Down With The Sickness" (Ooh-WA-KA-KA-KA, anyone?). After the crowd chanted "More! More! More," for a few minutes, David & Co. returned. The crowd sang along louder than ever during "Stricken", and Dan's electrifying guitar solo was the stuff dreams are made of. "Down With The Sickness" was pretty insane, and the brilliantly executed performance made me freakishly gleeful. Seeing Disturbed live, and getting to meet them, made my day. It made my week, it made my month, it made my year, it made my life, and even if my musical tastes change (bah!) in the next decade, I will NEVER forget February 2, 2006. These Chicago rockers are the real thing -- they're great guys, they're top-notch performers, and I love them so much. I highly recommend that anyone who even dares to call themself a Disturbed fan should travel to a show near them at once. The Jäger tour is still going. What exactly are you waiting for? Go get stupified. Get down with the sickness. Jump. Scream. Do whatever the hell cranks your proverbial boat. That is, after all, exactly what Disturbed stands for. The Sickness - Believe - Ten Thousand Fists Stupify [Single] - Stricken [Single] - Music As A Weapon II - M.O.L.

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