Rockstar Energy Uproar Festival feat Avenged Sevenfold – REVIEW

Rockstar’s Energy Uproar Festival came tearing to the First Midwest Bank Amphitheater in Tinley Park. Rocking the stage this day were Avenged Sevenfold, Three Days Grace, Seether, Bullet For My Valentine, Escape The Fate, Sevendust, Black Tide, Art of Dying, and Hell or Highwater. You can check out our review after the break!

Upon arrival to Uproar the clouds seemed to tease everyone as they stood in line with sprinkles falling down. It had been nice sunny days every day for a while, but of course the one day we look forward to getting to see a bunch of amazing bands outside the weather has to take a turn for the worst, but according to a few of the bands, they had hit even worse stories on some of the previous dates. Sure enough, those sprinkles turned into an absolute down pour right when the show began. While hanging on the side of the Amphitheater and in the Rockstar Energy tent, I caught a few of the bands on and off, including: Sevendust, Black Tide, Art of Dying and Hell or Highwater. I have listened to most of these bands before, so I really wish I would have been able to stand out in the rain and tough it out without having to damage my photo gear!

Now, the crowd got to pile into the safety of the amphitheater just in time for the rain to stop, how convenient. To kick off the main stage, Escape The Fate rocked like they were meant to always be on there. It’s a rarity to see such young guys break away from a scene that’s so small still and get to play with this type of lineup. They were nothing short of impressing the crowd and everyone responded very well. They had a fill-in lead guitarist and he did quite a good job of filling such big shoes and especially on such a big stage in front of 15,000 people.

“Bullet” started to be chanted and before we knew it Bullet For My Valentine had taken stage. The backdrop was shown and the crowd screamed as the set started. They had an entire amphitheater fist pumping and singing during many parts of their songs. Paget caught a nice hoodie on the headstock of his guitar. That fan in the pit sure had a strong arm and the band even congratulated him for his good aim! To break the set down a little, the lead guitarist took a moment to impress the crowd with a solo by himself on stage as the crowd roared for him. During “Scream Aim Fire” they got the entire amphitheater to bounce, which was a great sight to see. As epic as they started the show they epically ended it with the crowd screaming and wanting more.

Seether was always one of those bands that got a ton of radio-play, but I always wondered how people reacted with them live. Clearly, right off the bat everyone started singing every single lyric to their songs. During “Broken” everyone had their cell-phones and lighters out to help light the crowd. It was so surreal to see thousands of people all contribute to that command the vocalist gave out. It was like staring at the stars in a dark field. They ended the set with a shock as the vocalist smashed his guitar on the stage and threw it at the drum set. If their catchy songs weren’t enough for me to remember them by, the guitar smashing was something that I won’t forget.

Three Days Grace has a very large sound and live it really comes to life. The vocalist’s voice is raspy, but warming at the same time and it filled the amphitheater. By now the place was nearly sold out and they were all singing along. In the middle of the set all of the sudden we recognize a familiar song that sounds like Eminem’s “8 Mile” song and the vocalist starts rapping every line perfectly and the crowd joined. The crowd participation was absolutely phenomenal. Made me remember what shows used to be and made me realize how excited I am that entertainment is still out there.

It became very clear very quickly why everyone was still standing in the cold and some being not just cold, but soaked from the day earlier on. These people were all still here to see the night’s headliner, Avenged Sevenfold! What sounded like war for a couple minutes, explosions and fire went off behind the curtains that hid the stage from view. A loud siren that sounded like a tornado was coming was going off and then with a loud bang the curtains fell and “Nightmare” began to play as the crowd went out of their minds. An absolutely enormous Deathbat (Avenged Sevenfold’s symbol) covered almost the length of the stage was nearly 20 or so feet high with fire coming out stood behind their new drummer, who really did justice for them.

To see a band go through so much as they have in the past couple of years and to still be going is encouraging and inspiring to nearly anyone. You realize that bands do exist out there that do what they do for a reason that is not just fame. They put on a show that you won’t forget and is something I encourage anyone to go see! They had thousands of people throwing their fists in the air and singing along to nearly every single part of their songs. Such an amazing sight to see and if you haven’t been there yet, you’ll have no idea what I am talking about because a show like this hasn’t existed in a long time.

Information about the review…
Tour: Rockstar Energy Uproar Festival feat. Avenged Sevenfold
Reviewer: Trevor Hurlbert
Bands: Avenged Sevenfold, Three Days Grace, Seether, Bullet For My Valentine, Escape The Fate, Sevendust, Black Tide, Art of Dying, and Hell or Highwater
Date: September 18, 2011
Venue: First Midwest Bank Amphitheater in Tinley Park, IL