DISTURBED / THREE DAYS GRACE / SEVENDUST LIVE AT MSG
By Joe Perusse
I’m glad I live close enough to MSG to be able to catch shows at this iconic venue. It seems bands always step their game up when playing the Garden and feed off the New York energy. This was the final show of Disturbed’s 25th Anniversary of the Sickness Tour that had Three Days Grace and Sevendust as support and all 3 were polished and up to the task of matching the energy of the crowd and turning it up a notch. Disturbed was simply amazing.
Sevendust started the ball rolling right at 6:30 and lead singer Lajon Witherspoon followed up opening number “Black” commenting on the energy in the sold out Garden. “Denial” had the crowd clapping and singing. Drummer Morgan Rose, who looked like he just got off a movie set playing the joker, was throwing sticks into the crowd throughout “Enemy” and “Praise”. The set concluded with “Crucified” and “Face to Face”. Witherspoon thanked the crowd and as I looked around the people were standing everywhere including the overhang seats. This was a great start to a great night. Crushing the set musically also included Clint Lowery (Lead Guitar), Vince Hornsby (Bass) and John Connolly (Guitar).
Three Days Grace was up next and I was looking forward to seeing the new/old lineup as former lead singer Adam Gontier has returned to the group joining his replacement Matt Waist forming a new 2 headed vocal monster. Leading off with “Animal I Have Become” it was a smooth dual role as the guys traded and shared the vocals. “So Called Life” and “Break” followed and then Guntier shared a story about how he used to live in NYC leading into “Home”. Waist grabbed a guitar for this one joining lead guitarist Barry Stock.
Switching roles Gontier picked up an axe for “The Mountain” and Waist took on the vocals. Back to sharing the vocals for “Chalk Outline” and the band’s new hit “Mayday” which seems to me will be in the set list for the next 20 years. Taking back to the beginning Gontier ripped through “I Hate Everything About You” and “The Good Life”. Waist got the spotlight for “Painkiller”. Stock had an acoustic and electric guitar for “Never Too Late” and the band was also joined on stage by Bassist Brad Waist’s son James Waist on guitar. He also hung around for “Riot” closing another awesome set. Neil Sanderson (drums) was outstanding keeping the beat throughout the night.
Before Disturbed hit the stage the crowd was treated to videos from the early days, backstage, recording sessions and early shows as we waited. Entering strapped to a wooden board with a Hannibal Lector mask on vocalist David Draiman broke free and got The Sickness section of the show going with “Voices”. The crowd was fist pumping along to “The Game” and the pyrotechnics really amped up for “Stupify” and didn’t stop the rest of the night. I will report the Knicks championship banners did not seem to be harmed during the night unlike the Bulls banners at the Chicago show.
“Down With the Sickness” featured a smoke show and the crowd was singing so loud they were overpowering Draiman, and that’s not easy to do. “Violence Fetish”, “Fear” and “Numb” followed and the Draiman’s son Samuel came out and sang “Want” with him. He did an outstanding job. “Conflict” was next and then “Shout 2000” a Tears for Fears cover. “Dropping Plates” led to a short break for a costume change as Draiman, Dan Donegan (Guitar),Mike Wengren (Drums), John Moyer (Bass) and Draiman all returned wearing orange prison jumpsuits with Draiman strapped to an electric chair.
After being “shocked” a few times and bleeding from his skull Draiman broke free for “Meaning of Life”. Videos again showed on the big screen before Disturbed returned for the greatest hits portion of the show. Draiman, now in his customary long black robe, belted out “Ten Thousand Fists” and the crowd proudly pumped ours in the air. “I Will Not Break” followed and band mascot THE GUY rose up above the drum riser for “Bad Man”. Adam Gontier and Matt Waist from Three Days Grace came out to assist on vocals during the Genesis cover “Land of Confusion”.
Draiman then talked about being born in Flatbush and coming full circle to playing at the Garden for the second time and this one being a sellout had him pumped. He mentioned his family wasn’t pleased when this nice Jewish boy left a job in the medical field to become a musician but was happy to say he has healed more people this way than he ever could in his previous career.
“Indestructible” led into maybe my favorite cover ever, Disturbed’s version of Simon and Garfunkel”s “The Sound of Silence”. 2 violinists joined the band on stage and Donegan took over on the piano, which by the end of the song was also on fire. Audience participation was requested for “The Light” and the crowd lit up the Garden on cue. Closing the night with “Inside the Fire” Donegan hit an awesome riff, I guess making sure the crowd knew he was not just a piano player.
A superb night of music by all 3 bands, all seemingly extra excited to be playing the Garden and the crowd in a frenzy. If you ever get a chance to see one of your favorites at MSG I highly recommend it. The crowd is awesome and the bands deliver.
To learn more about Disturbed, check out their Website
Follow on: Facebook | X | Instagram | YouTube | TikTok
Stream music: Spotify | Apple Music | Soundcloud
Purchase: Amazon Music
Views: 238
