BREAKING BENJAMIN AND FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH AT FIVE POINT AMPHITHEATRE
The Five Point Amphitheatre in Irvine, California opened its doors early Friday July 27th to fans of all ages who came out in the thousands despite the Southern California heat. Its no surprise either considering the incredible talent on this tour including Bad Wolves, Nothing More, and co headliners Breaking Benjamin and Five Finger Death Punch. Bad Wolves; who recently gained overnight popularity with their rendition of The Cranberries “Zombie”, took to the stage first. The band lead by former SNOT singer Tommy Vox, played a hard hitting six song performance including “Officer Down”, “Learn to Live”, “No Masters”, “Hear Me Now” performed with special guest Diamante, “Better the Devil” and closed out with “Zombie”.
Following the Bad Wolves performance was San Antonio hard rockers, Nothing More. The fans that knew of the band, were prepared for the 45 minutes of raw emotion, drum performances, theatrics and the infamous scorpion tail. The fans that didn’t, well…lets just say they were not ready for the shirtless, barefoot front man that is Jonny Hawkins. Opening up with, “Do You Really Want It”, Hawkins went on to perform a fast paced, emotionally fueled set that included old and new songs, a full band drum line, and ending with Hawkins performing atop the 15 foot scorpion tail statue.
Song List: Do You Really Want It? | Let ’em Burn | Mr. MTV | Go to War | Just Say When (Version 2.0) | Jenny | Ocean Floor | This Is The Time (Ballast) | Salem (Burn the Witch)
The blood moon rose as the stage was set for co- headliners Breaking Benjamin. Known for their dark stage sets and moody soft rock ballads, the band settled right in with the darkness that cloaked the amphitheater. Benjamin Burley and the rest of the band took to the stage for a 75 minute set that included moments of pyrotechnics, a rare drum solo, and a crazy medley of Metallica, Panera, Tool, Nirvana and of course the Imperial March.
Song List: Red Cold River | I Will Not Bow | Never Again | Breath | The Imperial March/ Schism/ Smells Like Teen Spirit/ Walk/ Sad But True | Drum Solo | Sooner or Later | Blow Me Away | So Cold | Angels Fall | Psycho | Failure | Until the End | Believe | Torn in Two | The Diary of Jane
I think its fair to say that most of the fans came out to see Five Finger Death Punch, and the band certainly did not disappoint. The loud speakers spilled out Barneys, “I Love You” until the curtain unexpectedly fell, and the band started ripping into their first song, “Lift Me Up”. The crowd was wild with excitement, and lead singer Ivan Moody and fellow band members ate it up as they performed hit after hit. Throughout the evening, Moody stopped to make dedications including a message to his band mates as they performed “Wrong Side of Heaven” as well as a special message to the military members in attendance followed by the performance of “Bad Company”. At one point during the performance, the band brought up as many young kids in the audience as they could as they included them in a sing a long of, “Remember Everything”. The band closed out the emotionally driven evening with confetti cannons and “The Bleeding”.
Song List: Lift Me Up | Trouble | Wash It All Away | Jekyll and Hyde | Bad Company | Fake | Wrong Side of Heaven (Acoustic) | Remember Everything(Acoustic) | Coming Down | Burn MF | Gone Away | Under and Over It | The Bleeding
