The Unleashed Tour of Skillet, Sick Puppies and Devour the Day brought down the house and kicked it up a notch recently in Tempe, Arizona at the Marquee Theatre. This is a dynamic trio that is not to be missed as they are out on tour. Catch them together somewhere along the concert touring line, you will more than glad you did.
Devour
the Day kicked off the show with the title track off their
latest release, S.O.A.R. They are a defining
product of what stage and crowd working together is supposed to be
like. Blake Allison, lead vocalist, without hesitation revels in
crowd surfing. He is known for doing this now at almost every show,
and the level of faith and trust he places in the 'hands' of support
is something to behold. Allison climbed down off the stage, surveyed
the crowd, and vocally with a mic in hand asked the crowd's
permission to crowd surf among them. The crowd responds with a
unifying, “YES!” and at that point, Allison turned his back to
the crowd and leaned back into the hands of the awaiting crowd. He
went from standing on the metal barrier gate and singing to his fans
to being passed along horizontally over the heads of his fans. He
sang into his mic to a crowd of adoring fans that carried his body
along the rock wave.
What
stands out here so much is the trust Allison places in his fans, as
he soared along and the band finished their set on stage with the
crowd chanting for more.
Sick
Puppies were next to take the stage and they never disappoint.
The dynamite trio performed songs from their latest album as well as
hits from those previous, including “You’re Going Down,” “All
The Same,” “Stick To Your Guns.” Each song was given the same
fervor it deserved with Sick Puppies new lead vocalist, Bryan Scott.
Scott
has great command over the well-known classic Sick Puppies songs and
his performance draws in the crowd, as he is big on audience
involvement. Looking out over the packed venue Scott called out to
the crowd asking who the number one fan of the night amongst the vast
sea of rockers would be. Scott told the crowd he wanted the person
chosen to get the circle mosh pit going... and as the crowd chose the
most worthy person to begin... the mosh circle obliged and Sick
Puppies lit up the venue even higher.
The
venue was so jammed packed that there was hardly a noticeable gap
left between the bodies of fans. The triple treat had been
“unleashed” and as the crowd waited for Skillet the
anticipation continued to escalate.
Skillet
always pulls out all the stops while they’re on tour. They have a
way with their production that seamlessly sets everything together
for an evening you will never forget. The stage was set up with
special show lights, CO2, and risers that the guitarists stood on as
they played 20 feet above the ground to a crowd that had gone
completely wild.
Starting
off their show with “Feel Invincible,” the heavy-hitting lead
single from their album, Unleashed, was the anthem for
the night. They continued the high-energy show with hits like “Hero,”
“Whispers in the Dark,” and “Rise.” Skillet’s live show are
never a disappointment as this almost nonstop touring machine
delivers each night with as much energy as they did their last. This
night's stop, of course, was no exception.
Crowd
surfing continued on all through their set and the momentum of
appreciation for the set rose higher and higher as their songs “Awake
and Alive,” “Stars,” “Monsters,” and their latest video
that embraces the zombie fest world, “Back From the Dead” were
performed.
As
the Unleashed Tour leg spins down ending in late April the setup has
been one of the most memorable nights so far in 2017. There is
something remarkably noticeable about this as the Unleashed Tour
certainly defines unifying and supercharged energy into one massive
rock n roll night.
Photo: CowGirlZen
Review: Song River
