HVYMTLMOM.COM - R-5fdp 051008

WJRR's Earthday Birthday 15 in Orlando had a shitload of bands, but there was only one that I really came to see...and that was Five Finger Death Punch! I've loved them since I first heard them and it was my first time actually seeing them play. They were at Family Values in WPB in August 2007, but right before it was their turn to hit the stage, it poured rain. Equipment was ruined and they were canceled. I was lucky enough to meet Ivan (the singer) in the pit for HellYeah that day, but I was still dying to see them live. Eventually they were scheduled to tour with All That Remains/Chimaira, hitting Orlando in March. I got my ticket, arranged for 2 days off work (since Orlando is about a 4 hour drive from home) and waited. Soon the bad news came that 5FDP dropped off of the tour because Ivan needed to rest his vocals. As disappointing as that was, it was understandable and I went to All That Remains/Chimaira anyway.....

Fast forward to May 10....I drove to Orlando the day before so I could get to the show bright & early. My brother has a friend who was doing sound for the concert and he got me in where they were backstage. I headed straight for the railing-front & center since 5FDP was only the 2nd band to play. Hurt had trouble with their equipment, so they did an acousitc set. Next up 5FDP came out and the crowd (including me) woke right up! They started out with Ashes. I was so happy to be able to use my camera and took quite a few photos.

Create Your Own

I got video of The Bleeding:

other songs they did include Salvation, White Knuckles, Way Of The Fist... They had a very short set-only about 1/2 hour. But they were just awesome live-well worth the wait!

If you know me, you KNOW I'm always at the front from begining of show to end. But there was nothing to keep me remotely interested in a lot of these bands. In fact I absolutely can't stand Kid Rock or Serj Tenkian, two of the main bands there. I go to a lot of concerts and I forget there are people who only go to these radio shows once a year and aren't aware of the unwritten code of conduct. The crowd was really getting on my fucking nerves. There was a girl next to me bitching to security about people pushing her. I told her point blank that that's how it is up front, that she shouldn't be up there if she has a problem with it. There was another girl who was passing out and had to sit down on the ground during 5FDP. Damn, it was only the 2nd fucking band! She wouldn't move back and was taking up valuable frontlines space for a real fan (or two) who wouldn't be such a pussy about the crowd & the heat. And yet another girl who was right in front and got on her boyfriend's (or whoever's) shoulders...meaning that all of the people behind her couldn't see! She was IN THE FUCKING FRONT to begin with-the only possible excuse for her doing that was that she was a selfish, arrogant, obnoxious bitch. Of course there's also the ones who walk around with their boobs painted. And no, I'm not jealous. In fact even at my age and after two kids, my boobs are way better than most of the painted ones that I witnessed that day. I just have the good sense not to walk around with some hideous butterfly on them! Looking back over this rant, I guess it's just the women I can't stand at these shows

I left the front and found some friends to hang out with (they had backstage passes too!). After being at so many metal shows, most of these radio friendly bands were a total snoozfest. The audience seemed to agree-they looked like they died after 5FDP left the stage. We sat in the stands for a while and then headed backstage. After cooling off in the RV a bit (it was sunny and about 95 that day!) we saw 5FDP outside of their bus. I got to meet & get my pic with Ivan again. I also HAD to mention Black Blood Orchestra, an old band of his whose music I love. Actually I love his vocals in everything, including Ghost Machine and Motograter. Check out their myspace if you're interested, since that's the only place you can hear Black Blood. Then he said "come on, I'm going to pick up this alligator". My friend and I gave each other a WTF? look and followed to see what was going on. Turns out that he's not a big fan of reptiles and they had a surprise (a rattlesnake) waiting for him:

We spent most of the rest of the day either walking around or hanging out with friends. It was especially nice spending time with my brother since the last show we went to together was in the 80's (wish I'd gotten a picture with him that day)! We caught some of Theory Of A Dead Man, Filter and all of Shinedown~

Heroes:

45:

and later met most of Shinedown backstage while listening to 3 Doors Down play.

We left before Kid Rock, sunburned and with awesome memories. I can't wait to see 5FDP again-and it won't be long now...I already have my tickets for 3 of the Mayhem Festival dates in late July/early August!