I had been looking forward to this tour for months! Being able to see Machine Head (my favorite band) 3 times, even if it was only a few songs.....that was all the reason I needed and the ONLY band I would drive all that way to the three shows for! I drove from Ft. Lauderdale to Orlando a few days in advance and hung out with family until the 29th, the day of the Tampa show.
I got there even before the parking gates were open! It was looking a little cloudy and crappy out, but that didn't matter, I've been to outside concerts where it's rained nearly all day. In some ways it's better than having the sun beating down on you! I met up with my friend and met a few other people that I had known from online before we even got in.
Rockstar helped us out by giving us all the energy drink we wanted! Nothing like getting hundreds of metalheads hyped up...as if we weren't already excited. It was SO great to be able to bring in cameras without having to hide them...and backpacks to carry it all in. As soon as I went in, I headed for the Jager stage and grabbed my spot on the railing. I knew that most of the bands I wanted to see would be on that one, Including the "local" Jager band-The Autumn Offering who I had seen twice before & was looking forward to again. They didn't disappoint. And I ended up with a pick!
After them, I stayed at the front, watching some of the bands on the Hot Topic stage from a distance. I would have loved to see The Red Chord up close, I've loved them since I first saw them At Ozzfest a few years ago, but I couldn't give up my spot. Here's some of their wall of death:
The Metal Militia kept us entertained too...would have liked to see more of these guys, it was kickass to watch them sailing over peoples heads (not REALLY over their heads...but you know what I mean!) at random times during the concert:
As is always the case at concerts...I met some of the coolest people!
so time went quickly. While the stage was being set up before the first band played, the guy next to me ended up getting Machine Head's setlist from the night before (including Ten Ton Hammer!). He didn't want it (WTF???) so he gave it to me! I found out that Machine Head was doing their signing at 4:15, so I asked (ok, begged) two guys that were up front next to me to save my spot. They were leaving after Airbourne, So I new I had to hurry! While waiting for the signing to begin, I spotted Matt from The Autumn Offering so I had my friend save my spot in line and ran up to him. He signed a photo I had taken of him when they were at a show here a few months ago. He also gave me some great news about an upcoming tour
and I got a photo with him.
I had brought all of my Machine Head cd booklets (except Burn My Eyes which I couldn't find), the insert from the Elegies dvd and my "Jesus Wept" Ollllddddaaaahhhhh MH banner. I wasn't sure how much I could get signed, but was assured by Alan (fucking awesome guy!) at the front of the signing that they would do it all for a Frontliner. He also gave me one of Robb's picks :) I should have known they would. They're not dickheads, rushing people through like some bands do. They took their time with us and did photos.
I showed Robb my tattoo of the sig he did on me last year. I had made my Jager hat into a Frontlines (Machine Head forum) one and got it signed too. When I came out of there someone was filming me as a "crazy Machine Head fan" I showed him my tattoo and he filmed that too.
I grabbed a couple of cold Rockstars and brought them back to my stand-ins at the railing. I was just in time to catch a few songs from Airbourne, and they were surprisingly good! I'd only heard a song or two on Sirius and they seemed like they were just another AC/DC clone. Yes, they sounded very AC/DC - like, but they still had their own qualities and put on a great show.
I was surprised too with Walls Of Jericho. All this time I've been complaining about having to endure them in order to keep a good spot for 5FDP and MH. All I recalled from Ozzfest was the unbearable screechy "screaming for the sake of screaming" of the vocals. Either my hearing was already messed up or Candice toned it down a bit, because they were not only tolerable, they weren't half bad. I loved that she was wearing a Machine Head shirt too!
Mike the guitarist seemed especially nice, he came down off the stage and shook hands with everyone in front after their set. Did I mention the crowd surfers? Holy crap there were a lot of them! They were pretty constant during WOJ, 5FDP and MH. And I have to hand it to those security people! They really earned their paycheck that day AND did it with the safety of the fans in mind. I can't tell you how many times I've been injured not by crowd surfers themselves, but by how the security guys drag them out over the heads of people in front. But these guys really knew what they were doing, they lifted the crowd surfers out (what a concept!) I thanked the one in front of me and even sent a compliment to Live Nation about them.
Five Finger Death Punch! What can I say? I have fucking loved these guys since the day I first heard them. Ivan's voice is incredible in every band he's been in, no matter how hard or soft the vocals are. And he is so animated onstage. You can't help but smile when you see his gestures and facial expressions that go along with the songs! Of course the music was totally brutal as was the audience!
Here's Ashes, the first song of the day:
It was getting closer to Machine Head time and anticipation was growing amongst the audience! More people trying to get up front. I got to meet Tim from the MH forums
he was photographing the show and (lucky fucker) got to interview Dave! Finally they came on....Clenching The Fists Of Dissent, Imperium, Aesthetics Of Hate, Halo and Davidian. Very short set, but they put their all into it as usual! That's one thing I fucking love about them....whether it's just a few songs or a full set (from what I've seen on video) they give 150%! Judge for yourself....
here's Imperium:
Halo:
and the intro to Aesthetics Of Hate, Robb talking about their new Dimebag guitars and sharing some drinks:
One of my favorite photos from that day:
By the time it was over, I had gotten another Robb pick for my collection and honestly could have gone home right then and there and been happy! Such an awesome performance
Rather than endure Dragonforce, we decided to walk around a bit...and get a much needed drink! I checked quickly to see when MH's signing would be for the next day. Didn't want to miss it! Soon it was time for Disturbed. After getting my pit wristband, I headed down front. They had already started. I've seen them many times before and idk if it was just the stark contrast between the energy of Machine Head and the lack of it from Disturbed or what...but they just seemed to be going through the motions. The audience wasn't all that crazy either. But there was a dad there with his little girl (maybe 6 or 7 years old?) right next to us at the railing. She was rocking the fuck out! I LOVE seeing parents with their kids at shows. Music is an awesome connection between generations! I have many happy memories of concerts with my own kids. The mainstage setup kind of sucked for those of us in the pit who weren't directly in the center. There was a huge wall of speakers there and the pit was deeper than the one I'm used to in WPB. The speakers blocked some of the view. Prob would have been better if I'd gotten there earlier. But no big deal. They weren't the ones I was there to see anyway!
Voices:
Annnnddd then it was time for Slipknot. We were able to move a little more towards the center to get a better view. They put on a good show as always. I'm never good at remembering setlists, but they played a nice mix of new and old.
Here's Prosthetics:
When it was over, we headed out to the parking lot, and just sat down (one of the few times that day!) for about an hour waiting for traffic to clear. A nice calm ending to a hectic, yet very awesome festival!
and we got to do it all again the next day in West Palm!!!
Rockstar helped us out by giving us all the energy drink we wanted! Nothing like getting hundreds of metalheads hyped up...as if we weren't already excited. It was SO great to be able to bring in cameras without having to hide them...and backpacks to carry it all in. As soon as I went in, I headed for the Jager stage and grabbed my spot on the railing. I knew that most of the bands I wanted to see would be on that one, Including the "local" Jager band-The Autumn Offering who I had seen twice before & was looking forward to again. They didn't disappoint. And I ended up with a pick!
After them, I stayed at the front, watching some of the bands on the Hot Topic stage from a distance. I would have loved to see The Red Chord up close, I've loved them since I first saw them At Ozzfest a few years ago, but I couldn't give up my spot. Here's some of their wall of death:
The Metal Militia kept us entertained too...would have liked to see more of these guys, it was kickass to watch them sailing over peoples heads (not REALLY over their heads...but you know what I mean!) at random times during the concert:
As is always the case at concerts...I met some of the coolest people!
so time went quickly. While the stage was being set up before the first band played, the guy next to me ended up getting Machine Head's setlist from the night before (including Ten Ton Hammer!). He didn't want it (WTF???) so he gave it to me! I found out that Machine Head was doing their signing at 4:15, so I asked (ok, begged) two guys that were up front next to me to save my spot. They were leaving after Airbourne, So I new I had to hurry! While waiting for the signing to begin, I spotted Matt from The Autumn Offering so I had my friend save my spot in line and ran up to him. He signed a photo I had taken of him when they were at a show here a few months ago. He also gave me some great news about an upcoming tour
and I got a photo with him. I had brought all of my Machine Head cd booklets (except Burn My Eyes which I couldn't find), the insert from the Elegies dvd and my "Jesus Wept" Ollllddddaaaahhhhh MH banner. I wasn't sure how much I could get signed, but was assured by Alan (fucking awesome guy!) at the front of the signing that they would do it all for a Frontliner. He also gave me one of Robb's picks :) I should have known they would. They're not dickheads, rushing people through like some bands do. They took their time with us and did photos.
I showed Robb my tattoo of the sig he did on me last year. I had made my Jager hat into a Frontlines (Machine Head forum) one and got it signed too. When I came out of there someone was filming me as a "crazy Machine Head fan" I showed him my tattoo and he filmed that too.
I grabbed a couple of cold Rockstars and brought them back to my stand-ins at the railing. I was just in time to catch a few songs from Airbourne, and they were surprisingly good! I'd only heard a song or two on Sirius and they seemed like they were just another AC/DC clone. Yes, they sounded very AC/DC - like, but they still had their own qualities and put on a great show.
I was surprised too with Walls Of Jericho. All this time I've been complaining about having to endure them in order to keep a good spot for 5FDP and MH. All I recalled from Ozzfest was the unbearable screechy "screaming for the sake of screaming" of the vocals. Either my hearing was already messed up or Candice toned it down a bit, because they were not only tolerable, they weren't half bad. I loved that she was wearing a Machine Head shirt too!
Mike the guitarist seemed especially nice, he came down off the stage and shook hands with everyone in front after their set. Did I mention the crowd surfers? Holy crap there were a lot of them! They were pretty constant during WOJ, 5FDP and MH. And I have to hand it to those security people! They really earned their paycheck that day AND did it with the safety of the fans in mind. I can't tell you how many times I've been injured not by crowd surfers themselves, but by how the security guys drag them out over the heads of people in front. But these guys really knew what they were doing, they lifted the crowd surfers out (what a concept!) I thanked the one in front of me and even sent a compliment to Live Nation about them.
Five Finger Death Punch! What can I say? I have fucking loved these guys since the day I first heard them. Ivan's voice is incredible in every band he's been in, no matter how hard or soft the vocals are. And he is so animated onstage. You can't help but smile when you see his gestures and facial expressions that go along with the songs! Of course the music was totally brutal as was the audience!
Here's Ashes, the first song of the day:
It was getting closer to Machine Head time and anticipation was growing amongst the audience! More people trying to get up front. I got to meet Tim from the MH forums
he was photographing the show and (lucky fucker) got to interview Dave! Finally they came on....Clenching The Fists Of Dissent, Imperium, Aesthetics Of Hate, Halo and Davidian. Very short set, but they put their all into it as usual! That's one thing I fucking love about them....whether it's just a few songs or a full set (from what I've seen on video) they give 150%! Judge for yourself....
here's Imperium:
Halo:
and the intro to Aesthetics Of Hate, Robb talking about their new Dimebag guitars and sharing some drinks:
One of my favorite photos from that day:
By the time it was over, I had gotten another Robb pick for my collection and honestly could have gone home right then and there and been happy! Such an awesome performance
Rather than endure Dragonforce, we decided to walk around a bit...and get a much needed drink! I checked quickly to see when MH's signing would be for the next day. Didn't want to miss it! Soon it was time for Disturbed. After getting my pit wristband, I headed down front. They had already started. I've seen them many times before and idk if it was just the stark contrast between the energy of Machine Head and the lack of it from Disturbed or what...but they just seemed to be going through the motions. The audience wasn't all that crazy either. But there was a dad there with his little girl (maybe 6 or 7 years old?) right next to us at the railing. She was rocking the fuck out! I LOVE seeing parents with their kids at shows. Music is an awesome connection between generations! I have many happy memories of concerts with my own kids. The mainstage setup kind of sucked for those of us in the pit who weren't directly in the center. There was a huge wall of speakers there and the pit was deeper than the one I'm used to in WPB. The speakers blocked some of the view. Prob would have been better if I'd gotten there earlier. But no big deal. They weren't the ones I was there to see anyway!
Voices:
Annnnddd then it was time for Slipknot. We were able to move a little more towards the center to get a better view. They put on a good show as always. I'm never good at remembering setlists, but they played a nice mix of new and old.
Here's Prosthetics:
When it was over, we headed out to the parking lot, and just sat down (one of the few times that day!) for about an hour waiting for traffic to clear. A nice calm ending to a hectic, yet very awesome festival!
and we got to do it all again the next day in West Palm!!!
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