It was your typical Tuesday in Mesa, Arizona and everyone was going through their normal day to day routines. Well almost everyone. As soon as your pulled into the parking lot of The Marquee theater you are met by security. The parking lot was filled with very few open spots left; some people were seen walking in from parking garages down the street. The line wrapped around the parking lot while a second line formed horizontal to the box office. Everyone was itching to get into the venue to see Meshuggah, In Flames and Torche.
The first band to hot the stage was Torche, this Miami based band was ready to shred the stage and get the nigh going. The band is made up by members Steve Brooks-vocals/guitar, Jonathan Nunez-guitars/formerly bass, Rick Smith-drums, Eric Hernandez-bass.
What makes Torches show so special is knowing that this tour will be Brooks last tour with Torche. It is unclear if the band will continue without him or they will also move on. What else makes this band special is that Brooks is one of the few musicians in the metal scene who came out as gay. To be able to be a part of someone’s last tour is special this is the last time people will see Brooks sing and play for Torche unless in the future he decided to reunite with the band.
The band took to the stage and instantly got into the music they were playing. You could feel their energy take off. They opened their set with “From Here”. The audience could be seen head banging and listening intently. The band maneuvered all over the stage. Ultimately their show was a great way to start this concert.
The house lights were on and the stage crew had just finished assembling the next acts, In Flames, equipment. The crowd was growing anxious, they just wanted the Swedish band to come out. In Flames was formed in 1990 and the current lineup is made up by Bjorn Gelotte-guitar, Anders Friden-vocals, Bryce Paul-bass/backing vocals, Chris Broderick-guitar, and Tanner Wayne-drums.
The audience began to fill in the venue more. All of a sudden in unison the audience shouted “IN FLAMES! IN FLAMES! IN FLAMES!” over and over again. Everyone was just ready to get their metal on. They wanted to watch this death/melodic metal band give the performance of a lifetime. The band came out and began their set with “The Great Deciever”. The second they were seen by the audience the audience wet wild. Moshing began to ensue as the bands set continued. The band members were moving from side to side, jumping, headbanging and finding ways to connect with their audience from afar.
Friden often addressed the crowd in between songs. All of a sudden, small waves of people were seen crowd surfing. The security team was on top of it making sure the fans landed safely. They closed their set out with “Take This Life”. After they were done playing the members thew guitar pics, drum sticks and their set lists out to the crowd.
The final band to take the stage was Swedish extreme metal band Meshuggah. Meshuggah formed in 1987 in Umea, Sweden. The bands current lineup is Jens Kidman-vocals, Fredrik Thordendal- guitar, Mårten Hagström-guitar, Dick Lövgren-bass and Tomas Haake-drums. The word Meshuggah is derived from the Yiddish word for crazy.The lights went dark and there were some red and white strobe lights going off. Everyone screamed and crammed their way into the standing room. Even the balcony of The Marquee was packed. Everyone began to chant “MESHUGGAH! MESHUGGAH! MESHUGGAH! MESHUGGAH!”. Those who weren’t chanting the bands name were just screaming in joy. The band then came out onto the stage.
They each stood in front of a back lit curtain. They began to play “Broken Cog”. The strobes going off in patterns but the stage stayed black so the audience got short lived glances of the band. The song ended and they went into “Lighting the Shortening Fuse”. This is when they began to step away from their spots in front of the curtains.The stage stayed relatively dark with short glimmers of lights from the strobes lighting the band. Then the audience erupted. They came in tidal waves of crowd surfers. Everyone enjoying the energy and show that Meshhugah was giving and putting off.
Everyone was going to remember this night for the rest of their life. The show was so packed that people were even watching the show from the lobby were the bathrooms and bars were located. Meshuggash’s energy increased as their set continued on. Watching the technicality that this band performs with is a once in a lifetime.
Meshuggah
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In Flames
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