UPROAR TOUR 2012!!!

On September 19^th my brother, Zach, and I had the experience of going to another year of Uproar Tour at the USANA amphitheater in West Valley. It was another awesome experience that had some negatives, but also a lot of positives. I’ve always said that everyone should experience a rock concert before they die, because they definitely are something out of this world. Especially for Mormons it’s an eye-opening experience to the world outside of the gospel bubble. It’s intimidating, because everyone is dressed to the extremes and you have the scent of beer wherever you go, but in all honesty I would say that the people at these concerts are a more courteous than a lot of Mormons I’m associated with. This was both Zach and mine’s 4^th concert so we were used to it by now, but here is the story of Uproar 2012.

The lineup consisted of only four bands: Adelitas Way, Staind, Godsmack, and Shinedown. I felt all of them had a good sound to their music, and all of them were enjoyable to listen to. You could tell Adelitas Way was new to the touring atmosphere. They are a new band that just hopped on the radar with their latest album titled Home School Valedictorian. They are an interesting band, because some of their songs are hard and in your face, but then they have other songs that you could play to a girl and they would love them. Their vocals were a little off, but you could not take away from their love of the crowd; the lead singer even crowd surfed! Click here to watch their most heart-warming song!

After Adelitas Way was Staind. Staind is an older band that has been around for a while. The singer almost looked like Larry the Cable Guy from a distance and even smoked a cigarette in between songs. Everyone knows their songs “It’s Been Awhile” and “So Far Away.” I didn’t know any of the other songs that they sang, but they still sounded great.

Godsmack was the band I was most afraid of not liking, but they put on an excellent performance. They’ve been around since the mid 90’s so this definitely wasn’t their first rodeo. I honestly didn’t know any of their songs, but just the way they sounded and the way they acted was awesome. The lead singer was amazing. He sang, played guitar, and even came out with another drum set and had a mini-duel with the band’s drummer.

While the bands selected for Uproar Tour were unique and well-rounded it definitely wasn’t as good as last year’s selection. I think the biggest reason why it lacked in that area was because of the absence of Papa Roach. Papa Roach pulled out of Uproar earlier in the tour due to a nodule found on lead singer, Jacoby Shaddix’s, left vocal cord. I’m not sure what that means except for the fact that he had to have surgery and wouldn’t be able to sing or talk for 2 months. Papa Roach was one of the bands that Zach and I were both really looking forward to, but we weren’t able to. With them being absent it really limited us being able to jam out and sing along, because we didn’t know the lyrics to any of Staind’s or Godsmack’s songs as compared to last year when I knew the lyrics to at least half the songs of all five bands.

What all made it worth it for me though was Shinedown. If you don’t have Shinedown’s newest album, Amaryllis, I would recommend you buy it. It has easily become one of my favorite albums to listen to. Not just because it’s my type of music, but because the message of each song is so unique and likeable. Zach and I had seen Shinedown at our first concert back in 2010, and even then we considered them one of the best performers out of all the bands we saw that night. The the lead singer, Brent Smith, is to compare him to Jack Black in the movie, School of Rock. Just the passion and desire to present rock the way it is to be presented sets this band apart. They don’t have to swear to get the crowd going, and you can really sense the appreciation they have for their fans.

Shinedown first started out with their hard rock songs that will get you pumped and ready for the show. “The Sound of Madness” was their first song followed by “Diamond Eyes.” They finally introduced themselves, and introduced their latest single called, “Enemies.” They told us to get pumped and excited for this song. “I want everyone of you to look to your left," Smith said. "Now, look to your right. We do this because the person standing next to you may be someone you've never met before, but we're going to change that. So I want you to shake the hand or high five the person next to you and tell them your happy to see them. Now I want to see everyone lose their mind. If you don’t like the seats in your way just pick them up and get them out of here." (Note: the chairs in the amphitheater are bolted to the cement) "And when I count to three I want you to jump as high as you can from side to side" This song really set the tone for the rest of their performance. Here you can see a similar example of what we experienced at our concert, and here is where you can go to here this kick-butt song better.

After a couple more of their other well-known songs they introduced a song on their newest album that is not a single. Before he started singing he asked everyone to raise their hand if they had come to this concert with their best friend. “Whether it be a friend, girlfriend, husband, wife, sister, or brother you know that you would do anything for them, and there is no possible way that we could not be up here without all of your support,” he said. He then went into a ballad titled “I’ll Follow You”

If I could find assurance
To leave you behind
I know my better half would fade
And all my doubts is a staircase to you
Opened out of this space
The first step is the one you believe in
And the second one might be profound

I'll follow you down
Through the eye of the storm
Don't worry I'll keep you warm
I'll follow you down
While we're passing through space
I don't care if we fall from grace
I'll follow you down  

After that song they sang another one of their newer singles titled “Unity.” Before the song they played an old speech by somebody I don’t remember. I tried to find it, but with no luck. It was a motivation speech that basically talked about how to make the world a better place. Then they went into their song. If you need more proof that you have to see Shinedown live, here it is.

The last song of note that they played was “Simple Man” one of their very first singles. Before they played the lights on the stage went off and everyone left the stage. With as many concerts I’ve been to I could tell this wasn’t the end, but I had no idea what they were doing. All of the sudden I saw body guards running about 15 feet in front of me and behind them was one of the guitarists along with the lead singer. There was a podium in the middle of the audience that they were escorted onto where they started singing the song. They ended up being about 50 feet from me which seems like a lot, but it was awesome to see them come out into the crowd. This short clip was what they said before they sang the song. I should have gotten all of it, but my battery was almost dead.

They closed with a few of their older songs, and I left with a great satisfaction and happy that I was able to see them again. Every time I hear this band I like them more and more. Some of their songs do swear, but the majority of them are clean, well-written songs that I think the majority of the population can enjoy. Rock concerts in general are just awesome and I urge all of you to go to one someday.