Springfield's Staind Is Crowd's Favorite At Dodge

July 20, 2008
By ERIC R. DANTON - Staind wasn't the headliner Friday night at Dodge Music Center, but you wouldn't have guessed it from the welcoming reception the Springfield band received.

And why not? Connecticut has long supported the alt-metal group — in fact, Staind signed its first record deal in 1997 after a show at the Webster Theatre opening for Limp Bizkit.

Singer Aaron Lewis didn't mention his band's local ties during the group's hourlong set, but then, he didn't say much of anything apart from the occasional thank-you or exhortation for the audience to sing.

That it did, throughout a set that reached all the way back to the band's first single, "Just Go," and included hits such as "It's Been Awhile" and "Outside," along with music from Staind's forthcoming album, "The Illusion of Progress," due Aug. 19.



The quartet performed on a stage lit with murky purples and deep reds, which matched the mood of Lewis' songs: morose, minor-key drones that erupted into churning metal riffs.

Many of the band's older songs read like a catalog of male teenage insecurities — feeling ignored, misunderstood, unloved — so it was a pleasant surprise to hear a more optimistic tone on the sensitive ballad "Believe," the first single from Staind's new album.

Lewis also took a solo turn on a cover of Bob Seger's "Turn the Page," before the group closed its 12-song set with the guitar savagery of "Mudshovel."

If Staind is the angry band, headliner 3 Doors Down is the hopeful one. The group performed a set heavy on earnest power ballads, and while they weren't enough to stanch the steady flow toward the exits, the hooky hard-rock songs certainly spoke to the audience members that remained.

The Mississippi band played a handful of songs from its new self-titled record, opening with "Train" on a stage that was empty save for the pyramidal drum riser at the back and flame-spewing jets arrayed on both sides of the drums.

Apart from the occasional saw-toothed riff on songs such as "Duck and Run," 3 Doors Down stuck with softer material that included the hits "Kryptonite" and "Be Like That."

Oklahoma band Hinder played before Staind, performing a collection of boiler-plate hard-rock songs in debt to Van Halen, Aersomith and '80s pop metal bands such as Poison — but without the hooks or charisma of any of them.

Jet Black Stare opened the show.

quote:

Originally posted by Staind3215:
and while they weren't enough to stanch the steady flow toward the exits

this article made me smile.

quote:

Originally posted by LEFTYJLAJ:

quote:

Originally posted by Staind3215:
and while they weren't enough to stanch the steady flow toward the exits

this article made me smile.

You have no idea how proud I was of my fellow New Englanders, w/most telling me they were there just for Staind while I was street teaming before the show, and then seeing them run out in droves after Staind ended their set! THAT put a big smile on my exhausted face!

I wish i could attend another Staind concert

i was there, its true, staind stole the show!!