On a blistering hot night in September the Who Do You Trust Tour with Papa Roach, Asking Alexandra and Bad Wolves made its way to the Downtown Las Vegas Events Center (DLVEC), with temperatures still in triple digits at an 8pm starting time a few concert goers succumbed to the heat before the first band even hit the stage. That being said, I would like to take a second and remind Las Vegas concertgoers to stay hydrated, heat exhaustion is something to take seriously, so drink lots of water! The bands on this tour are quite familiar with Vegas and doing outdoor shows during our Summer months - a couple of years ago Asking Alexandria played the Scars & Stripes Festival in June and it was so hot that front man Danny Worsnop took his pants off and played most of their set in his underwear. No stripping down in this show, but the bands turned up even more heat in Vegas for a big night downtown.
Bad Wolves are practically a hometown group, being managed by Las Vegas resident Zoltan Bathory (founding member of Five Finger Death Punch), and guitarist Doc Coyle can often be seen attending local concerts, most recently being spotted at the Killswitch Engage show at The Space. Bad Wolves got the crowd going for the night, but ran into some technical difficulties as they were attempting to perform new song "I’ll Be There" from their upcoming sophomore album N.A.T.I.O.N. They took about a five-minute pause before deciding to change it up and do something else. They were finally able to play their new song later but had to cut their set a bit short, and only played 5 or 6 songs, finishing with their platinum-certified cover of The Cranberries hit "Zombie". Regardless of technical issues, Bad Wolves rock hard and sound great live. The new track kicks ass, starting off with Vext rapping hard and fast, and transitioning into some solid melodic metal. Check out the single HERE.
Asking Alexandria hit the stage next, and despite mentioning how hot it was, Worsnop stayed fully clothed, only removing the jacket of his 3-piece tweed suit. He also mentions that he now lives in Arizona, so he’s used to pretty much the same weather as Las Vegas. While Bad Wolves closed out their set with their “Zombie” song, Asking Alexandria opted to start things off with their own. Recent single "The Violence" is actually a politically minded song about how the powers that be use mainstream media to divide us, but the accompanying music video is actually zombie themed. They actually do a flip-take on the traditional zombie motif, where the “normal” people have decaying flesh and dark, sunken eyes, while the zombies have smooth skin. The video is comical and quite entertaining while the song itself is hard-hitting and powerful with a very relevant and poignant topic. AA rocked the crowd with mostly recent material, focusing on their current hard-rock style and foregoing most earlier metalcore tunes. AA is a fantastic live band, and Worsnop is a very entertaining front man. I am looking forward to seeing them again in January, on Shiprocked!
Headlining the Who Do You Trust Tour was veteran hard rock band Papa Roach, who have been around for decades, forming in 1993 and taking the rock world by storm with their triple-platinum sophomore album, Infest. With ten studio albums and nine EPs under their belts they have continued to evolve and kept themselves relevant, consistently drawing huge crowds to their live shows two decades later. They kicked off the set with the title track of their most recent album Who Do You Trust? released earlier this year. I have seen this band perform live more than any other band and they never disappoint. They played a fast-paced 18-song set that included a mash-up of Eminem’s "Lose Yourself" with "Broken Home", a drum solo, a cover of Blur’s "Song #2", and all their biggest hits.
Late in the show the circle pit was getting wild and Papa Roach was halfway through the song "Renegade Music" when frontman and vocalist Jacoby Shaddix asked the band to stop, and he began calling for security to help an injured person in the pit. He waited while security made their way over to the injured person, and would not resume until he was assured that the person was okay. After a few minutes the crowd began to cheer, signaling that the fan would be okay, and was being helped by medics. Papa Roach then closed out the set with "Born for Greatness", said their goodbyes and walked off the stage, but we all knew that they were not going anywhere without performing "Last Resort". A short while later they returned for an encore, and gave the crowd what they were wanting, rocking the DLVEC with their internationally acclaimed hit song.
Papa Roach is one of those bands that I will always go out of my way to catch them live. They put on a solid rock show without seeming like an overdone production. Just good, clean, hard rocking music with lots of energy.
Papa Roach photos from Randy Udell / R U Rockin' Photos
Asking Alexandria photos from Randy Udell / R U Rockin' Photos
Bad Wolves photos from Randy Udell / R U Rockin' Photos
