3 days grace, Trapt and Nickelback
November 1, 2003 @ the Utica Aud. Utica, NY
By Rebecca Clark
Starting off November rock and roll style, Nickelback made their return
an unforgettable one to central New York bringing their world tour to the Utica
Auditorium. In support of their new Album The Long Road, thousands of
Nickelback fans gravitated to the Utica Auditorium filling it almost to full
capacity.
Nickelback brought along potent supporting acts 3 Days Grace and Trapt. 3 Days Grace are a fairly new band to the hard rock scene and have been making waves on modern rock charts with their hit “(I Hate) Everything About You."
3DG was an ideal band to open up and get the crowd psyched and ready for the rest of the night’s events.
3DG have a hard rock sound that is unique but at the same time oddly familiar to the rock scene. 3DG have heavy bass riffs that are like CKY, but with a more melodic style.
Even though 3DG are still a new band, they already have made an impression on music fans here in Utica. Fans in the front row were singing along to every song and expressing their love for the band by throwing their hands in the air flashing the metal sign.
The members of 3DG are still green as performers on stage, but they are very passionate and were able to hold the crowd’s attention for their whole set. Lead vocals/guitarist Adam Gontier moved freely on stage when he wasn’t playing his guitar to interact with fans. Barry Stock, guitarist was emerged into his performance. Stock spun his guitar around himself and would continue to take a step back and thrust himself forward as he would play each heavy beat.
The band played a
short set featuring songs off of their self-titled debut album. “Just Like
You,” “Scared,” “Let You Down,” and closing their set with their
single “(I Hate) Everything About You.”
Right after 3DG’s set fans had the opportunity to meet the band. They signed autographs and posed for photos until halfway into Trapt’s set.
While 3 DG were still signing autographs, Trapt took over the stage Instantaneously captivating the audience with their latest single “Still Frame,” crowd surfing began. Fans were screaming and giving Trapt love and energy that they needed to feed off of to give a remarkable performance.
Only a year after Trapt’s debut album has been released, the band has creped into the top 40 charts and their fan base and strength as a live band has grown immensely. Trapt may be in the top 40’s and being played on pop stations across the country, but they showed Utica that they are a rock band that knows how to rock and that they are more than a fad on the radio.
Trapt have made them selves at home on stage, which has made their live performance stronger than ever. Lead vocals Chris Brown’s interaction with the crowd personalized the show and gave it an intimate club show atmosphere. Their set
During “Head Strong” Brown said that he wanted to see everyone standing up and singing along. After the first verse Brown jumped off the stage and got into the crowd slapping hands with fans and singing directly to and in front of some in the front row.
Trapt left the stage, but the fans kept screaming for more.
After a twenty-minute set change, the lights went out and everyone began to run back into the auditorium. Suddenly music started to play and the lights came and BOOM pyros went off. The fire was so intense the heat from them reached near the back of the auditorium and the crowd went crazy.
Nickelback sounded really tight and played remarkably well, but
Nickelback undeniably didn’t appear to have the energy
and passion for playing
like Trapt and 3 Days Grace. Front man Chad Kroeger looked like he was at his
job and not fully enjoying himself.
Even though Nickelback’s energy wasn’t as intense as the younger and hungrier 3 Days Grace and Trapt. Nickelback still put on an amazing show.
Nickelback played a good mixture of all three of their albums. The band performed songs such as “Leader of Men,” and “Breathe,” off of their first Roadrunner release the state as well as new songs off of their new album The Long Road, which satisfied die hard fans as well as new fans
Overall it was an amazing show and made Saturday night here in Utica more exciting. All three bands contributed to bringing good rock-n-roll back to the Utica area.
November 6, 2003