First the audience was amped up by a vigorous set from Michigans Taproot.
Vocalist Stephen Richardss crowd interaction throughout the set was awesome.
During "Smile," Richards threw his microphone into the crowd so that
fans could scream the chorus of "no more, no more, no more!" before
hurling the mic back to him. Richards then proceeded to take cups of beer to the
sound and light techs in the booths on the floor and up on the balcony, walking
through the crowd and then climbing over the railing back to the floor during
"Sumtimes." Needless to say, security was not too happy with the impromptu
workout they had chasing Richards around the venue.
Besides the aforementioned songs from Gift, the band performed a few tracks from
their newest album, Blue Sky Research, including the gem "Birthday"
and the CDs first single, "Calling." The quartet granted a fans
request of "Mirrors Reflection," giddily stirred up a mosh pit,
and closed with "Poem," one of its previous hits from Welcome.
As the crowd stared at the white lights reflecting off Chevelles amps in preparation for the bands set to begin, anticipation grew steadily. Then, everything became bathed in red with the white light behind the red image on Sams bass drum providing the only illumination on stage. Next, there was a flash of lights, a burst of color and, with a hit of the cymbals, the show began with "Another Know It All" from the bands newest release, This Type of Thinking Could Do Us In.
Pete began the song taking his traditional stance at the microphone stand with guitar resting on the knee that is habitually anchored to a stool next to his monitor, but eventually managed to move about the stage a lot more than I have seen him do in the past. He played to the crowd at the edge of the stage and criss-crossed the stage with tour bassist Dean Bernadini quite frequently.
Sam, on the drums, is a force that cannot be denied. His precise power and intensity, the way he commands attention even though he is behind the massive kit, never fails to impress.
The audience erupted at the first notes of "Vitamin R, " singing along note-for-note before their hearts really got racing in time with the shaking lights over Pete as he hissed out the lyrics to "Still Running."
The entire night was definitely heavy on the testosterone with a steady stream
of moshers fueling a fire within the crowd on the floor, especially during "Forfeit"
and "Get Some," the song Pete says is about "drinking too much."
However, the ladies were not to be ignored. Pete asked, "Ladies, would you
like a slow one?" before serenading the crowd with "Closure."
Chevelle performed other radio-hits from their breakthrough album, Wonder Whats
Next, like "Send the Pain Below" and "The Red" before a rousing
encore of "Panic Prone" and current single "The Clincher."