Touring in support of their seventh album, Evolution, Disturbed brought their massive stage show through Buffalo, New York this past weekend for a two-hour set full of hits, fists and fire. After having taken a five-year hiatus following 2010’s Asylum, Disturbed returned back in 2015 with Immortalized, and their show has been quite the spectacle ever since. On the “Evolution” Tour, they’re currently bringing Three Days Grace along as direct support. I’ve been a big fan of both of these groups since their early days, so I was thrilled at the chance to cover this tour. If you’ve already seen this show, you’ll know it’s a 4+ hour show that’s worth every penny of the ticket price.
Three Days Grace kicked off the show with Bon Jovi’s “You Give Love A Bad Name” cranking over the speakers, while their stage screens flashed a Toronto Maple Leaf’s logo (a major hockey rival to the hometown Buffalo Sabres). The crowd erupted into “boo’s” as the screen changed to a Sabres logo, and then featured some classic hockey fights between the two clubs. Almost instantly, the crowd was ready to rock!
Three Days Grace kicked things off with “The Mountain” off their latest album Outsider (the second to feature current vocalist Matt Walst). They immediately dove into some classics including “Home,” “The Good Life,” and “Pain” before diving back into new material with “Infra-Red.”
The final stretch of their 12-song set went over huge, especially in a market like Buffalo which was early to play Three Days Grace back in the beginning. The finished things up with their best-known song, “I Hate Everything About You.” Next, they broke into an insane rendition of “Animal I Have Become,” which featured a sing-along interlude of The White Stripes “Seven Nation Army.” The set was closed out with “Never Too Late” and “Riot” before making way for the headliners of the evening.
The stage was re-set for Disturbed and featured a massive video screen, spanning the entire width of the ice. The stage itself was shaped like the tip of a spear, jutting about 1/3 the length of the arena into the audience. They kicked off their set with “Are You Ready,” the lead track from the “Evolution” album, followed by a variety of tracks spanning their catalog including “Prayer,” “Stupify,” “Ten Thousand Fists” and “Indestructible.”
Everyone seems to be aware of Disturbed’s 2015 cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Sound of Silence” (yes, they played it), but I’ve always been every bit as impressed with their cover of Genesis’ “Land of Confusion” from 2005. As it turns out, their set included both songs. With a 2-hour performance and 19 songs, I suppose they’re afforded that luxury. Thank goodness, too, as this set was monstrous! Following “Land of Confusion” John Moyer treated us to a thunderous bass solo, which segued right into Mike Wengren’s drum solo.
Mid-way through the show, the band appeared on a small stripped-down stage at center ice. Here, they performed “A Reason to Fight” and “Watch You Burn.” David Draiman took this opportunity to address the crowd on addiction, and encouraged everyone to keep on eye on their friends. This theme was repeated a few times throughout the show. It’s great to see a metal band tackle some of these things head on like this, using their platform to empower their fans to be a better community and look out for one another.
Following the pair of songs on the second stage, the band made their way back to the main stage, slapping hands and greeting fans on their way. As they began “The Sound of Silence,” the stage was completely dark, with Dan Donegan opening the song on a piano near the tip of the stage. The remainder of the band performed the song seated, created a much more stripped-down mood, similar to that of the center stage.
The home stretch of the show was pure adrenaline, kicking off with “Indestructible” and leading right into “Inside the Fire.” The show was closed out with “Stricken” and “No More” before concluding with Disturbed’s first major hit “Down With the Sickness.”
The North American tour wraps up this week before they head overseas. You can catch them again here on US soil at Sonic Temple in May. With “Evolution” having just come out late last year, you can be sure this is just the beginning of the touring cycle. Be sure to catch a show if you haven’t already!
