After seeing well over 300 concerts in my life, people often ask me what were my favorite.
That’s a difficult question cause each one of them has a crazy different experience from several different states in the country! Most of them are heavy metal, some classic rock, and maybe even the most random one…pop.
But if someone was holding my finger saying I’ll break the damn thing if you don’t tell me what your favorite shows were? Then I guess I would say these 5.
KISS/Motley Crue @ Allegan County Fair (2012)
Front row for the hottest band in the land? AND Motley Crue? How much more epic could it get! What was fun about this one is not just the show, but everything leading up to it. My friend Mike, and my soon to be wife at the time Katie got up at 3Am to get in line to ENSURE we would get front row for this show…and after many cups of coffee and adrenaline? We did….and what a show it was.
Dethklok @ Orbit Room
I loved the show, I loved the band, I love the man that fronts it Brendon Small. Toss in drummer Gene Hoglan into the mix with a stellar live show that was basically a LIVE episode of Metalocalypse. When Gene started kicking the drum in a dark room with the crowd getting ready, I lost my s*** in pure musical excitement. It was the combination of a couple of my loves….comedy, metal, animation, and voice acting….it was a damn show.
Rock on the Range 2014 @ Columbus, OH
This show was the first time I was ever a ‘Media Representative’ for a festival, and since then? Every fest I have gone to, I have done media for. This was the one that broke the levy and got me into it. The crowning moment was when I was in the media tent, and a record rep called out my name and my PD at the time Johnnie Walker and said we’re going side stage for Avenged Sevenfold’s ENTIRE SET! I had never been so close to pyro before….also in the tent I was chatting with Zakk Wylde, then Rex Brown just comes up and says hey and we all bro hug into a huddle….WHAT LIFE WAS I LIVING?!?
Dope ‘Reunion Tour’ @ Spicoli’s Reverb
Loved this band since day 1…and what was so great about the reunion show is that they played so many of their hits with the original crew! If you remember, Spicoli’s was a smaller place, but Dope was able to fit their massive show on that stage and just play hit after hit, and I was right up front for the whole thing.
Trespass America Fest w/ Five Finger Death Punch, Killswitch Engage Pop Evil, Trivium, Battlecross @ Kellogg Arena
This was a touring festival that I didn’t realize until I got there, they said ‘You’re hosting tonight right?’ To which I instantly said, ‘Ummm yes.’ My radio station sent me to not only interview bands, but come on after EVERY band, talk to the crowd, give away a guitar, and just be the face of the festival. It was during this time I started up friendships with Jesse Leach and Ivan Moody. After each band, we’d just sit and watch the shows….just a unique experience, and I remember being beat the hell after that night and had to drive 2 hours back home.
