The first day of Q101’s annual Block Party concert festival began beautifully. The sun was shining and there was not a cloud in the sky. Though the line was already overflowing by the time the doors opened the venue itself did not seem all that crowded. As I found out this weekend Northerly Island is a great place to see a live show, the acoustics are set up so well that it is impossible for a person to fry their ears unless they are standing directly in front of the speakers.
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Q101 Block Party - Day One
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 Entertainment
 Art
Charter One Pavilion at Northerly Island
Chicago, Ill.
June 15, 2007
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The crowd for the first night of music was a very select group of people. When bands like Godsmack, Taproot and Buckcherry come together some fairly hardcore fans come out of the woodwork. Some concerts you go to it really does not feel like you’ve been to anything special, a good concert has to feel like an experience. The first night of Q101’s Block Party was an intense experience and it was a night for true metal heads.
Opening acts have a curse and it is the ground where you prove your worth or get forgotten early on. This must have made the lineup for both Q101 shows particularly hard considering all the bands are big names already. By the luck of the draw I suppose Finger Eleven took the stage first and opened up the festival and as good as the band was, it was clear that the crowd was just not feeling them tonight. Given the setup of the auditorium there seemed to a massive wide open space in the general admission seating closest to the stage. The band itself was rocking out but no one was moving, it was as if the audience was somewhere else while the band was playing.
Taproot had a little more success with the crowd. By 7:30 pm when they took the stage, most of the audience had gathered in and had marked their territory for the big name bands. Lead singer Stephen Richards started the set off with a primal scream that woke up the audience out of their funk and really got the show moving. Unfortunately from our seats the only time I could really make out any of the lyrics was when he was screaming. At one point Richards jumped off the stage and ran into the audience working his way through general admission up into the VIP and the normal seats further into the venue. The stunt livened up the show and Richards really gained the respect of the audience.
Buckcherry was the biggest and best surprise of the night. The band reminds me of what Aerosmith must of have been in their prime. Dressed entirely in black the band had an air of mystery and danger about them. Their lead singer looked like a pissed off version of William Dafoe and seemed to be obsessed with his private parts. Songs like “Crazy Bitch” and “Stroke It” really let the crowd go wild and upped the intensity of the concert. Rather then conform to the heavy guitars and strong bass of most of the bands there, Buckcherry relied on good lyrics and had a way with the crowd to woo them and the payoff was worth it. Even at the end of the night, people were still singing the lyrics to “Crazy Bitch” loudly in the parking lot.
The headliner for the night was the always awesome Godsmack. Godsmack stands for everything that heavy metal is about, intense pulse pounding music and empowering lyrics. Though I had known some of Godsmack’s music before this evening, actually seeing the band perform brought it all to a whole new level of intensity. Before the band even came out the MC’s called onto the stage special guest Criss Angel of the Mindfreak television series to introduce Godsmack. At that point there wasn’t a soul in the crowd that was not dying to see these newfound legends of metal perform and they did not disappoint.
With a melodramatic introduction that included a long montage video of the band on tour, Godsmack took the stage like true showman. Though it was clear that it was highly choreographed nonetheless it rocked more than any other act from tonight’s lineup. A drum battle ensued at about the halfway point of the show which proved that Godsmack is far more than a one dimensional heavy metal band.
The expertise of all the musicians tonight and their love of their fans is obvious. I may not be the biggest fan of metal myself but I did feel the energy and got sucked into the devil horn of fun.
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