10 Years & Nonppint Live at the Wicked Moose

Got home early this morning from the Wicked Moose Bar and Grill in Rochester, MN after another great rock show! Hadn't been there since March, when I went to see Nonpoint headline - had a great time and met a couple of true friends that I spent a lot of time enjoying the evening with. Last night Nonpoint was back, supporting 10 Years, another band that's really grown on me the last few years.

After having a bite to eat in the bar area, I made it to the stage in time to see the first opener, Awaken the Empire, perform. A friend had raved about their set from a few nights earlier, and I have to say that it was definitely different...in an entertaining way. They got the growing crowd curious enough to move closer to the front of the stage to check them out, anyway.

The next band were Brit rockers The Family Ruin. I enjoyed both their original songs and their brutal honesty, especially when the lead singer admitted that they had  run out of merchandise, and had come up with hand-made T-shirts for sale at their merch booth! Definitely a band worth checking out for that reason alone!

Soon it was time for more Nonpoint: this was my fifth time seeing them live in concert, and the fourth time in the last year. They opened with their trademark heavy energy, let up a little in the middle to play hits "Breaking Skin," "Misery and "Needles" from their latest album The Return, and closed with the fan favorites "What A Day," "In the Air Tonight" (a far better version than the Phil Collins original, in my opinion) and their traditional closing song "Bullet With a Name." I was lucky enough to get the attention of a few stagehands after their set and scored a setlist and one of guitarist Rasheed Thomas' guitar picks!

I made it up to the very front of the stage in time for 10 Years' set. They kicked off their performance with the title cut from their new album From Birth to Burial. This was my fourth 10 Years concert, and they've all been well worth the price of admission. I liked the mix of newer songs with classics like "Fix Me," "Beautiful," "Wasteland," "Actions and Motives" (with guest vocals onstage from the lead singer of Awaken the Empire) and "Shoot It Out." Anytime you can get close enough to one of your favorite bands to wipe the sweat from some of the band members off of yourself is always a fun show to me!

After the show, I caught up with a concert buddy of mine, got to catch up with 10 Years frontman Jesse Hasek again and pose for a photo op, and catch up with Nonpoint bassist Adam Woloszyn and had him sign my Nonpoint setlist. Another great night of live rock with great people!

Not sure what the next show will be just yet, but rest assured there's a lot more rock in store for me! Until next time, have a great week, everyone!