Sevendust at Pickle Park

Well, my 17th Sevendust show (and 4th one in the last 10 days) has come and gone, and it was an excellent experience at Pickle Park in Fridley, MN last night! This one was special to me, because I got to see my favorite rock band with some of the many friends that I've gone to a lot of local shows with lately, many of whom had been encouraging me for my Sevendust trip last week.

I got to the venue last night and found a spot to park, seeing the crowd line up outside the door. I met a friend who had a special present for me: a large poster for tonight's show! I quickly secured the prize possession in my car, not wanting it to get damaged during the show. I got back in line and caught up with friends before the doors opened.

Shortly after 7 pm, the front doors opened and we made our way to the front of the stage. Local openers Emergent began the concert shortly before 8 p.m. and brought a lot of energy as usual to their performance. I was proud to give a copy of their CD to Sevendust's manager George Roskos last week at the studio hang, and hoped that the guys in the band had a chance to listen to it and experience how awesome this band really is!

Next up were Kansas City natives Sidewind. Although I had a couple of the band members on my Facebook friends list, I didn't know much about their music until the show. They played several inspired original numbers and a faithful cover of Nine Inch Nails' "Head Like A Hole" before calling it a night. The crowd was ready for Sevendust to arrive!

Sevendust began their show with the strobbing, pulsating classic "Black," the first song off of their self-titled debut album. The band had just recently started live streaming the new album Kill the Flaw online for a limited time, so I'm glad my friends were able to familiarize themselves with the new albums, particularly the new songs "Thank You" and "Not Today" that were performed live in concert.

This was just one of several headlining shows for Sevendust on this run, so it was nice to see them play a longer set than I'd seen recently. It was also great to hear Clint, John, Morgan, Vince and Lajon bust out Sevendust classics "Disease," "Dead Set," "Praise," "Enemy," "Decay" and Angel's Son" during the show. I thought the band seemed a little disassociated during the first song, but they quickly regained their composure and put on another outstanding show, ending their 13-song set with the Next gem "Pieces."

While I didn't get a guitar pick or much more than a couple of handshakes from Lajon and Clint during the show, I was so happy to enjoy my favorite band with so many great friends that I didn't mind being jostled around in the front row like a sack of potatoes at times. Can't wait for the next Sevendust show in November in Lacrosse, WI!

That's all for now - next time, I'll be writing about tonight's 10 Years/Breaking Benjamin show that I scored a free ticket to last night! Until then, have a great weekend, everyone!