In This Moment/Hellyeah/Shaman’s Harvest/Sunflower Dead – The Masquerade, Atlanta, GA 07/16
By: Leslie Elder Rogers
Entering the venue tonight, I knew it may very well be the last time I get to feel great music bouncing off of these historic walls. These walls that have held many great bands, from every genre’ possible throughout its active years. The beloved Masquerade will be closing its’ current doors later this year. Without fear however, we shall have a new location to find ourselves enjoying great music once again when it relocates, but tonight, I was here for what I will say ended up being one of the best 4 band shows that I’ve witnessed here to date. I arrived late due to the never failing traffic jams that slowly get me to Atlanta and as a result, I didn’t get to hear a single ounce of magic performed by Sunflower Dead, however; from the hype in the crowd, they must’ve been absolutely amazing and a perfect start to the night. Throughout the night, security had their hands full trying to catch the surfers and keep them from landing on the equipment as they made it to the front of the crowd. Nonetheless, what everyone came for tonight, was delivered without weakness.
Shaman’s Harvest is a band that has been killing it making a name for themselves in recent years. Vocalist, Nathan Hunt, has power and precision in his tone. I saw the crowd tonight find a great appreciation for this band as they all jumped and fist pumped the air with rock horns waving high. It’s no secret that people are drawn to their “outside of music personalities” but that humbleness that people love shows when they perform. These guys aren’t arrogant or cocky. Their music is energizing and fresh. You get your rock/metal edge but with a hint of southern intonation in the styling of their sound both phonically and musically. From the moment they step on the stage, we get a show full of talent that cannot be questioned. As I’ve already stated, I was slightly late arriving so I made it in by the end of their first song and just in time for “Dangerous”; a song that paved its’ way into the heart of fans in 2014. Obviously a crowd favorite but not the only song held in high regard tonight as they pumped out a rendition of Michael Jackson’s “Dirty Diana” that only Nathan can provide with grit and sensuality that peaks the attention of all who listen. We already know that there is a deep root to the southern background of this band and it shows significantly in “Country as FXXX” and is propelled into an even stronger dimension of amazing as they performed “Chains”. “Chains” has gained a huge amount of recognition since it was released. Their southern roots are undeniably intertwined with the rugged but perfected vocal tone that can only be defined as “Nathan Hunt”. He and the rest of the band draw us in, heart and soul, to their music and their passion is clear. The crowd moves in awe, back and forth, and up and down, to each guitar chord played and each drum beat struck making sure that Nathan, Josh, Matt, Adam, and Derrick know just how much they are respected as musicians. Their set ended with “Dragonfly”, a personal favorite of mine since the first time I heard it. I fell in love with it all over again as I heard the acoustic version once I got their CD. They throw a little extra punch in with it live as Nathan personally and simply introduces it with a small tidbit of the song “Behind Blue Eyes” by the legendary band The Who. There’s no better way to end a set than with a well-known, timeless, and beautiful melody that creatively meshes into one of your best songs. Kudos to Shaman’s Harvest tonight as they did exactly what they came here for. They gave an amazing performance; one that won’t be forgotten.
Hellyeah was next on stage and there is just so much I can say about these guys. I mean, they are damn determined to put on a hell of a show each and every time they hit a stage, no matter what size crowd they are playing to. They give 200% each and every time they perform. Chad Gray brings with him a voice that is impossible to duplicate. His vocal is easily recognizable because of its uniqueness. A vocal like that, strong and untouchable, can only be enhanced by the accompaniment and amazing talent of drummer, Vinnie Paul, bassist, and Atlanta native, Kyle Sanders, and guitarists, Tom Maxwell and Christian Brady. Together, they can almost do no wrong musically. Their new album “Unden!able” is kicking ass in every direction already and doesn’t show any signs of slacking off anytime soon. Tonight, their set included songs from their debut album “Hellyeah”, their 2012 release “Band of Brothers”, the amazing and powerful 2014 release “Blood for Blood”, which propelled them into several Loudwire nominations, and of course, the 2016 release “Unden!able”. Each of these albums are proof upon proof that Hellyeah is a band to be reckoned with. Tonight, as Chad belted out “X”, “Demons in the Dirt” and “Sangre’ por Sangre’ (Blood for Blood)”, the crowd was crazy wild, jumping and banging their heads as they screamed every lyric. Chad loves to interact with the crowd as he sings. He finds his way front and center and leans in, high fiving, shaking hands, getting in the faces of the admiring fans, making them “experience” the music with him while Kyle, Tom, and Christian slide back and forth across the stage, grinning from ear to ear as they sling out the chords that create the melody. Vinnie, always quick and steady, lets the drum beats roll right off the drumsticks with the flawless flick of his wrists. Their set continued with personal songs like “Moth”, “Cross to Bier (Cradle of Bones”, and “Human”. Through the heavy sound of guitar and drum, the lyrics ring out and punch through your soul. The band recently released a cover of Phil Collins “I Don’t Care Anymore” that Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul had recorded years ago but never released. Tonight, we celebrated that with them as they performed it live on stage before leading into their final song of the night “Hellyeah”. We know they rock and they rock hard from start to finish.
Now let’s get to In This Moment. Maria Brink and her entourage have a way of doing more than just exciting us as listeners, as fans; she also makes us feel like we are experiencing the moments that led to the creation of the songs; the moments in her life that gave her the ammunition and motive. We watch her emotions as she gives every word, every ounce of her soul. With committed appreciation, we dance, and sing, as we mimic her every move and every lyric she thrusts at us. She is the pure definition of an entertainer both musically and dramatically on stage as she changes her stage setup multiple times throughout each performance. The word talented doesn’t even begin to define this woman; this band.
Many of her fans notably agree and maybe even sympathize with every lyric she writes as they are clearly felt deep in the hearts of the crowd here tonight. Watching the band as they interact with each other is like watching true friends play and react to feelings of hurt, pain, sadness and joy all at one time. Guitarists Chris Howorth and Randy Weitzel, come together with bassist Travis “Faceless Freak” Johnson and newly added drummer, Kent Dimmel to create the masterpieces of musical content behind the lyrics; the part of the songs that give the lyrics emphasis just at the right moment to create the thrilling feeling of euphoria amongst the crowd. The costumes are brilliantly adaptive to the very song they are used to describe. There is no doubt that Maria has a Goddess-like presence on stage that draws people to her and her music. It is clear by her stories that she has suffered a lot of heartache in her life. This suffering and bullying led her to this path and helped her find her way to who she is as a person and a vocalist. Her lyrics take us on a journey from past to present as we watch the tragedies unfold. We see and feel her strength continue to build, shaping her, molding her into what we see today; a woman with resiliency beyond measure that no fowl words can penetrate because they only make her stronger and tougher…but sensually and sexually a woman, without shame. Throughout the night, she took moments to walk out slightly from the edge of the stage, into the crowd to interact with her adorning fans. She spoke about not letting life get you down and not letting people invoke their negative opinions and feelings upon you to the point that you feel down about yourself. Even the way she interacted with the band members as she introduced them was genuine and with tremendous respect for them. Fans admire so much about Maria and clearly she adores her fans. She isn’t afraid to talk about her weaknesses or flaws but she finds the perfect way to express overcoming those very weaknesses and flaws. Tonight she mesmerized us with her beauty and hypnotized us with her unquestionable vocal gift. Our experience tonight included many of the bands’ most popular songs, “Sick Like Me”, “Black Widow”, “Adrenalize”, “Sex Metal Barbie” and “Burn” had everyone fueled as excitement penetrated viciously throughout. Then she comes out with “Fighter”, looking like nothing less than an angel with the glowing yellow and white lights surrounding her in her white gown and her blonde hair flowing flawlessly. She merely sat gracefully in her chair, onstage, singing the beautiful melody; peacefully presenting us with a classy and elegant execution of this amazing song. I was in awe, as was the entire sold out crowd in attendance. What a magnificent approach to unify the room with just one song. Every song was perfect, but this song, this one single moment in time tonight, was in one word, breathtaking. It didn’t take her long though. She brought us back to the feisty bits of reality with “Big Bad Wolf” and “Whore” before exiting the stage. Though the band had exited the stage, this was clearly not the end to the show tonight. That would be unacceptable. The stomping, clapping and yelling took place immediately; begging for more, an encore was demanded and it was received. They slowly set the stage for one last performance of the night. As the fans fiercely screamed “Blood”, smoke filled the stage. The band appeared almost invisible under the deep, dark red lights, and Maria, concealed in her blood colored dress and crown, bound by chains, gave us one final sensational performance. “Blood” is one of their most popular songs. It revitalized and aroused everyone in the room. The thing is that when you love Maria as a performer, you absolutely love every performance she gives and In This Moment, in its entirety as a band, seems immaculate. There is no bad or good. There is perfection and excellence in everything they give to their fans.
Shaman’s Harvest website @ http://shamansharvest.com
Hellyeah website @ http://hellyeahband.com
In This Moment website @ http://www.inthismomentofficial.com
By: Leslie Elder Rogers
Entering the venue tonight, I knew it may very well be the last time I get to feel great music bouncing off of these historic walls. These walls that have held many great bands, from every genre’ possible throughout its active years. The beloved Masquerade will be closing its’ current doors later this year. Without fear however, we shall have a new location to find ourselves enjoying great music once again when it relocates, but tonight, I was here for what I will say ended up being one of the best 4 band shows that I’ve witnessed here to date. I arrived late due to the never failing traffic jams that slowly get me to Atlanta and as a result, I didn’t get to hear a single ounce of magic performed by Sunflower Dead, however; from the hype in the crowd, they must’ve been absolutely amazing and a perfect start to the night. Throughout the night, security had their hands full trying to catch the surfers and keep them from landing on the equipment as they made it to the front of the crowd. Nonetheless, what everyone came for tonight, was delivered without weakness.
Shaman’s Harvest is a band that has been killing it making a name for themselves in recent years. Vocalist, Nathan Hunt, has power and precision in his tone. I saw the crowd tonight find a great appreciation for this band as they all jumped and fist pumped the air with rock horns waving high. It’s no secret that people are drawn to their “outside of music personalities” but that humbleness that people love shows when they perform. These guys aren’t arrogant or cocky. Their music is energizing and fresh. You get your rock/metal edge but with a hint of southern intonation in the styling of their sound both phonically and musically. From the moment they step on the stage, we get a show full of talent that cannot be questioned. As I’ve already stated, I was slightly late arriving so I made it in by the end of their first song and just in time for “Dangerous”; a song that paved its’ way into the heart of fans in 2014. Obviously a crowd favorite but not the only song held in high regard tonight as they pumped out a rendition of Michael Jackson’s “Dirty Diana” that only Nathan can provide with grit and sensuality that peaks the attention of all who listen. We already know that there is a deep root to the southern background of this band and it shows significantly in “Country as FXXX” and is propelled into an even stronger dimension of amazing as they performed “Chains”. “Chains” has gained a huge amount of recognition since it was released. Their southern roots are undeniably intertwined with the rugged but perfected vocal tone that can only be defined as “Nathan Hunt”. He and the rest of the band draw us in, heart and soul, to their music and their passion is clear. The crowd moves in awe, back and forth, and up and down, to each guitar chord played and each drum beat struck making sure that Nathan, Josh, Matt, Adam, and Derrick know just how much they are respected as musicians. Their set ended with “Dragonfly”, a personal favorite of mine since the first time I heard it. I fell in love with it all over again as I heard the acoustic version once I got their CD. They throw a little extra punch in with it live as Nathan personally and simply introduces it with a small tidbit of the song “Behind Blue Eyes” by the legendary band The Who. There’s no better way to end a set than with a well-known, timeless, and beautiful melody that creatively meshes into one of your best songs. Kudos to Shaman’s Harvest tonight as they did exactly what they came here for. They gave an amazing performance; one that won’t be forgotten.
Hellyeah was next on stage and there is just so much I can say about these guys. I mean, they are damn determined to put on a hell of a show each and every time they hit a stage, no matter what size crowd they are playing to. They give 200% each and every time they perform. Chad Gray brings with him a voice that is impossible to duplicate. His vocal is easily recognizable because of its uniqueness. A vocal like that, strong and untouchable, can only be enhanced by the accompaniment and amazing talent of drummer, Vinnie Paul, bassist, and Atlanta native, Kyle Sanders, and guitarists, Tom Maxwell and Christian Brady. Together, they can almost do no wrong musically. Their new album “Unden!able” is kicking ass in every direction already and doesn’t show any signs of slacking off anytime soon. Tonight, their set included songs from their debut album “Hellyeah”, their 2012 release “Band of Brothers”, the amazing and powerful 2014 release “Blood for Blood”, which propelled them into several Loudwire nominations, and of course, the 2016 release “Unden!able”. Each of these albums are proof upon proof that Hellyeah is a band to be reckoned with. Tonight, as Chad belted out “X”, “Demons in the Dirt” and “Sangre’ por Sangre’ (Blood for Blood)”, the crowd was crazy wild, jumping and banging their heads as they screamed every lyric. Chad loves to interact with the crowd as he sings. He finds his way front and center and leans in, high fiving, shaking hands, getting in the faces of the admiring fans, making them “experience” the music with him while Kyle, Tom, and Christian slide back and forth across the stage, grinning from ear to ear as they sling out the chords that create the melody. Vinnie, always quick and steady, lets the drum beats roll right off the drumsticks with the flawless flick of his wrists. Their set continued with personal songs like “Moth”, “Cross to Bier (Cradle of Bones”, and “Human”. Through the heavy sound of guitar and drum, the lyrics ring out and punch through your soul. The band recently released a cover of Phil Collins “I Don’t Care Anymore” that Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul had recorded years ago but never released. Tonight, we celebrated that with them as they performed it live on stage before leading into their final song of the night “Hellyeah”. We know they rock and they rock hard from start to finish.
Now let’s get to In This Moment. Maria Brink and her entourage have a way of doing more than just exciting us as listeners, as fans; she also makes us feel like we are experiencing the moments that led to the creation of the songs; the moments in her life that gave her the ammunition and motive. We watch her emotions as she gives every word, every ounce of her soul. With committed appreciation, we dance, and sing, as we mimic her every move and every lyric she thrusts at us. She is the pure definition of an entertainer both musically and dramatically on stage as she changes her stage setup multiple times throughout each performance. The word talented doesn’t even begin to define this woman; this band.
Many of her fans notably agree and maybe even sympathize with every lyric she writes as they are clearly felt deep in the hearts of the crowd here tonight. Watching the band as they interact with each other is like watching true friends play and react to feelings of hurt, pain, sadness and joy all at one time. Guitarists Chris Howorth and Randy Weitzel, come together with bassist Travis “Faceless Freak” Johnson and newly added drummer, Kent Dimmel to create the masterpieces of musical content behind the lyrics; the part of the songs that give the lyrics emphasis just at the right moment to create the thrilling feeling of euphoria amongst the crowd. The costumes are brilliantly adaptive to the very song they are used to describe. There is no doubt that Maria has a Goddess-like presence on stage that draws people to her and her music. It is clear by her stories that she has suffered a lot of heartache in her life. This suffering and bullying led her to this path and helped her find her way to who she is as a person and a vocalist. Her lyrics take us on a journey from past to present as we watch the tragedies unfold. We see and feel her strength continue to build, shaping her, molding her into what we see today; a woman with resiliency beyond measure that no fowl words can penetrate because they only make her stronger and tougher…but sensually and sexually a woman, without shame. Throughout the night, she took moments to walk out slightly from the edge of the stage, into the crowd to interact with her adorning fans. She spoke about not letting life get you down and not letting people invoke their negative opinions and feelings upon you to the point that you feel down about yourself. Even the way she interacted with the band members as she introduced them was genuine and with tremendous respect for them. Fans admire so much about Maria and clearly she adores her fans. She isn’t afraid to talk about her weaknesses or flaws but she finds the perfect way to express overcoming those very weaknesses and flaws. Tonight she mesmerized us with her beauty and hypnotized us with her unquestionable vocal gift. Our experience tonight included many of the bands’ most popular songs, “Sick Like Me”, “Black Widow”, “Adrenalize”, “Sex Metal Barbie” and “Burn” had everyone fueled as excitement penetrated viciously throughout. Then she comes out with “Fighter”, looking like nothing less than an angel with the glowing yellow and white lights surrounding her in her white gown and her blonde hair flowing flawlessly. She merely sat gracefully in her chair, onstage, singing the beautiful melody; peacefully presenting us with a classy and elegant execution of this amazing song. I was in awe, as was the entire sold out crowd in attendance. What a magnificent approach to unify the room with just one song. Every song was perfect, but this song, this one single moment in time tonight, was in one word, breathtaking. It didn’t take her long though. She brought us back to the feisty bits of reality with “Big Bad Wolf” and “Whore” before exiting the stage. Though the band had exited the stage, this was clearly not the end to the show tonight. That would be unacceptable. The stomping, clapping and yelling took place immediately; begging for more, an encore was demanded and it was received. They slowly set the stage for one last performance of the night. As the fans fiercely screamed “Blood”, smoke filled the stage. The band appeared almost invisible under the deep, dark red lights, and Maria, concealed in her blood colored dress and crown, bound by chains, gave us one final sensational performance. “Blood” is one of their most popular songs. It revitalized and aroused everyone in the room. The thing is that when you love Maria as a performer, you absolutely love every performance she gives and In This Moment, in its entirety as a band, seems immaculate. There is no bad or good. There is perfection and excellence in everything they give to their fans.
Shaman’s Harvest website @ http://shamansharvest.com
Hellyeah website @ http://hellyeahband.com
In This Moment website @ http://www.inthismomentofficial.com
