Justin Nuoffer 
CONCERT REVIEW + PHOTOS
Staind, Asking Alexandria, I Prevail, Dayseeker
5/3/24 – Fiserv Forum – Milwaukee, WI
Review + Photos © Justin Nuoffer / NuofferMedia
On a beautifully sunny Friday evening the city of Milwaukee hosted Hog Fest 2024. Fiserv Forum is nestled on the North end of the downtown area. The Milwaukee River runs just a few blocks away. Just a block over is the famous strip of restaurants on Dr. M.L.K. Dr. In front of the arena is Buck Plaza. The plaza was bustling and filled with people and the lines to get in were long and filled with various types of rock fans. The diverse types of band shirts give away who on the bill fans came to see. The air was filled with excitement and intrigue. The sun rays were glimmering off of the arena’s glass siding and the mood was pleasant.
Moving through the glass doors and through security, you are greeted to a massive sign showing the evening’s flyer. STAIND in their classic font sprawled across it. You then can go either right or left and up the escalators to the main concourse. Every concession stand and fan kiosk was open for business. The beer vendors yelling down the hallways. A norm in Cream City. Entering the performance area, the stairs down to the main floor are straight ahead. The atmosphere was electric. The Milwaukee Bucks may have left the feeling behind while they hit the road. The hair on one’s arms stood up. Taking in the view was breathtaking.
With the radio crew greeting the crowd, Dayseeker slowly hit the stage. The up-and-coming band ripped through fan favorites such as “Neon Grave”, “Burial Plot”, and “Dream State”. The stage was bathed in violet and deep purple. Vocalist Rory Rodriguez paced the stage while delivering haunting vocals that matched the heavy content of the lyrics. The crowd ate it up. Dayseeker were emotionally raw and moody. They poured out every ounce of passion and sentiment they could and it resonated.
Following them were metalcore legends and no strangers to the city of Milwaukee, Asking Alexandria. At the front of the stage, a metal platform ran along the entire front edge. Vocalist Danny Worsnop paced the entire length singing to fans around the room. Guitarist Cameron Liddell ripped through some heavy riffs and bassist Sam Bettley laid down thundering bass lines with one foot up on a metal grate. Drummer James Cassells sat behind his kit center stage.
Every so often you could catch a glimpse of him from behind his massive setup. Within their 40 minutes, they covered material dating back to their first full-length release. Asking Alexandria had no fear of mixing in classics like “The Final Episode”, “Closure”, and “Moving On” to appease the long-time fans. For the most part, they focused on material from their more recent releases, but their self-titled album seemed to be the main focus with three tracks from it “Alone In A Room”, “Into The Fire”, and “Where Did It Go?”. They were a perfect lead-up to the direct supporting act, I Prevail.
With Milwaukee being one of I Prevails two US dates scheduled for the year, people came from all over the region to catch it. Their shirts were scattered around the arena. The band itself was noticeably short a member. Clean vocalist Brian Burkheiser was unable to tour due to vocal surgery. This left the remaining members to pick up the slack. They took the stage with a fiery passion. The electric energy coming from the GA floor amplified itself. Screaming vocalist Eric Vanlerberghe stood center stage on the catwalk often.
Below him he had song lyrics printed out and taped to the floor. During “Self Destruction” he ripped through the lyrics with ease. Anchored to each side of him were guitarists, Dylan Bowman on his right and to his left Steve Menoian. Back on a tall platform was touring bassist and keyboardist Jon Eberhard. On a drum riser in the back corner drummer Gabe Helguera peered over top of his kit smiling and smashing away. I Prevails energy was contagious. They even relieved the vocal strain by performing two covers. First was Taylor Swift‘s “Blank Space” and Nine Inch Nails‘ “Head Like A Hole”. True Power, their most popular album, was the primary feature though. As we know, the breakdowns and drops were heavy-hitting. The room bounced in unison. The circle pit spun and bodies flew around the floor.
“Choke” and “Bow Down” were by far the most brutal pit spinners. Steam and dust rose from the floor. Crowd surfers flew across the top. The crowd along the front barrier belted out every single word. I Prevail has managed to set itself apart from most modern artists. They know their avenues and what the fans are asking of them. It would’ve been hard to not have had fun despite them being a man down.
The headliners on the evening, Staind had a massive banner along the front of the stage with their logo sprawled across the front of it. Pumping through the arena’s sound system was some light orchestral music with a clock ticking buried within it. All of a sudden, Staind starts playing the intro to “Lowest in Me” from their most recent album Confessions of The Fallen. The heavy intro riff by guitarist Mike Mushok vibrated through the arena. The impact was felt immediately. The stage setup was enormous and pushed that impact. It was the same setup as previous tours, but with new imagery to accompany the music.
A platform ran the length of the stage and on the front of it were screens that were all running in unison with each other. Behind it a colossal screen running to what felt like the rafter projected the correlated imagery. Mike Mushok’s pedal board was spread around him on the left side of the stage. Johnny April and his bass set up manned the right-hand side. Perched in the middle of the massive platform Sal Giancarelli had his drum kit above the main performing area. He leered out over the crowd. Staind pulled out every single they’ve released and threw in some goodies along the way. The first half of their setlist for the evening represented it well. They also managed to slip in songs from every album. Notably, Break The Cycle and their self-titled Staind carried 8 of the 15-song set. “Eyes Wide Open” seemingly was played tuned down further than normal. The arena floor shook and a small pit of bodies started moshing. Safe to say Staind was there to kick ass and give fans old and new something to enjoy.
After “Something to Remind You” fades out into the night, Lewis walks back and lights a cigarette. Mushok is off to the side tuning. Lewis then approached the microphone for one of the very few moments he addressed the crowd and says, “It’s a pleasure to be here after all of these years. I wore my Jeffrey Dahmer glasses just for you.” The venue erupted in laughter and a rare smile came across Lewis’ face. Lewis then took a pull of his cigarette and unleashed a ferocious growl for “Raw”. This is the point where the performance seemingly took off. The band had settled in and found their groove. Staind’s light songs such as “Outside”, Better Days”, and “So Far Away” were featured here. The ability to incorporate their softer side flawlessly opened up the voices the eager audience had. It was quite a moving experience to take in.
After a small encore break, Staind re-emerged armed with their two most famous songs in their back pocket. As a slow intro to “It’s Been A While” starts and builds, the crowd sang along to the 2000s radio smash. The stage lit up with a hallway on fire and flames crackling on the stage props. A heavy fog rolled over the stage. The mood was somber. “Come On!” Lewis screamed and the crowd filled the air with the chorus over and over. The GA floor swayed and took it all in. At the end of the final chorus, Lewis finished with “Fuck You, I’m not sorry for shit” and an eruption of screams fills the air. Giancarelli smashed his high hats and April ripped into that thick and lustrous bassline for “Mudshovel”. Lewis asked, “Do you all remember this one?” and proceeded to lay into the slow-building vocals then held the mic out to the crowd. The temperament of the room changed in an instant. Red lights filled the stage and the anger built. Mushok jumped around then strummed down those strings and produced those thick breakdowns reminiscent of those early 2000s. There was no doubt Staind found the fountain of youth. They have never sounded better and put every single ounce of energy and sweat into their performance. While the landscape of music has changed, Staind still capitalizes and kills it.
The hard rock radio station 102.9 The Hog stamped their name on a bill of bands that encompass every type of rock within the genre. It would have been hard to walk out of this gorgeous venue and not have seen something great. When producing a bill like this the expectations are high. All of the artists delivered on their brand of rock. Hog Fest was fantastic and I highly anticipate it to continue to be an annual tradition.
Check out our Staind concert photo gallery below:
Check out our Asking Alexandria concert photo gallery below:
Check out our I Prevail concert photo gallery below:
Check out our dayseeker concert photo gallery below:
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