Justin Nuoffer CONCERT REVIEW: + PHOTOS
STATIC-X, DOPE, SEVENDUST
The Sylvee on 2/26/24 in Madison, WI
Review / Photos © Justin Nuoffer
On an unseasonably warm Madison evening, a fiery lineup of metal road warriors made their way to a crown jewel of Wisconsin, The Sylvee. The tour package sees the return of Static-X to the state that bears its name within its first album. The marquee boasted the band names brightly and next to it: SOLD OUT.
The venue itself is a modern masterpiece. Within its walls are the most modern and up-to-date technology they can offer the fan experience. Outside, the sleek appearance was the mere backdrop to the growing line of patrons wrapped around and down the block. Decked in band shirts and summery clothing, the music faithful eagerly waited to enter the 2,500-capacity venue. The security check lined the main entrance. Once through, the main merchandise stand was off to the right and the line already stretched across the room. Around to the left, the bar was bustling. Moving forward to the stairs leading down to the main floor a rush of people ran to the long security barricade. The excitement filled the air.
The Kenosha, Wisconsin natives, Lines of Loyalty, were the first to take the massive Sylvee stage. No strangers to the Madison faithful, they opened with “Hurts To Be Human” and “Blackout”. It’s an almost perfect way to kick off a Monday night. With the energy level rising and lyrical content based on life experiences and stories of struggles, Lines of Loyalty were highly energetic. The 3-piece were quite active and engaging. Ripping through a 7-song set and ending with the hard rock ripper “I’m Not The One.” The band was often spotted hanging out at their merch booth or in the crowd with the fans after finishing up. Down to Earth and honest was the impression they left you with.
The raw enthusiasm of DOPE makes their addition to the tour as an opener a near no-brainer, besides the other obvious reason. However, Dope always holds its own and plays its in-your-face, brash hard rock brand. They are no strangers to the road or the state either. They are a mainstay of local radio station 94.1 WJJO rotation. In recent years they have been more than busy by releasing EP after EP. The popularity they’ve maintained was quite noticeable by the various years of Dope tour shirts floating around.
Their set matched the high intensity of their overall performance. Original members Acey Slade on guitar and vocalist Edsel Dope flew across the stage in a joyous frenzy performing a setlist of greatest hits. Armed with their most popular songs “Die MF Die”, “Debonaire”, and the cover “You Spin Me Round,” the pit in the middle of the sunken room started to slowly turn. They punished the audience. Their presence was a perfect warm-up to the final two acts of the evening.
With 14 full-length releases under their belt, SEVENDUST, arguably the hardest-working band in music hit the Sylvee stage with a thunderous roar from the crowd. They had plenty of material to pick from and delivered a riveting performance with a set list of 13 songs covering 8 albums. There is nothing more impressive than when an act takes the stage like they have been there before. You know it was all about business. They came out swinging with 2 songs “I Might Let The Devil Win” and “Truth Killer” from their 2023 release Truth Killer. Bassist Vince Hornsby bounced around the spacious playing surface often running back to his rhythm partner Morgan Rose who is notorious for his smooth and booming kit snaps. He also punched his bass drum to match the low end being laid down. Vocally he supplied the screaming harmonies Sevendust fans were accompanied to with ease.
Up front, Clint Lowry and John Connolly ripped through the riffs and laid down boisterous backing vocals. There was no slowing down. The mid-set featured two tracks from Next. “Pieces” and “Hero” opened the pit wide which was amazing as they were mere warm-ups to the more notorious knucklebusters Sevendust was about to unleash. The more commercially notable singles “Denial”, “Black”, and “Enemy” shook the room. The tuned-down instruments rocked the floor. The crowd started to sing along with the choruses.
Frontman Lajon Weatherspoon released every capability he had vocally. His voice was strong, full, and impactful. At one point, Lajon was nearly teary-eyed and went on to say, “Can y’all feel the energy in here tonight? Thanks for making us feel at home. I don’t believe that tonight and uh tomorrow when they ask what you did last night, you were at a concert. Look at this, it was a fuckin family reunion y’all and I’d like to thank you to each and every one of you.” The entire band shared the sentiments by pointing and waving around the room. Unfortunately, this is where we all knew they were heading into the final stretch of songs. After a small encore break, Sevendust emerged to a barrage of applause and ripped through “Bitch” and “Face to Face”. The legends of heavy music once again proved they were on top of their game. You physically felt this performance. Luckily there were a few minutes to recoup coming up.
The room was filled with CO2, blasted over the floor and to the ceilings. Wrapping around the stage were colossal LED panels flashing the STATIC-X logo. The music arena is bathed in blue and purple lighting with the occasional strobe fires blasting out into the space. All of a sudden an evil disco-headed pumpkin character walks out to a Vincent Price monologue. The panels lit up as lightning then fire as the character turned red. Walking off the stage revealed a podium standing mid-stage. Xer0, the reincarnated robot manifestation of fallen member Wayne Static, climbed its stairs and off we went into an evening of chaos and party.
For the old-school fans of Evil Disco, Static-X performed mostly tracks from their first two releases Wisconsin Death Trip and Machine. However to get the heart pumping and blood flowing the 2 opening songs came from their Project Regeneration, Vol.1 album. “Hollow” and “Terminator Oscillator” couldn’t have been better selections. Both songs start out at level 10. With the Evil Disco character running around the stage and the oddity within the smoke began to fill the air, bubbles. They had a bubble cannon blasting on both sides of the stage filling the air the entire show. Pairing all of this with the heavy lighting felt like the Upside Down from Stranger Things but with flashing lights from every which way.
Throughout the evening, Static-X pumped out both classics and fan favorites. “Wisconsin Death Trip” being played in the state of Wisconsin is always a special event. Whether it was written about a book title or not, the tone of the tune always feels very homely. Bassist Tony Campos is a machine himself. The veteran of metal kept this project moving and with his renowned growls and grimacing stares, he kept the low-end bumpin.
Behind him, Ken Jay pushed the band’s timing and electronic elements. As always he slammed his toms and snapped his snare attentively with his eyes peering out from underneath his bucket hat. Koichi Fukuda, the guitarist opposite of Campos, is a personality. He by far shows the most emotion while playing, dancing to his riffs and engaging with fans in front of him regularly.
Frontman Xer0, couldn’t have been a more perfect transmigration of Wayne’s spirit. Vocals were full, raspy, and scratchy in a near-perfect match. The small details of the suit became noticeable with flashes of light. With his name stamped across the knuckles, and emblems and band name across the arms, no detail was missed. These things became visually astounding with a lighting shift during the portion of the set featuring songs from the Machine album. “This Is Not” and “Get To The Gone” are by far the heaviest material produced by the industrial metal giants. At this point, the general admission space moved in waves with the pit that flowed wall to wall smack dab in the middle.
“Z0mbie” from the freshly released Project Regeneration Vol.2 was added to the set for this run of shows. Even the band knew it was an extremely fun song. A massive Frankenstein walked out and around the stage. Xer0 interacted with it often, jabbing back and forth. Like something out of a horror film, the actions matched the music. The stage show was incredibly entertaining.
Once the encore song “The Trance Is In Motion” broke, the band returned and the imposing back LED screen posted an image of Waye Static who passed back in 2014 at 49 years old. Xer0 appeared on the podium again and when the slowly paced “Cold” kicked in the mood fell almost somber. The audience, however, belted out the lyrics. During the chorus, a video of Wayne singing along flashed. It was a unique moment to witness. The timing and perfect sync were dazzling. As the song closed, “Forever with Us” and “Rest in Peace” scrolled across.
Not even a moment later Static-X ripped into the intro to “I’m With Stupid” and the Evil Disco guy comes running out with a shovel just like in the band’s music video. The burst of frantic energy poured out into the energized air. The circle pit spun at its fastest and most merciless. Bodies flew around and the crowd surged with arms raised in the air. Falling from above were black and white balloons with the famed Static-X logo on them. Pure joy on the many faces and the voices overpowering the bands singing at moments created an incredible atmosphere.
Right before performing “Push It” Campos and Zer0 handed out many thank yous and praises to the sold-out Sylvee. The most popular song within their catalog rages through the sound system and it still has the same impact as when it was first released all those years back. If there was anything anyone could take away from the night’s performance it was paying homage to their legacy and building upon it with the modern-day tools at hand.
The Capital city of Wisconsin came and showed out. The Machine Killers tour rolled in and left people speechless. The evil disco party gave fans a glimpse of what the future of touring shows could become. While it was an industrial rock show it had all of the check marks of a edm-styled rave. Every artist on the bill brought something completely different to the stage. As the crowd departed, it was obvious a mark was left with them. The chatter was positive and people’s faces were smiling. One can easily say that missing this reincarnation of Static-X would be a grave mistake.
Check out our Static-X concert photos gallery from the show below:
Check out our Sevendust concert photos gallery from the show below:
Check out our Dope concert photos gallery from the show below:
