All Photos By Travis Failey/Rocket Sports & Entertainment
The first big hard rock show of the 2019 season kicked off on Tuesday night at Jannus Live in Saint Petersburg. SEVENDUST and TREMONTI headlined a five band bill that also included CANE HILL, LULLWATER, and KIRRA.
It was a beautiful Florida winter night topping out at 65 degrees, and Jannus Live was packed to the gills with people from all over the Central Florida area. Just trying to maneuver through the crowd and smoke from cigarettes was a bit difficult and definitely a health hazard, but it was worth it because we had a damn good time.
We arrived at Jannus late, right as CANE HILL was finishing its set, due to a crash, but I asked a bunch of fans how the earlier bands were, and everyone said they were great, especially LULLWATER from Athens, Georgia.
Mark Tremonti is a busy man these days. Because when he’s not playing with TREMONTI, he plays with this other band that you may have heard of, ALTER BRIDGE. So when he’s not on tour, he’s in the studio recording albums with TREMONTI. TREMONTI is out in support of their 2018 release, A Dying Machine, which is their 4th studio album, The boys hit the stage right at 8:15, and opened their nine-song set with “Cauterize”.
Next up was one of their most recognizable and songs off the All I Was release, “You Waste Your Time”. His fans instantly started singing the chorus with the crowd getting a bit aggressive as the alcohol kicked in. Security took care of every issue throughout the night, with only a few people getting tossed out of the venue.
Continuing with “My Last Mistake”, and then “The Things I’ve Seen”, TREMONTI’s set was a no thrills, or bells and whistles- just straight-ahead hard rock and metal with zero breaks. Mark Tremonti addressed the crowd with claps and appreciation for their support. TREMONTI played a power-packed set that concluded with “A Dying Machine” and “Wish You Well”, with the latter also getting massive airplay on satellite radio.
Tremonti and his band is a well-oiled machine with Mark handling both lead vocals and guitar and handles them marvelously. Tremonti’s harmonies with CREED and ALTER BRIDGE are respected throughout the music community and he has taken his career to another level with his solo work.
SEVENDUST, who’s out in support of last year’s critically acclaimed release, All I See Is War, came on stage as AC/DC’s “Shoot To Thrill” was being pumped through the house speakers. They opened with “Black” from their self-titled debut release and got the crowd primed for a night of old school SEVENDUST tracks, with a focus on their masterpiece release, and my favorite SEVENDUST album, Animosity.
SEVENDUST played 5 songs from Animosity which included “Praise”, “Dead Set” and “Trust”, along with the always emotional “Angel’s Song”. Vocalist Lajon Witherspoon was once again on top of his game vocally and is a natural front man. He engaged with the crowd and always treats the fans with respect and looks out for their well-being. Lajon got security involved at one point when a couple fans got into a fight and he stated that he thinks that that was the first time an actual fight broke out during “Angel’s Song”. He also dedicated the song “Shine“ to a friend that recently passed away in a motorcycle accident and how life is so precious.
As usual, SEVENDUST played like the road warrior band that it is. The vocal harmonies were top-notch with guitarists John Connolly and Clint Lowery backing Witherspoon. But a SEVENDUST show just wouldn’t be complete without the guttural screams from drummer Morgan Rose, who also puts on a show behind the drum kit. Morgan is worth the price of admission, with a few attendees saying they were there just to see him play.
A highlight of SEVENDUST’s set was when it brought two youngsters up on stage to play guitar and drums. Both of the kids were amazing and when they finished playing, they received a roaring round of applause from the crowd and the guys in SEVENDUST. Lajon said they were the future, and from my viewpoint, it looks bright with these two carrying the torch that bands like SEVENDUST have been doing since 1998 and beyond.
As the Saint Petersburg noise ordinance time was approaching, SEVENDUST completed their first set with their recent hit on Sirius XM, “Dirty” from All I See Is War. “Dirty” has been getting a lot of airplay and is only one of the many outstanding songs on the 2018 release.
SEVENDUST took a short break and then finished the night with a two-song encore with "Splinter" and then crowd favorite “Face to Face”. It’s always great seeing and hearing people bounce and scream the opening lines “You Can’t Stop Fucking With My Head!” over and over. It’s a perfect closing track, leaving its fans with the catchy chorus stuck in their heads as they walked out of the venue.
Tonight’s rock show with SEVENDUST and TREMONTI was a great start to this year’s concert season. Five bands for the low-dough price of only $25, with affordable concert t-shirts, also in the $25 ball park. That’s a great price these days because most other bands are charging $40 plus, at a minimum. This tour continues until the beginning of March, but don’t stress if you didn’t get out to see this tour because SEVENDUST will be out with Maria Brink’s IN THIS MOMENT starting in May.
For tour dates and other info:
https://sevendust.com/
https://marktremonti.com/
https://www.wearecanehill.com/
https://www.lullwatermusic.com/
www.kirramusic.com
Check out some more photos from the show!
All Photos By Travis Failey/Rocket Sports & Entertainment
