Celebrating 25 years of their debut album The Sickness, Disturbed performed their multi-platinum album from beginning to end, plus a second set of their greatest hits on March 21, and this Friday’s show was the first metal bill of the year at Madison Square Garden.
Sevendust kicked off the night with a thundering half-hour of songs including their early rock radio hits like “Black” and “Denial.” Halfway into the set, singer Lajon Witherspoon teared up as he lamented that he thought that his years of commanding a room of that size in New York City were over. The frontman smiled with pride as he acknowledged his wife and children in the audience. He thanked the most revved-up audience members in the pit for keeping the energy as high as it was two-plus decades ago.
Shortly after Sevendust’s performance, Three Days Grace took the stage and performed an hour of their own rock hits.
This tour is special for longtime fans of the band, because it is the first time since 2013 that they are performing with their founding singer Adam Gontier, who recently came back to the band, but not as a replacement. Unlike other legacy groups with shifting lineups, the group now has two lead singers, Gontier and Matt Walst. The pair sang as a duet at times and traded lead vocal duties during others. They shined on hits like “Animal I Have Become,” “I Hate Everything About You,” “Home,” “The Mountain,” and their latest single “Mayday.”
[L-R] Sevendust, Three Days Grace / Photos by Ehud Lazin
The excitement built up for Disturbed as the opening sets wound down. The lights dimmed and frontman David Draiman was wheeled onstage in a straitjacket, just like he was at the storied Roseland Ballroom show in 2000 – the band’s breakout year promoting The Sickness LP in New York City.
They kicked off the night with the explosive album opener “Voices.” The lead three singles of the 25-year-old Sickness album were played within the first 20 or so minutes of the set. A casual fan at that point could have said, “Well, I’ve heard enough – I’m happy and ready to go home.”
Had they left, they would have missed another two decades of hits, guest appearances from the singers of Three Days Grace, a duet with David’s son Samuel, and a whole lot of pyrotechnics.
The night steadily rocked, and the sold-out crowd was filled with fans of all ages, many of whom grew up with Disturbed commanding rock radio. Those fans especially felt the power and heat as the set came to a close with the group’s flame-driven 2008 No. 1 single “Inside The Fire.” The closing line of that song rang true as the already beloved show at MSG came to an end: “You will remember it all, let it blow your mind again, man.”
Photo by Ehud Lazin
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