The Rock Resurrection Tour featuring Theory of a Deadman, Skillet, and Saint Asonia made a stop in Connecticut on November 19, 2023. Solid show for the most part, except…
Saint Asonia opened the show. What’s cool about this band is that it’s made up of dudes from a few other successful groups like Staind, Art of Dying ,and Three Days Grace. The lead singer (Adam Gontier) is the former lead singer for Three Days Grace and this had a huge impact on their setlist.
I didn’t capture their full setlist, but if you’re super curious, it can be found here. My first observation was that their singer was also a guitarist. Yet somehow when they played Devastate, and he was vocals only, it was the heaviest song in the setlist. So, more guitars does not necessarily equal heavier or louder! They played Never too Late and I Hate Everything About You which are technically Three Days Grace songs. But I’m not sure if those are considered “covers” since after all, it’s the singer and songwriter performing them. Screw it! Not a cover!
As far as songs titled I Hate Everything About You go, I have to say I prefer the Ugly Kid Joe song more. But it was still a sweet tune. They played a song called I Don’t Care that Gontier did with the band Apocalyptica and that was pretty awesome as well. They also did their new single Wolf which I really liked and Let Me Live My Life. It was a relatively short set, but that’s ok. Quality over quantity.
Next up was Skillet. They kicked ass! They are loud, heavy, 50% chicks, and they rock! They’re a solid rock band with some damn fine guitar work, a beast of a drummer, and great vocals that contain lead male vocals and back up, sometimes co-lead, female vocals. Oh, and sometimes an electric cello.
They started with Invincible which is a great tune. I like this as an opener since it showcases both the male and female vocals. While I didn’t know all their songs, I did enjoy them all except for one ballad-like song that was kind of weak. But that’s ok. They talked to the crowd a lot which I always like, and the energy never died. Sometimes start strong and the energy fades over time, but not this crew. They had a great stage set giving them plenty of room to run around, and the risers they had that brought the guitarists (and celloist) up and down was pretty cool.
During one song, they gave their little beast of a drummer (Jen Ledger) a break while a roadie or someone took over, so she could come up front and be a proper vocalist. Not being a super fan or follower of the band, I wondered if any of the band members were together. That was answered when the singer gave the female guitarist’s mouth a proper tongue lashing. Google tells me they’re married. Apparently they’re a bit of a Christian rock band too, but it’s not totally in your face (except before Hero when he gave some praise to his hero JC).
Good show, lots of energy, and I’d totally see them again. Setlist here.
By this time, Theory of a Deadman was getting ready to come out. I really like this band as they have some cool songs, and the singer has a deep voice and some funny lyrics. And then…they came out.
From the first song Dinosaur (off their new album) I was confused. Who the hell is singing? While the dude singing had a decent voice, it sounded NOTHING like the Theory of a Deadman I know. But it was the first song, and from their new album, so let’s see how it goes. Next was Bitch Came Back and my confusion didn’t go away. They then announced a new song of their new album and he started to belt out Two Of Us which you might know from the early 80s hit Just the Two of Us by Grover Washington (featuring Bill Withers). At first I thought he was kidding, but then the song kept going. Nope – this is their legit cover.
By the time we got to the next song (which was totally wussy) and then Lowlife, I was sure we were being played. But according to the interwebs, nope, this was the same singer. But what the hell was going on? Why does he sound so different. They did a cover of Alice In Chains’ Nutshell and did not sing. It was instrumental only which was likely a good move as I’m not sure he could’ve sang this one. They did their song Santa Monica and then a weak cover of Garth Brooks Friends In Low Places (totally metal right?). It wasn’t good.
I will point out that many of the seats that became empty in between sets didn’t fill back up during their set. And many of the seats that were filled when they started, gradually became empty. The energy was dead and many people were sitting. Plenty of people were still enjoying themselves, but there was a definite shift in the mood from Skillet to Theory of a Deadman.
At some point, he did a wussy cover of Chris Isaak’s Wicked Game and a short version of Journey’s Don’t Stop Believing. What the hell is happening!? I won’t say that he was a bad singer, but it just wasn’t the voice of the band I wanted to see. Whether you’re familiar with these dudes or not, you should know that his studio voice has a deep tone/register. Think Eddie Vedder-ish (Pearl Jam). But the voice in concert had a pitch similar to Weird Al without the joking. I do enjoy Weird Al, but not as the singer for a heavy rock/metal band.
As much as I wanted to hear Bad Girlfriend played live, we decided to bail early because I didn’t want to hear the tune ruined. I don’t know if this is how he always sounds live, or if it was an off night. I searched online to see if others had this complaint during previous shows and found nothing. Maybe it was just tonight? Would love to know if you’ve seen them before and what you thought!
Anyway, I didn’t capture their full setlist, and couldn’t have if I wanted to since we left. Would I see them again? I don’t know. Guess it depends what others who have seen them before and saw this show can tell me. Is this the norm?
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