Picture this. Bridgeport, CT. September 10th. 2025…
What better thing to do on a Wednesday night than head to Bridgeport, CT and see Papa Roach at the Ampitheater? I love this venue. It’s smaller, cozy, the staff is friendly, and the place is clean. Hell, they even offer free parking! So off we went!
Underoath opened up. Definitely the heavier band of the night. I know the name, and I feel like maybe I’ve seen them in the past, but damned if I can remember. I didn’t hate them, I didn’t love them, but I’m not about to start listening to them either. So that was that. Sorry fellas.
Rise Against was next and they actually have some decent songs and an overall good sound. They definitely have a couple of tunes on the radio in semi-regular rotation on your favorite hard rock stations. I knew two of them, Prayer of the Refugee and Savior while my friend Frank said he knew probably 4 of them. I can’t tell you which ones he knew (I didn’t ask). But they were entertaining enough, and they used pyros too. I like pyros! What can go wrong…
But Papa Roach was really the main reason we went. Now this was not the first time I’ve seen this band. Sort of. On approximately (exactly) November 8, 2006 I went to a Guns n Roses show at the Worcester Centrum (aka DCU Center), and I do believe it was this very show that Papa Roach opened for GNR along with Sebastian Bach. Sebastian made sense, Papa Roach did not. Frankly, I was pissed that a nu-Metal band like Papa Roach was opening for them. So, when their time came to play, I left the arena and walked around the concourse. Of course I could still hear them, but I wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of watching. Petty I know, but I stand by my decision!
Anyway, this time was different as they were the headliner. It was their show! They opened with their new one that I really like called, Even If It Kills Me and I enjoyed it right out of the gate! Start out with a banger! Their production value was really good from the get-go as well. The show started with a big ole banner blocking the stage…white with a big roach silhouette, and then it dropped to reveal the stage. The venue itself has large screens on either side of the stage, but their stage also included huge backdrop screens. With the screens, projections, images, videos, lasers, lights, and lots of pyros, it was a solid stage show!
The singer (Jacoby Shaddix) is engaging, talks a lot (maybe too much), and the band was solid. Drum solo, bass solo, but no guitar solo during the set. But once you add a drum solo, it’s definitely a rock show.
Jacoby if you ask me, is a bit of a dork for lack of a better, less offensive term. Lots of “yo” this and “yo” that. And to quote Forrest Gump as I try to do at least once a day, “everything was ‘f this’ and ‘f that.’” It was a bit overkill on the F-bombs. Plus he’d toggle back and forth between hard ass gangsta/rocker voice to “let’s talk about suicide prevention” soft nice guy voice. It was hard to tell which one was the real voice. And he really wanted the crowd to “raise your hands!” and “bounce! bounce!” all night. By ‘bounce’ he meant ‘jump.’ Don’t tell me what to do man!
Speaking of his voice, this is their 25-year anniversary tour apparently and his voice is holding up just fine. While he may fall into the category of “aging rocker” he’s not showing any of the symptoms. Voice is solid, and I never got that vibe that they’re just going through the motions.
Now as I remember it, they played a pre-recorded video about suicide prevention while the stage was being changed up a bit. When the video was over, they came out for their latest, soft hit, Leave a Light On. I was curious how’d they do this live since the radio version is a duet with Carrie Underwood. I’ve been to shows where they use a prerecorded track and video to pull this off, but I was pleased they did not. He just sang the whole song himself, with back up from the rest of the band. Once done, he asked the crowd to have a moment of silence for all the ones we’ve lost, and those left behind. Seeing as this was only hours after the assassination of Charlie Kirk, some people were yelling his name, but most of the crowd was silent. The silence from the band ended when Jacoby said, “this one’s for Charlie.” This was a nice touch.
Dead Cell, Forever, Falling Apart, Scars, Between Angels and Insects were played throughout the night. They also played Braindead which they claimed was the first time it was played live in the US. Definitely a nu-metal song that could’ve easily come out in 2000 instead of 2025. Their “Nu-Metal” medley was also pretty sweet where they played short versions of many early 2000s songs. During this, Jacoby walked around the crowd, including the sound booth which was directly in front of us so that was pretty sweet. He was pretty gracious, taking photos, high-fiving, and shaking hands with fans while singing. That’s not something I see very often. Once that was all done, they of course ended the night with Last Resort.
I’ll wrap it up by stating they’re not one of my favorite bands…clearly. If they were, I wouldn’t have walked out of their show like a douchebag 19 years earlier. But I enjoyed the show. They’re seasoned pros at this point in their career and put on a solid production, while playing songs you know. It’s worth the price of admission.
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