Sevendust Live In Philadelphia
By
Alicia Downs,
Pure Rock Patroller
Wednesday, February 6, 2002 @ 3:25 PM
| Sevendust Live At The Electric
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All of a sudden Sevendust became HUGE. They released their third record, Animosity last November and have since been selling out venues with their own headlining shows after wrapping up a tour with all that is annoying, Fuel.
Sevendust, presently headlining a tour, alongside Gravity Kills and Flaw rolled through Philadelphia’s Electric Factory February 1, 2002. Sevendust playing in Philadelphia is a feat in and of itself. After asking front man LaJon Witherspoon why they never play Philly, he simply stated, "cause Philly never shows us any love." And truth told Philly rarely shows anyone any love. This coming from fans that have been known to throw snowballs packed with batteries and enemy teams and then turn around and throw them at their own team when it screws up. We can be a bit fickle to say the least.
After sitting through Flaw and Gravity Kills, the fans erupted with the Sevendust chants. If Philly never showed love before, they were definitely on the bandwagon tonight. They took the stage sometime around 10:30 and within seconds they busted out with track "Black" from their debut self-titled album.
Sure enough the moshing started, the angst ridden 14 year olds lost their shirts and the drunks on the balcony raised yet another drink in the name of Sevendust. And these guys love every moment of it, especially Witherspoon who charms the works the crowd with a charisma that few "hard" performers can pull off. But the thing with Sevendust is that they are never truly all hard -- sure the sounds can be a bit agro-rock but more so then anything the melody coupled with dueling guitar riffs and composed drum beats compliments of Morgan Rose work to define a sound that has become decidedly Sevendust.
With three albums under their belts and a following that is beginning to border on cult-like, just about any jam Sevendust busted out was met with cheers and all the more foot stomping body moshing one could muster. Standing on the end barricade I was lucky enough to be blessed with the sweaty bodies in passing as they got kicked back into the sea of adolescent angst. So with a long track listing to choose from Sevendust met demands by playing old favorites “Waffle,” “Denial,” and “Rumblefish.” But let’s not forget the new songs that are feeding the kids and putting cars in the garages because Animosity is getting more love on MTV and radio then past singles combined. Chants for "Praise" were met and then some. "Trust" and "Crucified" are the new jams easily rating up there with "Bitch.” And let us not forget the great "Tits on a Boar" -- the whole inspiration for that track I am still wondering about.
As expected, the band slowed it down mid-way through playing Lynn Strait tribute "Angel’s Son." I have to side note on this one that I was very happy with the fact that they had no guest appearances come up on this track as they have in past tours and shows. "Angel’s Son" was starting to feel like the town whore with everyone getting a ride. Beautiful song though and the lighters were burning brighter then a gay man at a disco for that one. The next single to be released off Animosity -- Live Again, followed. The band is preparing to release the single sometime after the video shoot overseas late spring.
Witherspoon and the boys owned the crowd. Vinny worked the balcony and below with faces only he could make while still sober. And the people loved every minute of it. Loved it so much so that one fan decided that it was a good idea to bust out a Matrix flip from the balcony down into the mosh pit below. I always wondered when that was going to happen -- I mean you put a bunch of drunks on an elevated level -- there is bound to be at least one person who thinks it is a good idea to jump.
So an hour and twenty minutes later the time came for it to all end. What better way for Sevendust to close it out then with the single that started it all, "Bitch." In standard form Witherspoon motioned to the crowd to start a whirlpool, but with so many people at his feet he ended up getting three at various parts of the floor. The people moved about the circular vortex while the voyeurs chose to just sing along.
Sevendust came, they played, the rocked, and they did not get any batteries thrown at them. I’d say they not only showed love with Witherspoon saying "We played DC last night and you all kill that crowd," but they got it back in return -- just ask the dude that got carried out in a headlock by four steroid freak security dudes after flipping off the balcony.
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