Photo by: fanpop.com
The Comfort Dental Amphitheatre is a venue which really only does well for big, loud shows due to how spread out the seating is. Fortunately, when the show you’re playing is called Uproar Festival, big and loud are exactly what you get.
Uproar was a no-holds-barred hard-rock festival filled with strained vocal cords and crazy guitar solos.
It was a two-stage show, with several bands playing small sets that led up to the four big bands on the main stage.
These four bands were Halestorm, Stone Sour, Avenged Sevenfold and Disturbed.
Avenged Sevenfold’s performance came with a back story. The last time the band performed in Denver was before the death of its drummer, Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan.
During his life, The Rev had named Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater as his favorite drummer. When The Rev died, Avenged Sevenfold invited Portnoy to play on their new album.
Death was a prevalent theme in Avenged Sevenfold’s performance at the Uproar Festival.
The band’s stage for the show consisted of what looked like three cemetery gates emblazoned with “A,” “7” and “X.” The show also opened with a stage hand pretending to hang himself from a light fixture and remaining suspended there for the entirety of the opening song “Nightmare.”
However, the most powerful part of the performance was when the band brought up the subject of The Rev.
Lead Singer M. Shadows thanked the Avenged Sevenfold fans for their love and support, as he stood in front of a drawing of The Rev’s back as he shared a group hug with other members of Avenged Sevenfold, saying the band likely would not have continued had the fans not been so supportive.
Shadows then requested that the entire crowd raise their lighters or cell phones in The Rev’s honor – an incredibly inspiring moment.
Halestorm impressed audiences with its female lead singer’s strong voice and the boom of its trashcan drum line.
Stone Sour started out shaky, as the vocals were drowned out by the guitars for the first songs.
As the show progressed, however, the sound was balanced out and singer Corey Taylor was then able to showcase his considerable vocal talent.
Disturbed put on a good show as well, with a large projection screen set decorated with a variety of backgrounds.
