Wow! If you told me a few months ago that Chop Suey! and Hybrid Theory would sell out the Waiting Room (well I probably would have believed you) but seeing it in person was a thing of beauty!
First off, a huge shout out to Dave Campbell and Midwest Elite Concerts for all of the hard work that went into promoting this show. I can’t even count all the social media posts I saw trying to get the word out.
Dave and Midwest Elite have tons of killer shows coming up, including Defnotes, a tribute to the greatest band of all time, Deftones!!! This show is going to rule!! So please make sure you come out and show your support because I would love to see Deftones music live much more often than every three years when the real Deftones decide to tour the Midwest.
Alright, enough plugs, on to the task at hand.
Evendale was the first band of the night and they got things rockin! With lyrics like “Can I get a hell yea!” you know the party had arrived. Towards the end of the set, Evendale slowed things down a bit as singer E.J. dedicated the song “Believe Me” to his wife of seven years and it was a really beautiful moment. Evendale is definitely making their mark on the Omaha music scene. When I was at River Riot I saw several Evendale shirts in the audience. Keep on rockin dudes!
Next up was the Linkin Park tribute Hybrid Theory. These guys did an awesome job at Lookout Lounge a few months ago, but wow, they’ve stepped up their game even more! With the addition of Linkin Park album cover banners and new songs, you could tell a lot of work went into making this show something spectacular.
Kicking the set off with “Don’t Stay”, the crowd was on their feet and ready to sing. With what felt like a little bit longer set, HT added a few new tracks including “Figure.09,” “Bleed it Out,” and “Numb” featuring Derek from Chop Suey! Once again, the band played a stripped down version of “Crawling.” The crowd moved in close and sang their hearts out! You couldn’t hear anything but voices joined in unity. Several of Hybrid Theory’s posts leading up to the show had the hashtag “Make Chester Proud.” There’s no doubt in my mind that Chester was looking down and smiling.
After Hybrid Theory, the band of the hour Chop Suey! had arrived. These guys also stepped up their game adding album cover banners and a huge Chop Suey! banner behind the drum kit with the System of a Down hand.
Chop Suey opened with a deep cut before busting into “B.Y.O.B.” The crowd was fired up as everyone bounced up and down. Chop Suey! played hit after hit before taking a short break. After the break Derrek and crew came back out for my favorite song of the night “Prison Song”!!! Again, stepping up the production, Derrek had a custom Chop Suey! prison jumpsuit! These guys really pulled out all the stops on this show. I had an awesome time watching all my favorite System of a Down songs performed to perfection, and an even better time watching all of the fans going crazy!
I could easily see either of these bands getting on River Riot next year or another of the Westfair festivals. I expect to see much bigger things from both Hybrid Theory and Chop Suey!
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