93x Family Reunion Brings the Heat to Xcel Energy Center

Less than a week after I finished my first 50 mile ultramarathon event, I was already feeling withdrawals from my two favorite hobbies. Luckily for me, this week will bring not one but two shows to my evening schedule; I truly was feeling the post race blues, desperate to get back to running or shows within moments of finishing that race. The first show of the week for me was at Xcel Energy Center for the 93x Family Reunion show, featuring Godsmack, Chevelle, Nothing More, Wage War, and Sleep Theory. Even though I was in for a long night, I was more than ready to get back into the photo pit for a stellar night of music.

First up for the night was Memphis based Sleep Theory, a band that was making their arena show debut. While I went into their set not knowing anything about the band, it was clear from the start I was part of the minority from the GA crowd that was not familiar with at least one of their songs. Vocalist Cullen Moore was an instant hit, his vocals effortlessly filling the arena, gaining a big reception from the fans on the barricade. Fellow band members Landen Terry, Paulo Vergara, and Ben Pruitt rounded out the performance with solid instrumentals, playing up the crowd as they trickled into the venue. In what felt like no time at all the Sleep Theory wrapped up their short and sweet set and it was time for the next band to take the stage.

Nothing More took the stage shortly before 6:30 to a slowly growing crowd. I’ve seen this band play once before, six maybe seven years ago, and have sadly been unable to catch them since. What stuck with me from that show all those years ago was the commanding stage presence of the entire band, but even more so from frontman Jonny Hawkins. It seems like Nothing More only got better over the years, they absolutely commanded the stage, drawing nearly every pair of eyes up front. Even though I was not familiar with their music, I couldn’t help but feed off of the energy of the band and the crowd, and was brought back to the insane vibe of the club show from years ago.

Next to take the stage was metalcore band Wage War. This is a band I’m familiar with from my Warped Tour days, when the band was out supporting their debut album. I personally have fallen off their music as the years went on but had always had a great time at recent shows where I’ve seen them perform. Tonight was no different; Wage War took to the stage to a roar from the crowd and wasted no time jumping into their set. With plenty of stage smoke, CO2, double bass and breakdowns, Wage War brought the heavy that was missing from the two previous openers of the night, working to get the crowd head banging and amped up.

The penultimate band of the night was legacy rock band Chevelle. This was the only other band of the night that I had never seen and just never seemed to venture too deep into their catalogue, and I was intrigued to see this band perform. Even with the slightly longer wait in between bands, Chevelle more than made up for it with their stellar performance. I didn’t know any of their music and yet I couldn’t help but headbang along to every song. While Wage War brought the metalcore heavy to the lineup, Chevelle brought a more moody heavy that translated well on the Xcel stage. Even though  this was not the most charismatic or crowd talking band of the night, Chevelle put on a hell of a performance for the St. Paul crowd.

Last but certainly not least, Godsmack, the headliners of the night took the stage. Yet another band that I have come across in passing (from seeing them at shows years ago to their music showing up on random Spotify playlists of mine), Godsmack was not as much of a stranger to the rest of the crowd. Just before the band ripped into their set, they played a short documentary on a big screen behind the stage that showed the band’s beginning, something I haven’t personally seen a band do as an intro yet. After the short documentary was over, the screen cut to present day showing Godsmack walking out from their green room to the stage, further hyping up the crowd. From the moment they took the stage and with every song after, Godsmack powered through their set and  had heads banging, crowd surfing, and fists on the air with their flair of rock.