Breaking Benjamin brought an impressive rock lineup took the stage at Amsoil Arena in Duluth last Wednesday. This wasn’t our usual Twin Cities coverage, since the tour did not have a show within the metro. Being originally from the Duluth area though, I decided to take the trip up north to go to this show. It was chilly afternoon in Canal Park but concert goers were still all over grabbing food and drinks before the concert. Surprisingly this was my first concert at this arena, as I grew up going to college hockey games here. Immediately upon walking in I was impressed with the stage and production that this tour had.
Catch Your Breath
As usual, I went into this show blind when it came to the opener, not really knowing what to expect. Catch Your Breath is a fairly young band originating in 2017 bringing fresh hard rock sounds to the scene. The band is based out of Austin, Texas and comprised of vocalist Josh, guitarist Teddy, bassist Cianan and drummer Onell. The injects a unique mix of synth with the screaming grunge of metal. Previously touring with Falling in Reverse, it’s no surprise that they were on the ticket for this show. I was very impressed with the lead singers metal growl. The band was also all over the stage and interacting with the crowd which was great as well.
Daughtry
I have been listening to Daughtry for as long as I can remember. I even remember when lead singer Chris Daughtry was on American Idol, and since then my family has been fans. My family was in the crowd for this show, and was incredibly proud to see me photograph this show. The band came out swinging, opening with a lot of their newer songs. I was pleasantly surprised when I heard the beginning of Journey’s “Separate Ways” as they played their cover of the song. The band was incredibly enthusiastic to be on stage, keeping the fun going throughout all of their set. Daughtry played some of their older music, but ended the set with their newest song “Artificial” which landed them a number one hit on rock radio.
Breaking Benjamin
The first time I heard Breaking Benjamin songs was when I was younger watching Youtube. Ever since then I have been a fan. After Daughtry, you got to see just how large of a production Breaking Benjamin brought. The show began with projecting their logo on a curtain that dropped between the stage and the crowd, showing off a ginormous stage and LCD screen. While the band was playing, the screen displayed the band playing with distorted effects, and some other visuals including clips from their music videos. This was my first time seeing them, and hearing bassist Aaron Bruch growl was insane.
I really appreciated the band tossing out t-shirts to the crowd, and interacting a ton. There was also a lack of phones out in the crowd, and most in attendance were just simply enjoying the music as it should be. Breaking Benjamin put on an incredibly colorful show, although the sound blasted us away for this size of venue and may have left some concert goers ears ringing.
Check out other tour dates HERE.
Check out other Twin Cities concerts HERE.
