STAIND with COLD and ADEMA

Hartford Expo Center

July 13

Friday the thirteenth. Dusk upon us. What could possibly make this scene complete? Try a roaring performance by one of the best hard rock bands in America today, Staind.

Staind left little to be desired in their July 13 performance at the Expo Center in Hartford. Utilizing tracks from all three of their albums, the Western Massachusetts local heroes kept an enthusiastic crowd at fever pitch during a fifteen song set that stretched well into the 90-minute range.

The set was nearly flawless in terms of musicianship-Staind is not one of those bands that sound completely different live than they do on the album. People went expecting one thing, and they got it-and outstanding performance by an outstanding rock band. Frontman Aaron Lewis showed his vocal range, easily shifting between haunting, sad melodies to snarling roars without missing a beat. This is not to understate the work of the rest of the band-guitarist Mike Mushok, bassist Johnny April, and drummer Jon Wysocki set the pace and tone of the show with their outstanding musicianship. Mushok and April also had to overcome minor technical difficulties with power, smoothing them over to the point where many in the crowd didn’t even notice. The band hit early and hit hard during their set, opening with the staple “Mudshovel” before moving into several tunes from their most recent and best selling disc, Break the Cycle. Searing versions of “Open Your Eyes,” “Pressure,” “Fade,” “Can’t Believe,” “Suffer,” and “For You,” were all hits with the crowd, and instantly recognizable to nearly all in attendance. Mixed in, Staind dived into their previous album, the breakthrough Dysfunction to roar through heavy hitters like “Just Go,” “Suffocate,” “Raw,” and “Crawl.” They also pulled out the tune “Break” from their first album, Tormented.

Obviously, out of obligation more than anything else, Staind played “It’s Been Awhile,” and “Outside,” their most recent radio hits. Realistically they were probably the two weakest songs that they performed on the night. For “It’s Been Awhile,” the band had to calm down a raucous crowd for the obvious sing-a-long. Staind then cleared the stage, leaving Lewis alone on the stage to play the obligatory “Outside.” While the band could have played the studio version, Lewis went it alone, strumming through an acoustic version while the crowd caught its breath, waiting for the band to crank it back up again.

Thankfully they did, closing with “Spleen,” of all songs. A loud, angry song from the end of Dysfunction, it left the crowd both thrilled and exhausted. Not exactly a nice happy ending, but it was a joy to experience.

Cold was the middle act of the night, opening with a solid set of songs primarily from their newest album, 13 Ways to Bleed Onstage. As good as their performance was, it was as equally weird. The lighting, the entrance, the spider logo-Cold has all but become a Goth band. Highlights of their set included “End of the World,” the raucous and riffy “Just Got Wicked,” and, of course, “Send in the Clowns.” During “Clowns” the crowd roared with delight at their first Staind sighting of the evening. Aaron Lewis came out as a special guest for a piece of the song, roaring into the mike at the climax of the song. Then he walked off, with less than 15 seconds of vocal time, without any emotion. That’s showmanship at its finest.

The opening band of the evening, on the other hand, was not. Young guns Adema played a twenty-five minute set of rap-metal from their upcoming album. Their songs “Skin” and “Freaking Out” highlighted a loud but relatively weak set that above all, lacked polish. Adema’s studio debut album has since shown promise, but their live set has a long way to go.