Monday, December 17, 2007

Photo Gallery: How the Edge Stole Christmas night two (w/ review)

By Kenneth Smith of 2K7 Photography

Updated 11:53 p.m., December 17, 2007

After what was overall an amazing day one of How The Edge Stole Christmas, on Saturday night at Nokia Theatre it was time for day 2 of the event and I was quite excited to see how it would compare to its predecessor. Boasting the same amount of bands, yet with a collective heavier style, it certainly proved to live up to the expectations set in previous years and days as one of the best radio shows of the year. In regards to the setup, the only difference from Friday's show was that the 300 person pit area in front of the stage had been expanded to the normal venue size to accommodate 1200 people.

Taking the stage after multi-day openers Drive A was Dallas's own Miser. It's always been clear that these guys give a great performance. Having seen them live multiple times and never experiencing a disappointment, this show was most definitely the best yet. The energy was amazing and the guys sounded solid as ever. Regardless of the fact that they were the second band to play and had a very early time slot, the venue was packed full of fans that were obviously familiar with the music and loved every second of it.

Chicago's Madina Lake was next. I had been aware of this band prior to this show but never had the opportunity to see them live. Immediately I realized that I have been missing out. Some bands put a lot into their live performance, and some put their all. Madina Lake is definitely a representation of the latter. From the moment he walked onstage, vocalist Nathan Leone did not remain in 1 spot for more then 5 seconds. The audience was constantly engaged. Weather it was bringing out a case of water and throwing them one by one into the crowd, stage-diving, running into the audience to sing face to face with the fans, or throwing giant balloons filled with confetti to be bounced around (and eventually popped to reveal a shower of snow-like strips of paper) these guys pulled out all the stops. I was thoroughly entertained during the entire set. The sound was great as well, despite the fact that Leone lost his voice a few days earlier and admitted that he might not sound his best. I was definitely left wanting more of this band and won't be missing a live show of theirs any time soon.

After an OK performance by Puddle Of Mudd, Seether emerged as the crowd loudly cheered and excitedly surged forward. I have to mention that these guys had the most creative mic stands of any band that played this 2 day event. It's amazing what Christmas lights and mutilated baby dolls can do to a standard mic stand. Opening with one of the bands earlier hits, "Gasoline", the guys sounded great. Though there wasn't much in the realm of movement onstage, the South African 3-piece still managed to keep everyone engaged. After playing songs from their full 7 year catalogue, they closed the set with the hit single "Remedy" from the 2005 "Karma and Effect" album.

Hellyeah played next for a Dallas crowd that seemed just as excited to see them as they were a few weeks ago when they played at the Palladium Ballroom with Otep. Though it had been such a short time between shows, you would have thought these guys hadn't played here in forever. The energy was as high as ever and crowd response was insane. Their set was followed-up with yet another Texas band that is certainly no stranger to Dallas. Flyleaf put on a stellar show with added songs, the usual through-the-roof energy, and eerie vocals.

Continuing with the Texas band theme, local rock veterans The Toadies opened their set with "Quitter" from the 1994 "Rubberneck" album. It was as if the song was released yesterday. The entire venue was on their feet singing along. Given the fact that these guys haven't played many shows in recent years (compared to other bands on the bill) the live performance was simply phenomenal. Without missing a beat, they tore through hit after hit, turning the entire theatre into a choir during "Possum Kingdom". Before exiting the stage the guys bid farewell to the hometown fans and the screams could probably be heard clear across town.

As with Paramore on Day 1, Avenged Sevenfold wins biggest fan-draw hands down. Easily 2 out of every 10 people were "that guy", wearing the A7X shirts to the bands show. If one word could sum up these guys, it would be "Rockstars". They look the part, can play (musically) the part, and absolutely have the fans to prove they are the part. The set was definitely the perfect close to the 2 day music fest with a bang.

All-in-all, the 2 days of How The Edge Stole Christmas were great. I feel I must mention that as with the Hullaballoo show last month, vendor tables/tents were once again strategically placed to block the 2 water-fountain stations in the venue, strong-arming everyone to cough up the moolah if they wanted anything to drink (granted, most people there weren't interested in drinking water anyway). Beyond that annoyance, The Edge once again did a stand-up job in putting together a great event that had something to appeal to almost every kind of rock music fan imaginable. Kudos again, guys (and gals)!

Pegasus News content partner - 2K7PHOTOGRAPHY

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