Staind w/ Fire From The Gods
Five Points Amphitheater – Irvine, CA
Sunday, September 12th, 2021
Review and Pictures: Diane Lynn
It sure felt good walking into Five Points Amphitheater! After waiting more time than I care to remember – one of my favorite venues was alive again!
After a quick stop to grab a bite of the absolute yummiest pulled pork with mac n cheese I have ever had (the food trucks at Five Points are thee best) I was ready to do ROCK!
On tap for the night was Korn, Staind and an opener that I had never heard of, Fire From The Gods. Unfortunately covering KORN wasn’t on the agenda tonight but it was still going to be a fantastic way to end my Sunday Funday!
I’d never seen Staind perform live, but I like their tunes, so I was looking forward to seeing them play.
The band started their set with the head banging song “Eyes Wide Open”, and then right into “Open Your Eyes”. Staind has a killer catalog of songs and based on their set lists they always try and touch on each of their albums throughout the shows.
The sometimes-controversial Aaron Lewis,who was dressed in his Defend the Police shirt. took a moment in between songs to greet the fans and mention that he always seems to get himself in trouble when he talks so he is going to just sing – as he pointed to the political sticker on the face of his Stars and Stripes guitar. After a long applause and cheers from the crowd, Lewis with a huge grin on his face, went straight back to playing music.
As the band went into their extremely popular hit song “Outside” the crowd hushed for a few moments during the intro then sang along to every word. The song played on with lighters and cell phone lights lighting up the amphitheater. It’s moments like these that I am always grateful I was there to be part of it.
Staind is not a band that adds a lot of fluff to their shows. There’s not a lot of dancing, prancing or fanfare on stage and although the lighting and visual effects are always top notch at this venue, Staind relied only on their music to keep their loyal fans captivated.
I was totally impressed with how well Staind sounded live. There is no denying the distinct sound of Aaron Lewis’ vocals and this night he was definitely on point. The head banging from Lead Guitarist Mike Mushok was as metal as it comes. How he can do that and still handle those guitar licks is beyond me, but it was definitely fun watching him play. Bassist Johnny April knows how to handle that bass, with his cool kickback stance he brought out that killer deep bass thump loud and clear. And Drummer Sal Giancarelli is a force to be reckoned with behind the kit. I love the high swing he has, and the occasional smile is telling of the fun time he is having up on stage.
Staind is an impressive band, and I was happy to take the assignment of covering them. With all personal and political opinions aside, they have brought us some killer songs over the years, and I believe they will continue to do so in the future. And I would be happy to cover them again!
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Fire From The Gods
I love it when opening bands come out on stage and simply blow everyone away! Fire From The Gods ruled that stage at Five Points, performing like veteran rockers!
Fire From The Gods are a Rap-Metal band from Austin Texas. This five-piece band have been making waves with Korn/Staind on their Summer Tour, and according to their website are scheduled to perform at several Rock Fests across the pond in the UK, Germany, France as well as a few others.
They also have a new album coming out November 1st, “American Sun”.
I am sure we will be seeing a lot more of Fire From The Gods in the near future.
Fire From The Gods are:
AJ Channer – Lead Vocals
Jameson Teat – Rhythm Guitar, Backing Vocals
Drew Walker – Lead Guitar
Bonner Baker – Bassist
Richard Wicander – Drums, Percussion
Related Links:
Staind
Fire From The Gods
