Five Finger Death Punch hit the road this Spring across North America in support of their latest album “And Justice For None”, an epic effort that has grabbed the attention of fans for all kinds of reasons. On tour with FFDP is co-headliners Shinedown who reunite with FFDP for this tour since their ctint together in 2016 plus a support package that includes sci-fi rockers Starset and rising stars Bad Wolves who have been enjoying recent success with their fan-favorite cover of “Zombie” from The Cranberries. We get a peak at the tour in Tulsa, Oklahoma this past weekend.
Bad Wolves started off this four‐band show strong. The band calls themselves a “sonic wrecking ball” and they lived up to that name in Tulsa. I could hear the strong beat of the music outside the actual arena while waiting to get in. Unfortunately, I missed most of their set, hearing it only from the lobby area. I was disappointed to miss the duet with Diamante, which the crowd later voiced their approval of when her performance was mentioned by Vext. I finally got in for the last couple of songs and was very
impressed by the band. They are hard‐rocking guys with some pretty impressive pedigrees, having
played with the likes of Devil Driver, In This Moment, Snot and more. The crowd was really into the set
and a decent‐sized mosh pit was going strong.
When the time came to end the set, vocalist Tommy Vext let the crowd know that the song they were getting ready to play was the first metal song to reach the number one spot on iTunes. The crowd knew what was coming and when Vext added that the proceeds from the song were going to The Cranberries late singer, Doris O’Riordan’s kids, the crowd went wild. There were hundreds of cell phone lights illuminating the arena for the duration of the song and the performance of “Zombie” was flawless and a great way to end the set.
Next to take the stage was Starset. Having never seen them before, I was a bit taken aback by the stage
set‐up or the over‐choreographed performance. The driving drums didn’t really seem to fit with the
melodic vocals and the crowd didn’t seem to get in to the set like they had for Bad Wolves. They did however seem to like the commercially successful “Monster” and all the fog swirling around during the set. The spacesuits worn by all but lead vocalist Dustin Bates were interesting but the choreographed
movements went too far for me. I was ready for Shinedown to hit the stage.
Shinedown opened their set with the title song from “The Sound of Madness” and had the crowd
rocking. They followed with “Bully” then right in to “Cut the Cord.” Always the consummate showman,
lead vocalist Brent Smith engaged the crowd at the beginning by asking how many had never been to a
Shinedown show before. He asked everyone to meet the people on each side of them as he does at each
show, a signature move that shows the interactiveness of a live Shinedown show.
A cut from their just released album Attention!, Attention!, “Kill Your Conscience,” came next,
followed by the commercial hit from Threat to Survival, “State of My Head.” The next song was the live
premiere of Pyro, also from the new album. Smith moved to the back of the stage to draw attention to
the other band members for a while then jumped over the barricades and into the crowd, walking and
talking all the way back to the soundboard. As he made his way back to the stage, he said he wanted
everyone to jump when he said to do so at the beginning of the next song. They obliged when he
shouted “Jump” and then went right in to “Enemies.” The energy from that was mesmerizing but the band mixed it up when the pace slowed a bit for the next two numbers, “I’ll Follow You” and the song that really put the band on the map with commercial success, “Second Chance.” Not surprisingly, this song seemed to get everyone in the audience singing along.
The driving, “Diamond Eyes” followed then Smith and guitarist Zach Myers were seen making their way to a small stage just past the soundboard. As an acoustic version of “Dog and Butterfly” slowed things down again lyrically, Smith began handing out copies of the Attention! Attention! album to those surrounding the small stage. And, he didn’t hand out just a few copies, they kept being handed out throughout the song! Such generosity! “Simple Man” came next with the crowd supplying part of the vocals for the chorus and Smith and Myers making their way back to the full stage. They closed out the set with the new single, “Devil” before ending with the traditional “Not Saying goodbye, Just Til Next Time.”
After some technical issues with the stage curtains delaying the appearance of Five Finger Death Punch, the band hit the stage with “Under and Over It” and you could tell that this band was who many in the crowd had come to see. “Never Enough” followed and then “Trouble” as the band took the spotlight for the night and showcased their back catalogue. Vocalist Ivan Moody engaged the crowd a lot, speaking in a very conversational manner during the set but ultimately the music took center stage.
The band was tight, the vocals strong, and the crowd showed their approval. “Jekyll and Hyde” and “Lift Me Up” were crowd favorites as was the invitation for the kids in the audience to join the band onstage. There were close to a hundred kids who made their way to the stage with Moody even taking the time to take a selfie with one of the kids. The cover “Bad Company” had the crowd singing alone then “Fake,” a track from the forthcoming And Justice for All followed. Things slowed a bit when Moody and guitarist Jason Hook performed a couple of acoustic songs “Remember Everything” and “Wrong Side of Heaven” but things heated up for “Burn MF”, Moody and crew had the crowd competing for loudest side on this one with red lights and red lasers illuminating the arena.
Prior to the song, Moody stated that they were being told time was up for the night, it seemed that Shinedown went over their time and FFDP was to cut their set short. The band left the stage for a brief period before returning to announce that even though it was costing them $1000 per additional minute on stage, they weren’t ready to quit. So much to the delight of the by now sweaty and restless but eager sea of fans, the band continued with “Wash It All Away,” another crowd favorite which came next then “The Bleeding” which closed out the live set.
A pre‐recorded version of “The House of the Rising Sun” saw the band saying goodbyes and giving a prop bat to a kid in the audience before leaving the stage. Even though the show was officially over, Moody stuck around to sign autographs down by the stage. His actions said a lot about how this band feels about their fans – they really love them and the feeling is mutual.
PHOTO GALLERY
Photos by Claire Zevnik
Full info, tickets and tour dates at fivefingerdeathpunch.com
