The Black Widow Tour
Sokol Auditorium
Omaha, Nebraska
November 4th, 2014
In This Moment, Starset, Twelve Foot Ninja, 3 Pill Morning
Tonight was the night that thousands of fans of the rock and metal genres have been waiting for; The return of In This Moment to Omaha with the Black Widow Tour. Tonight would also mark the first Omaha performances of Twelve Foot Ninja, 3 Pill Morning and the highly anticipated live set from Starset.
The brisk November chill didn’t hold back anyone as fans started lining up shortly after noon to make sure they secured their spots on the barricade for the show. Tickets prices were very reasonable and secured In This Moment’s 3rd consecutive sold out show in Omaha, their 2nd sold out headlining tour. The line into Sokol Auditorium wrapped around the block, something that always makes me smile. The more shows that sell out, or come close to selling out, means that Omaha is kept on band’s touring radar and ensures their return.
Tonight’s crowd was dominated by the more fair gender. It’s always great to see women at metal concerts, especially when the headlining band is fronted by a woman. Circling around the crowd, I notice that the age demographic was also varied. Fans my age were mixed in with kids who probably had to get permission to stay out so late on a school night. I overheard numerous conversations about what we could expect from tonight’s concert. More than a few fans drove for hours. One guy would be seeing his 3rd show of this tour and drove from Oklahoma City for tonight’s concert. I would later find out that he plans his week vacation from work around In This Moment’s fall touring schedule.
As the clock ticked on, the stage was set and the house lights were killed. Minneapolis quartet 3 Pill Morning, who have previously opened for In This Moment before the Black Widow Tour, opened tonight’s show and spent their way too short 6 song setlist amping up the crowd. While relatively unfamiliar to the majority of the crowd, I did notice more than a few fans singing along with several of the band’s songs. Our fellow midwesterners put on a high energy show and set the pace for what a few thousand screaming fans could expect for the rest of the evening. 3 Pill Morning’s unique brand of rock music was perfect and pushed the crowd off their feet, fists pumping, on more than one occassion.
Australian quintet Twelve Foot Ninja were next on stage. Their brand of music, though not my thing, went over well with the crowd following 3 Pill Morning’s set. Having formed in 2008, and still new to the US music scene, Twelve Foot Ninja put on another high energy set. Vocalist Nik Etik paced the stage like a caged tiger, inciting slamming and subtle moshing from the fans.
Sokol Auditorium, while a great venue size, still gives fans the chance for an intimate concert. Band members for 3 Pill Morning, Twelve Foto Ninja and Starset all ran their own merch booths, each helping the others while their bands were on stage. Each band that played tonight made sure to personally thank every fan they met for attending.
Members of Starset we greeted with cheers and sceams as they prepped the stage for their set. Drummer Adam Gilbert, hoodie pulled up high, sat behind his kit and eyed the ever growing crowd. Tonight would be Starset’s first time in Omaha, and the first time most of us would be seeing the band on stage.
Screams erupted from the fans as the house lights went off and “First Light” heralded Starset’s Omaha debut. Having been a fan of the band for almost a year, it was surreal to see Gilbert standing behind his drumkit as guitarist Brock Richards and bassist/keyboardist Ron DeChant walked on stage, each dressed in a solid black gladiator style space suits with helmets ablazed in neon blue. As the band cut into “Down With The Fallen” vocalist and founder Dustin Bates walked on stage, dressed like what you would consider a college astromoy professor, greeted Omaha and Starset pushed the crowd over the edge. Their setlist, comprised solely of tracks from the band’s debut album, Transmissions, was an emotional rollercoaster. The band’s unique brand of Future Music was exactly was the crowd was waiting for. Bates, working the crowd like a ringmaster, paced the stage when he wasn’t behind his massive tranparent LED DJ screen and helped set the pace for the band’s half hour plus set. “Rise And Fall” had the entire floor bouncing. Looking behind me, I could see more than a few fans singing along with Bates to every word. Full interludes filled the gaps between each of the band’s songs, giving the crowd time to catch their breath before the band hammered into their next track.
Taking it down a notch and soothing the beastly crowd, Starset continued to impress the fans with “Antigravity”, “Halo” and “Telescope”. Even though these would be considered the “softer rock” songs from the band, the fans still responded with fist pumping and bouncing. It was amazing to see lighters raised in approval, setting the air ablaze during “Halo” and “Telescope”. From the crowd’s reaction to the track, I’d guess that one of these two will be the band’s next single. The girls, and some of the guys, went balistic when Bates stripped off his jacket and cardigan after “Halo”, and continued the set in a plain white dress shirt and bowtie.
Starset are a heavy live band. Tracks that I’ve heard hundreds of times on my iPod are given an extra dose of aggression when played live. So heavy that as Bates stood behind his DJ screen and the band began the first few notes of “Carnivore”, we heard a loud POP and the band’s instruments went silent. They blew a fuse. Bates looked into the crowd, lifted both arms and shrugged. DeChant and Bates quickly went to work, tinkering with their monitors and speakers, checking wires and reconnecting what needed to be fixed. This is the differnance between rockstars and musicians. A rockstar would have called it a night after dazzling the crowd with 5 whole songs. Not the musicians of Starset though. They weren’t done with us yet.
The band’s music was hightlighted with a spectacular light show. The emotions of each track eminated in shades of purple, blue and red. The stark contrast of the band’s solid black gear and neon blue helmets was ominus as the stage was bathed in sickly shades of green during “Carnivore”, the band’s most recent single.
THe largest reaction from the crowd came though as DeChant, Richards and Gilbert stood still, motionless as gargoyles guarding a tomb, and Bates walked to the front of the stage. “If you all know this next song, please help by singing along.” The fans went ballistic as the opening chords of “My Demons” bagan to play. The reaction was so intense that, at times, a thousand screaming voices drowned out Bates’ own vocals. This was the crowd’s last chance to cut loose during Starset’s performance, and the fans didn’t let the band down.
Before Starset left the stage, Bates assured us that they would be back. Judging from the fans’ reaction to their live set, the next time they’re in Omaha, Starset will be headlining the show.
Starset’s Setlist;
First Light
Rise and Fall
Down With the Fallen
Antigravity
Halo
Telescope
Carnivore
The Future Is Now
My Demons
In This Moment’s crew began to set up the stage the moment Starset began tearing down their gear. Knowing that tonight’s show would be a full blown stage production, I tried to stay away from visual spoilers of this tour as much as possible. All I knew was that as elaborate as the Hellpop Tour was, The Black Widow tour would raise the bar on the concert experience.
The crowd burst into a frenzy as soon as the house lights were cut and “The Infection” began to play. The screams and cheers were deafening as the band walked on stage one by one and the Blood Girls took their places adjacent to center stage. The rafters shook the moment Maria Brink set foot on stage and ripped into “Sick Like Me”. As much energy as the crowd had exuded during Starset’s time on the stage, they had saved some for In This Moment and a few thousand screaming bodies burst to life during “Sick Like Me”, continued to bounce during “Black Widow” and whipped up a few mosh pits for “Adrenalize”.
Brink took the opportunity between several songs to showcase costume changes. Brink walked on stage wearing a large brimmed black hat, floor length black cloak and gold talons for “Sick Like Me’, donned a red jacket and ringmaster cap for “Black Widow” and her classic Nurse uniform and cap duing “Adrenalize”. While Brink shot her smoke cannon during “Adrenalize”, the Blood Girls marched around stage with brutally over-sized syringes.
It was during “Sex Metal Barbie” that the crowd screamed the loudest though. Brink’s podeum was placed center stage, and as the the guys ripped into the track’s opening chords, Brink appeared wearing a jeweled crown, pink jacket and corsette, and pageant queen sash emblazened with SEX METAL BARBIE.
As the stage light bathed the auditorium in menacing shade of red, the Blood Girls walked back on stage with Brink, and kneeled at her feet, wrapping their arms around her legs as Brink enveloped them in a giant gossimer black cloak. As Brink screamed the words to “Burn”, she waved her arms, lifting the cloak like a giant pair of wings.
After whipping the crowd into a frenzy with “Burn”, the guys took a break from the stage and gave Brink the opportunity to shine solo. Gently placing herself on a white chair draped in a white sheet, the stage lights burst to life as Brink began to sing “Into the Light”. As Brink’s haunting voice filled the auditorium, she sparkled like a finely cut diamond as the white lights danced around her.
Since the show, I’ve had more than a few people ask me about “Fallen Heroes” and I’ll be honest, I am not familiar with the song that was played only a few times early on in this tour. It was rather intense though.
Brink then introduced the band and gave the guys a chance to showcase their own talents. Drummer Tom Hane dazzled the crowd with a brief solo, then the guys cut into a wicked medley of Metallica tracks as the crowd provided the vocals.
For most bands, it can be tricky picking which tracks off of the yet-to-be-released album to add to the live set. This was not the case with In This Moment. The new tracks off of Black Widow fit perfectly with selections from their previous releases. The crowd’s reaction to Sex Metal Barbie, Dirty Pretty and Big Bad Wolf were intense. Whether or not the fans knew the lyrics, they bounced around with the brutal beats.
Brink kept the crowd interaction to a minimum duing their set, addressing the crowd only a few times. The most inspirational speach she gave though was when she introduced “Whore”. As the guys played an extended intro, Brink, dressed in a catholic school girl uniform and wearing a dunce cap emblazened with WHORE, took her place center stage. “This next song is about strength,” she told the crowd. “The strength it takes to overcome when people try to publicly embarass you for being who you are. Never be ashamed of who you are.” “Whore” was by far the song that got the most reaction out of tonight’s crowd. It’s really become an anthem for the lost souls that find inspiration and true meaning in the band’s music.
After a short interlude, Brink walked back on stage, pointed to one male member of crowd and ushered him on stage. The Blood Girls then sat the guy down, tied him up with pantyhose, and hung a sign around his neck which read “I’ve Been Infected.” The shit-eating-grin on this guy was pretty much summed up the whole experience.
Brink seductively writhed around the stage during the band’s cover of Nine Inch Nails’ “Closer” and continued to pushed the crowd to the edge of rioting. Cheers and screams again erupted from the fans as the band exited the stage. Most of us knew it was only for showmanship though. It only took a few minutes of the crowd chanting BLOOD before our sceams were answered.
The band closed out their set with the wildly popular “Blood”. This was the crowd’s last chance to cut lose and they didn’t dissappoint. The pit bosses ruled the floor, and most of them were women. It was a glorious sight to behold. As Brink and her men ruled the stage and continued to prove they earned their title as reigning lords and lady of metal, the fans screamed back every lyric and their fists pumped into the air.
While the guys were thrashing around during the set and the stage lights burst with shades of blue, green and red, Brink and the Blood Girls performed a highly choreographed set worthy of a Vegas stage. This is type of show is what In This Moment has become over the past few years. Brink and the guys know that fans don’t want to see them simply playing the music, they was a full blown stage show. In This Moment didn’t let us down. Brink’s costume changes, along with the dazzling stage lights, raised the bar for live metal shows.
In This Moment’s Setlist;
The Infection
Sick Like Me
Black Widow
Adrenalize
Sex Metal Barbie
Burn
Into the Light
Fallen Heroes
Drum Solo/Guitar Solos w/ Metallica Medley
Big Bad Wolf
Dirty Pretty
Whore
Closer
Blood
